Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee continues to top the other Republican hopefuls. And journalist Steve Charing hopes we can topple him before it’s too late:
This country, and specifically the LGBT community, does not need an Ayatollah sitting in the White House. And that’s exactly what we would get if the current flavor-of-the-week, Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas should, in comeback fashion, meander his way through the primaries to win the GOP nomination and then upset the Democratic candidate in November of 2008.
…
The next president will have the opportunity to appoint two, perhaps three justices to the Supreme Court. With a Huckabee presidency, you can expect such nominees to be anti-choice and anti-gay.
We’d like to think our fellow Americans are smart enough to avoid such a right wing radical, but the numbers are testing our faith…
Gregoire
He’ll never win, not in a thousand years. Bush cloaked his own religious fervor in a guise of legacy and inclusiveness, and is a far better politician that Huckabee could ever dream. Yuck, I cant believe I just gave George W Bush a compliment.
Huckabee as the republican nomination will hand the presidency over to the democrats.
Gregg
Again: Never underestimate the gullibility of the American voter. Please, repeat ad infinitum until it sinks in.
dfrw
If this schmuck wins, my partner and I would seriously consider emigrating to Canada or Europe. He’s truly evil.
hells kitchen guy
There hasn’t been one vote, one caucus, and this guy’s pushing the panic button. Dude, take a breath!
dfrw
That’s why one uses the word IF.
IthacaGuy
Not a single head-to-head poll has Huckabee beating any of the top three Democratic nominees. I think all of this huffing and puffing is a little premature.
Matt
I don’t know, folks. Yeah, it’s way premature, but taking a wait-and-see attitude may not be wise either: we can end up waiting, and then seeing that it’s too late. The rightwing/fundy/illiterate dodo-head/evil alliance doesn’t hesitate to scream and yell when they see a candidate who presents the remotest possible threat to their cozy, vile worldview, and they’ve managed to more or less run this country since the mid-90s. Perhaps the more thoughtful, perceptive, analytic liberal view could use a little fire in the belly.
And anyway, it’s all part of a bigger, clearly threatening context. I posted the below elsewhere on Queerty re another Huckabee story, but I’ll repeat myself because it’s still news, it’s real, and it’s happening NOW:
“Last night the (Democrat-controlled and shame on them) US House of Representatives passed H Res 847, “Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faithâ€, by a vote of 372 to 9. Not only does this bill say that Christmas is nice, it goes on and on about how christians are more numerous than any other religion in the U.S. and the world, how the roots of our Republic are deeply embedded in christianity…The bill “expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide†and “acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilizationâ€.
“And if you don’t think THAT’S the pointy end of the theocratic wedge, to be pointed at and quoted from when they want crucifixes in classrooms and commandments in courts and creationism in textbooks and homos shuttled off to Camp Huckabee, then you’re not nearly paranoid enough.
“Read the full text of the bill, and find out how your rep voted (so you can communicate your pleasure/horror) here: http://www.govtrack.us/congres…..=hr110-847″
hisurfer
Here’s a link that works:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=hr110-847
Actual numbers: 372 ayes, 9 nays, 50 not voting.
And here’s one marking the start of Ramadan & recognizing Islam as one of the world’s great religions … 376 Ayes, 0 Nays, 56 Not voting.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=hr110-635
Holy shit! Congress loves Mohammed more than Jesus! Call Huckchuck! I smell a wedge issue here!
Poor Kwanzaa didn’t fare so well …
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=hr109-615
Matt
hisurfer– Thanks for providing a working link . As for the other resolutions, I don’t think they change the threat level. There was a valid political reason for the islam vote (cuz not all muslims conspired in the 9/11 attacks). At least they cut out the articles of faith part of the christianity resolution, so the blood of christ is not forever enshrined in the federal register. But between the legislative fools to pander this stuff and a potential baptist minister president, we’d be good and thoroughly screwed.
hells kitchen guy
“With a Huckabee presidency, you can expect such nominees to be anti-choice and anti-gay.”
Yeah, cuz the other GOP candidates will appoint pro-gay, pro-choice judges. I say, let’s promote Huckabee – he’ll lose the general election in a landslide.
hisurfer
I dunno – I think Huckabee would be a nightmare worse than all others, and while I think & hope that the country would never vote for him I also am always amazed at how well the Democrats have fucked up other easy victories.
Bill Perdue
Hysteria about Huckabee is just a tad premature. His strategy combines a veneer of populism, pandering to superstition, gay bashing, union busting and racism. It does not, repeat, does not herald the onset of fascism in the US. Huckabee is not Hitler and Hindenburg – the Democrats – will not save us. There is no insoluble economic crisis, no SS or SA.
The military is pissed bout being mauled in Iraq – they’re terrified, and justifiably – that it’ll be another Vietnam and not ready to swear a personal oath of allegiance to Huckabee or anyone else.
In fact, Huckabee‘s strategy, with minor differences is a variant of the classic Dixiecrat strategy that’s been the mainstay of both parties for decades. As Gore Vidal says “[t]here is only one party in the United States, the Property Party…and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit stupider, more rigid, more doctrinaire in their laissez-faire capitalism than the Democrats, who are cuter, prettier, a bit more corrupt—until recently… and more willing than the Republicans to make small adjustments when the poor, the black, the anti-imperialists get out of hand. But, essentially, there is no difference between the two parties.”
If there is an error in Vidal’s analysis it’s his underestimation of the Democrats ability to lie, but maybe that’s just an underestimation of the naiveté of those determined to blindly trust the Democrats in spite of reality.
mozzer13
Have y’all never seen Huckabee in an interview? The guy is amazingly nice, and more charming and folksy than Bush ever thought about being. Everything that made Bush dangerous makes Huckabee worse. People wouldn’t imagine him as a psycho radical after seeing him on television. He scares the bejeezus out of me.
hisurfer
Mozzer13 – Did you ever watch “A Face in the Crowd” (Elia Kazan, 1957)? Andy Griffiths plays a vicious Arkansas con-man who uses folksy charm, and the then new medium of tv, to rise to political power. Aside from being one of Kazan’s greatest flics, it’s incredibly prophetic about the way these people use the media to fool gullible Americans. It’s like a message from the past that’s dead-on about the dangers of today. Pop it in your netflix queue. It’ll scare the fuck out of you.
Chris
Shit, I think Huckabee is going to be dangerous. Like Mozzer said, he’s worse than Bush, except he actually comes off likable when he speaks.
I don’t know, I wasn’t really sold on Hillary until now. The only surefire way to beat Huckabee is by attacking his lack of experience. But Obama has less experience than he does (or anyone running for that matter)
With Pastor Mike up against Barack Hussein Obama, who the republicans will tear up until America fears a naive 1-year senator who grew up as a Muslim jihadist doing cocaine in Indonesia, he’s going to be hard to beat.
Gregg
The folks who would vote for Huckabee are also the ones who vehemently hate Hillary. Put her on the ballot, and the Repugs will come out in droves to vote against her.
hells kitchen guy
Gee. Chris. You. Are. So. Inflammatory.
Yawn. Wake me when it’s over.
WILL
John and I were married in Canada and are realistically looking for just one more incident of inequality and disrespect here in the USA to seriously push us into a permanent move to the Land to the North. Huck’s nomination might just do the trick!!
hisurfer
For the sake of argument – would Huckabee be worse than Mitch Romney or Giuliani?
Check out this interview in GQ:
http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_6238&pageNum=1
I would adamantly oppose Huckabee, now … but I need to give him credit for being, perhaps, the only honest candidate in the field right now, with Obama being a close second. The other candidates seem to be pandering to the polls – this guy will actually criticize Bush on the war and the environment based upon his beliefs. I disagree with his beliefs, but it is refreshing to hear someone think things through rather than give sound-bites.
hisurfer
uh .. let me retract that last comment.
dfrw
After telling my spouse about this thread, I put him (not born in the US) on notice this morning and told him that if Huckabee wins we’re outta here and that he better think about where he wants to live. I told him we could go to Canada, the UK, or back to Germany. He thinks that Huckabee doesn’t have a chance, but Huckabee scares me even more than Bush and given the elections since 1968, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if one of these religious wingnut wins, particularly if Hillary Clinton is on the national ticket.