avatar4321
12-04-2007, 01:35 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/03/AR2007120301620.html
couple paragraphs i particularly thought were insightful:
Pardon me for saying so, but that is the chief difference between the two. On about all the social issues you can name -- abortion, stem cells, gun control -- Huckabee and Romney are in sync. So their religious differences are not about morality. They are about belief -- religious belief, precisely the issue that is not supposed to matter in this country. Huckabee, though, clearly thinks it ought to.
The reason I started with Stephanopoulos is that he provided the perfect opportunity for Huckabee to make some ringing statement in support of religious tolerance. He might have made some reference to the ugly anti-Catholic campaigns run against Al Smith (1928) and John F. Kennedy (1960) and how they had both been spearheaded by prominent members of the Protestant clergy, Methodist Bishop Adna Leonard in the former's case, the renowned Norman Vincent Peale in the latter's. (Peale later went on to receive a Presidential Medal of Freedom from Ronald Reagan.) In other words, Huckabee might have preached. Instead, he said Romney had to answer for himself the question of whether he's a Christian. As for the TV commercial Huckabee is running in Iowa that opens by proclaiming him a "Christian leader," he said this is just because that's what he is -- not, mind, you, the former governor of a nearby state or even a weight-loss guru. But as he well knew, it is not his surprisingly moderate record as governor of Arkansas that so attracts Iowa's conservative Christian voters, it's his obdurate and narrow-minded religious beliefs.
I am a little troubled by Huckabee's campaign as a "Christian leader". Last time I checked, every single candidate are Christians. I don't see how any of them would be any less a Christian leader. But everyone but Huckabee is not emphasizing it. Why? Because they arent running for Pastor-in-Chief. They are running for the President of the United States. But Huckabee is running as though he is the only Christian leader. It just seems totally disrespectful to all the other candidates. And considering the preminience freedom of religion is in this nation, I think they should be respected.
Because quite frankly, as long as the candidate shares similiar values as me, I dont care what their religion is. We can agree on that and work together for the greater good.
Liberals have been attacking President Bush for 8 years on his evangelical beliefs. And they come off as intolerant for doing so because there is no reason to believe that President Bush plans on forcing his views on everyone. Huckabee on the hand is going beyond anything President Bush did. The liberals are going to be able to convince alot more people that Huckabee is willing to blur Church and state. And quite frankly, I am not convinced that Huckabee won't. This will provide huge turnout for the Democrats. Because they will be able to use Huckabee as a refferendum on Bush. In fact, they will argue that he will go further than Bush.
And there is no doubt that Huckabee's appeal is his charm. He is a nice guy. He reminds me alot of Jimmy Carter. He was a nice guy too. I am seriously worried that the media can gin up enough support for Huckabee pull a momentum run like Kerry and we will have a nominee that most people will know nothing about. Because I know the more I learn about Huckabee's record the more he troubles me.
Also, please keep in mind that Huckabee supporters would likely be syphoned off from Thompson and Romney. That could divide the vote enough to provide Guiliani with the votes he needs to take the nomination.
I think Thompson and Romney supporters should be concerned about Huckabee.
Can someone please give me a reason why any of my concerns about Huckabee might be unfounded?
couple paragraphs i particularly thought were insightful:
Pardon me for saying so, but that is the chief difference between the two. On about all the social issues you can name -- abortion, stem cells, gun control -- Huckabee and Romney are in sync. So their religious differences are not about morality. They are about belief -- religious belief, precisely the issue that is not supposed to matter in this country. Huckabee, though, clearly thinks it ought to.
The reason I started with Stephanopoulos is that he provided the perfect opportunity for Huckabee to make some ringing statement in support of religious tolerance. He might have made some reference to the ugly anti-Catholic campaigns run against Al Smith (1928) and John F. Kennedy (1960) and how they had both been spearheaded by prominent members of the Protestant clergy, Methodist Bishop Adna Leonard in the former's case, the renowned Norman Vincent Peale in the latter's. (Peale later went on to receive a Presidential Medal of Freedom from Ronald Reagan.) In other words, Huckabee might have preached. Instead, he said Romney had to answer for himself the question of whether he's a Christian. As for the TV commercial Huckabee is running in Iowa that opens by proclaiming him a "Christian leader," he said this is just because that's what he is -- not, mind, you, the former governor of a nearby state or even a weight-loss guru. But as he well knew, it is not his surprisingly moderate record as governor of Arkansas that so attracts Iowa's conservative Christian voters, it's his obdurate and narrow-minded religious beliefs.
I am a little troubled by Huckabee's campaign as a "Christian leader". Last time I checked, every single candidate are Christians. I don't see how any of them would be any less a Christian leader. But everyone but Huckabee is not emphasizing it. Why? Because they arent running for Pastor-in-Chief. They are running for the President of the United States. But Huckabee is running as though he is the only Christian leader. It just seems totally disrespectful to all the other candidates. And considering the preminience freedom of religion is in this nation, I think they should be respected.
Because quite frankly, as long as the candidate shares similiar values as me, I dont care what their religion is. We can agree on that and work together for the greater good.
Liberals have been attacking President Bush for 8 years on his evangelical beliefs. And they come off as intolerant for doing so because there is no reason to believe that President Bush plans on forcing his views on everyone. Huckabee on the hand is going beyond anything President Bush did. The liberals are going to be able to convince alot more people that Huckabee is willing to blur Church and state. And quite frankly, I am not convinced that Huckabee won't. This will provide huge turnout for the Democrats. Because they will be able to use Huckabee as a refferendum on Bush. In fact, they will argue that he will go further than Bush.
And there is no doubt that Huckabee's appeal is his charm. He is a nice guy. He reminds me alot of Jimmy Carter. He was a nice guy too. I am seriously worried that the media can gin up enough support for Huckabee pull a momentum run like Kerry and we will have a nominee that most people will know nothing about. Because I know the more I learn about Huckabee's record the more he troubles me.
Also, please keep in mind that Huckabee supporters would likely be syphoned off from Thompson and Romney. That could divide the vote enough to provide Guiliani with the votes he needs to take the nomination.
I think Thompson and Romney supporters should be concerned about Huckabee.
Can someone please give me a reason why any of my concerns about Huckabee might be unfounded?