By Martin Bosworth
For nearly my entire lifetime, the Republican Party has won victory after victory by kowtowing to and marshaling up the resources of the evangelical movement in the United States, always promising them that their prime concerns–God, guns, gays, and girly parts–would be central to the agenda once they won, only to dash those hopes and go back to whatever corporatist/hawkish agenda they had at the time. To the neocon/hawk wing of the GOP, the fundies are like your crazy uncle. You have to invite him to family functions and be nice to him, but otherwise you don’t call him and secretly hope he would just die in a fire.
Well, now the evangelical base finally has a candidate of their own, and the conservative moneyed elites have caught the vapors like whoa.
More analysis from Arianna Huffington, Steve Benen, and Kevin Drum.
I mostly agree with Drum’s thesis that it’s all about the class with these jerkoffs. The modern conservative movement are really just selfish psuedo-libertarians at their core–they don’t care what happens to the rest of the world as long as their personal bubble goes untouched. The idea that a nutbar “snake-handler” like Huckabee who has (gasp!) raised taxes, (shriek!) cares for the poor, and (faint!) actually believes in creationism, could actually win this thing and unleash the Rapture has them up in arms, and I couldn’t be happier.
But can Huckabee win this thing? It depends.
Against Clinton, he might have a shot. His folksy charm and down-home bromides easily conceal the nastiness of his agenda and would play powerfully against Clinton’s cool, calculating facade, plus he’d have the best chance of rallying the fundiecrats’ frothing hatred of her into votes. But against Obama or Edwards? Dead meat.
Then again, I couldn’t believe 50 percent of the country voted for the Decider, so what do I know? All I know is that anything that helps contribute to making Rudy Giuliani a political and historical footnote is something I can be amused by, if not support. 😉
Categories: Funny, Media/Entertainment, Politics/Law/Government
Progressive Culture | Scholars & Rogues 
Martin said:
“snake-handler†He’s a Southern Baptist Preacher and I don’t think they handle snakes. Better ask Dr. Slammy about that one as I believe he was raised Southern Baptist:)
Jeff
Eh, Huckabee’s rise has been so improbable that I can’t help but think there’s Democrat money behind it. The “I pardoned a rapist murderer who went on to rape and murder again” will be tough for the electorate to get over. His son also tortured a dog. Next to that, Bush’s glug-glug twins look almost chaste. If Dems can get those stories and more into the media, it’ll probably be enough to keep the Fundies at home on election day.
Snake handling is not, in fact, a Southern Baptist thing. Believe it or not, there are people out there that the SBs think are over the edge. However, given how Huckabee is conducting his campaign for Preacher-in-Chief, I’m not opposed to the use of the term in his specific case.
That’s why I put it in quotes–not because I view him that way, but because that’s how the neocons view Huck and his ilk. Perhaps not wrongly, now that I think about it.
Why did he respond that it was interesting that he was asked such a question?
The picture you posted brought to mind Robert Lindsay who played the lead role in GBH.
As with Giuliani, the cart — loaded with his baggage — is running faster than his horse. Should overtake him any day now.
Have read that his friendly, easy-going exterior conceals a thin-skinned hot-head.
Not unlike McCain. Who, I have a sneaking, sinking sensation will outlast the others. If only because he tells the truth 50% of the time.
Whereas the other Republican candidates do that about 0.3% to 0.9%.