Riverwood Presbyterian Church

Politics

The “Christian” Candidate

by Clay Staggs

The latest boomlet in the GOP primary belongs to former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. Gov. Huckabee is a former Baptist minister, and with the fading of Fred Thompson’s campaign, has become (supposedly) the darling of the Iowa Christian conservatives. He now leads in most polls of Iowa GOP voters.

You know, the Republican party has historically had two really identifiable wings. The first are Christian social conservatives. These are the ones that the mainstream press loves to write about, but has not a clue about, because most of them don’t know any actual Christian conservatives. The other wing of the party are the economic conservatives. These used to be the east coast Rockefeller types, who didn’t really care much for the social cons, thinking they were a bunch of religious whacko hicks. Nowadays they’re more libertarian - think “South Park” conservatives. They aren’t too crazy about the social cons either.

The political revolution of Ronald Reagan was to be acceptable to both the economic cons and the social cons. Since Reagan, most GOP presidential aspirants have sought to mimic this feat (whether or not it seemed terribly genuine). Dole, who had never been much of a tax cutter, never could seal the deal. George W did a fair job of it, at least at first.

But an interesting thing is happening this time. There is a champion of each wing, and neither seems to be too terribly interested in becoming Reagan. Guiliani is obviously the economic con. He’s pretty unapologetic about being pro-life, pro-gay rights, etc. - things that just don’t set well with social cons. He has made some conciliatory gestures (especially on appointing judges, which in my view is where it counts most). But, unlike Romney, he does not profess conversion to the pro-life side.

Now the social con wing seems to have a champion - and of all the unlikely candidates in this race, it’s Mike Huckabee. Huckabee raised taxes in Arkansas when he was governor. Much is being made about stuff like that by the Club for Growth, and other folks of like mind who really like Rudy better in the first place. And Huckabee does champion the National Sales Tax (aka the “Fair Tax”). I personally favor the flat tax instead (maybe I’ll detail why in a future post), but any tax reform that simplifies cannot do anything but help matters, IMHO. The economic cons don’t like Huckabee, though.

What’s shocking to me about Huckabee’s embrace by the social cons is that he’s taking some positions that I would expect to be deal-killers, yet his support is only increasing. For instance, he advocated giving the children of illegal immigrants in-state tuition when governor, and has not backed off this position. Additionally, he’s now saying that he’d ban the use of waterboarding for interrogations of terrorists, and would close Guantanamo Bay. Doesn’t this seems like a Democrat position? Get this quote:

I’ve been to Guantanamo, I was there, I guess it’s been about a year and a half ago. I think the problem with Guantanamo is not in that its facilities are inadequate. It’s the symbol that it represents. It’s clearly become a symbol to the rest of the world as a place that has become problematic for us as a nation. I was quite frankly impressed with the quality of the facilities and even the attention to care that was given to the detainees, but that aside, it doesn’t alter that Guantanamo to the rest of the world is a symbol that is not in our best interests to continue pursuing.

Wow. It’s like Obama talking or something. Video here. (HT: Hugh Hewitt)

So the Christian cons, at least in Iowa, seem to be latching on to one of the weaker candidates in the field. Why? I can only conclude that it’s because he’s “Christian.” After all, Rudy is a lapsed Catholic at best, Romney is a mormon, McCain is, well, McCain, and Fred is sinking like a stone. I frequently bemoan the lack of wisdom that evangelicals seem to display, especially in the sphere of public affairs, and others on this blog have addressed the need for “Christian” versions of everything. It appears that we’ve got to have a “Christian” candidate, even if he’s the weakest in the field, splits the party on some pretty critical issues, and has some pretty poorly conceived positions (no word on where he’d put the Guantanamo detainees, AFAIK).

I think that, in the long run, social cons rallying to Huckabee will weaken Romney, which, in turn, strengthens Guiliani. Regardless, the winning Reagan formula seems to be falling away, with only Romney trying to use it.