Great read by Tony Blankley…
One prominent conservative commentator last week, whose writing and judgment I usually admire, warned us that Huckabee was yet another in a long line of “Southern Poor-boy Populist Demagogue(s).
“Think Huey Long or George Wallace, James K. Vardaman or ‘Pitchfork’ Ben Tillman, to name the most salient examples of this genus. … Even so canny a politician as Franklin Roosevelt feared Huey Long, for Long’s motivational skills among a huge segment of the Roosevelt Coalition.”
Forgive me, but while I never met Huey Long, I have met, sat down, broken bread and talked with Mike Huckabee. He is no more like Huey Long than our pet kitten “Tiger” is like his jungle beast namesake. Huey Long’s use of his state police to bully Louisiana politicians and businesses (as well as his vicious demagogic rhetoric) earned him the dubious place he has in our history. As far as I can tell, Huckabee’s worst sins are refusing to sign Grover Norquist’s no-tax pledge and expressing in word and policy some limited sympathy for the working poor of Arkansas.
While I support Norquist’s pledge and hold a hard-line position on illegals, it is absurd to consign Huckabee to some ideologically dangerous, nondemocratic, political zombie graveyard. Free-market, low-tax conservatives may point with alarm at Huckabee’s policies if they wish. But what is it in the conservative drinking water recently that gives rise to such bilious language and such excluding ways of thinking?
It would behoove those of us who have been conservative Washington voices for some decades now to exercise a little modesty and humility when it comes to defining what will constitute the new, winning, principled conservatism for the next generation. National conservatism has won more elections than it has lost in the past quarter-century. But in the absence of a completely dysfunctional Democratic Party, we are not likely to continue to do so in the future with exactly the same talking points and programs we have held in the past.
This party needs to change directions. Not wholesale changes, but subtle changes are needed. Conservatives, rather Republicans masqerading as Conservatives, had 6 years of control. That happens about every 30 years for one party or the other. Very, very rare thing when it does. And we blew it.
October 31st, 2007 at 11:17 am
The GOP will be finished if Rudy wins the nom
October 31st, 2007 at 11:21 am
yeah, i bet you would like thta woulnd’ tyou rett. change to be more liberal and big governmetn types.
we already know that big governmetn conservatism is a loser. why do you think we got kicked out in 06. gw has grown the governmetn more than every president since roosevelt and the new deal!
I agree with blakely to some degree. but big governmetn and immigratoin are extremly imnportant issues to some. for me big government and fiscal discipline are my number one issue. that is why romney is #1 and Rudy is #2 in my book. romney is just as good if not better than rudy plust conservative on social issues.
huckabee is ‘conservative’ but he is a certain kind. if you think of the three legs of presidential importnatce, economy, military, and foreign policy. i see huck as being a pogo stick.
You can say we should be more inclusive and …..bla bla bla if you want, but some of us think illegal immigration is bad for our country and some of us think big government sadles our economy and weaknes us as a nation. and some of us want someone smart enough to undertake a well strategized and msart foreign policy. h
huck doesn’t have these qualities. any sign of difficulty, raise taxes. if the roads on in a mess, then figure out a wayto pay for them with the existing revenue. prioritize. do what romney did when the ma legislture tried to raise taxes. send everybody bills so they can see how much they will be paying and create a grassroots revolt. huck just doesn’t do it for me. sure i can argue he is conservative but he is a conservative of the mold of mccain with many more flaws in my opinion than mccain, some of us don’t like that.
October 31st, 2007 at 11:24 am
Huckabee just met the donation goal for the month.
October 31st, 2007 at 11:29 am
Blankley’s article deserves reading and is spot on. But what he didn’t say also needs expounding, which is that these issue-oriented groups have too much power. Someone needs to go to Washington and smash the entire lobbyist/think tank/k street establishment.
October 31st, 2007 at 12:10 pm
UA Razorback (From AR!!!!),
Was that goal $1million for the month?
That’s a definite increase for him, but I do seem to remember when team Romney raised $6.5 million in ONE DAY!
If Romney or Rudy raised only $1 million in this past month I’d be shocked. Huckabee is still falling behind in the fundraising game. Even Ron Paul would have averaged nearly 2 million/month last quarter. Huckabee beter REALLY step it up if he wants to compete.
October 31st, 2007 at 12:42 pm
That 1 million was just online donations. Who knows how much he has actually raised.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Jeff – you should visit AR, it really is a beautiful state. Where are you from?
So far, Huckabee has raised $1.04 million in October, just in online donations. I know he raised over $300K in fundraisers at the beginning of month. I have no idea what the total numbers will be or if he will release them now or wait until the next quarter deadline.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:37 pm
UA Razorback and all the other Huck supporters…You rock my face off…Keep it up…
October 31st, 2007 at 2:23 pm
5 Jeff
Just playing Devil’s Advocate here, but if Huck continues to leverage his campaign $, and maintains the the higher [(support level)/(campaign expenditures)] ratio that he’s enjoyed thus far, a modest bump in fundraising for Huck could spell problems for the other candidates.
October 31st, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Huckabee’s campaign is surging at just the right time. He probably represents the GOP’s best chance of winning in 2008. He unites the base and attracts independents. I wouldn’t pay attention to general election polls against Hillary right now. That is name recognition. Put yourself in the shoes of the person being polled, “Do you support the former first lady or some guy you’ve never heard of?” A lot of people pick the one the know over the one they don’t. That will change given the length of the campaign. Smart conservatives should go with Huckabee. He’d win in a landslide, and many liberal bloggers are afraid of him for that reason.