The American Spectator

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Snide Explosion

1.10.08 @ 12:01AM

(Page 3 of 7)

How true! How the Republican Party needs to heed it!
-- Larry Wilson
Indianapolis, Indiana

I think that Mr. Neumayr misunderstands why many conservatives do not like Huckabee, so let me say it: It is because he is not a CONSERVATIVE! Huckabee has never met a tax hike he didn't like, he is in lockstep with the left in demonizing "the rich," and he is on board with the global warming alarmists. Just saying that you want to disband the IRS doesn't make you a conservative, it makes you a populist.

As for his religion, most conservatives do not dislike him because he is a Christian, they dislike him because he acts as if THAT is what makes him qualified to be President. He is, as Rush Limbaugh has pointed out, playing the same old game of identity politics and using his religion as his identity. I am a Christian and a conservative, and I don't like his using his religion as some-sort of qualification, it just doesn't sit right with me.

Also, I don't see a lot of conservatives cutting McCain or Romney a lot of slack as it concerns their conservative bona fides. McCain has been savaged because of his support of McCain-Feingold and "comprehensive immigration reform" (better known as amnesty), and Romney is getting it for his recent conversions on many conservative issues.

If Huckabee didn't give people such strong flashbacks of that other "Man from Hope," he would get so much more support from conservatives. His conservative positions seem hollow to me and others, and that is why conservatives don't like Huck!
-- Eric Edwards
Walnut Cove, North Carolina

Thank you, George Neumayr! You have articulated a frustration that I and numerous other cultural conservatives have been having with the GOP establishment regarding Mike Huckabee.

Let me say up front that I do have some qualms about the former Arkansas governor. First, he has limited foreign policy experience, and we are in a post-9/11 world. Second, I am also concerned about his potential big-spending habits.

Having said that, Huckabee also has many strengths: he has more executive experience that any candidate of either party (don't forget that 4 of the last 5 presidents were previously governors), he is strongly pro-life, he supports traditional marriage, he was elected statewide three times in Arkansas, a state which leans Democratic, and yes, he did cut taxes. Added to that, he has a very winsome personality that looks even better when compared to Hillary "I ain't no ways tired" Clinton.

As Neumayr mentioned, the other Republican candidates also have their problems: Rudy Guiliani is still pro-abortion; Mitt Romney was until he decided to run for president, and he passed universal health care (read "socialized medicine") in Massachusetts; Fred Thompson voted for McCain-Feingold; and John McCain, well, we all know about him.

So Mike Huckabee has shortcomings, too? It looks to me like he fits in pretty well with this crowd!

I do share fiscal conservative's concerns about Huckabee. However, my fellow Republicans would do well to recall that Ronald Reagan embraced conservative Christians unapologetically:

* He wrote of abortion as being a major crisis for our nation.
* Under his leadership, a Human Life Amendment was endorsed in the Republican Party platform.
* He nominated Antonin Scalia and Robert Bork to the Supreme Court, both of whom are notorious for decrying the militant secularism of the ACLU, Planned Parenthood and their ilk.
* At a 1984 speech to the National Religious Broadcasters Convention, he said to thunderous applause, "This is a moment I've been looking forward to. I remember with such pleasure the time we spent together last year. Today I feel like I'm doing more than returning for a speech; I feel like I'm coming home."

He loved them, and they loved him.

Reagan also knew, as many fiscal conservatives seem to be forgetting today, that pro-life Christians are an essential part of the Republican Party, comprising nearly 40% of the party base. In short, dissing them by nominating someone who is indifferent to their issues, or even hostile to them, is a recipe for disaster.
-- Greg Hoadley
Deerfield Beach, Florida

Methinks that Mr. Neumayr doth protest over much. First I need to say that I am not a fan of McCain, or Romney, or Huckabee. I voted for Senator Thompson in the primary today. How is it that the same folks that are so upset about Mr. Romney changing his mind on a string of issues, do not want us to be upset about Huckabee doing the same thing. As Governor, Mr. Huckabee was every bit as liberal on the immigration issue as Sen. McCain or George Bush. Now he is trying to get to the right of Ron Paul on the issue. As Governor, he had no particular qualms about raising taxes in Arkansas. Now he wants to be a hero by eliminating the IRS and making everyone pay between 20 and 25 cents per dollar as a federal sales tax. Those on a fixed income ought to love that. Fuel oil in New Hampshire costs well over $3.00 per gallon, so if Huckabee had his way I would pay between 60 and 75 cents per gallon more to keep from freezing. A fill up now costs me over $1100.00, and it takes me 3 fill ups per heating season. You do the math to see how much more I would pay, I never was a math genius.

Letter to the Editor

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Taxes, Foreign Policy, Education, Trade, Health Care, John McCain, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Television, Religion, Abortion, Global Warming, Books, Constitution, Law, Supreme Court, Military, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, NATO, Conservatism, Immigration, Oil, Unions