Letters to the Editor
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Mike Huckabee may signal the end of the Republicans
More importantly, this may be the time when the Republican Party finally implodes: its 'industrial'/'big money' side -- which is also the modernist wing of the Party -- is going to reject all this stupid leftist nonsense, while the 'blue collar'/'evangelical' wing is going to lap it up and ask for more.
Of course, the real winner in all of this really are the Democrats, because, let's face it, Huckabee (despite all his charm) is also a wild-eyed fundamentalist. With close to half of the Republican party (the big money wing) not bothering to show up, or even voting against him, Huckabee does not stand much of chance.
Furthermore, the real question is not so much what kind of economic consequences the USA would face if Gov. Huckabee was elected: it's the religious consequences. Would President Huckabee (threaten to) bomb Iran? Would he put pressure on Israel to make peace with the Palestinians?
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Tithes to the Church of the Omnipotent Federal Government
Apparently the voters haven't had enough of "righteous" government actions wrapped in religious, patriotic, and national security packaging by our current divinely inspired President. We now have a leading candidate who wants to use religious mandates to further expand the scale of taxation and government power along our route to some kind of global theocratic socialist utopia run from the White House. At least Huckabee is honest about it, unlike George Bush in 2000.
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Coming from a Liberal like myself
who does not like any form of religious fundamentalism, I would rather have a guy like Huckabee who would use his geniune religious beliefs to HELP people than a phony like Bush who uses his religious beliefs to declare holy war.
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Can the Republican Leadership Really be that Obtuse?
They have won several elections on the strength of voters that care not a whit for their own economic self interest. Their base will vote for ANYONE who they think will end abortion and bring prayer back to the schools.
The only candidate in this race who is truly of this stripe is Huckabee. He could announce tomorrow that he will be increasing taxes on the middle class by 50% to pay for mandatory bible study and they would still turn out for him. Heck, that might even improve his numbers among the republican base.
Unfortunately for the Republicans, they have ceded control of the party apparatus and the nominating process to the religious right and now it is coming back to bite them. The right isn't going to buy Romney, McCain, Giuliani or Thompson as true religious conservatives. No, it will be Huckabee or no one for them.
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The surprise of the last seven years
One of the biggest surprises of the last seven years has been this: Republicans love (or at least tolerate) big government. They natter incessantly about wanting to reduce it's size, but when it comes down to action they do exactly the opposite. Huckabee is just an expression of that.
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Stop underestimating Huckabee
I think there is something genuinely appealing about Huckabee and I suspect his evangelism is overwrought by his dismissive opponents on both sides of the political aisle.
Huck knows he has strength in the evangelical movement, who were collectively looking for someone to support before Huck came along anyway. As Huckabee gains more national attention, he'll also reduce his religious rhetoric. This is how the republican front-runners have always worked: They draw their street teams from the evangelicals, while drawing money from the fiscal conservatives. The Neocons are too busy earning money on Wall Street to waste time canvassing on the street or manning phones for their favourite candidates.
Bill Clinton said Huckabee is a serious contender, and his opponents should take note. I think we all should.
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Huckabee talks about Jesus ...
The Republicans talk about God ... and they talk about capitalism as if God invented it ...
Jesus is a much more controversial and unmaleable figure. The Republicans can't morph the story of Jesus and the Moneychangers or the sermon on the Temple Mount.
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Actual conservative responds
Sorry to intrude on the echo chamber, but here is what I, an actual conservative and registered republican, think about the hackabee victory:
Whatever
Yup, that's it. First we had the tyrannical rudy v. constitutionally unaware romney. The press thought either of those was the main guy. The republican power brokers figured they had identified the guys most likely to play ball. Nope. Both repugnant to most republicans.
Huckabee actually has a base that will turn out and vote for him. They turned out. They voted. The rest were depending on republicans to turn out and vote for whatever the hell it is the party stands for these days. They kinda showed up and cast votes hither and yon.
To me, the only thing proven in Iowa is that no one had rigged the vote. At least it looks that way. maybe.
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Forgive me but
This sounds like a Foxtrot cartoon from the '96 campaign. The Foxtrot family is bemoaning the all consuming election coverage and somebody on the TV is saying "...and this is what Clinton economics means to your cat."
And I wish people would stop referring to these people as Evangelical Christians. Evangelical maybe, but not Christians. I have it on good authority (Mark, Luke, and John) that Jesus did say Clothe and feed the poor; comfort the sick and imprisoned. He didn't say take your parishioner's donations and build palatial estates, and drive fine and expensive cars, and go jetting off on expensive vacations, nor did he tell us to find new and inventive ways to put people in jail. He did tell us to turn the other cheek to our enemies. He didn't say unleash a military assault on thine enemies every time they piss you off.
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Purple passages and pink noise
Saying you want to do the Christian thing by your fellow man and prying loose the almighty tax dollar to help he who is not a hedge fund manager, are in fact two different things. If you watch the Republotards on CNBC like Larry Kudlow they don't even sound rational anymore. This year NASDAQ is down 4.4% and he's screaming that it's the best of times. Followed up with the statement and I quote "The price of oil does not matter, $100 dollars, $150 dollars a barrel, everything is fine!" You can't trust the conservatives, not because they aren't earnest but because frankly, they're insane.