Posted on 11/28/2008 1:48:52 PM PST by Wegotsarah.com
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee insists Republicans neglected religious conservatives this year and need to maintain their support as the party regroups.
“They were welcomed to the family table two days a year, and that was the primary and Election Day,” Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and Baptist pastor, told reporters at a news conference in Washington, D.C.
“I think there’s a point of frustration and exasperation where people are saying: ‘You know what? If you don’t want us, just say so.’”
Promoting a new book, Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That’s Bringing Common Sense Back to America, Huckabee spoke about the past and future of the Republican Party.
Mike Huckabee “There should not be the disconnect between value voters and those who consider themselves the fiscal conservatives,” he said. “The truth is, most value voters are fiscal conservatives, but not all fiscal conservatives are value voters.”
Huckabee said he has no immediate plans for a second White House run or for any other office and that the GOP would be “insane” if they tried to move away from issues like abortion or marriage that are key to religious conservatives.
“It’s been an important part of our overall message, which is that traditional values still reach many people in this country,” he said of the marriage issue. “And I think the sanctity-of-life issue is still an issue that draws people to the Republican Party who otherwise might not necessarily feel that much of a loyalty. It’s not that it’s the only issue, but it’s an issue that we have to be faithful to.”
But Huckabee also was critical of conservative religious leaders including Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, Bob Jones University Chancellor Bob Jones III and former GOP presidential candidate Gary Bauer, who passed him over and endorsed other GOP candidates.
“I came to the conclusion that political expediency and pragmatism had supplanted prophetic principles among those who aspired to influence the process but unwittingly had become influenced by the process and, in fact, were held captive by it,” Huckabee wrote.
Bauer, chairman of the Campaign for Working Families, issued a statement saying he was disappointed in Huckabee’s book.
“It is unfortunate ... at a time when the GOP needs to close ranks and seek unity, that Gov. Huckabee in his new book has aimed his fire at his fellow Republicans,” Bauer said.
Huckabee said he expected his words would anger some readers.
“I’m telling the honest facts of the story,” he said. “I don’t think I’m unfair or unkind, but I’m honest.”
Huckabee said he thinks former GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin has “a great future ahead of her” after rallying the Republican base, but he was noncommittal about his own political future.
“I’m not ruling anything out for the future, but I’m not making any specific plans to do something in the future politically,” he said.
He needs to be kicked to the curb and relegated to the back bench of GOP politics.
Huck you worthless f-ing RINO turd, shut the hell up and go back to Arkansas you dumbass.
People like Huckabee — and the people who liked him — are part of the reason we ended up with McNasty as our standard bearer.
I see you are also an enemy of rational discourse.
How do you convince the mob to give up free healthcare, education, food, etc?
Now, I predict that crime will skyrocket under Obama due to the recession and Democrats permissiveness with illegal immigrants and crime in general. That is probably where the fight will take place.
But convincing the lazy, stupid and shiftless to give up their subsidies is almost impossible.
Rational discourse is only valid when the source is rational. Huckabee isn’t. He’s a Christian Socialist who bastardizes his faith by serving his own self interests.
Unfortunately, one of Huckabee’s “values” is higher taxes. I’ll pass.
I think the best thing for conservatives is to tell everybody who ran for the Repub nomination in 2008 to GET LOST!
AMEN!!! PERFECTLY STATED!!!
REPEAT IT ! AT LEAST ONE BILLION TIMES!!
HUCKABEE IS A TOTAL HAYSEED!! AND AN ILL DEFINED PUTZ!!
I agree with your comments.
And on a more general plane, when Huckster Gantry whines that “There should not be the disconnect between value voters and those who consider themselves the fiscal conservatives” he is simply perpetuating the myth that there are different kinds of conservatives.
Sorry, conservatives buy the entire ball of wax from small govt. and fiscal sanity to defense and to life as it is protected by law and asserted in the Declaration.
Bottom line is that conservatives need to unify around solid conservative principles, not around the Bible, not around prophecy, and not around huckster socialists like The Huckster.
He’s right. I think a lot of blacks even would have voted GOP if an attempt had been made to reach them on values.
>>>>People like Huckabee — and the people who liked him — are part of the reason we ended up with McNasty <<<<<
There are lots of us who see that and understand it.
And here we have Huckster spouting exactly the same “divide and conquer” BS that first gave us McQueeg and now gives us the Marxist.
I guess Huckster is pleased with himself. But he is a treasonous and selfish man, IMO.
Who, then, will be the next guy to get this treatment, along with the voters he brings with him? This is as counterproductive as trying to attract groups on the basis of being a group; blacks, hispanics, jews, blue-eyed Lithuanian harp players. The Republican party needs to present ideas that will attract Huckabee's supporters, not rejecting them as a group.
Just say no to RINO’s!
STFU Huck.
Quite frankly, I don’t understand your point!
I found his thoughts extremely rational, quite focused and absolutely on point!
Your negatiism is unseemly:-)
Spell check for Huckabee comes back Huckster,Huckleberry!
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