IF.
As has been mentioned here and there a few times over the past few days, by myself and one or two others,
IF it came down to Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama, I’d vote for Obama.
So let’s tally up the list of notables who are thinking the unthinkable:
- Ace
- Dan Riehl
- Jay Tea
- Slublog
- Dave in Texas
- Tammy Bruce
- Glenn Reynolds
- For what it’s worth, a boatload of commenters at Hot Air.
- And me.
Ironically, plenty of Democrats feel the same way about Hillary.
Added: Welcome, Instapundit readers! More on Huckabee in these posts:
Mike Huckabee is New Coke
Daily Kos, Huffpo Available At the Foggy Bottom Holiday Inn Express
If by “authentic” you mean “postmodern”
What soul? – Updated
Jay Tea Joining Ace and Dan Riehl – Updated
World Mag’s Take on Huckabee’s Hypocrisy
Title corrected – Obama, not Hillary. Sorry about that.
Title corrected again – this time to say Democrat, which is more accurate in any event. I don’t know what my problem is today.
I’m with ya. The only person in the GOP field that I’d consider voting for is Fred, and I’m not particularly convinced that he wants to be the President.
I was a Ron Paul supporter for a while (have been a fan since the 90’s, actually) but his refusal to distance himself from the nutjobs and kooks has driven me away. In the beginning, his campaign had a chance to bring conservative constitutionalism into the mainstream. His refusal to tame the ugly mob, as it were, has actually set libertarianism back decades. Thanks to the Ron Paul movement, the mainstream will now associate words like “conservative” and “libertarian” with “racist,” “Alex Jones,” and “9/11 truth.”
I first learned about Ron Paul back when I was in John Birch, and I had no gripe with him then. Birchers always called him “our guy in Congress” and you know, the positions JBS focused on back then – primarily how much the UN sucks, and that we are moving toward global government* – were positions I was happy to publicly stand by. It was when my fellow Birchers started proselytizing about the hoaxed moon landing and all kinds of other crazy stuff that I bailed. So when Ron Paul declared, I gave it a lot of thought. One or two things I strongly disagreed with him about, but I agreed with more than I disagreed. But I didn’t want to be associated with the nut jobs.
Now, IF I was of the mindset of those folks, I’d say that Ron Paul is part of the diabolical plot to marginalize anyone who can fight against global governance and bring America back to our traditional values.
*whether you want to blame Brzezinski et. al for that or just human nature it’s hard to deny what’s been going on in the EU, and now African U, Asian U, etc.
I like Coke, not Pepsi. Pepsi is too sweet and flat for me.
But Coke one day decided to stop make Coke and only offer Pepsi, I’m not going to buy it. If I have to buy a Pepsi, I’ll just buy a damn Pepsi from Pepsi Cola.
But that’s never going to happen, is it? (Oh that’s right. It did happen with “New Coke” and it was an utter damn disaster.)
So I’ll vote Obama or Hillary over Huck. Why the hell would I vote Republican to get a big government Democat?
(And Ron Paul is a paranoid racist schmuck! As are his supporters.)
Excellent analogy.
As to RP – that’s why I bailed out way back when and the rest of the normal people are bailing out.
I like Mitt, he’s my guy and first choice.
I could support Fred, like him, have doubts about his energy and ability to corral the bureaucracy and get things done, but I’d vote for him in a heartbeat if Mitt doesn’t get the nod.
I have serious problems with Rudy but would pull the lever for him over any Dem. [I don't like Rudy's gun-grabbing, open borders.]
I seriously don’t think I’d pull the lever for McAmnesty. Why not go for the real thing instead of a RINO?
Huck? No way. I’d write in my dog’s name. She’d do a better job.
If the GOP runs a Northeaster who still won’t carry NY or CA and who loses his ass in the south they deserve it.
Count on another no vote for Huckabee or McCain. I’ve never voted Democrat, but would consider Obama before either. If Clinton, I would pass..and pray.
Mike Huckabee is the best candidate running for 2008. He’s got more years experience dealing with an opposition legislature as Governor, getting re-elected, managing to balance the budget, make hard decisions to improve the infrastructure, education and leave office with a high approval rating. Named one of the top 5 Governors by Time Magazine. Don’t fall for the snow job the party elites are selling. They own candidates don’t have as many positives so it’s easier just to slime Huckabee. Check him out. He’s the real deal.
I don’t think Obama is any less of a populist than Huckabee. The real danger is that a Republican can pass populist legislation that a Democrat can’t because as a Republican he is less vulnerable to the stereotypical attacks. For similar reasons, I don’t think a Republican could have passed Clinton’s Welfare reform measure and I don’t think a Democrat could has passed Bush’s prescription drug bill. So in that sense, Huckabee may be more dangerous. But you are fooling yourself if you think McCain or Guilliani wouldn’t just as bad in other areas.
Yeah, I don’t think I can vote for Huck either (and I’m a long-term evangelical Christian). I won’t vote for Obama. If he is on the Republican ticket I might go to a movie on election day instead.
I’m voting for Huckabee. All your arguments about voting for the Democrat instead of the Republican if Huckabee is the nominee are fallacy. If you think Huckabee is like a Democrat but you don’t want to vote for him because of that then why vote for the Democrat? I think it’s more akin to not wanting to vote for Huckabee because he’s unabashedly a Christian and that bothers you for some reason. You’re being hypocritical when you call Huckabee a bigot because you’re being the same way. At this rate, we’ll just get the Democrat in office and then see where you are. I won’t hesitate to say “I told you so”.
Here is Romney’s position on gun control:… We also should keep weapons of unusual lethality from being on the street. And finally, we should go after people who use guns in the commission of crimes or illegally, but we should not interfere with the right of law-abiding citizens to own guns either for their own personal protection or hunting or any other lawful purpose.
So, how do you ban guns and not ban guns? Anyone that thinks for a nanosecond Romney is “conservative” should be arrested for drug abuse.
I support Fred. I’d vote for Huckabee. Otherwise, I’ll worry about my state races and hope whomever the next PRes is won’t be worse than jimma carter or slick willi.
Nancy, raising taxes $500 million and blaming it all on the Supreme Court when that was not true, playing dumb about what Mormons believe when he’d spoken at a convention in SLC that disseminated the same information, a proven track record of nanny statism (a federal ban on smoking? I’m not even a smoker, but please! Gimme a break.) I’ve checked him out and found him wanting for those reasons and many others.
Tennismama, I’m crossing party lines to vote against Huck not least because of truth in advertising. If we’re going to have a big government liberal in the White House, let the Democrats take the blame for it! And stop the leftward drift of the GOP. The further the left moves, the more we follow them. Now is the right time to put a stop to it. There’s a lot more to conservatism than being pro-life and pro-gun. It’s also smaller government, less federal intervention, and a host of other things. Huckabee is disingenuous, and when his positions are challenged, whines, “But I’m a Christian so you have to agree with me!” and that makes me sick.
You say, “I think it’s more akin to not wanting to vote for Huckabee because he’s unabashedly a Christian and that bothers you for some reason.” Yes – on a blog named “Pursuing Holiness” unabashed Christianity is obviously the problem. Riiiighht. Good grief.
Yeah, because you’d really rather support a flaming liberal than anyone less than a 100% reincarnation of Ronald Reagan. Why don’t libertarians (like those so prominent on your list) actually start voting Libertarian instead of bitching about which Republicans aren’t libertarian enough? Aren’t you really saying that you’d rather support a liberal Democrat than a not-conservative-enough Republican? Go ahead…cut off your nose to spite your face.
As for Glenn Reynolds…isn’t he a funny guy to be bitching about Huckabee’s populism? “An Army of David’s” ring a bell? Or do pundits only like their own personal brands of populism?
Oh, and while you’re “pursuing holiness”….you might want to consider the endorsement you just gave to the party that still holds the killing of the unborn as its singular defining value. Just a thought.
Frank – what is YOUR plan to get the GOP to move back to the right? I’d love to see it.
There are plenty of folks who are mormons who would also fall in this category. Though you may not share their beliefs, they will not support someone who has risen at the expense of exploiting hatred of them. They will vote for someone else first.
Eisenhower ratified the New Deal reforms of Roosevelt. Clinton ratified the low tax initiatives of Reagan. We need someone with assymetric support to ratify the foreign policy thrust of Bush. On the democratic side, the debate is whether Bush is a liar or a war criminal. It is good to see someone with Huckabee’s populist instincts support–with some cavils–the President’s war policy. And good for Huckabee for criticizing the bonus babies of Wall St. It is not that socialism is better than capitalism, it is that capitalists are worse people than populists.
Huckabee is the only southern governor in the race. Since southern governors won 7 of the last 8 elections,it would be a mistake to count him out. The last sitting senator to win a presidential election was JFK.
I’ll be away from the computer for a while and unable to moderate comments. But you Huckolytes, before you blast me and call me unChristian again, consider these points:
1. Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and GW Bush were well known as “Christian candidates.” How’d those guys work out for you?
2. Do you think the massive Medicare expansion would have passed if a Democratic president had been the one pushing it?
3. If abortion is your only issue and you’re worried about liberal judges appointed to SCOTUS by a Dem, why has GW Bush been unable to stop abortion? He’s adamantly pro-life and he’s had nearly 8 years, several of which with a Republican majority Congress.
[Comment bumped to the bottom because I'm leaving again.]