The American Spectator

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(Page 6 of 16)

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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:

p>* He wrote of abortion as being a major crisis for our nation. br> * Under his leadership, a Human Life Amendment was endorsed in the Republican Party platform. br> * 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. br> * 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." /p>

He loved them, and they loved him.

p>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. br> --

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