Nov 3, 2007

Huckabee hit by Wall Street’s Fund

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.

Romney rolling right along

Romney rolling right along
Two weeks after technically winning the evangelical Family Research Council (FRC) straw poll in Washington, DC, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is rolling right along in the Republican primary for United States president.

Behind but ahead
Though he is behind Rudy Giuliani in the national poll according to Realclearpolitics.com, he is leading in Iowa by 13.5 points, 8.0 in New Hampshire and .3 in South Carolina--the three most important leadoff primary events. How has Romney done this?

Diligently and shrewdly
For a year now, he has invested time, money and ideas in his campaign for president. He has plenty of money, time and ideas but he has also been shrewd. He has advertised early, put out the necessary time and money during critical moment while also building an impressive organization, especially here in South Carolina. His economic acumen is only matched by his political shrewdness.

Shrewdness snatches a big win
During the DC FRC straw poll, he received strong support by attendees but not compared to former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. A reliable source told me that Huckabee would win the straw poll by an overwhelming margin.

After the final vote was cast, Romney snatched victory from Huckabee by 30 votes out of almost 6000 cast.

Though he lost the attendee or on-site vote by almost 5:1, he came from nowhere to take the overall straw poll which accepted off site or online voting. Romney's shrewdness is evidence by Facebook email titled "2008 American Values Straw Poll: To members of Students for Mitt." Then it encourages supporters: "Please visit fraction.org and vote in the American Values Straw Poll by this Saturday. October 20 at noon EDT."

Mormon Romney takes evangelical vote
This last minute effort and other timely efforts allowed Mormon Romney to take the evangelical vote home.

At this moment, with Giuliani and Thompson getting a broadside from Dr. James Dobson, a prominent evangelical leader, and losing some steam, Romney seems to be swimming upstream diligently and shrewdly toward victory in the primary. After also being "rejected" by Dobson, he spoke admiring of Dobson and evangelicals during the FRC event which honored Dobson, and came away with a technical "KO" (knockout).

Getting along swimmingly
In a New York Times piece, Greenville (S.C.) County Republican chairman Samuel Harms said, Romney is running the ablest campaign. And after picking up Bob Jones, III's endorsement, the evangelical American Center for Law and Justice director Jay Sekulow and others, Romney is rolling right along. Or, as our British friends would say, he is getting along "swimmingly."

Update for November 7, 2008:
From Newsmax.com, conservative leader, Paul Weyrich, president of the Free Congress Foundation and who was the first president of the Heritage Foundation and instrumental in starting the Moral Majority, endorsed Mitt Romney as the presidential nominee of the Republican Party.

According to the Associated Press, Christian conservative leader and former presidential candidate, Pat Robertson, president of the Christian Broadcasting Network, Regent University and host the 700 Club, endorsed Rudy Giuliani as the presidential nominee of the Republican Party.