Mike Huckabee on Foreign Policy
On September 28, Mike Huckabee gave a major foreign policy speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC. I’m a big fan of the governor, particularly on domestic issues, but I’ve been a little apprehensive about his foreign policy credentials. This speech laid those apprehensions to rest. Thirty-second sound bites in debates can’t do credit to a something as complex as a candidate’s vision for America’s role in the world. This speech does, and is worth a listen (or a read).
Here’s a link to the audio of the speech (the video is way too dark and not worth watching, IMHO):
http://www.csis.org/media/csis/events/070928_huckabee.m3u
It’s lengthy (about an hour and 13 minutes), but you can skip over the introductions and preliminaries; the body of the speech starts at about 5 minutes and 30 seconds).
If you’d prefer reading his prepared remarks, they’re available here:
http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Blogs.View&Blog_id=505
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You know it is really difficult to understand why this guy is not more popular. We have heard for years no how disappointed the conservative part of the Republican party is in all the current leaders.
Yet when a man who clearly echoes a true conservative veiw, not onlyverbally but also in past and current action votes and other behaviors, he is pushed to a bottom position.
I know much of it is mainstream media failing to cover him as much as the current leaders, but still their has been enough out there to all should know that he in most ways is the best choice for the Republican party and all conservatives.
The irrationality of the typical voter never ceases to amaze me.
You know it is really difficult to understand why this guy is not more popular.
I think there are several factors in play.
1) Huckabee is not an “establishment” candidate. He’s said on more than one occasion that he’s “the candidate of Main Street, not the candidate of Wall Street.” He’s not beholden to anyone, and that makes the powers that be very uncomfortable. What amazes me is that even Christian conservative “leaders” haven’t lined up behind him. They are flirting with supporting a third-party candidate (which would most surely guarantee a Democrat win) rather than supporting the one candidate in the race that speaks their language.
2) His fundraising hasn’t taken off like it should. Despite his surprise second-place finish in the Iowa Straw Poll, Huckabee only raised $1 million in the third quarter. It’s a sad irony that McCain-Feingold was supposed to take money out of the political equation, yet the media uses this criterion as the be-all and end-all. If you check out the official Huckabee website ( http://www.mikehuckabee.com ), you’ll see that there’s been a greater emphasis on fundraising of late, and if you read the blog comments, many “Huckabeelievers” (myself included)have made their first political contributions of their lives(I contributed $52 as a belated 52nd birthday present to Mike).
3) The debate format favors the “anointed” candidates. Case in point was the recent debate in Deerborn, Michigan, moderated by Chris Matthews. Huckabee was given only 8 opportunities to answer, compared with 16 for Fred Thompson, 12 for McCain and Romney, and 11 for Giuliani. To be fair, Huckabee and Ron Paul were each given one-on-one interviews after the debate, but only the political junkies who stayed tuned got to hear him. The majority of voters only heard the debate sound-bites that the networks deemed most interesting.
That being said, one thing that I find encouraging is that Huckabee ranks #1 among likely Iowa caucus voters that have already made up their minds. Support among the “first-tier” candidates is much softer. Given that, and the fact that he’s be able to achieve so much with so little money, I’m cautiously optimistic that he just might pull off an upset.
Here’s an interesting article on that possibility (be sure to read the comments that follow):
http://www.newsandpolicy.com/news/2007/10/former-ark-governor-mike-huckabee-could-upset-the.html
What amazes me is that even Christian conservative “leaders” haven’t lined up behind him.
This part is especilly amazing to me. Why do so many predominately White church leaders-ie politically and morally correct in their views say practically nothing to their respective congregations about who folks need to think about when they vote. How has the the political voice of true American Christians from the pulpit has been so thoroughly, and voluntarily, silenced?
While socialist voices from the supposed pulpit, like Jesse Jackson, Al sharpton et al, garner endless media attention.
It’s beyond me. It’s the same story with Ron Paul. I like him also. But he is buried by the press even deeper than Huckabee. It seems those who reflect the thoughts of Americans the most are buried the deepest by the press.
Here’s a perfect example of what is happening in todays conservative movement. Well I guess I should say neo-conservative movement.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,301630,00.html
As for why Christian conservatives haven’t lined up behind Huckabee, this article from Powerline provides some insight:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2007/10/018753.php
I’m afraid too many of the evangelical elites are not willing to jeopardize their seat at the political table for the sake of supporting a candidate that shares their values. There was a time back in the 80’s when the so-called “Religious Right” was a force to be reckoned with within the Republican Party. Now that their power has waned, apparently so have their principles.
As far as preaching politics from the pulpit, the clergy have to walk a fine line between church and state or run the risk of losing their tax-exempt status. Governor Huckabee has preached at a number of churches (that’s where I met him), and that’s a great venue for him to get his values out to the people, but it gets dangerous if it starts looking like a political rally (unless, of course, it’s a Black church supporting a Democrat candidate).
Regarding Ron Paul, I like much of what he stands for, with the notable exception of withdrawing prematurely from Iraq. But his manic style leaves me with the impression that he’s a bit of a curmudgeon (“Freeeeeedom, Freeeeeedom – the Constitooooootion, the Constitooooootion!!!) But that’s just my impression. Another thing that annoys me is the habit of his supporters stuffing the ballot boxes of every online poll they can find. But you’re right that like Huckabee he’s not getting the attention that the self-fulfilling “top-tier” candidates do.
Here’s another article that supports my analysis of the conservative Christian leadership and the reason for their unwillingness to back Huckabee:
http://onemom.wordpress.com/2007/10/13/first-ann-coulter-now-the-evangelical-wrong/
One of the affects of the Internet is that many of the old hierarchies are breaking down. The mainstream media, the Republican and Democratic party machines, and key conservative Christian organizations no longer have a lock on their constituents. I’m hoping that this new-found “Power to the People” (to cite the title of Laura Ingraham’s new book) will emerge next week when the Family Research Council holds its straw poll. Go Huck!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,304838,00.html
Huckabee is making some real gains it seems. It really is encourageing. Meanwhile the link above shows some of the thought’s of Giuliani, the favored boy of the press.
When you consider the lib press wants Hillary to win it makes sense I guess.
Huckabee is indeed making some real gains. Especially in the money department (which everyone seems to think is the be all and end all of presidential politics).
He set a goal today of raising more money online in October than he did from direct mail, online and events for the whole 3rd quarter combined. And that goal is certainly attainable:
http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Blogs.View&Blog_id=624
This guy is a cross between “Rocky” and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”! If he can repeat or better this pace through November and December, he’ll really be a force to be reckoned with (with which to be reckoned?).
Some of his die-hard supporters have been asking relatives to contribute to the Huckabee campaign in lieu of giving them Christmas presents. This campaign is getting hot!