Posted on 10/26/2014 6:02:48 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
When Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee were asked to deliver dueling speeches at a secret gathering of America's most influential socialconservatives, both camps knew what the invitation represented: a private audition to be the evangelical movement's presidential candidate in 2016.
They prepared accordingly, and on back-to-back nights in mid-September, the White House hopefuls delivered impassioned addresses to the Council for National Policy's clandestine conference in Atlanta.
The courtship of Christian leaders by White House contenders—"the evangelical primary," as some call it—has become a staple of Republican presidential politics. But this year is different.
After back-to-back cycles in which social conservatives failed to coalesce around a single candidate—resulting, they believe, in the nomination of moderates who haven't mobilized the Christian base to vote in November—evangelical leaders are acting early and with unprecedented urgency. In a series of private meetings over the past two months in Washington, Iowa, Florida, and elsewhere, Christian political leaders have emphasized narrowing their options sooner than ever and uniting behind one candidate to defeat the establishment favorite.
The Atlanta event, then, signaled not just that the 2016 evangelical primary is well underway but that for many leading social conservatives, the field is already winnowing.
"Those are the two," Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said of Cruz and Huckabee. "And they share the same core base, so I do think there's probably only room for one of them to be successful."
Perkins is not alone in this view. Conversations with some of the country's most influential and well-connected evangelical power-brokers suggest an emerging consensus—out of private gatherings like CNP as well as public events like the Values Voters Summit—that 2016 is shaping up as a two-horse race.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationaljournal.com ...
I notice Huckabee on Christian tv alot. He’s gonna speak at a Christian conference too.
Cruz needs to up his appearances at Christian events too.
Romney, McCain lost by ignoring the Christian right. Christians vote. It is stupid to ignore us.
Cruz
Well, I know who I am rooting for. Mike Huckabee has nothing to offer. He already lost his chance going against Mitt Romney, another proven loser. Wasn’t he a pastor or something? Reverend Huckabee? That just makes me think of Jesse Jackson, or Jim Bakker.
And anyway I don’t care much for the name Huckabee. What the hell is a Huckabee? It’s probably a diminution of the word Huckleberry, by an illiterate ancestor with a bad accent. I can just see Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday saying, “I’ll be your Huckabee.”
Huckabee won Iowa, and then was irrelevant. And he won Iowa the same way Santorum did - by just shamelessly pandering on only social issues. It is not a recipe for being a long term factor.
And in 16, they’ll both run, and they’ll split the same vote - and neither will place or show. And Cruz’ appeal is WAY WAY WAY broader than either of them.
We’re right now seeing what a Senate-experience-only President can do.
* * *
OH for pity’s sake. You KNOW that is not Obama’s problem, that he has only Senate experience. I say thank God Obama does not have any prior executive experience. He might have been able to do even more damage.
Troll!
We are seeing nothing of the sort. Obama was not even qualified to be a Senator.
Obama was not qualified to scoop ice cream at Baskin-Robbins
Huckabee (aka “the Huckster”) is the Benny Hinn of Republican presidential candidates. Just as Benny Hinn is a false prophet and phony Christian, so Huckabee is a faux conservative who is NOT to be trusted.
I have no thought about voting for Huckabee, just not a possibility
and isn’t Huckabee for Common Core?
The war is going to be Perry v. Cruz, and we’re going to have neutralize (politically) Perry ASAP.
Before you change that channel....I still favor Dr. Ben Carson. I know he does not have a lot of “government” experience; however, he has a lot of corporate “political” experience from his tenure at Johns Hopkins. He is a leader. He is a man of few words; when he speaks people listen. He would make an excellent Christian U. S. President. He has the WISDOM to choose his aides and cabinet wisely.
Ted Cruz is also a favorite; however, he lacks age and maturity. He would make an excellent Vice President, to be groomed for the presidency at a later date. He could really be a helpmeet for Dr. Carson in the political arena.
Please make an effort to actually listen to Dr. Carson. He is strong and principled, not given to mud slinging, etc. His age is on his side. He has “street creds.”
BTW, were any of you aware that Mrs. Cruz belongs to the CFR? What is that about?
I stand with Ted.
The Huckster is just like every other Arkansas governor who wanted to be president
A) I don’t think we’ll see another black president for at least a generation, maybe even longer. (B) We have never, ever elected an individual to the highest office without government experience. The closest we’ve come have been Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama. How’d those presidencies work out? (C) Dr. Carson, if he’s interested in a run, needs to pay his dues at a lower level such as the US Senate, a governorship or mayor of a major city, since I’m pretty sure that working his way from 2nd Lieutenant to General isn’t on his timetable.
Icebreaker Cruz meet leaky rowboat Huckelberry.
Then you’ll be reassured to find out that Senator Cruz has all kinds of experience besides his stint in the senate. Take a look and really read it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Cruz
He has many more qualifications than a 43 year old man should have.
Should be fun watching Cruz expose Huckabee as the fraud he is.
Huckabee and Huckleberry are, in my opinion, Southern regional pronunciations (and subsequent misspellings) of the old English names Holcombe and Holcomborough. Both names entered the U.S. centuries ago.
Lincoln lacked executive experience, as far as I know. He certainly learned how to deploy FedGov -- the Constitution notwithstanding -- to make things happen the way he wanted.
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