Joe Klein wrote an interesting article for Time about Governor of Arkansas and Republican presidential hopeful, Mike Huckabee. Klein writes that, although Huckabee is a conservative Christian, very religious in his personal life, etc. Republican voters / the conservative base, somehow, don’t seem to be very fond of him (yet).
Why is that, Klein wonders. Why doesn’t the Religious Right embrace the very religious Huckabee? The former Governor of Arkansas, the first Governor who, according to Huckabee himself, cut taxes in over 160 years.
The answer: he’s a ‘salvation Christian’. A second commandment Christian. A “Thou Shalt”, instead of “Thou Shalt Not” Christian. That, quite simply, doesn’t fall on good ground with many members of the Religious Right. If he wants to win the support of Christian conservatives, he needs to condemn a bit more.
He also spends too much time talking about helping the poor, and too little time talking tax cuts (paraphrasing here). Conservative audiences only seem to respond to Huckabee, once he talks about cutting taxes, not when he’s talking about food banks or, God forbid, health care.
Klein’s final paragraph:
For Huckabee and Brownback, a moment of biblical temptation looms. Both will be spending most of their time in Iowa, where Republicans have a strong religious bent. Both Robertson and Buchanan have done well there. The temptation will be to slouch back to hellfire and brimstone to unite conservative Christians. It will be an exquisite test of faith for a Second Commandment Christian like Huckabee: Thou Shalt or Thou Shalt Not? Can you win the Iowa caucus without losing your soul?
Although it’s a bit oversimplified, I do recognize my own thoughts on this matter in the general idea behind the article: it’s somewhat comparable to McCain’s position – McCain seems to have made the wrong decision early on, to court the social conservative base, while desperately trying not to lose the support of more moderate Republicans. Did he sell out? I’d say so, yes. Huckabee’s advisors might suggest to him, that he should become a bit more… aggressive, a little less… tolerant, if he wants to rise in the polls that is.
Will Huckabee resist the pressure to do so, or will he give in?
PAST CONTRIBUTOR.