On October 20, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee received a resounding 80% vote of attendees of the evangelical Family Research Council DC conference.
Another boost then the broadside
Though he placed a close second in the overall straw poll vote, including online voters, Huckabee received this big boost followed by an admiring piece of the New York Times columnist David Brooks who called him the GOP’s “unity” candidate. Warren Cole Smith of the Evangelical Press News Service believe Huckabee to be the evangelical dream candidate. Sandwiched in the accolades was a broadside from Wall Street Journal’s conservative columnist John Fund.
All three articles were convincing to a point. Then came Huckabee’s response to Fund’s criticism; this article seemed to have been the less convincing one for some conservatives.
The unity candidate
Brooks’ piece asserted that Huckabee’s social conservatism and moderate economic and governmental approach could unite the various factions of the GOP, thereby giving it a united front against Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democrat nominee.
The dream candidate
Smith's article noted that Huckabee is the dream evangelical candidate who is building his support and who can defeat liberalism (Giuliani) and Mormonism (Romney) then possibly go all the way to the White House seemed plausible. But Smith’s piece seemed long on hope and short on a few accurate details. He said, “Romney’s numbers are “not even in the teens.” In fact, Romney is leading in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan and South Carolina. Another dreamy quote: “If current trends continue, he could overtake either McCain or Romney in the national polls within the next few weeks.” Smith needs to look at RealClearPolitics.com and its long term media polls to see reality clearly.
A liberal-populist
WSJ’s Fund used credible sources in advancing his view that Huckabee is socially conservative but liberal-populist on economic matters, while Huckabee’s disposition in dealing with a Democrat Congress is moderate.
Fund quotes:
1. long-time conservative Phyllis Schlafly: “He destroyed the conservative movement in Arkansas, and left the Republican Party in shambles;”
2. Republican conservative and former Colorado governor Bill Owens (a Romney supporter) said: “he took positions to my left” during the National Governors’ Association meetings;
3. Paul Pressler, a former federal circuit court judge over Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana and who led the conservative Southern Baptist resurgence said: "I know of no conservative he appointed while he headed the Arkansas Baptist Convention."
A moderate approach
These specific criticisms were not answered directly by Huckabee in his October 28 response. Some of the specifics he offered were his strong willingness to compromise with U.S. congressional Democrats regarding the SCHIP (a federal health program for children) and his commitment to reducing “our emission of greenhouse gases” by supporting “a cap and trade system.” Both issues are not front burner items for conservatives.
Huckabee listed his accomplishment in Arkansas, including providing $90 million in tax relief, a total of $380 million over 10.5 years while doubling the standard deduction for single and married taxpayers and creating health insurance coverage for more than 70,000 Arkansas kids.
An appeal for understanding
Huckabee appealed to his difficult position in passing Republican and/or conservative policies in an “overwhelmingly Democratic" state congress.
A social conservative, not a Reagan conservative
His answers were reasonable though not as effectively advanced as Fund’s criticisms. Hope, Arkansas’ Huckabee may be the hope for many evangelicals but may not be the highest hope for Ronald Reagan conservatives.
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