Social Conservatives and the Republican Party

Where do social conservatives fit in the Republican Party? I ask this because many, many conservative pundits don't like Mike Huckabee or his brand of politics. The pundits take the position that the republican party has been successfull because of the coalition between social conservatives, fiscal conservatives and those to whom national security is the upmost important. The old three legs of the stool analogy.

The knock against Huckabee is that he only represents one leg of the stool and the other two legs don't like him. The pundits claim that Huckabee can't hold together the republican coalition and will loose to whoever the democratic candidate is. For example, the Club for Growth (Pat Toomey's organization) can't stand Huckabee. They claim he raised taxes as governor of Arkansas. Huckabee disputes the claim and rebuts it with this. Also, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform seems to have taken a softer view toward Huckabee than has the Club for Growth.

The ational security wing of the party has chastised Huckabee for his "arrogant bunker mentality" statement when referring to President Bush's foreign policy. They also point out that Bush's foreign policy has been successful since we haven't been attacked again since 9/11.

Yesterday Governor Huckabee issued this statement regarding the types of judges he would appoint if president. I like his position on this. Appointing conservative judges to the federal courts is very important.

So, if Huckabee can't satisfy all parts of the republican coalition, who can? Romney seems to have shifted positions in recent years to make himself more acceptable to all legs of the stool. Giuliani is strong in national security, okay fiscally, but the social conservatives can't stand him (dispite Pat Robertson's endorsement). McCain is strong in the national security issue, strong in cutting expenses, but opposed President Bush's tax cuts in 2001 and 2003. And the social conservatives are queasy about him after what he said during the 2000 presidential campaign. Fred Thompson appeals to all three legs of the coalition but can't gain any traction. Fred said earlier this week that South Carolina is his "firewall" which means that if he doesn't when there, he'll probably get out of the race.

So of McCain, Romney, Giuliani and Huckabee, who will get the nomination? Only Huckabee is appealing to social conservatives. If one of the others gets the nomination, what does that say to social conservatives? And if Huckabee is the nominee, will the FisCons and national security elements of the party stay home on election day? It is a very interesting and trying time for the republican party. Only Fred Thompson has the ability to appeal to all branches of the coalition and if he drops out of the race we may see the coalition falling apart.

On a slightly different front, I ran across a website I didn't even know existed: God Tube. It is a Christian version of You Tube. There is a presidential poll on the front page of the website if you'd like to participate. Huckabee is, to no one's surprise, currently leading the voting.

There is also a website that has a candidate calculator that let's you see which candidate most closely aligns with your beliefs. Try it. You may find the response interesting.

And lastly, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Happily Ever After by Marilyn Griffith. I hope you get a chance to pick up a copy.

UPDATE: Republicans like Hugh Hewitt and Rick Santorum don't think highly of John McCain either. Hugh Hewitt is pushing Mitt Romney -- who keeps finishing second.

Jerome

What is Driving the Huckabee Surge?

The short answer is "social conservatives". But is there a longer answer? Mike Huckabee has little if any money and certainly doesn't have the infrastructure in Iowa that Mitt Romney has. So how is he getting his message out?

This Washington Post article implies that there is a grassroots network of "pastors, parents who home-school their children, and other Christian conservatives." It appears that there is a broad based support among social conservatives in Iowa for Huckabee. Even Tim LeHaye, co-author of the popular Left Behind series of books is making campaign appearances with Huckabee.

Huckabee has also tapped into the network of Christians that was compiled by Redeem The Vote. RTV has an impressive list of 71,000,000 names and e-mail addresses of Christian voters. 71,000,000! And even though RTV offered access to the list to all candidates -- democrat and republican alike -- only Huckabee took them up on it. And it appears to be paying off for him in Iowa.

Huckabee has recently condemned the push polling by an organization called Trust Huckabee, stating that it doesn't represent what his campaign is about. And the Weekly Standard's Dean Barnett admits that he underestimated Huckabee. Even Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform seems to have softened to Huckabee.

But can Huckabee's momentum last? Assuming he performs well in Iowa (finishes first or second), New Hampshire is a much bigger test. And Huckabee's position on social issues important to evangelical voters won't play as well there as it has in Iowa. Then there is Michigan and Nevada. But after that is South Carolina and Florida. If Huckabee looses his footing in New Hampshire, he very well could regain it in South Carolina before the Super Tuesday primaries on February 5.

A few days ago we were talking about a Giuliani-Huckabee ticket. But will there soon be talk of a ticket with Huckabee on top?

Jerome