How Mike Huckabee Changed The Future Of The Republican Party
Posted by Ashish on 03.05.2008
You may not agree with him, but Huckabee pulled off something pretty special...
It's been a year of surprises in politics. The rise of Barack Obama, the rise and fall of Hillary Clinton, the comeback of John McCain. But one of the stories that may be lost due to the media's obsession with Obama vs. Clinton is how much Mike Huckabee accomplished, and how much of an impact he had not only on the Republican nomination, but the future of the Republican party.
First of all, the obvious. Mike Huckabee got further than he ever should have. I don't agree with Huckabee on several issues, but let's give credit where credit is due -- Huckabee outperformed EVERY candidate when you break things down by resources. He had virtually NO money or organization, had no major endorsements in any state, had no major political groups backing him, and still managed to last until the end. He was the only Republican candidate to really show any personality and humanity at all and we saw that there IS a portion of the Republican party that responded to that. Every Republican doesn't want an all-tough-talk-what-I-think-is-right-even-if-you-don't-agree conservative, especially after eight years of George W. Bush. And Huckabee was really the only Republican to tap into that. He used his personality and human touch to make up for his lack of money and resources and managed to do better than anybody ever thought he would. This is a guy who polled at 1% last year and ended up lasting longer than the presumptive nominee for all of 2007, Rudy Giuliani, and Mr. Moneybags, Mitt Romney. Eventually his lack of money and resources caught up to him, but he had no business getting as far as he did and deserves a lot of credit for overcoming enormous odds.
But the other thing to note is the impact Huckabee had on the race and, therefore, the future of the Republican party. If Mike Huckabee did what he was supposed to do, which is never rise up above a few percentage points, Mitt Romney would be the nominee today. Romney would have won Iowa if it wasn't for Huckabee, and had that happened, he likely would have beaten John McCain in New Hampshire, finishing off McCain right then and there. Huckabee winning Iowa completely ruined Romney's campaign because it forced him into a second place finish in New Hampshire and never allowed him to get the momentum he was planning on getting with early wins in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Romney represented the true-conservative wing of the party. He was more George Bush. But because Huckabee more or less ate away at Romney's base, it left an opening for John McCain, someone who is nowhere near a true conservative, to slip by and win the nomination. And if McCain somehow wins in November, the Republican party will never be the same again. His stance on a variety of issues is in direct contrast to what Bush and the true conservative wing thinks, and McCain is going to go against that, even if he tries to kiss up to that group to win the general election. McCain wants to win, and will do what he has to do to win, but once he is in the White House, he is going to push his agenda the way he sees it, and the way he sees things is not the way true conservatives see things -- and the party will be forever changed. McCain, as President, would transform the Republican party into a much more liberal version of the Republican party. The George W. Bush wing of the party will go from being the definition of a Republican to being lumped into what will be an even larger "radical right" group. The Republican party will move heavily to the left on immigration, stem cell research, torture, corporate influence, and other issues, and it's all because of Mike Huckabee.
McCain was left for dead in the summer of 2007. His campaign was out of money, he laid off much of his staff, and many assumed that he'd drop out before the first vote in Iowa was even cast. But the McCain comeback was made possible by Huckabee. He cost Romney the nomination and handed it to McCain on a silver platter. Will that result in McCain handing Huckabee the Vice President spot? Perhaps (and if he did, it would take the Republican party even more to the left on issues like tax cuts for the poor instead of the rich, college scholarships of illegal immigrants, big government programs, etc). But either way, Huckabee has established himself as a star in what will end up as the new, more liberal, Republican party should McCain win in November. Huckabee falls in line with McCain as a liberal Republican and has plenty to gain if McCain becomes President, because whether he is picked as VP or not, if the entire party shifts to the left as it likely would under McCain, Huckabee is in perfect position to run for the party's nomination again after McCain.
And not only did Huckabee change the entire race and the Republican party, he got to have a lot of fun and live out some dreams as well. I doubt he ever envisioned himself doing skits on SNL, and he seemed to love it.
All that from a guy who wasn't supposed to finish much better than Tom Tancredo.
Thank you Huck for making the GOP a party that can rep a larger segment of the population, as the "big tent" party should, & to you Ashish for pointing this out.
Posted By: Mike (Guest) on March 05, 2008 at 09:50 PM
I must disagree with one of your points. I think after having Mccain in the White House for 4 years Republicans will be so ready for a conservative that they will jump at the chance to elect Mitt Romney! The country will realize that we need to get back to our conservative values and will not stand for Huckabee getting in the way this time. Huckabees time has come and gone and has set up the senario where we have to hit rock bottom to finally get back to our core principles. Romney all the way in 2012!
Posted By: MK in Arizona (Guest) on March 06, 2008 at 12:23 AM
Can't stand alot of Huckabee's views but I just have to like the guy. If I was one of the morons who voted based on who I'd want to have a beer with, I'd probably be a Huckabee supporter. It's always nice to see a politician who can take a joke and poke fun at himself. I hope he doesn't get the VP spot though because McCain is ancient and if something should happen we'd have a man in the White House who wants to change the constitution to fit "God's standards", words that make this atheist rather nervous. See, unlike Bush, who used his evangelical status to woo the Christian right vote and then proceeded to do very little for them, I think Huckabee would actually follow through on his promises to force his religion's standards on the rest of the country.
Posted By: Jim (Guest) on March 06, 2008 at 12:46 AM
The Republican Party will never get anywhere being Democrat-lite. If the youth vote means anything it's that the Ron Paul philosophy will slowly take over the party. The government has gone too far with socialist welfare programs, world policing, and silencing of free speech. Reduction of government control along with a decent amount of nationalist policies (secure borders and FAIR trade, not free trade ) is a winning platform in my humble opinion.
Posted By: jarod (Guest) on March 06, 2008 at 01:40 AM
Mike Huckabee is the only winner so far. What he did with so little is a testament of what he could do for our Country.
As far as the comment about Romney, I think Romney showed the true a** he is and can never run for political office of any type again.
Huckabee is the best choice for Mccain to pick as VP, then actually confide with him and work with him as a team to repair America. Will it happen? Who knows.
I will always vote for Huckabee and I hope he runs next time too. Huckabee has so much talent and brilliant ideas.
And these comments are coming from one of his supporters who is not considered an "evangelical" voter.
Great job Governor Huckabee
Posted By: Dan Campbell (Guest) on March 06, 2008 at 01:50 AM
Well, Jim, let me ask you this - what, exactly, is wrong with a more moral society, hm? I suppose we COULD have the type of country where it's perfectly alright to murder, steal, cheat, and destroy whatever/whenever we want, but I couldn't sleep at night knowing that sort of thing is going on. And, really, what is so bad about following God's law? "Thou shalt not steal" - why, that's in our legal system already (worded differently, yes, but the same law). "Thou shalt not kill" - there's another one. Most of the religious law in the Bible is in the legal system already. Now, of course, there aren't going to be any laws passed about which religion you can and cannot follow - that goes against one of the basic elements of this country. I'm not advocating a government ruled by religion here (there are plenty of countries in the world that have made THAT mistake already), but, really, what a lot of people refer to as "religious law" in terms of the Christians is common-sense stuff. Jesus laid down two basic laws: Love God above all others and love thy neighbor as thyself. Basically, to the believer, that means to not let anything in your life become so important that you forget about God and to treat others as you would have them treat you (the oft-spoke-of "Golden Rule"). That's the extent of it. There were a LOT of laws laid down in the Old Testament, the the Ten Commandments are still a good guideline to follow, but one of the reasons (aside from sacrificing Himself on the cross) that Jesus was sent to Earth was to abolish the old Mosaic laws and simplify things, hence narrowing it down to two. That's pretty much all there is to it. Just about verything else you hear from the preachers on television is what THEY think those words mean, and you can't go by that. The only thing that I agree with them on is partial-birth abortion; when you kill something that has no chance to fight back or escape and isn't even aware that its life is in danger is murder; pure and simple. At least when I hunt, the deer has a chance of seeing/smelling me and running away before I can shoot; and when I fish, the fish has the chance to break the line or get off the hook and get away. A baby in a womb can't run away and it certainly can't defend itself. It's no different than binding someone's hands and feet, standing them up in a corner, and shooting them in the head. I think the only case where a partial-birth abortion should be allowed is if the mother's life is in real danger.
But I digress; when you get right down to it, most "religious" laws in the Christian texts are guidelines for how to behave in society and merely state to do no harm (save in cases where harm has been done to you, but that's a case-by-case-basis), so I don't see what the fuss is about.
Posted By: William Bumgarner (Registered) on March 06, 2008 at 03:48 AM
The only reason Huckabee made it as far as he did was due to the media's help and the lack of attacks on Huckabee by the DNC. He was the media's chosen and the Dems were giddy with the thought of Huckaphony being the nominee--they knew he would be easiest to beat in the general election. Mitt was a huge threat and thus the DNC had a zillion more negative ads against Romney as they did the Huckaphony. Sad so many Iowans fell for the phony charlatan raking in the bucks with the help of pastors4huckabee.com. Huck deserves no medals--he's a scam artist and the media and DNC aided him greatly in his act.
Posted By: Shelby (Guest) on March 06, 2008 at 04:11 AM
Huckabee is the only presidential candidate with any scruples at all, and I'm glad to see him make it as far as he did. I'm praying he'd accept the VP nomination if presented to him.
Posted By: pic369 (Guest) on March 06, 2008 at 09:14 AM
Holy shit, I find myself agreeing with Bill Bumgarner. I genuinely do, though. All of society's morals are derived from religion, no matter how people of today think it's cool to bash religion for everything. Without religion, you don't have morals, and you don't have laws and we'd all be animals (not Batista).
Posted By: Finn (Guest) on March 06, 2008 at 10:04 AM
Huckabee was running for a future election this time, not the 2008 I believe.
(Assuming the Democrats win) Huckabee has set himself up nicley to chanllenge in 2012, he has tested the waters, got his name out and proved he can be a serious candidate.
Now he can focus on buliding up some resources for in 4 years time as he now has a better idea of what he'll need to clinch it next time around.
Posted By: Evander F (Guest) on March 06, 2008 at 10:36 AM
hate to do this to you bumgarner but while yes religious morals do promote things like do not lie, cheat, steal, kill. But religion has also done more of those things than anything else in this world. and in a more realistic scenario, religious morals also promote censorship, intolerance, lack of scientific progress and basic oppression. i have no problem with a lot of religion wants to bring but there are too many bad things that would come with it. huckabee as the vp doesn't bother me but huckabee as the president scares the living shit out of me and givin mccains age and the fact that hes lead a rather rough life makes me agree with Jim in that i hope he doesn;t get the vp spot.
Posted By: stronelis (Guest) on March 06, 2008 at 12:22 PM
Can you imagine if Romney had actually won? I genuinely believe it would have been devestating for the Republican party. I don't think McCain is going to make it a more "liberal" party rather bring it back to it's common sense roots, similar too the Gip did in '80.
Posted By: JP (Guest) on March 06, 2008 at 09:22 PM
Both parties could be in for some re-aligning. Whomever comes up short on the Obama-Clinton thing will see their supporters shaken. Similarly, Romney and Huckabee seriously disliked each other so if they are positioning themselves for down the road - look out. McCain was likely the second choice of both Romney and Huckabee supporters so he can hold the GOP together for now unless the talk radio revolt continues.
Posted By: Dan Martin (Registered) on March 06, 2008 at 09:44 PM
Huckabee played identity politcs and he didn't do it. He willingly let himself be a pawn to the mainstream media who propped him up ever so temporarily to thrwart Romney. There was substantial groupthink among the media corps: Romney had to go and they used Huckabee to do it. A few states later Huckabee fell off the media's radar because they wanted to make McCain the comeback kid. We Republicans were dumb dumb dumb. We let the media manipulate us and pick our candidate. The Republican party has only temporarily been changed: conservatism will dominate it again in four years.
Posted By: Dan (Guest) on March 07, 2008 at 12:46 AM
What? Romney represented the "true conservative" portion of the party? How so? Since when did conservatives like people who tax and believe in universal health care?
Posted By: Michael (Guest) on March 07, 2008 at 01:22 AM
Huck as Prez = Theocracy
Posted By: Anon (Guest) on March 07, 2008 at 12:17 PM
Huckabee is a psycho who wants to turn the US into a theocracy based on his own warped ideas of what Christianity is. He's everything that's wrong with the Republican party, and just because he might seem like a cool guy to talk to doesn't change that. His friendly routine is probably a complete fraud, too, just to get people to think that about him.
Posted By: Eddie (Guest) on March 07, 2008 at 08:17 PM
If Huckabee made it, the US would be a stone's throw away from flying airplanes into the tower of London....
Religion can cause destruction. Just look at why we were in Afganistan (sic), we were after Osama Bin Laden. He is another example of religion causing more harm than good.
Bill,
You over simplify the Holy Bible. We have psychopaths blowing up clinics in the name of God. I guess they accidently skipped one of those ten commandments. What makes Mike any better than Osama Bin Laden?
Posted By: David R. (Guest) on March 08, 2008 at 12:25 AM
So a man who made a fortune on his own is derisively labeled a "moneybags" in the REPUBLICAN party? Bigots like you are why I left.
Posted By: dr scott (Guest) on March 11, 2008 at 07:05 PM
Wait, wait.. Bush is a "true conservative?" - let's see... he's expanded the size and scope of federal government. He's outspent every president in history. He's presided over an expansionist foreign policy... what exactly is "conservative" about him?
McCain - the idea that he's not a "true" conservative is a myth myth myth. The man has an 85% rating from the American Conservatives Union. How, pray tell, is that "nowhere near" a true conservative? Looks to mne like he's... only about 15% off. That's pretty darn conservative.
There are two reasons he's painted as some kind of moderate: one, he doesn't obsess on and constantly talk about social issues (though he consistently votes conservative on them) a la Rick "man-on-dog" Santorum - and second, McCain-Feingold.
Posted By: Al Lawson (Guest) on March 12, 2008 at 04:13 PM
Huckabee doesn't believe in a theocracy. Why don't you get educated before you speak, people? Read about Thomas Jefferson, then maybe you'll understand a bit more about Mike Huckabee. Jefferson was not a Christian but believed in Christian principles and rules. It's called common sense and makes us more civilized. Many people from many different faiths, or no faith at all, will sit it out in Nov. if Huckabee isn't on the ticket. Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, etc, etc, etc. support Huckabee.
Try to use facts when you form an opinion.
I think Ashish makes many valid points.
Posted By: Nathan (guest) (Guest) on March 24, 2008 at 05:29 PM
STAY CURRENT