Religion Matters: Why Mike Huckabee Will Win the GOP Presidential Nominaton

Mitt Romney is a tad silly.

I say this as a person who is not a member of a church and lacks the kind of faith that others proclaim. As do many of us who struggle with the notions of god, I often find myself envying those who are unfalteringly certain about the things they cannot see. I also know that it is nonsense to think religion doesn't matter in politics, and especially in presidential campaigns.

When Romney made his speech about religion in College Station, Texas, he wasn't that far upwind from Mt. Carmel, where the government ran into a false prophet and they both made mistakes that incinerated children and their parents. Faith was at the heart of that tragedy. David Koresh was scrutinized and criticized for what he believed and, ultimately, was judged by our culture to be a whack job. The same process needs to be applied to politics.

Romney's assertion that faith is deeply personal and ought not to be a significant part of the discussion is nonsensical. We would certainly not elect a man or a woman who believed that all of creation was a product of the internet's now famous "flying spaghetti monster." This would be a person of unsound judgment, eh? And whether the former governor of Massachusetts is willing to believe it or not, this is a standard that is being applied to his religion of Mormonism and what he holds to be true about its tenets and its founder, Joseph Smith.

Christians, whether they are evangelical or not, have a difficult time processing the idea that Smith was a prophet and many of them are convinced he was a charlatan. Indeed, in private some will even call him a cultist, which is the title Koresh carried with him into the flames. Even in the 1800s when mythology and folklore were more substantive parts of all cultures, Smith's story of golden tablets and the angel Moroni was incredible to people, including, often, his wife.

As a presidential candidate, Romney cannot confront the fact that a significant number of Christians think his religion is a cult grown more virulent than Koresh's. Nonetheless, it is a fact that many believe that way and are willing to say as much around their Christian friends. Whether the assessment is fair or not seems irrelevant; it is a political fact that is holding back his campaign and far too few of the pundits and analysts and journalists are willing to write or discuss this dynamic.

Romney is not naïve. In his Texas talk, he was only trying to sell the notion that his being a Mormon should not count against him any more than John Kennedy's being a Catholic mattered in his election. Fundamentalists, however, were not convinced. Religion in politics is probably more relevant than it has ever been because we have allowed our leadership to engage us in a religious war under the guise of spreading democracy. If this point is not made yet, consider the chances of election a Muslim-American might have if he were running for president in 2008. When Minnesota voters sent Keith Ellison to Capitol Hill, he became the first Muslim ever elected to Congress and had to endure insipid questions about his patriotism from talk show hosts and alleged reporters. If Ellison were Ronald Reagan reincarnate and had no differences with the iconic conservative other than being a Muslim, he still would not be elected because of his faith.

This is why Mike Huckabee will win the GOP nomination for president. Christian fundamentalists who turned over their church directories to the Bush campaign and walked the streets of America in record numbers to bang on doors are motivated by their fear of a Mormon in the White House. It does not matter how many public records Huckabee destroyed while governor, how many murderers and rapists he paroled under pressure, or whether he thinks AIDS patients need to be quarantined; he believes as Christians believe and they are frightened of Romney's god. Christians, even though they are mostly silent regarding Romney's beliefs, are determined to see that Huckabee wins the nomination.

And you can take that on faith.

Comments

[isis]

The dems should not have any trouble finding a servant hearted leader to beat him because after all, serving, working together and sharing are our strengths.

[Calico369]

Republican Iowa Caucus

Iowa: Huckabee 28% Romney 27%

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Iowa voters have learned a lot about Mike Huckabee and not all of it has been flattering. Favorable opinions of Huckabee have dropped from 81% to 67% over the past week and the Huckabee tide has receded a bit.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Iowa"s Likely Caucus Participants shows that Huckabee and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney are now essentially tied for the lead in the state that will vote first in 2008.

In South Carolina, both Huckabee and Romney now earn 33% of the vote. Earlier in the month, Huckabee had opened up a seven point lead.

Forty-nine percent (49%) of Evangelical Christians now support Hucakbee in Iowa. While still a very high level of support, it"s down from 62% a week ago.

Among other Protestant voters, Huckabee now earns 17% support, down from 33%. Romney attracts a plurality of these Protestant voters with 30% support and McCain earns 18% of their vote.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/iowa/republican_iowa_caucus

[jacknab]

Is the reason the Producers Alliance won't negotiate with the writers in good faith is because they are part of a GOP conspiricy to keep the Daily Show and Real Time with Bill Mahr off the air during the political season so that Huckster, Mitt, or Rudy won't be the target of their insightful wit? These thoughts come late at night when I am sleep and humor deprived.

[CommanderWhitehead]

As a result of our "fabulous" education system, America is a nation that has been inflicted with an epidemic of "arrested intellectual development" ...therefore religion does, in fact matter to many.

Huckabee, however will never survive the close scrutiny that he can expect to encounter, should he win the Republican nomination.

For example, he has actually refused to release transcripts of his sermons over the past few years. Why do you suppose that is the case? Certainly the voting public has every right to read his deepest held thoughts and teachings. They were, after all originally presented in a public forum.
And yet he absolutely refuses to let the rest of America hear his words of wisdom.

He's representing some of the luniest sensibilities of any of the candidates, and the Republican "kingmakers" and power brokers know he is essentially damaged goods coming out of the gate. The "religious right-wing zealots" have actually been largely duped by the Republican decision makers.

Instead, they have in my opinion, begun to bolster the prospects of John McCain. Kissinger and Lieberman have both endorsed him, and as nutty and inconsistent as his record shows that he is, he is still a safer bet than Huckabee. (The problematic campaigns of Romney and Guiliani will soon be "dead-in -the water.)

McCain will get the nomination, and if Israel decides to "Bomb-Bomb-bomb... bomb-bomb-Iran", and things get even "dicier" for American warships as well as ground troops in the region, with the help and prodding of our corporate media our so-called 'war-weary" populace may once again rally behind the US war machine, not unlike the way it did back in 2003. McCain will be "the man", as it were.

Apart from "religion" Americans also love a good sporting event and "war" is always a favorite...until it becomes clear that we can't win (or if the draft were to be reinstated as a result of a Bush concocted national emergency).

All we can hope for is a total re-design of those tacky ribbon car-magnets.

[Stevelagain]

If faith must be examined and discussed and dissected, Then why aren't you talking about Hillary's Religion? Why aren't you talking about Obama's religion? Why aren't you talking about Edwards Religion?

Lets get real. To you, faith is only a smear tool if it's a Republicans faith and something to be tolerated and ignored if it's a democrat.

Who do you think you are fooling?

[Silknspark]

Rextrek,
Thank you for updating me.
I wasn't aware equal protection wasn't applicable in all states. What a grieveous, unacceptable situation.
But then - I should of remembered states where lawlessness and corruption boldly strut.
Take Louisiana for example. Please.

[Jazzylady26]

As for his political skills? He has none and he seems to have made no effort to get any, so I truly don't see how you can think this man can deal with the issues in the world arena, much less here in America. His skills as a man of religion have already shown him to be lacking as a human being, and one with any sort of skills to handle other humans, so how can he possibly make any sort of politician, especially a great one? So you see James, religion does matter, and while I am no evangelical, I am praying mightily that neither one of these men wins the presidency, for the reasons I've explained and so many more.

[slaughterhouse]

Compromise sows life to politics but reaps religion's death. This is why religion has no part in politics. There is no compromise in religion.

[enveg01]

Thank you for this piece. It's truly frightening! But I have to say I put blame on the media for this hyper religiosity. I don't know how many people in this country are true right-winging, gay hating, evolution-denying, Bush-loving, "Christians" but I do know that the media loves to give them a BIG voice. So much so that it's been said the right lunatic fringe is now considered the lunatic mainstream.

A great example of this occurred during the Republican debate when the candidates were asked to discuss their views on evolution. Is this really a relevant question in the year 2007 AND who is this question being asked for anyway??

If we're going to give people like Focus On The Family a voice on CNN and MSNBC perhaps we should also hear from The Communist Party -- but that would never happen.

To demonize Romney for his Mormonism is no better than to bash Huckabee for his Baptism. It used to be that presidents would have to put their hand on the Bible and swear allegiance to The Constitution, these days it's more like they punch their hand through The Constitution and swear allegiance to The Bible.

[Jazzylady26]

Religion does matter, it matters greatly to me. I am a deeply religious, believing Christian, in God and in his son, Jesus. Without my faith I would not have made it this far, would not have survived for this long. I don't stuff my religion down anyone's throat, and believe me, I am as deep a student as I should be. That being said, I do fervently believe that Mitt Romney is not a Christian, and neither is any Mormon. That weird cult crap they believe in has nothing to do with the living God, nor does it have anything to do with his son, Jesus. It is all a crock or crap invented by an extremely racist man, and one who wanted to have as many wives as he could; Joseph Smith. Any one who believes in this so called religion is blasphemer against all that God gave us through his son, Jesus Christ, in the new testament. As a Christian, if you believe anything else, it is dead wrong. You do not need special drawers to be closer to God or Jesus; God does not reside on the planet Kolob, and black people are not necessarily demons or followers of Satan. These things were not given to us in the bible, but this was;

9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

If Mitt Romney does not believe in this, then he is a blasphemer and bound for hell.

[BoulderSue]

I think Huckabee belongs back in his pulpit. Hillary accuses Barack of lack of experience, but Huckabee didn't know about the Iran NIE until 41 hours+ after it was released. Big concern! What kind of advisers does he have, anyway? My only consolation, if Huckabee is nominated and elected, is that he seems to be more of a genuine"Compassionate Conservative" than the one we've got now. As with all Christians, he has flaws (isolating AIDSapatients when Jesus actually touched lepers, a disease then thought to be highly contagious and was incurable?), and I sure am not plannining to support him in any way, but he seems like the real deal. But as I said, he belongs in a pulpit, not the White House. This religious argument makes me really nervous when it comes to Presidential politics. P.S. For the 8% of you out there who think Obama is a Muslim, he's not. And if you really knew the Constitution, and if he were Muslim but did not let it get in the way of running the country (See Jack Kennedy) why would you care?

[yellowdogdemocratic]

Both Romney and Huckabee clearly have made religion a big part of their campaigns, probably in order to capture the vote of the religous right. To turn around and then say that inquiries about their religion is an invasion of their privacy is hypocritical. If religion is going to be a major player in their decision making as president, the people of this country have every right to know how their religion will affect their judgement. You can bet that if a candidate openly declared that he/she is an atheist, the religious right, including Romney and Huckabee, would use that information to discount that person's judgement to the nth degree. You can't use religion to win over one group while telling the other groups that it is none of their business.

[Dap]

Dear Mr. Moore,

Eloquently expressed, as is usual for your essays/posts. Happy Holidays to You and Yours. Agape.

[dragonfly142]

Religion; my aunt fanny..I have been watching the news and the one thing that all reporters on all stations haven't reported on; was what was said by Huckabee during his last debate...and shortly after that comment Huckabee's numbers soared....and that comment was getting rid of the IRS. That is why most people rallied around him...it's not the religion stuff' or how jovial he is.....most people would love to see the IRS GONE!..strangely enough not one TV news station reported or picked up the obvious!

[desertdweller]

One thing is for certain. If Huckabee gets the nomination, there will be no shortage of people willing to use the word "godly" as their favorite adjective in describing him. Where have we heard that before? Reference to G-Dub as "godly" during the 2000 presidential campaign was enough to put the manufacturers of Ipecac out of business. No person on this Earth is "godly." Heck, I don't even know if there is a god, or if he/she/it is "godly." The proof is in the pudding, and as far as G-Dub "presumed godliness is concerned, I suppose there is no accounting for taste. But mark my words, if the Huckster gets the nod, you will be hearing the "G-word."