(no subject)
So, I came to a realization.
I WANT that nutty, far-right, rapist defending bible basher to win the GOP nod. I really, really do.
Someone said to me "Rush hates him, too. You and Rush agree."
Well, there's a reason for that. Rush, for all his pill popping and hate spewing, isn't a complete idiot. He sees how the wind is blowing. Things are FUCKED UP now. People are being evicted from their homes at rates that rival the depression. They're sick of seeing the war on TV. They don't like the government getting all up in their shit at the airports in the name of national security.
People want change, and they don't want another security nutjob who might mean they can't even bring chapstick on a plane.
So there's that.
And there's this.
Huckabee appeals to two segments of the population: security/border nutjobs and evangelical christians.
Now, as per the usual, no one gives a shit about the diehard republicans or the diehard democrats. It is the precious all important "undecided voters" we need.
But then.... who already falls into the "diehard republican" camp? Why... border security nuts and evangelical christians!
Now, he is very very good at preaching to the choir. However, he is not going to be very good at drawing new voters to that party. Undecided voters are moderates. They're not hardcore christians who want someone that says "I defer to my faith in all things" holding the highest office on the land. They don't want someone who represents the extreme right of the right wing party.
Moderate voters tend to be the undecided voters. Religious voters who are not evangelicals rarely feel comfortable voting for one. Do you think a devout Catholic is unaware of how the evangelical movement views them, for instance? (even ignoring the fact that the Catholic church is against the death penalty and believes in evolution, which puts them at odds with the evangelical movement in the GOP) And that vote in recent years has been heavily courted, and very undecided.
Right now people may be thinking about the border. Maybe. But more than EVER they are also thinking about things the left has been discussing for years. Education and health care are on the minds of everyone in this country as our economy spirals out of control and they wonder how they'll pay for their kids to go to college or what they will do if they get seriously ill. Oil just topped $100 a barrel and Al Gore is the nobel peace prize winner. We now live in a country where "peak oil" and environmental worries are on the minds of nearly everyone, not just the far left. They're sick of national security being used as an excuse to stop on everyday Americans, and they don't like what they're seeing on tv about Iraq.
So the fact remains that, while the "core" of the GOP could be energized by someone like Huckabee, it will do them no good in the long run. A moderate will help win votes from an already impassioned Democrat base, and help win undecided voters. An extremist will only limit their votes to those who would have voted for anyone running under the GOP flag. (Is there a term for that, like the Yellow Dog Democrats on the other side?)
No wonder Rush hates him. He knows a Huckabee nomination might as well be a red carpet for the Democratic nominee straight to the white house.
... maybe I should campaign for him. ;)
(oh, and the reason I'm in favor of Obama and not Edwards, despite being more in line with Edwards, is because I just don't trust him- he seems too slick, and too much all talk. Obama is so much more genuine, and I believe he's telling the truth, not just what he wants people to hear).
93% Dennis Kucinich
91% Mike Gravel
81% John Edwards
80% Joe Biden
78% Barack Obama
77% Chris Dodd
72% Hillary Clinton
68% Bill Richardson
32% Rudy Giuliani
24% John McCain
23% Ron Paul
17% Mike Huckabee
17% Mitt Romney
12% Tom Tancredo
8% Fred Thompson
2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz
I WANT that nutty, far-right, rapist defending bible basher to win the GOP nod. I really, really do.
Someone said to me "Rush hates him, too. You and Rush agree."
Well, there's a reason for that. Rush, for all his pill popping and hate spewing, isn't a complete idiot. He sees how the wind is blowing. Things are FUCKED UP now. People are being evicted from their homes at rates that rival the depression. They're sick of seeing the war on TV. They don't like the government getting all up in their shit at the airports in the name of national security.
People want change, and they don't want another security nutjob who might mean they can't even bring chapstick on a plane.
So there's that.
And there's this.
Huckabee appeals to two segments of the population: security/border nutjobs and evangelical christians.
Now, as per the usual, no one gives a shit about the diehard republicans or the diehard democrats. It is the precious all important "undecided voters" we need.
But then.... who already falls into the "diehard republican" camp? Why... border security nuts and evangelical christians!
Now, he is very very good at preaching to the choir. However, he is not going to be very good at drawing new voters to that party. Undecided voters are moderates. They're not hardcore christians who want someone that says "I defer to my faith in all things" holding the highest office on the land. They don't want someone who represents the extreme right of the right wing party.
Moderate voters tend to be the undecided voters. Religious voters who are not evangelicals rarely feel comfortable voting for one. Do you think a devout Catholic is unaware of how the evangelical movement views them, for instance? (even ignoring the fact that the Catholic church is against the death penalty and believes in evolution, which puts them at odds with the evangelical movement in the GOP) And that vote in recent years has been heavily courted, and very undecided.
Right now people may be thinking about the border. Maybe. But more than EVER they are also thinking about things the left has been discussing for years. Education and health care are on the minds of everyone in this country as our economy spirals out of control and they wonder how they'll pay for their kids to go to college or what they will do if they get seriously ill. Oil just topped $100 a barrel and Al Gore is the nobel peace prize winner. We now live in a country where "peak oil" and environmental worries are on the minds of nearly everyone, not just the far left. They're sick of national security being used as an excuse to stop on everyday Americans, and they don't like what they're seeing on tv about Iraq.
So the fact remains that, while the "core" of the GOP could be energized by someone like Huckabee, it will do them no good in the long run. A moderate will help win votes from an already impassioned Democrat base, and help win undecided voters. An extremist will only limit their votes to those who would have voted for anyone running under the GOP flag. (Is there a term for that, like the Yellow Dog Democrats on the other side?)
No wonder Rush hates him. He knows a Huckabee nomination might as well be a red carpet for the Democratic nominee straight to the white house.
... maybe I should campaign for him. ;)
(oh, and the reason I'm in favor of Obama and not Edwards, despite being more in line with Edwards, is because I just don't trust him- he seems too slick, and too much all talk. Obama is so much more genuine, and I believe he's telling the truth, not just what he wants people to hear).
93% Dennis Kucinich
91% Mike Gravel
81% John Edwards
80% Joe Biden
78% Barack Obama
77% Chris Dodd
72% Hillary Clinton
68% Bill Richardson
32% Rudy Giuliani
24% John McCain
23% Ron Paul
17% Mike Huckabee
17% Mitt Romney
12% Tom Tancredo
8% Fred Thompson
2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz