“Republicans have decided that elections are a messy thing, and anointings and coronations are much better.”
It’s that kind of attitude that is going to be the death of the Republican Party in this country.”-- Governor Mike Huckabee
The Republican political establishment lost control of both houses of Congress in 2006 because they lost touch with conservative values and the conservative base.
Instead of learning from that rejection, and self correcting it’s path the political Republican establishment is leaning further away from its base by embracing those on its left, Lincoln Chaffe Republicans, who would rather caucus with Democrats than fight for Conservative ideas. These are the “Former Senators Walking” that have backed their colleague John McCain in a bloodless coup of the Republican Party making McCain the apparent successful Republican nominee.
Mitt Romney’s premature exit from the nomination process sent the message that most Republican officials believe that phony displays of unity are better than fighting to make sure we select the right man for the job.
Instead of Republicans avoiding the Bob Dole “it’s my turn” losing politics of 1996 where they lost to Bill Clinton. Republicans are once again engaging, in like manner, in John McCain “it’s my turn” politics of 2008.
Gov. Huckabee reminds us of the work that we must do to rid the Republican Party of those who believe that reaching across the aisles to work with Liberals means that we must leave our core principles behind in order to do so.
Reaching across the aisle should never mean that Republicans help Democrats block Conservative Judges like Republican Senator Arlen Specter has done in the past and it certainly doesn’t mean that Republicans co-author legislation that would give Illegal Aliens automatic Amnesty in conjunction with paying a fee to purchase U.S. citizenship.
Gov. Huckabee’s candidacy has not enjoyed broad Conservative support up until now, yet he has every right to be in and stay in this race. His presence is a reminder to us all that the big tent that Republicans were talking about several years ago has expanded to include more on the left but at the same time it has began to exclude its core, the right.
Gov. Huckabee says, “You alienate that strong base of the Party [Conservatives], and you’re going to find it very difficult to beat Democrats.”
Here’s hoping that Gov. Huckabee’s example is not just another lesson lost on a Republican Party in search of its soul. Which in my estimation is its core constituency, Conservatives!
