Huckabee: Beginning of the End?

Like all other fans of Senator John McCain, I congratulate him on the endorsements by the Des Moines Register and the Boston Globe. In many ways, the quasi-endorsement of McCain by The Economist of London might be the most important. I'll discuss tomorrow The Economist's assessment of the Senator -- and its equally important insights on why Mike Huckabee is not an appropriate nominee for President. The many people online, especially Brad Marston and the other members of Team McCain, have impressed me deeply. Would John McCain make a good President? Frankly, I believe he'd make an excellent one. I believe the same about Rudy Giuliani, and the nomination of either man would please me greatly. -- Steve Maloney

Note: The following (in italics) is a comment by the Rev. (?) Don Spitz, a strong Huckabee supporter, to my column below. The Rev. Spitz is one of the first supporters of a major candidate to endorse mass murderers (Paul Hill and Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph). I believe he helps me make my point. By the way, I'm personally opposed to abortion in just about all its forms, but unlike the Rev. Spitz, I don't confuse myself with God Almighty.
I believe that constiutionally, abortion is a matter for the states to decide, which would happen in the unlikely case that Roe v. Wade is overturned, a point apparently lost on Mike Huckabee and Don Spitz, a leader in the Army of God Terrorist Organization.

Rev. Don Spitz said...Paul Hill and Eric Rudolph did the right thing in stopping those babykilling abortionists. You on the other hand, support the murder of helpless babies. You are much worse.SAY THIS PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I am a sinner and am headed to eternal hell because of my sins. I believe you died on the cross to take away my sins and to take me to heaven. Jesus, I ask you now to come into my heart and take away my sins and give me eternal life.


Huckabee: Beginning of the End?
I see that Larry Perrault, a staunch supporter of Gov. Mike Huckabee, has begun attacking me again on his blog. Larry generally spends his time writing endless columns devoted to establishing that Gov. Huckabee didn't really say what he said and didn't do what he did. Larry despises every other Republican candidate and has said that if Mike doesn't get the nomination, he will sit home on Election Day cuddling his blankie and his binky.

Mike Huckabee is not a bad man, but he's a careless individual. He surrounds himself with supporters, such as Larry, who are theocrats, people who would be much more comfortable in John Calvin's era than in 21st century America.

Some of Huckabee's supporters are anti-Catholic, such as Rev. Rude of Iowa, who denounced Sam Brownback for being too, well, "Catholic." Most evangelical Protestants have made a peace, perhaps an uneasy one, with Catholicism, but many have not.

As Mike zipped up the lips of Rev. Rude, he failed to make any sort of definitive statement about evangelicals who are strongly anti-Catholic. I have no idea what Mike's specific thoughts are on Roman Catholicism, and that's something he must address. He certainly needs to speak forcefully about what he's done, if anything, to eradicate the Rev. Rude types from his campaign. Saying that he's pleased Rude "apologized" is not enough -- by far.

Huckabee has recently made anti-Mormon statements, directed at Mitt Romney, in an interview with the New York Times. Mike doesn't seem to understand -- or care? -- that Mormons are an important element of the Republican Party in states like Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, and California. Mike needs to apologize for raising the canard that Mormons believe that "Satan and Jesus are brothers."

Remember, Mike, there are six million Mormons in America, and almost all who are of age vote.

One of the biggest problems Mike will face is his support from America-haters like Dr. Laurence White, a Lutheran pastor in Houston. (Dr. White is Larry Perrault's favorite preacher.) In his essay "God and Caesar," White talks at length about how contemporary America is as bad -- or worse? -- than Nazi Germany in the late 1930s. White suggests that he is like the German preachers (he doesn't mention Catholic Germans) who were persecuted and executed by the Nazis.

On September 25, 2007, on his blog, Mike Huckabee reprinted Dr. White's column entitled "The Election Cannot be About Electability," which used some material from "God and Caesar." Huckabee's supporters chimed in with responses about how America is rapidly descending into Hades.

Frankly, it's not possible to understand an important segment of the Huckabee constituency without reading "God and Caesar." It's an amazing political document, and it's not something Huckabee will be sending out with his Christmas cards.

In a previous column about "God and Caesar," I said the following: "I quote the piece extensively, and my conclusion is that White is (1) basically calling for a violent revolution by Christians against American civil society; (2) encouraging "pro-life-killers" like Paul Hill and Eric Rudolph; (3) writing a document that sounds uncomfortably like an American Mein Kampf in targeting certain groups and institutions -- including homosexuals and the public school system -- for supposedly destroying the moral core of society."

If a Rudy Giuliani, a John McCain, or a Mitt Romney were associated with someone as odious as Dr. White, their campaigns would soon come to an end. A Laurence White is the equivalent for a candidate of an anvil around the neck.

What Laurence White and Larry Perrault fail to understand is that this is in fact a "government by, of, and for the people." Sometimes, the people will disagree with us on important issues, including abortion. That doesn't mean we can ignore them -- or treat them with contempt. It means that politics in a free country is a dialogue that goes on . . . and on . . . and on.

The kind of contempt for others -- even those who are "wrong" -- that went on during Calvinism and the Inquisition is not appropriate in 2007. If Mike Huckabee wants to win the nomination and the presidency, he needs to outline exactly where he stands on other religions, including not only Catholicism and Mormonism, but also Judaism and other faiths practiced in America. He doesn't have to say that he agrees with them, only that he truly respects them.

He also needs to repudiate -- to condemn -- people like Rev. Rude, Rev. Laurence White, Rev. Don Spitz, and Larry Perrault. Otherwise, he will be carrying around the political equivalent of a time bomb. As you'll note, there are lot of "Reverends" whose actions and words are very un-Reverend like.

I know where serious candidates like Giuliani, McCain, and Romney stand on such issues -- they're in favor of tolerance, respect, and basic decency. But do we really have any idea where Huckabee stands? Mike, it's put up or shut up time.

Let me add this about the Rev. Don Spitz: he exemplifies the kind of craziness that's gathered on the edges of the Huckabee candidacy. The Don Spitzes, Paul Hills, Eric Rudolphs -- and their intellectual mentors, such as Laurence White -- are just plain dangerous.