Feeds: 
symbol identifies content for paid subscribers only.
HUCKAVEEP?
Although most observers viewed Mike Huckabee as John McCain's errand boy in siphoning evangelical votes away from Mitt Romney, Huckabee emerged from Super Tuesday as McCain's foremost prospect for a running mate.
While Huckabee is still behind both McCain and Romney in the delegate count, he came out looking more viable than Romney because of his victories in Republican strongholds like Georgia and Alabama, in Tennessee and his home state of Arkansas, all essential states for a Republican to win in November. Although the Huckabee campaign's signs of life are limited to the Bible Belt, that is exactly where McCain would need a boost from Huckabee's networks of fervent believers, especially in states like Missouri, where McCain eked out a victory, but where the Democratic turnout outpaced the Republicans'. Other upcoming primary states where Huckabee could show well -- particularly if Romney drops out -- include Louisiana, Kansas, Texas, and Kentucky.
Huckabee was hardly the hands-down favorite among evangelical voters, who split their votes between the three Republican candidates. As I discussed last week, though, and as even more new polling shows, the Republicans can no longer claim a monopoly on evangelical voters, but it's hard to measure the true breadth of the Democratic evangelical vote because the exit pollsters still aren't asking Democrats if they're evangelical. While McCain has been drawing part of the evangelical vote, he would still need the hardcore of the conservative Republican evangelicals who are responsive to the movement's get-out-the-vote machinery and pastors' networks to compete in November. Huckabee, who compared himself to David slaying the mighty Goliath in a speech to supporters last night in Little Rock, demonstrated the resiliency of that machinery by pulling out victories in spite of Romney's financial dominance and McCain's post-Florida ascendancy to front-runner status.
It will be interesting to watch and see, in the coming weeks, whether the religious right leaders start to coalesce around Huckabee, something many of them have resisted for months, in order to put pressure on McCain, who many of them still view with suspicion. Surely any rallying around McCain would be accompanied by pressure on him to pledge fealty to their core issues, especially a federal gay marriage amendment and judicial nominations. If McCain makes amends with the old guard -- people like James Dobson and the Southern Baptist Convention's Richard Land -- and they also see Huckabee as a viable running mate, McCain could draw together different strands of the Republican-leaning evangelical vote. In my mind, they fall into three categories: moderate to conservative evangelicals who don't wait for marching orders from Dobson et al.; biblical conservatives moved by Huckabee's expressed commitment to the Christian nation mythology; and the "new kind" of evangelical I discussed last week, who share many of the movement's core beliefs, but reject its vitriolic rhetoric. Although the "new evangelical" is still a bit of an enigma -- how can Huckabee, for example, cavort with Tim LaHaye and John Hagee but still claim to reject that vitriol -- Huckabee has crossover appeal among all those groups.
Read more in this week's FundamentaList.
--Sarah Posner
COMMENTS (10)
The Republicans don’t have a perfect candidate for the conservative base. Romney is sort of conservative right now but, aside from being a Mormon, was fairly liberal just a few years ago.
However, it seems that a number of the Republicans running were exactly what the conservative base should have liked.
Giuliani – liberal on social issues
Romney – used to be liberal on many issues
Huckabee – was too much of a good Christian to be considered ‘conservative’ on issues of compassion like treating children of illegal aliens as God’s children
McCain – worked with Democrats on too many issues and thinks we should follow the law and not torture people
Paul – too libertarian for the base and ‘wrong’ on Iraq
Thompson, Fred – seemed to fit the bill except Nixon thought he was stupid and might have been a little to moderate.
Gingrich – the nomination could have been his but he decided making money was more important than winning the nomination and losing the general election
Hunter – Why isn’t he a perfect candidate? Where does he disagree with the base?
Frist – Why isn’t he a perfect candidate? Where does he disagree with the base?
Gilmore – Why isn’t he a perfect candidate? Where does he disagree with the base?
Brownback – Why isn’t he a perfect candidate? Where does he disagree with the base?
Trancredo – Why isn’t he a perfect candidate? Where does he disagree with the base? OK, the man is a lunatic but he still fits the mold, doesn’t he?
Thompson, Tommy – Why isn’t he a perfect candidate? Where does he disagree with the base?
At least 6 and maybe 8 people either were actually running or giving serious consideration to running who were better candidates for the conservative base than Romney.
Why did it take until January of 2008 for the base to wake up and realize they didn’t like any of the candidates who were still running? Why did the conservative base rally around Romney when they had, past tense, so many better candidates to choose from?
Posted by: neil wilson | February 6, 2008 12:42 PM
I see Huckabee as a big drag on McCain's ticket. Huckabee is attractive to evangelicals -- but virtually nobody else. And I think McCain supporters -- moderates and independents -- are especially suspicious of someone like Huckabee and may even vote democrat if Huckabee is the VP choice. Huckabee as president is especially scary given McCain's age.
Posted by: JD | February 6, 2008 12:46 PM
"It will be interesting to watch and see, in the coming weeks, whether the religious right leaders start to coalesce around Huckabee"
They are not going to rally around Huckabee. They are going to rally around wherever the money is going to come from. They already know that's what they have to do, and religious right voters will get "put back in their rightful place," voting anti-democrat. And that is exactly where people like Dobson et al want the riff raff, not getting all uppity and running their own agenda.
Posted by: Anonymous | February 6, 2008 12:58 PM
McCain-Huckabee is one scary ticket. McCain wants more wars and is old and busted. Huckabee takes Bush's charming combination of cluelessness and batshit insanity to a whole 'nother level. It ought to be a very beatable ticket, but after 2004 I have a hard time placing much faith in my fellow Americans' ability to do the right thing.
How's the job market in New Zealand?
Posted by: Not Prince Hamlet | February 6, 2008 2:12 PM
Would picking Huckabee risk a Mormon backlash in the mountain states? If anyone is identified as the anti-Mormon candidate, it's Huckabee.
Posted by: William Burns | February 6, 2008 2:54 PM
McCain picking Huckabee would be the ultimate middle finger at Rush, Sean, National Review and whole GOP noise machine. They hate him even more than they hate McCain. I'd imagine he would flirt with the idea, but I think he would have to pick someone more acceptable to the GOP establishment.
Posted by: AMH | February 6, 2008 3:44 PM
I think Huckabee will make a very good presidential candidate than anyone in the field. He was branded by the media and liberals as bigot. but he has the most executive experience among all the candidates.
If John McCain is the nominee, if he choses Huckabee, it will be a boost to Mac and then only he has a chance to win the election. without the south, Mac is going to be knocked out by even Edwards, forget about Hillary or Obama.
I was just wondering, if Romney and Huck jon forces then It will be the Biggest turnaround in american history. Huck-Mitt ticket sounds strange, but it will work for the country as both bring broad areas of expertise from their backgrounds.
Posted by: GsonJagnath | February 7, 2008 12:20 PM
Huckabee is a COMMON religious bigot. COMMON being the important word. He is the lowest type of American the religious facist that wants to impose his religious beliefs on others - even locking them in jail if they do not submit to his god's word.
McCain's praise of him best just be a political ploy - Huckabee is a campaign killer to anyone but bigots.
Religious White Trash Quotes from Huckabee:
"It is now difficult to keep track of the vast array of publicly endorsed and institutionally supported aberrations--from homosexuality and pedophilia to sadomasochism and necrophilia."
and this:
"I feel homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural and sinful lifestyle. That's millions of Americans."
and...
"Lawrence v. Texas is an extreme example of judicial activism. It could, in fact, be inappropriately used to attack our marriage laws nationwide."
Posted by: rjp3 | February 7, 2008 12:23 PM
The Huckster may well be a "common religious bigot" but by the standards of "rjp3" (beep-beep), so is the Dali Lama, JFK, ML King, Gandhi, et al.
And "rjp3" (suck-suck), you're quite the example of white or brown or black or yellow trash yourself.
Posted by: wtf4 | February 8, 2008 3:44 AM
This "religious conservative" does not take marching orders from Dobson (or anyone else). I am a government employee with graduate degrees, a single white woman, born and raised in Florida, became a Christian at age 7 and have been members of Baptist and (independent) Christian churches as I've moved. I have been a registered Republican since age 18 (17 actually - I pre-registered), but I am not captive to the official Republican party platform. (To cite one example, I absolutely believe in the right to bear arms, but I don't believe you should be able to pick one up with the laundry detergent at Walmart -- a licensing process, just like for driving a car [!] should be required.) I am ardently pro-life, but I would prefer the issue be resolved through legislation, not judges who suddenly find new "rights" in the Constitution that no one ever noticed before. Do I fit any particular profile? I don't know. I don't care.
I was interested in McCain, Thompson, and Huckabee, and had not made up my mind about Thompson before he dropped out. I am still wrestling with McCain and Huckabee, with the pros and cons I see in each of them. In the end I finally decided my vote would go for Huckabee in the Potomac Primary, but I will be happy to vote for either in the general election. And I think a McCain-Huckabee ticket would be pretty swell.
Posted by: Jennifer | February 9, 2008 10:50 AM