A prominent social conservative in
The Huckabee campaign blog has posted this link in response. Former Arkansas journalist Lucas Roebuck writes about the vicious and misleading attacks on Governor Mike Huckabee's record.
Click here to read the story.
I questioned Sam Brownback’s commitment to life for remaining and dividing the clear and consistent pro-life contingent. Even if you grant Huckabee’s fiscal conservative heterodoxy, which I don’t (It’s called “conservatism” not myopic avarice), If Eagle Forum is going to oppose Huckabee, I might be tempted to question their priorities as well. Maybe they should rethink their opposition to terrorism and join Ron Paul or The Constitution Party?...I didn’t think so.
This is how I responded to the message:
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Thank you… The progress hasn’t been rocket-like. But it’s been relentless. The pace is picking up in the past few weeks and days. If it continues without incident, I think things look very good. But, I think there will be a big incident. Romney will attack Huckabee, fiercely. In fact, Romney, Giuliani, and Thompson should cooperate (I don’t think McCain would want to be seen as part of that).
You recall that I met you at a Constitution Party state convention in 2000. I left the CP by ’94, though I still voted for their presidential candidate. I think most of them are very good people, but there are now some pretty stark differences in objective, outlook, and approach. I’m pretty certain that they wouldn’t think much of Huckabee. I probably would have been tepid about him myself, a few years ago.
I actually have some differences from him, in the way I would approach and explain a few issues. But even if I had a platform, I couldn’t win any significant fraction of the vote. I usually agree with Huckabee. But, the MOST important thing is his positive Christian spirit, which I think
Obviously, the support of your organization would be a great help. I imagine that if we prevail, you will be there. I know Phyllis Schlafly is still holding her tongue on the presidential contest, and obviously much of that is because the so-called “leading” candidates present more than a little odium. I would guess that she’s waiting on what ultimately washes out between Thompson and Huckabee.
Unless Thompson has some tricks up his sleeve that he’s shown no evidence of, I don’t think he can make it. And of course, his record is fairly spotty, too, which I find to be no surprise because I think he has at best, sentiment inclinations and no lucid philosophy. He clearly wasn’t repulsed enough to turn down political advocacy for a pro-abortion group when they flashed a check. He may have progressed since then, but his advocacy of McCain-Feingold told me that he had no constitutional perspective and touchstone.
Perhaps, there is concern among the Eagle Forum crowd about Huckabee’s language relative to immigration and spending. I assure you; Huckabee is straightforward and clear about the importance of securing and regulating the border and opposes an amnesty that does not penalize lawbreaking. However, he is always careful to specify that he doesn’t oppose people who want to come here to work, but rather our government that has made a hash of immigration regulation. In Arkansas, Huckabee declined to restrict the CHILDREN of illegal immigrants who had passed through the school system from applying for college scholarships, saying that it’s one thing to punish a law-breaker, but another to penalize their children who had done all of the necessary work.
And, on fiscal questions, of course you know that I am conservative, to say the least, about government activism. But, I would refer you to http://SaveTalkRadio.com ‘s posting of Huckabee is a Fiscal Conservative and yesterday’s posting by three bloggers: Justin Taylor (Between Two Worlds), Joe Carter (Evangelical Outpost) and Matthew Anderson (Mere Orthodoxy) jointly endorsed Governor Huckabee. Read their endorsement here.
With respect to the SCHIP program, what Huckabee said was that he wasn’t certain that it would play well, politically. I wouldn’t have said that. But again, he's a politician and I’m not. It seems like he’s leaving open the question of whether this expansion could cost us next year’s election, and would it be worth it? In that case, more and worse would certainly be passed, next year.
And Huckabee never confronts the anthropocentric global warming (which frankly, I think is hogwash) issue head on. Instead, he diverts the discussion to stewardship of God’s creation, which he also ties to advancing toward energy independence, which I think are both worthy objectives. Is the Independent going to support this guy who is positive about the integrity of the environment and reducing largely foreign-based fossil fuel dependence or the “hogwash” guy?
Huckabee is also unequivocal and forceful about the atrocity and unconstitutionality of The Law Of The Sea Treaty and any subversion of American sovereignty.
I’m just listening to Hugh Hewitt with Fred Barnes and Morton Kondracke, all of them saying that Huckabee (the fiscal “moderate” nonsense), Thompson (not making anything happen) and McCain (no money) can’t make it, and it’s a two man race between Romney and Giuliani. I’ll leave that in God’s hands. But Hewitt and Barnes are satisfied to ask social conservatives, the largest single interest group in the country, to hold their noses and trudge out to vote for a Republican nominee who not only doesn’t excite, but repels them.
