The Idea Of Huckabee

For many liberals, it’s better than the reality. But no one can deny that Huckabee’s spend-like-Jesus bleeding heart Christianism has some appeal to the left, as it obviously should:

A lot of us non-Christian liberals have been wondering for some time when if ever the elements of Christian ethics that don’t relate to sex were going to rear their heads in the Christian political mobilization. In an era where regular churchgoers are the main electoral prop of the party of aggressive war and institutionalized torture, we’re still a long way from that moment. But Huckabee’s rhetoric on a few key points seems to nod in the direction of the possibility of something better. It’d take someone else — someone better-informed , with a better grasp of policy and without the record of setting serial rapists free — to actually deliver on that promise, but I think there’s no denying that it’s promising.

What Matt means, in large part, is redistributionism. And that’s what I fear.

Obama and Jindal

An interesting analogy from a reader:

I was listening to NPR this morning and they were interviewing someone from Louisiana about their new governor. He made a statement that exactly articulates my feelings for Obama.

"Most Louisianians are happy to give our legislators some adult supervision. Even if it is a young adult."

Considering Washington in my view has become as corrupt as Louisiana I would like someone that is not beholden to the powers that be. I don’t think it is naive to think Obama can’t do what he is promising. That’s really all we can get from our politicians while they are on the campaign trail. All I know is that the status quo is not working and we need a complete change in mindset in the White House and Washington. 

Obama’s Late Black Surge?

A Chicago reader writes:

As an Illinois observer I’m still fascinated to see whether Obama can reel in black voters in the last month or two of this primary race, just as he did here in 2004.

Obama1timsloanafpgetty It’s remarkable how little Obama has focused on black voters until now, but that may have been a savvy move. Fair or not, many African-American candidates get pidgeonholed as having only niche appeal. But Obama has spent all this time branding himself as a candidate who strives to transcend race, so that now when he has to campaign hard in the black community in South Carolina and elsewhere people don’t see him as limited to one constituency. Oprah is the perfect metaphor for that strategy. He’s trying to get the best of both worlds.

It worked in 2004. Two months before that Democratic primary, Obama was polling only 29% of the black vote, and was mired in the pack with 14% overall. Less than a month before the election, Obama polled at 38% of the black vote. But just three weeks later his black support had surged to 62% in the final poll before the election. On election day he commanded more than 90% in many mostly African-American wards.

The Chicago Tribune post-election analysis noted,

"Early in the campaign, there were questions whether Obama, a Harvard-educated lawyer who grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii and now lives in Hyde Park, had established a credible relationship with Chicago’s black community."

Déjà vu…

(Photo: Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty.)

The Christianists Storm Iowa

Many volunteers heed Huckabee’s call:

The Values Voter barnstorm will be led by Pastor Rick Scarborough, an early Huckabee endorser. Participants include R. Randolph "Randy" Brinson, an iconoclastic social conservative doctor from Alabama who possesses a huge list of Iowa pastors and Christian conservatives. He’s also the head of ReedemTheVote, which was active in 2004 and 2006 as a voter registration vehicle for young evangelicals.

The Barnstormers don’t have to reveal their funding sources provided they don’t directly provide aid to a candidate. But it’s hard to see how any candidate but Mike Huckabee will find comfort from this tour.

What The Dems Could Have Done

Mark Kleiman explains:

1. Written a letter to the President, the Attorney General, and the DCI saying "On Date X we received a briefing about certain intelligence activities, still ongoing and carried out as a matter of policy, in clear contravention of both the criminal laws of the United States and of treaty obligations. We insist that those activities stop forthwith, and that those who have engaged in them be considered for prosecution."

2. On the Senate side, demanded an Executive Session (no visitors, no staff) and named the date of the briefing, the briefers, and the word "torture." Even if that leaked, without details it couldn’t constitute a security violation.

3. Filed a resolution naming the date of the briefing and ordering the members of the Gang of Eight to reveal what they were told to the two Houses. That resolution could have been accompanied by a statement saying "We have learned about serious violations of law being carried out as matters of policy. We think the Congress ought to have the option of either learning what we know or remaining in ignorance. In the meantime, we have demanded that the illegal activities stop forthwith."

That’s not so hard, is it? Ya wimps.