Huckabee's Revolution: Yet Another for the History Books

You just can't beat some of the crack political analysis coming from some of the crack political analysts in South Carolina, today's latest epicenter of the fractured GOP primary race. For instance its governor, Mark Sanford, pondered the dicey situation for the Washington Post and "said the substantial number of undecided voters reflects uncertainty ... among Republicans."

Such high deduction is akin to Calvin Coolidge's insight that massive unemployment results when a lot of folks are out of work, and Cal made it to the very top. Perhaps one of today's contestants will similarly favor us with a few years of his intellectual penetration as chief executive, but alas, I fear Mike Huckabee, after today, won't be among them.

The cause lies not entirely with the Huck himself. Fred Thompson's stalking-horse campaign on John McCain's behalf was apparently a tactic that Jesus failed to read up on before anointing Mike, and it's doing one helluva righteous bag-job on the Huck's numbers in South Carolina. There are some things in the underhanded cesspool of politics, it would seem, that even God can't overcome.

Mr. Huckabee might survive today's crucible, but what he encounters from there is a largely secular brick wall, and, paradoxically, it's Huckabee who made it stronger.

In his immoderate desperation to motivate his one and only base -- economic populism doesn't stir the hearts of many among the GOP faithful -- Mike simply went too far. He shivered the spines of the theocratically wary, and even spooked the holy fence-sitters.

Despite what he claims as celestial inspiration, Mike was always playing a dangerous, calculated game -- knowing, that is, precisely when to moderate the message. But these things have a way of taking on a life of their own: in for a penny, in for a pound, so to speak, and once he got rolling Mr. Huckabee had very little real control over his own investment. Desperation feeds on itself, and like a gambler down a fortune, one might as well go whole hog. Indeed, one has to, if he wants to stay in the game as a major player.

Huckabee had little trouble bamboozling the profoundly ignorant, of course. For instance when asked in a debate last week about the repeatedly affirmed Southern Baptist doctrine of a wife "submit[ting] herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband," Huckabee explained that the "position required no subordination at all. It meant, he said, both husbands and wives 'mutually showing their affection and submission as unto the Lord.'"

Now, you and I see that as a repudiation of plain English; a squalid affront to the literal interpretation of church and biblical doctrine, which, according to its doctrinal wizards, is a mortal no-no. But, afterward declared Oran P. Smith of the Christian-fundamentalist Palmetto Family Council, "It was masterful." He wasn't quite sure just how Mr. Huckabee managed this rhetorical magic, but goddamn he was "like Houdini."

Amusing, yes, and to maybe five or ten percent of the Republican troops it's even convincing. But that, of course, ain't nearly enough. Mike had to kick the fence-sitters off the fence, and the only way to do that was to crank up the fanaticism.

This he fatefully did Monday, explaining to a probably rather puzzled Detroit mob that the U.S. Constitution should be amended "so it’s in God’s standards" -- meaning Mr. Huckabee's -- "rather than try to change God’s standards."

Whoops. Now that was a brazenly theocratic bridge too far, even for large and influential segments of the right-wing Christian community. Huckabee had casually popped the cork of inexorable fundamentalist logic, and one simply musn't do these things in public. It's an embarrassment to the furtive cause.

"Is the Constitution anti-God?" asked a leading commentator of the online evangelical magazine, Christianity Today. "Honestly, I’m thinking that this quote probably cost Huckabee more evangelical votes than it won him."

Yet the blunder was inevitable, and therefore not really a blunder. Religious fanaticism within a secular society was all that Mr. Huckabee ever really had to sell. And ultimately it folded like most internal contradictions do.

His brief trajectory merely followed that of all revolutionary movements. He needed to increasingly radicalize his message to ensure enduring motivation among the faithful -- who were, after all, his only hope -- but such messages always reach the snapping point. At some blessed and internal moment someone says, Wait a minute, this has gotten out of hand. So the movement retreats, leaving behind the leader's head on the block.

But his was fun to watch while it lasted. Even comforting, in a way. For it's good to see that there are some stabilizing historical verities that just can't be changed.

Comments

[beamer]

f*ck huck

[Texas Teetotaler]

Well, now we know, despite Bush, that the American people aren't so stupid after all. Now if only we could chase Murdoch out of the country and everything might, eventually, be fine.
GO SECULARS!

[Sangamon]

A slightly different perspective... Huckabee convinces fundamentalists that their not fanatics. He seems so "normal," plays the bass, makes slightly off-color jokes. Yet he's able to deny modern biology, believe the Rapture is coming soon and that God's law should rule. He's a bridge across the cognitive dissonance between modern life and recondite beliefs.

[Hotrod]

PM,
Is it just me or are we overflowing with human sewage disguised as presidential timber this year? Gomer Huckabee is probably the best example of the electoral folly played before our very eyes. He is probably going to flame out, but how many millions of Americans believe this idiot? What does that say about our country? The fact that he can garner so mu8ch support when Dennis and John Edwards struggle boggles the mind.

[quousque]

The only truly tolerant response to any religion intruding the public square is: HOW MUCH OF THIS ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE?

[Clemsy]

I think you can depend on 20 to 30% of the electorate to be open to Huck's message. Many of us used to think that the fundies were a mere lunatic fringe, easily dismissed. However, Bush's parlor games have shown that they must be taken into account and effectively countered. It doesn't matter how many, it matters how loud and how organized.

How powerful the theocrats become is a measure of how healthy the democracy. In a democracy, we deserve what we allow.

I'm hopeful that BushCo has muddied the pond for the fundamentalists so badly that those who would have otherwise tolerated them as 'basically good people' have had enough abortion and gay marriage politics.

Especially given that Christ focused on other issues that really are more significant today than when Bushie brought the crazies to town.

Namely poverty, peace, compassion, etc.

[muldoon]

Clemay, methinks you nailed it. Thanks to Huckabee, the lunatic fringe is now in the spotlight. And this could be causing a lot of people, who until now have regarded the fundies as fellow members of the "Christian Tribe", to do some serious rethinking.

At least I hope that's the case.

[PG Bowden]

I live in Arkansas and I know the "Huckster" lies convincingly everytime he exhales. But damn if he didn't stumble onto a message in Iowa that could have made him a player throughout this election--pricipled but tolerant new testament social conservatism, and economic populism in uncertain times--all wrapped up in an aw shucks, easy-going, disarming attitude.

And so he used this message to whoop all their GOP asses in Iowa and put the fear of God in the elites to boot. So how did he follow that win up?

By hiring Ed Rollins as a consultant. Actually that's not quite true--he hired Rollins just before Iowa, and in a stroke of Huckabian brilliance, refused to run (sort of) a "fine," highly produced negative ad Rollins had produced to trash Romney. So the one thing Rollins offered Huck before Iowa was turned down (kind of) and he won the caucus anyway.

But Huck, never one to learn a good lesson, decided that the best thing he could do post-Iowa was to do everything Rollins told him to do, instincts be damned. And so he has.

And the first thing Rollins told him to do was to change that winning message in Iowa and revert to some good old fashioned, old testament bible thumping and thinly disguised race-baiting. Otherwise, no win in S. Carolina.

DC consultants NEVER trust the voters. What wins in Iowa cannot win in S. Carolina, they argue.

And so let it be written, Rollins has successfully destroyed whatever larger coalition Huck was attempting to build, with his childlike, myopic understanding of S. Carolina politics and ridiculously short-termed national vision. He singlehandedly turned Mike Huckabee "nice guy" into Mike Huckaboo, push-polling crazy bible guy. Of course, that's what Huck really is, you know, it's just that he was hiding it all so well before Rollins came along.

In the end, though, it was Huck's decision to hire Rollins and Huck is inheriting the DC consultant wind. He has little chance to win even the nomination now, but if he is to reclaim even a glimmer of hope he should immediately fire this Rollins guy, re-tool his new testament message (ala Iowa), apologize for his DC consultanr fling and throw himself on the mercy of Florida voters and take the so-called "high road" once again.

But it's probably too late for 'ol Huck now. I say Good riddance. Huck would be a truly dismal and actually quite frightening president were he to obtain the power of the Oval office.

Soon we will rid ourselves of a thocratic dictator. We sure don't need another.

[Zorro]

Wow, all this trash talk strongly suggest small minds.

I just had one editorial question. Could you read this paragraph?

"In his immoderate desperation to motivate his one and only base -- economic populism doesn't stir the hearts of many among the GOP faithful -- Mike simply went too far. He shivered the spines of the theocratically wary, and even spooked the holy fence-sitters."

Economic populism. What does that have to do with the "theocratically wary"?