Hardcore Huckabee
The fact that John McCain's picture is suddenly plastered all over the place next to photos of a pretty lobbyist sure isn't going to help him with the people he needs most, the hardcore Huckabee fans.
They've suspected McCain of compromising positions all along. They already describe him as a liberal.
And the only thing these folks are liberal about is being conservative.
In fact, the thousand or so who came to hear Mike Huckabee in North Texas Wednesday night believe there is no such thing as being too conservative.
When a speaker describes a local politician as rigid, strict and unbending, they roar with approval. They cheer wildly at a checklist of things they're against. Every time someone on stage mentions abortion, it nearly sparks a riot.
Their obsession with issues of personal morality is what prompted them to leave their homes in the well-off, conservative suburb of Plano and drive to this stuffy college conference center. They came to commune with a man they believe has little chance of winning the nomination and even less chance of becoming president.
They're here simply because Mike Huckabee has been representing them in this primary race. Right now, no one else on the national stage reflects their feelings or their fervor the way he does.
John McCain may be a war hero, but he has never been a soldier in the war these people are waging.
These voters are the direct descendants of Barry Goldwater and the disciples of James Dobson. They home school. They use the word "smite" in casual conversation. They are fired up and ready to go... to heaven.
It's tempting to mock some of these Texans, who look and sound like they came from conservative central casting.
A large man in a bull-riding shirt and a massive cowboy hat tells me gruffly, "We're pro gun. And not necessarily for hunting."
A woman with big hair and a rhinestone-riddled jacket confides one of her greatest fears: the U.S. is "becoming more and more like Denmark." She goes on to say that she is "not happy with Bush even though I worked hard for him. He's acting like a Democrat."
Another man tells me through clenched teeth that he is going to vote for Huckabee, but he wishes the former Arkansas governor were "tougher on immigration."
Not illegal immigration, mind you. Immigration.
Not far away, a sweet woman introduces herself as the head of "Hispanics for Huckabee." That's gonna be a tough sell here. These people are less likely to speak Spanish than they are to speak in tongues.
In a holding room next door, Mike Huckabee sits in a pool of light, doing a round robin of interviews with local TV and talk radio. He is gracious and quick with a quip and sounds as if he is ready to make his last stand in the Alamo state. He tells a reporter, "This is about the voices in this party who haven't been heard."
Behind a wall, the men's quartet that will sing the National Anthem tonight is warming up, creating an odd effect when Huckabee talks. His words, spoken with a preacher's uncanny cadence and set to this patriotic music, sound like a polished campaign commercial.
Oh, say does that star-spangled...
"Texas is the second largest state in this country, the largest Republican state in this country. We can win here," he says, with a pause that is perfectly timed for the music.
O'er the land of the...
"If that happens," he continues, "we will have a very different debate on March 5th."
...and the home of the brave!
Huckabee feels at home in Texas and he may well win the state. Republicans here have a habit of turning on presidential front-runners that seem too moderate.
Gerald Ford learned that the hard way in 1976, when Ronald Reagan trounced him in Texas.
The man introducing Huckabee recalls that Reagan victory and reminds the crowd of what it meant to conservatives.
"Today," the man with the mike says, "some are saying that conservatives in Texas should collapse."
The crowd boos.
He shouts triumphantly, "Well, this isn't the Socialist Party. This is the Republican Party!"
The crowd cheers.
"We're not Massachusetts or Wisconsin. The battle is now in Texas... We fight for what we believe in!!"
That triggers screaming and war whoops, sign waving and stomping.
"Are you ready to meet the guy who's gonna shock the world when he wins Texas?"
They begin their chant. "We like Mike. We like Mike. We like Mike."
Standing in this room, listening to the chanting and looking at the crowd, it's easy to feel as though I've accidentally stepped into the way-back machine, back to "We Like Ike."
But then, inside this room, it is the 1950s.
The crowd is virtually all white and everyone seems to know each other from church. They believe in faith, traditional families and freedom - the limits of which they will determine, of course.
Here, homosexuals don't exist, abortion is illegal and ours is strictly a Christian country.
Their beliefs, their message and their movement may seem dated to some. But for decades now, the people in this room -- and millions like them -- are the Americans who have determined the outcome of presidential elections.
Dis' them if you like.
Dismiss them at your peril.
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McCain's ties to lobbyists PROVE he's a true conservative. The fact that he pushed for legislations that would benifit those lobbyists clients only cements that conclusion. And an affair with a much younger woman who is a lobbyists should put him into the conservative and Republican hall of fame. Wear the charges with honor, John, you are just the latest in a long line of corrupt and criminal politicians who were elected BECAUSE of their corruption and not despite it.
Schmuckabee says "This is about the voices in this party who haven't been heard." ? If that ain;t horse poop, I don't know what is. Their voice - the voice of ignorance - has certainly been heard. Repeatedly. Now, if they ever want the rest of the nation to act as if they have some sense, they'll need to learn a bit of science and logic - or shut the f*ck up.
They're certainly not Goldwater Republicans. Goldwater may have been an arch-conservative, but he had the ability to think and reason, and he used those abilities. The evangelical crowd has neither of those abilities, and they feel that using your brain means you're a liberal AND you're going to hell.
They're ignorant not only of science, but of history. Nowhere in the US Constitution (or Declaration of Independence) does it say that this country is a christian nation. The US wasn't designed to be christian, either - in fact, as noted in 1st Amendment, it's designed not to be christian or any other specific religion. However, the same evangelicals who claim they're such patriots have never bothered to read the Constitution. Sometimes I wonder if they even know how to read, or if they're even closer to sheep following a leader that I thought. You can almost hear them chanting "2 legs good, 4 legs bad."
As for home schooling by christians - I get a lot of those home "schooled" folks in my adult education class. I teach reading and the most basic math - add, subtract, multiply, divide. It's truly amazing how many home "schooled" people can't even add. There's a reason why we call "christian home schooling" by the term "christian no schooling." These are the people who will go out and vote for Schmuckabee, assuming that they've had someone read the ballot to them (no joke!).
Sure, they make a lot of noise, and that does impact elections somewhat. However, I really hope that eventually the mainstream of America will notice that these yahoos really are laughingstocks.
Barry Goldwater was Jewish, so a Christian theocracy was obviously not on his mind except that he was as frightened of these people as we are.
Um...no. Barry Goldwater's father was Jewish, but he converted to the Episcopal Church. Barry Goldwater himself was an Episcopalian.
The hardcore Huckabee fans are troubled individuals who have little chance of solving the country's "problems". Their tax problem answer is the flat tax, which everyone knows is a boon to the wealthy, an anchor to the poor, and an albatross to the middle class. All the answers to their other problems is God. Yeah, lets vote for this nut. Not!
Huckabee is a bigot. His supporters are bigots. The single book they believe in (no, not the Constitution) is bigoted.
If this becomes a Christian nation, say goodbye to freedom.
Secular society protects the individual's right to believe and to not believe. Theocracy takes away that right.
It is more than obvious, that many of this country, that went to public school, like I did, have not out grown it. Anyone that honestly looks at his or her life can see need for improvement. But what are you going to measure your life against, as success? Like Mike Huckabee may have, I have found almost all eastern and western religions very shallow. True Christianity is not, if it was, your school teachers would have required, at some time in your school career, you read the Bible, to debunk it and it's central thrust. They do not because those who have read it keep on finding it is truth. It is truth about life, and living more full and joyfully. Truth about an extremely large number of historic facts, archeology keeps on finding more every day. It is literature that most western great writers have borrowed from for both story, plot and turn of phrase. If you do not believe me, read it yourself and prove me wrong, please. Form a valid argument on your own, instead of robotically repeating what your secular humanism religion teachers have you taking on blind faith.
God is not about religion He is about relationship with those who know and trust Him. So get over the religion dagger already.
Mike Huckabee and his believing will not hinder his governing. His state was in so many ways better for his having governed it. Even the unbelieving appreciated his administration. Not one of the other candidates can claim anything similar.
Anyone who has their own mind should think twice about being lead around by news commentators who's majority stockholders are in the Middle east (that's most of them). Since when is USA about a few States picking who our party nominee is. Momentum does not always make good decisions, ask anyone who has driven on ice. If you want to pick your candidate by your race or gender alone, you are a bigot. I might trust you to pick out ice cream, it just seems a lot more likely to end well, more often than not, especially if you are eating it with me, and if it gives us a belly ache it usually doesn’t last four years.
Now this last part is for Christians, so the rest of you can ignore it.
"If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:13 NASB)
He asks those called by His name to pray for healing, please do so, our country sure needs it.
I think you're wrong. I think, if anything, it'll help him.
The hardcore Huckabee crowd wasn't going to support McCain anyway, so nothing lost.
But this is the evil NYT attacking - that liberal bastion (all evidence to the contrary). So he may pick up sympathy votes.
We Ron Paul supporters don't care for John McCain, either.
Huck-a-doodle-doo! Now we know why he's been hanging in. He's hoping McCain is vilified out of the race.
The fact that John McCain's picture is suddenly plastered all over the place next to photos of a pretty lobbyist sure isn't going to help him with the people he needs most, the hardcore Huckabee fans.
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No, but choosing Huckabee as his running mate will.
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