He was America's first born again president. He was deacon of a Baptist church that -- during his bid for presidency -- he had to sever his membership with because they would not allow blacks to become members.
Shades of Huckabee.
Shades of Romney.
But I'm talking about Jimmy Carter who was then, as he remains now, a hero of the liberal fringe. The far left has no problem with Carter's faith, and never feared that he would be more of a theologian than politician.
And yet...
Huckabee runs a Christmas-themed ad. The liberals see a floating cross, and believe that alone make the man unfit to be president. Instead, I think that makes some on the far left too paranoid to trust with a vote.
The floating cross as subliminal imagery of Christ? How about that huge Christ - mas(s) tree sitting over Hukabee's shoulder as actual imagery of Christ? You know, just like the tree that sits at the White House in Washington where all the government offices are shut down on Dec. 25 -- the day we celebrate as the birth of baby Jesus.
And yet, despite the fact the majority of us acknowledge Christmas in some way, in typically liberal fashion the fringe uses the censorship of political correctness to turn "Merry Christmas" in a verboten phrase.
What's particularly galling is the left's selective prosecution of religiosity. There is, as first mentioned, Jimmy Carter and his faith which causes no liberal ripples. And few liberals batted an eye when Barack Obama launched his Embrace the Change tour with black ministers -- despite the fact one was (and still is) a homophobe. When Harold Ford Jr. ran a political ad filmed in a church there wasn't a word of derision spoken from the left as they knew such an ad would pull votes for Mr. Ford in Tennessee. And during their presidential runs no one on the left accused the reverends Jackson or Sharpton of being too tied to the cloth.
As a cohost of MSNBC's Morning Joe I've had the opportunity to talk to Governor Huckabee on a couple of occasions. He's no zealot. I don't agree with Huckabee on every issue. But, then, I don't agree with any candidate on every issue. Huckabee does agree that Jimi Hendrix was probably the greatest guitarist ever which is not a reason to vote for him, but certainly a reason to at least give a listen to what he has to say. And during his tenure as Governor Huckabee didn't exactly turn Arkansas into a theocracy.
If I could give the Governor one tip to quiet his critics, it would be to run an ad somewhere acknowledging the start of Kwanzaa on Dec. 26th.
By the way, how many of you liberals even knew on what day Kwanzaa began?
If the far left were smart, instead of continuing to make religion a wedge issue, they would -- as Obama has smartly tried to do -- take religion off the table by displaying their faith. The majority of this quadrennial's Republican candidates have already proven what an empty phrase "family values" is. By taking away religion, it leaves the Republicans the battlefield of the economy, Iraq and foreign policy on which to fight for the presidency.
And that's a field on which the Democrats could certainly win.
I understand that you went Fi-Core-- I think those of us who are standing with the union (and, more, with our union brothers and sisters) to ensure fairer compensation for our work in the future, deserve to hear from you about your decision.
Best,
Blair Singer
WGA Member
way to support your fellow writers, john.
http://www.politicalgroove.com/showthread.php?t=2531
We don't need to start a wave of persecution by fanatical bible thumping religious zealots. The Middle East is engulfed in religion inspired violence. We don't need that here. We need freedom from religion now more than ever.
I can see others have commented on the phoniness of the "war on Christmas" rightwing meme.
On the "floating cross" in Huckabee's ad, it seems to me that it was the press rather than "liberals" who wrote about it. What liberals (with any name recognition beyond their immediate families) have criticized it? Maybe there were some. Personally, I don't mind if Republicans give their campaign ads specifically Christian religious themes, as the Huck did with that one in talking about the birth of Christ. If the Reps aren't worried about appealing to Jews and nonbelievers and those of other non-Christian faiths, that's fine with me. The Democrats certainly want their votes.
But more specifically, is there any factual basis at all for Ridley's assertion, "The liberals see a floating cross, and believe that alone make the man unfit to be president"? Has any "liberal" actually said that the supposed "floating cross" makes the Huck "unfit to be president"? I know in the brave new world of yahoo postmodernism, that facts are like, so, last century and all. But still, is there any factual basis at all for that assertion?
It's also a good sign of the level on which Serious Pundits operate these days that Ridley writes, "Huckabee does agree that Jimi Hendrix was probably the greatest guitarist ever which is not a reason to vote for him, but certainly a reason to at least give a listen to what he has to say."
Huckabee *likes Jimi Hendrix music*, so he might have some good ideas on the Iraq War! Huckabee *likes Jimi Hendrix music*, so his crackpot tax proposals might have some merit!
Deep, dude, deep. I'm just glad you're not one of those shallow-minded hypocritical liberals you apparently encounter ... somewhere or other.
It's the nefarious and cynical way that the right wing USES religion to try to influence the electorate.
It's anything but holy and that's the irony
Thats enough to make us scared. Especially liberals who think religion should be kept out of our government.
I just wish there were less attention paid to him during elections. Keep him in your hearts and homes, people.
You mention that Huckabee hasn't turned Arkansas into a theocracy. Their infusion of religion into political life is more insidious than that. Huckabee supports a marriage amendment which is founded on his religious principles. Millions would be subject to second class citizenship based on his religious beliefs. Jesse Jackson, Carter and those on the Left would never do that.
To not see the difference is astounding.
And this comment here:
"And few liberals batted an eye when Barack Obama launched his Embrace the Change tour with black ministers"
overlooks the fact that Obama lost the gay vote due to his endorsing of the anti-gay movement as a legitimate movement to reach out to. And while Rove motivated 4 million Christians to win the election, there are a lot more than 4 million gay people, we're just more disorganized. But the far, vast majority of us will no longer consider Obama a candidate.
Obama lost his chance with that step, he just hasn't realized it yet.
Just wondering.
The rest of your observations about The Left are either overwrought hype or satire.
There was nothing subliminal about Huck's Christmas message. I would expect no more, and no less, from a Baptist or Fundamentalist minister running for President and campaigning for a Primary victory in "the conservative party" in a "heartland" state.
Why you think the rest of us should turn the other cheek is perplexing. America has had no dearth of recent Presidents who claimed a close or personal relationship with the Lord. Divine inspiration is one thing; governing as if endowed by "divine right" is quite another.
There was plenty of flaq against Harold Ford from the left when he ran in Tennessee. I lived there and every time he appeared on TV it seemed he evoked his religion in one way or another and this from the man who was against gay marriage and did everything he could to sleeze his way out of supporting abortion rights. A lot of gays there didn't even vote; I wrote my mom's name in. Some of us do have a conscience. I'm glad Ford lost. We don't need dems like him because with him we get the same-old same-old.