Huckabee: Brought to You Courtesy of the GOP Establishment
Mike Huckabee: Brought to You Courtesy of the GOP Establishment
By Adam Graham (12/03/07)
The Republican establishment and many pundits have had this race figured out for a long. It's Mitt or Rudy, Rudy or Mitt. That was the way this was supposed to be. Mitt with his deep pockets and connections to Corporate America v. Rudy Giuliani, America's Mayor.
Yet, something funny happened on the way to the coronation, and now the Republicans have to deal with the serious prospect of Mike Huckabee as the Republican Presidential nominee. Some still don’t think so, but Huckabee has climbed to third place in the latest national Rasmussen poll and is leading Iowa, while closing in New Hampshire. Should Huckabee win Iowa and finish better than expected in New Hampshire, a win in South Carolina could make him the candidate of the South, and Rudy’s firewall in Florida (where Huckabee is currently second) could collapse.
George Will is howling, Club For Growth is in an uproar, and most knowledgeable economic conservatives know that Huckabee’s spending and immigration records are unacceptable.
Despite that, Huckabee could win the big prize.
And why? A completely out of touch party establishment. The Republican base was agitated and the talk around the GOP was the need to return to the days of Ronald Reagan. In essence, what’s been demanded is a Revolution, and neither of the initial big three could deliver.
Rudy Giuliani represents the Rockefeller wing of the GOP, but his big strength was supposedly charisma. Instead, at times he’s been combative, mean-spirited, and come off poorly with his backfiring attack on Mitt Romney in the last debate. It’s telling that while Rudy leads nationally on the strength of name recognition, in the states that have covered the campaign most thoroughly, he has the lowest percentage of the vote.
Mitt Romney says all the right things, but seems to be an opportunist, who switches positions to benefit himself, and gives many voters the feeling that Honest Mitt should go into the, ahem, pre-owned car business.
John McCain has been politically hapless. Not the dynamo of 2000, but the more aged mix of anger and politically moderate positions that most conservatives can hardly wait to exit the political stage.
Fred Thompson’s arrival in the race was fueled by enthusiasm. But Fred Thompson could not compete with the picture painted of him by his supporters. He was supposed to be Ronald Reagan with a southern drawl, a man who even his ex-wife adored. Instead, he has a slow, plodding, deliberate speaking method. His plans on social security and immigration reform were brilliant, but the problem Fred faces is hardly anyone reads action plans. Were the American people a people that read action plans, Fred would be doing far better.
The lackluster candidates and their long dance across the national stage has grown tiresome, giving rise to Huckabee for several reasons:
1) The Giuliani voters and endorsers, particularly among economic conservatives, sent a clear message to religious conservatives: “Your issues don’t matter, but you will vote for the Republican candidate, who else ya gonna vote for?â€
