Give Huckabee a Look - From Veritas 11/7/07

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I wrote this for Colorado Christian University's student newspaper, Veritas, in late October, about two weeks before the Hucka-boom. Mike Huckabee just won the Iowa Caucuses, and looks to be a significant player in the nomination battle, no matter where things go from here. Here was my rationale for giving his campaign a look.

There’s a candidate running for president as the candidate of change—sweeping, generational change. He has fairly conventional positions for a politician of his party, but it is his tone and his persona that makes him a refreshing new face on the political scene. He has a chance to change not only the way his party is perceived, but the way the parties relate to each other. He’s a gifted and appealing public speaker. Barack Obama? No.

The former governor of Arkansas has caught fire in the Republican presidential primary race in recent weeks. First, in early August, Huckabee finished a strong second to former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, despite being outspent by nearly a 10-1 margin in the Ames Straw Poll. Then, in late October, Huckabee won over half of the votes of attendees at the Family Research Council’s “Values Voters Conference,” after a well-received speech that overshadowed those of Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and former senator Fred Thompson, who were all in attendance. Huckabee is improbably second to Romney in Iowa primary polling, and just broke 10% in national primary polling, an amazing accomplishment for a lightly-funded small state governor.

Mike Huckabee, interestingly enough, is from Hope, Arkansas, the same small town that produced President Bill Clinton. He begins many of his stump speeches by saying, “I’m Mike Huckabee, I’m from a place called Hope, and I’m asking you to give us another chance.” His folksy charm and relational speeches make the comparison to Clinton an easy one. Like Clinton, Huckabee is a warm and appealing public speaker. Most of his speeches are given off-the-cuff, although Huckabee will resort to a speechwriter for important policy speeches. Huckabee has shown a sense of humor that has made him difficult to pigeonhole as just another angry conservative.

Indeed, part of Huckabee’s appeal (and potential) is that likeability. According to Huckabee “I’m a conservative, I’m just not angry about it.” Mike Huckabee has the potential to finally change the perception of the Republican Party from the party of “angry old white men,” to a party that can finally appeal to the middle class and minorities like it did during the days of Ronald Reagan. In many ways, Huckabee is the heir to George W. Bush’s compassionate conservatism, a philosophy that has lost its luster due to Bush’s lack of fiscal discipline, but is still a potent electoral force.

Unlike Bush, however, Huckabee has taken conservative positions on issues like immigration and fiscal responsibility. Huckabee believes that the U.S.-Mexico border most be secured, for national security reasons, but has chosen not to travel the path of vaguely racist demagoguery that could turn the Hispanic vote away from Republicans for a generation. Huckabee has taken heat for his lack of anti-immigrant rhetoric, but his Christian faith informs his views on how we must treat even illegal immigrants. Huckabee has also shown an ability to empathize with the economic anxiety of the middle class, in a way that even President Bush has so far been unable to do. Huckabee has not compromised on his conservative positions either. He supports the Fair Tax movement, which seeks to establish a nation-wide flat tax and eliminate the convoluted income tax system.

Huckabee is also an ordained Baptist pastor (and not in the Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton way). He was actually a pastor in Arkansas long before he ever considered politics. He speaks the language of Christianity, and could be the most articulate defender of Christianity on the national stage right now. Having a president with a clear Christian testimony and the eloquence to defend it, would undoubtedly be good for the church in America.

Huckabee’s Christian faith has led him to take conservative positions on the sanctity of life and gay marriage, but it is the same Christian faith, he says, that led him to send immediate aid to the states affected by Hurricane Katrina while he was governor of Arkansas. In other words, Huckabee understands that Christian politics isn’t just about abortion and gay marriage, but that it is about showing love and respect to all people. Huckabee’s actions speak louder than words: he worked with a heavily Democratic state legislature for his whole tenure as governor, and no one from those legislatures has anything negative to say about his conduct or demeanor, aside from the disagreement on the issues. It seems that Huckabee has mastered the art of “disagreeing without being disagreeable,” a trait that would serve a president well.

Mike Huckabee has a chance to change the way Christians in politics are perceived. For years, Christian political involvement has meant anger and divisiveness and a constant battle mentality. Huckabee doesn’t compromise on the issues, but his warm and caring personality, and his focus on bringing people together, could mean a new respect for evangelical public policy. As you start to consider who you will support for president, Mike Huckabee deserves a look.