The American Spectator

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Huckabee the Rock Star

By Philip Klein on 10.20.07 @ 11:56AM

To say that Huckabee knocked it out of the ballpark here at the Values Voter Summit would be to understate his performance. Early in the speech, he set the stage by saying that he was here "as one who comes not to you, but one who comes from you." He talked about his backround as a Baptist minister, and then plunged into a number of issues in a speech litered with biblical references and folksy humor.

You know he owned this crowd, because he received multiple standing ovations, and it wasn't just on social issues. From tax policy to immigration, from energy independence to fighting Islamofascism, he had this crowd on its feet. Throughout his speech, almost as if he were giving a sermon, the crowd nodded and spoke out "yeah."

He also took aim both at Romney and Giuliani.

"It’s important that people sing from their hearts and don’t merely lip-sych the lyrics to our songs," he said. He added that, "It’s important that a person doesn’t have more positions on issues than Elvis had waist sizes."

He said that certain issues--such as life and marriage--should be considered non-negotiable.

"Let us never sacrifice our principles for anybody's politics," he said. "Not now, not ever."

He made biblical references to David and Golaith and Jesus feeding the masses to demonstrate the limitless potential of God, and essentially pitting himself as an underdog. His pitch was that if conservatives should be true to their principles by supporting him rather than give in to "expedience and electability" arguments.

"For me, I do not spell G-O-D, G-O-P," he said. "Our principles are more important than any party."

topics:
Islam, Fascism, Immigration, Energy