Monday, October 22, 2007
This past Friday, a column by David Brooks, of the NY Times, focused on seven reasons why Huckabee might/will win the Republican nomination. He begins:
"The first thing you notice about Mike Huckabee is that he has a Mayberry name and a Jim Nabors face. But it’s quickly clear that Huckabee is as good a campaigner as anybody running for president this year. And before too long it becomes easy to come up with reasons why he might have a realistic shot at winning the Republican nomination:"
The seven reasons, without Brooks' explanation/substantiation are:
1. Voters in Iowa & NH are restless
2. Each of the [media-declared] top-tier candidates make certain parts of the GOP uncomfortable.
3. Mike is the most normal person (of any party) running for President.
4. Mike is part of the new generation of evangelical leaders.
5. Mike is most in tune with the white working class, whom Brooks mentions is the backbone of the GOP.
6. Mike's a former Governor.
7. Mike's a collaborative conservative.
He ends the column with:
". . . Huckabee is something that the party needs. He is a solid conservative who is both temperamentally and substantively different from the conservatives who have led the country over the past few years.
He’s rising in the polls, especially in Iowa. His popularity with the press corps suggests he could catch a free media wave that would put him in the top tier. He deserves to be there."
(There is much I've left out, it's best to read the relatively short column on your own.)
Also over the weekend, Arnold Schwarzenegger asserted that the Republican party should, "challenge the questions they were asked in the debates. “Someone has to say: ‘We’ve talked enough about immigration, now I want to talk about healthcare reform’.” The candidates had to “move the agenda”, he said."
What better reliably conservtative candidate to center the party than Mike Huckabee, who along with his conservative values including his (lifelong . . . cough cough . . . Romney, Thompson etc.) pro-life stance, finishing the war with dignity, 2nd Amendment Rights, Constitutional Pro-Marriage Amendment, etc. also includes things in his platform like increasing funding for Arts & Athletics in education, and building up renewable sources of energy such as wind, solar, hydrogen, etc.
At the FRC Value Voters Summit this past weekend, Huckabee secured first place in their straw poll with 51% of the on-site voting. (Romney, who got 10.4% of the on-site poll won overall, after including online votes.) With Romney in a virtual tie for second in Iowa and mere points behind Romney's first place, The next 45 days could see a major shift in the whole election.
Instead of being like Bob Jones III, who has chosen a candidate for the chief reason of their ability to beat Hillary Clinton (btw - this is some of the more-flawed reasoning I've seen in a while), maybe you should choose a candidate who actually believes what you believe, stands what you stand for and honors God in the process. Forget the fact that he doesn't seem electable now - if you and enough others choose to stand on principle instead of politics, what seems impossible quickly becomes probable.
To hear it from the man himself, here's the last few minutes of Huckabee's speech at the Summit (excuse the lame Elvis joke):
I like Mike.
If I had to vote today, I'd be comfortable voting for Mike. I need to look at him and Thompson more closely--well, and look at a couple others too.