Conservatives need to defeat Huckabee
The criticism of Governor Huckabee and negative information about his record have been coming fast and furious from sources far and wide this weekend.
Stephen Bainbridge explains why he won’t be supporting the Governor.
Newsweek reveals a pretty sketchy incident in which Huckabee allegedly intervened with the Arkansas State Police on behalf of his son.
The Reihl World has a story (apparently via Drudge) about selling pardons in exchange for contributions to the Arkansas GOP’s Victory fund.
And then there’s been the reaction to Huckabee’s article in Foreign Affairs. I can’t find a positive reaction to that one anywhere.
So what’s going on?
As I suggested, conservatives are starting to take a good, hard look at Huckabee’s record, and they don’t like what they see.
Governor Romney’s response captures the overall view pretty well. “I’m afraid he’s running for the wrong party.”
But conservative columnist David Limbaugh captures it even better.
We get mixed signals on his tax policy, with critics saying he was a big taxer in Arkansas and defenders pointing to his support of the Fair Tax. He has exhibited a Jimmy Carteresque naivete on foreign policy issues, suggesting we can solve our problems with other nations solely with better diplomacy — as if tyrants and terrorist regimes respond to Golden Rule treatment.
He parrots the Democrat propaganda that President Bush did not extend a hand of bipartisanship to Democrats in his first term or since. He has boarded the left’s global-warming train. He’s an economic populist who seems to favor yet more state involvement in health care. His record on clemencies is troubling. And, he has nanny-state tendencies, from federal smoking bans to advocating a federal clearinghouse to promote the arts in education. Big government conservatism is oxymoronic.
The closer evangelicals and other conservatives look at Huckabee, the more they are going to find things that they don’t like.
For my own part, when the Huckabee surge started a couple of weeks ago, I was bemused but ambivalent. Speaking as an evanglical Christian, as well as a Republican who isn’t as a conservative as many other members of my party, I’m ready to actively campaign for the Governor’s defeat.
Rich Lowry, National Review’s editor, recently penned a column titled “Huckacide” in which he argues that nominating Hackabee will damage the Republican Party and the cause of conservatism.
The more I tune in to this campaign, the more I agree with Lowry’s conclusion.
December 16th, 2007 at December 16, 2007 - 5:50 pm
Amen, brother. Preach it!
December 17th, 2007 at December 17, 2007 - 10:17 pm
Hmmmm. Not long ago, I was enthusiastically embracing the campaign of Mike Huckabee. After reading that Foreign Affairs article this weekend, I’m not so sure.
I do have to say that I’ve not been persuaded at all, however, by all the attacks that have made against him. The one that included the account of his son hanging a dog simply made me roll my eyes and dig in deeper. (Not because I think it’s an acceptable thing to hang a dog, but because it seems this was a desperate attempt to impugn the father with the sins of the son.)
For me, when people like Hugh Hewitt constantly rail against Huckabee, it has the opposite effect of what they intend. I understand and have seen how “church people” can make and be the subject of false accusations. In the end, my decision about Huckabee will be based on his words today, not what gift registry he set up for himself, or whether or not he took the drapes with him as he moved out of the governer’s mansion. (For those who haven’t been following this as closely, both these allegations are out there.)
Huckabee’s support, at least in the circles in which I move, is not confined to conservative evangelicals. My husband is leaning toward Huckabee - this would be the first Republican he’s ever supported; he is not a church-goer. The other night, my mother-in-law brought up his name, and was complaining about the attacks on him. She is a Minnesota Lutheran. I think that the hysterical rhetoric that is displayed by the likes of Hugh Hewitt or even the conservative elites may drive people toward Huckabee.
December 17th, 2007 at December 17, 2007 - 10:22 pm
Sharon, I agree with you on one important point — Hugh Hewitt is not doing Romney any favors with his advocacy of the former Massachusetts Governor and his attacks on Governor Huckabee. Hewitt’s coverage has been so over the moon in Romney’s favor that it’s just tought to take anything he says seriously.
December 18th, 2007 at December 18, 2007 - 10:56 pm
Marshall, you seem to be focusing entirely on substance. Fair enough, in an ideal world. But, sadly, what does that have to do with a presidential election? Mike Huckabee is a smooth former Southern Baptist preacher who has a keen eye for political nuance. Remember, this is the guy who scored points by insisting on living in a triple-wide trailer while the Governor’s mansion was being remodeled. He has that totally disarming, conversational demeanor that makes him attractive to the average American listener. In short, if he shores up his foreign policy shortcomings with a strong VP candidate, he’s electable. (Remember what Dick Cheney did for President Bush in 2000). And who would you rather see in the White House, a Republican from Hope, Arkansas, or a woman who married one?