Leading conservatives try to stop Huckabee surge
Posted October 26, 2007
ANALYSIS
With former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee beginning to gain traction in Iowa and elsewhere, a top Christian conservative is doing her best to derail his GOP presidential candidacy.
"He destroyed the conservative movement in Arkansas, and left the Republican Party a shambles," Eagle Forum president Phyllis Schlafly told the Wall Street Journal's John Fund.
[Democrats outnumber Republicans 75 to 25 in the state House of Representatives and 27 to 8 in the state Senate and hold all statewide offices.]
It's a blistering attack from Schlafly, the lady who stopped the Equal Rights Amendment and a culture warrior since the Goldwater years.
And on National Review's website, Pat Toomey of the Club for Growth, argues that Huckabee is a tax-and-spend economic liberal who isn't fit for the vice presidency, let alone the top job.
Chances are there'll be other slams in the near future.
Until now, with Huckabee just a blip on the national radar, there was no reason for his conservative foes to target him. After all, with the war in Iraq dragging on, the housing market weak and the Bush administration sagging in opinion polls, 2008 is looking to be a tough, tough year for Republicans. To win in November, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson or John McCain must avoid too much friendly fire in the GOP primaries.
But with Sam Brownback out of the race and Mike Huckabee rising in the polls, the dynamics have changed.
The Schlafly broadside, touted on the Drudge Report, will be widely read today.
This blistering attack [following criticism of Huckabee in the Washington Times by Family Research Council big wigs earlier this month] is just a warning shot over the bow. There'll be plenty more between now and the Iowa caucuses.
The attacks come at a time when HUckabee is still struggling to introduce himself to voters.
An Oct. 18 CBS News poll showed that most Americans -- and a majority of evangelical Christians -- know very little about the former Arkansas governor.
Asked if Huckabee (a Southern Baptist minister) is a man with strong religious beliefs, only 15 percent of evangelicals said "yes," 28 percent said "no" and 57 percent couldn't hazard a guess. [In contrast, 35 percent of evangelicals said John McCain has strong religious belief.]
Translation -- Mike Huckabee isn't yet a household name even in Southern Baptist Bible Belt homes. Huckabee better introduce himself to these voters soon -- or his opponents will do it for him. And the image they try to paint will be highly unflattering.