Mike Huckabee, Roy Barnes & That Racist Flag

Enjoying Georgia? Thank a Democrat!

Back in early high school, I had a bumper sticker that said just that on my guitar case.

There used to be a time when such a statement wasn't laughable. Dems controlled the House. Dems controlled the Senate. And a Democrat had resided in the Governor's Mansion since Reconstruction. Bill Clinton even carried Georgia in 1992. However, the fate of Georgia was sealed with Dole's Georgia victory in 1996 and Governor Sonny Perdue's big win in 2002.

Back to me. My personal decision to identify as a Democrat had little to do with Bill Clinton and absolutely nothing to do with my fellow Baptist, President Jimmy Carter.

I understood WHY I was and had always been a Democrat because of this man - former Governor Roy Barnes of Georgia. My fascination as a young boy with the Civil Rights Movement and freedom-fighters like Dr. King, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar Evers, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth helped me understand the importance of fairness and equality. Roy Barnes helped me to see that fairness and equality was and is best embodied in the Democratic Party.

But back in 2001, Roy Barnes had the courage to remove the Confederate Emblem from its prominence on the state flag. Barnes understood that the racist Confederate Emblem was a symbol of hate. His decision to change the state flag was protested by thousands and ultimately cost him his job. For his courage, Gov. Barnes was selected by a bi-partisan committed named by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation to receive the Profile in Courage Award.

Roy Barnes is an American Hero.

Unfortunately, Mike Huckabee is not.

Here's what Huckabee said just yesterday in South Carolina:

"You don't like people from outside the state coming in and telling you what to do with your flag," Huckabee said at a Myrtle Beach campaign event. "In fact, if somebody came to Arkansas and told us what to do with our flag, we'd tell them what to do with the pole, that's what we'd do."

Later, in Florence, he repeated the remarks. "I know what would happen if somebody comes to my state in Arkansas and tells us what to do, it doesn't matter what it is, tell us how to run our schools, tell us how to raise our kids, tell us what to do with our flag — you want to come tell us what to do with the flag, we'd tell them what to do with the pole."

Conservative pundit Andrew Sullivan dubbed Huckabee's comments - "repulsive pandering."

Unfortunately, pandering to racists is still cool in the Grand Old Party. I hope and actually don't think that yesterday's statements represent the real Mike Huckabee. In 1997, Huckabee spoke at the 40th anniversary ceremony commemorating the integration of Little Rock Central High. Here's a snippet from that speech:

Some have asked: how long are we going to deal with this Central crisis situation? Are we going to have to relive it every few years? And I know there were some who were frankly made to feel very uncomfortable about all of these activities because some felt that it would just resurrect feelings and anxieties.

Well, let me tell you how long we will deal with it -- until justice is the same for every human being whether he or she is black or white, we will deal with it. Until the same rules apply to get a bank loan for every person regardless of who he or she is, we will deal with it. As long as there are whites who turn around and see a black person coming and bring fear to their hearts, we will deal with it. And as long as there are blacks who look and see and have resentment toward a white person, we will deal with it. We will deal with it until the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King lives in all of our hearts, and that is that we will judge people by the character of their hearts and not by the color of their skin.

Huckabee should have either spoke out against the flag or at least kept his mouth shut. His pandering to flag-waving racists who try to pull the wool over our eyes with their Heritage Not Hate bullcrap is quite unbecoming of a man who professes to be a "Christian Leader" and hopes to be President of the entire United States of America.

When I was a little boy growing up on the campus of Brewton-Parker College in Mt. Vernon, Georgia - I used to believe that "Republicans" were racists and "Democrats" were not. Why? The few Democrats that I knew were educated professors and professionals who talked sophisticated and had a clean mouth. They didn't own a Confederate Flag. The "Republicans" that I knew were the folks who spoke ill of "blacks", used the N-word and had that Confederate emblem plastered on their truck or a hanging from a wall in their home. As someone who was in church each time the doors swung open - unfortunately most of the "Republicans" that I knew were my fellow church members.

Of course I was wrong. After all, I was only 9 or 10. A racist is a racist. And I know both Republicans and Democrats who are stone cold racists. Many do not have a racist bone in their body.

But Mike Huckabee doesn't help fix the perception that Republicans are racists - a perception that many little boys like myself clung tightly to. I know that I wasn't alone. My feelings and perceptions were not unique especially in south Georgia.

On Monday, many of us will officially celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Meanwhile we have a Presidential candidate who many consider to be a frontrunner gallivanting across the state of South Carolina pandering to racists. Sad. Just sad.

Mike Huckabee's Faith-Based Constitution

According to MSNBC, presidential Mike Huckabee has called for amendments to the Constitution for the explicit purpose of making it more acceptable to God.

From MSNBC with a hat tip to BJC's Blog from the Capital:

"I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution. But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that's what we need to do is amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than trying to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family." - Mike Huckabee, January 14, 2008

This is quite scary. Huck wants to start making changes to the United States Constitution, a secular document that serves as the foundation for our system of government, based on what he believes to be God's standards. Whatever happened to pluralism? We do live in a pluralistic society. Whatever happened to serving the common good? I'm a little amazed Huck was actually that open and honest with his intentions. Wow.

It seems the former Southern Baptist pastor has forgotten his pledge on Meet the Press:

“The key issue of real faith is that it never can be forced on someone. And never would I want to use the government institutions to impose mine or anybody else’s faith or to restrict.”

So, Huck won't use government institutions to impose his faith on his fellow Americans. Yet, he's calling for a renovation of the Constitution to reflect God's standards?

Greg Boyd, a popular theologian, author and pastor, has a few questions for Huck. Here he is:

Now, I can't help but wonder what this sincere man means when he says he wants to "Amend the constitution to fit God's standards." The crowd apparently knew, for they cheered wildly. But I'm just not that bright. Does it mean Huckabee wants to jettison the whole "inalienable right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" deal -- because that certainly is nowhere to be found in the book of "God's Standards" (the Bible). Quite the opposite actually.

Maybe it means that Huckabee wants to lose the whole "all men are created equal" clause, since that's not in the book of "God's Standards" either. Conversely, acceptance of slavery and women being treated like property runs pretty much throughout the whole book of "God's standards." Is this what Huckabee means in calling for us to amend the constitution?

Mike Huckabee - A Hypocritical Southern Baptist?

From Fox News South Carolina Debate Transcript:

CAMERON: Governor Huckabee, to change the subject a little bit and focus a moment on electability. Back in 1998, you were one of about 100 people who affirmed, in a full-page ad in the "New York Times," the Southern Baptist Convention's declaration that, quote, "A wife us to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband." Women voters in both parties harshly criticized that. Is that position politically viable in the general election of 2008, sir?

HUCKABEE: You know, it's interesting, everybody says religion is off limits, except we always can ask me the religious questions. So let me try to do my best to answer it. (APPLAUSE) And since -- if we're really going to have a religious service, I'd really feel more comfortable if I could pass the plates, because our campaign could use the money tonight, Carl.

First of all, if anybody knows my wife, I don't think they for one minute think that she's going to just sit by and let me do whatever I want to. That would be an absolute total misunderstanding of Janet Huckabee. The whole context of that passage -- and, by the way, it really was spoken to believers, to Christian believers. I'm not the least bit ashamed of my faith or the doctrines of it. I don't try to impose that as a governor and I wouldn't impose it as a president. But I certainly am going to practice it unashamedly, whether I'm a president or whether I'm not a president. But the point...... the point, and it comes from a passage of scripture in the New Testament Book of Ephesians is that as wives submit themselves to the husbands, the husbands also submit themselves, and it's not a matter of one being somehow superior over the other. It's both mutually showing their affection and submission as unto the Lord.

So with all due respect, it has nothing to do with presidency. I just wanted to clear up that little doctrinal quirk there so that there's nobody who misunderstands that it's really about doing what a marriage ought to do and that's marriage is not a 50/50 deal, where each partner gives 50 percent. Biblically, marriage is 100/100 deal. Each partner gives 100 percent of their devotion to the other and that's why marriage is an important institution, because it teaches us how to love. (APPLAUSE)

Based on the transcript, I agree 100% with Bruce Prescott who wrote that Mike Huckabee "deliberately lied about the interpretation of the SBC's Family Statement" at the debate last night in South Carolina.

As Prescott points out, the Southern Baptist Convention's 1998 Family Statement calls for a one-sided submission by the wife to the rule of her husband. Urging wives to "graciously submit" to their husbands, the Family Statement endorsed by Huckabee back in 1998 conveniently omits Ephesians 5:21 which begins with the statement "Submit yourselves to one another." Yet at last night's debate, Mike Huckabee clearly embraced Ephesians 5:21 and the concept of mutual submission - an egalitarian view completely out of step with those who embrace The Family Statement of Southern Baptist creed known as the Baptist Faith & Message 2000. The view of mutual submission was not embraced by the drafting committee of the Family Statement which Huckabee signed his name to. Committee member Dorothy Patterson declared that "When it comes to submitting to my husband even when he's wrong, I just do it. He is accountable to God." Another Southern Baptist, Reba Cobb of Louisville, noted that the language about wives submitting sends women "a terrible mixed message about what to do when a husband batters them" and leads some women to think they have no choice but to submit.

Just a few years ago, Russell Moore, theology dean and academic vice president at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary denounced the practice of "mutual submission." Touting "Biblical Patriarchy," Moore argued that evangelicals who practice "mutual submission" in marriage have been influenced by a "thoroughly feminized grassroots theology" which he says is "bubbling up" in academic and denominational life.

So, what's up Huck? Has your theology changed since 98? Or have you become another lying politician? Why did you purposefully misrepresent the Family Statement of the BFM2000? Perhaps it's because you realized that Patriarchy, eh complimentarianism, doesn't sell in the 21st century - even among Republicans in South Carolina?

Why Evangelical Leaders Aren't Lovin' On Huck

As a follow-up to Bob Novak's horrendous article on Baptist support of Mike Huckabee, Deborah Caldwell who is the managing editor of Beliefnet.com has a similar article titled "Baptist Civil War Fallout, Or Why Evangelical Leaders Aren't Lovin' On Huck."

Here's her conclusion:

So today, while some Baptists have endorsed him —including Ronnie Floyd—others have not. Judge Pressler is behind Thompson; Patterson is neutral; so is Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (and a Casting Stones contributor).

And while all of these non-endorsing Baptist leaders have good things to say about Huckabee, the fact that they won’t endorse him or act on his behalf is crucial, in my opinion. It’s a signal to other evangelical leaders, such as Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation, who endorsed Romney; Sam Brownback, who endorsed John McCain; Pat Robertson, who endorsed Rudy Giuliani; James Dobson of Focus on the Family who remains officially neutral; and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, also officially neutral. And I think it tells evangelical voters, particularly Southern Baptists, all they need to know.

It is true that Paul Pressler did not endorse Mike Huckabee. However, Caldwell does not mention that Huckabee has the support of Tim and Beverly LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins of Left Behind fame, Jerry Falwell Jr., Homeschool leader Michael Farris, Don Wildmon of the American Family Association, Rick Scarborough and presumably Christian Zionist John Hagee. All of these men (+ one woman) have huge national followings. And all are about as far outside of the mainstream as one can be. And all undoubtedly wield real influence. And frankly, Huckabee's positioning as the candidate of choice for many Christian Right leaders should be a cause of concern for those of us in mainstream America.

Nonetheless, Caldwell needs to reconsider how many Southern Baptists in the pews are actually influenced by fundamentalist leaders of the past like Paul Pressler. Outside of the beltway, how much influence does Sir Richard Land sling around? If Southern Baptists took their cues from Richard Land and Paul Pressler - I expect Fred Thompson would be doing just a bit better in the polls right now.

Bob Novak: Southern Baptists Not Supporting Huckabee

Forgive me for linking to yet another Bob Novak article! However, in his latest piece, Novak argues that the lack of support for Huckabee from prominent Southern Baptists such as Richard Land and Paul Pressler should cause conservative evangelicals to be concerned.

When Mike Huckabee went to Houston on Tuesday to raise funds for his fast-rising, money-starved presidential candidacy, a luncheon for the ordained Baptist minister was arranged by evangelical Christians. On hand was Judge Paul Pressler, a hero to Southern Baptist Convention reformers. But he was a nonpaying guest who supports Fred Thompson for president.

Huckabee greeted Pressler warmly. That contrasted with Huckabee's anger two months ago when they encountered each other in California. The former governor of Arkansas took issue then with comments by Pressler, a former Texas appeals court judge, that Huckabee had been a slacker in the war against secularists within the Baptist church.

The War Against Secularists Within The Baptist Church?!? First Bob, the "moderates" during the Takeover can hardly be painted as "secularists." Even fans of Pressler like this Southern Baptist blogger would concur. Second, I know you converted to Catholicism ten years ago and may not understand Baptist polity but there is no such thing as "The Baptist Church." Such a description implies a hierarchy. We have no hierarchy in Baptist life. Our local churches are autonomous.

‘More than personality explains why not all his Baptist brethren have signed on the dotted line for Huckabee. He did not join the “conservative resurgence” that successfully rebelled against liberals in the Southern Baptist Convention a generation ago. . . Because no Republican candidate since Pat Robertson in 1988 has depended so much on support from evangelicals, opposition by Huckabee’s fellow Southern Baptists is significant. . . [Pressler] did not go so far as endorsing Huckabee for president, and that sends a strong message to conservative evangelicals.’

I suspect Huckabee will do just fine without the support of Land (who as head of the ERLC shouldn't be supporting candidates anyways) and the increasingly irrelevant Pressler.

What was more bothersome is the fact that Huckabee held his fundraiser at the home of Steven Hotze whom Novak describes as a "a leader in the highly conservative Christian Reconstruction movement." More on Hotze here. Novak has really gone to great lengths to discredit Huckabee. In the same article, Novak implies that Huckabee is not-a-real-conservative yet he has the support of a prominent Christian Reconstructionist!

Novak's friend Ann Coulter critiques Huck here.

Mike Huckabee's Supposed Theology Degree

Baptist minister and Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee seems to either struggle with the truth or has a penchant for exaggeration, Arkansas-style.

After the recent CNN YouTube debate, Mike Huckabee declared in an interview with Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network that he has a theology degree. Huckabee said:

“I’m as strong on terror as anybody. In fact I think I’m stronger than most people because I truly understand the nature of the war that we are in with Islamofascism. These are people that want to kill us. It’s a theocratic war. And I don’t know if anybody fully understands that. I’m the only guy on that stage with a theology degree. I think I understand it really well.”

That's not the first time Huck has made such a claim.

Apparently, Huck is a seminary drop-out. He spent a year at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth before dropping out to work for the televangelist James Robison.

Jim Geraghty of the National Review took Huckabee to task and received the following response from Joe Carter, Huckabee's research director:

Jim,

Governor Huckabee doesn't have a theology degree. He only spent a year in seminary.

-Joe

Back in 2001, the guy in the picture above, former Georgia Tech football coach George O'Leary was hired to coach the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Five days after accepting the job, O'Leary resigned after he was discovered to have lied on his resume. On the resume, O'Leary claimed that he had earned a master's degree from New York University when in fact he only attended the school but never graduated.

Well, Mike Huckabee obviously isn't dropping out of the Presidential race for his theology degree fib. Nor should he. But I guess Huck is quite familiar with the old preacher joke - "Don't mind my facts, I'm just preachin." And of course we know politicians struggle with the complete truth regularly. Nonetheless, it seems that Huckabee has received a complete pass from the media on his little fib.

Rudy G studied theology while in college but you don't hear him claiming that he has a theology degree. You'd think the "secular media" would have jumped all over the Baptist Preacher for stretching the truth on numerous occasions....

Ron Paul - When Fascism Comes To This Country

During an interview on the Fox and Friends morning show, Republican Presidential candidate decided to quote a little Sinclair Lewis in response to Mike Huckabee's Christmas commercial which supposedly has a floating cross in the background. I never saw the much talked about floating cross but then again I always had trouble finding Waldo as a kid. Anyways, Crazy-as-a-fox Ron Paul had this to say:

"When fascism comes to this country, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross."

You can watch the interview with Ron Paul below:

Mike Huckabee Refuses To Release Sermons

Mother Jones has the details.

The article nicely sums up some of several of Huckabee's somewhat inconsistent statements regarding faith and politics. A snippet from author David Corn:

Once upon a time Mike Huckabee was a Baptist preacher. Then Mike Huckabee became a lieutenant governor. Then Mike Huckabee became a governor. Then Mike Huckabee became an ex-governor running for president--and a front-runner in the all-important little state of Iowa. And that Mike Huckabee was not so keen on sharing with voters and the media all the glorious words that Mike Huckabee the minister preached.

Since becoming a hot commodity, Huckabee has zigzagged on statements regarding faith and politics. In one speech he said the power of prayer was responsible for his surge in Iowa polls; he then quickly backtracked. In one debate, he indicated he believed in creationism; more recently, he dodged the question. And days ago he hit a rough patch when harsh statements he made in 1992 about AIDS were publicized.

I'm not sure whether Huckabee should release his sermons. Is that info fair game?

Nonetheless, I'd like to read his sermons. As a very conservative Baptist minister, who knows what Huckabee has said along the way? Perhaps an anti-Catholic nugget or two? The typical False Church stuff. Or a few less than generous characterizations of other Christian groups? Maybe some pronouncements against Baby-sprinklin' denominations?

One this is for sure - Huckabee has everything to lose and nothing to gain from releasing his sermons

Mitt Romney and The Mormon Speech

Mitt Romney delivered his "Faith in America" speech this morning at the George H.W. Bush Library in College Station, Texas.

And a snippet from the speech:

Almost 50 years ago another candidate from Massachusetts explained that he was an American running for president, not a Catholic running for president. Like him, I am an American running for president. I do not define my candidacy by my religion. A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith.

Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. Their authority is theirs, within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin.

As governor, I tried to do the right as best I knew it, serving the law and answering to the Constitution. I did not confuse the particular teachings of my church with the obligations of the office and of the Constitution — and of course, I would not do so as president. I will put no doctrine of any church above the plain duties of the office and the sovereign authority of the law.

I'm not sure what Mitt Romney accomplished, if anything, with this speech. A large number of Southern Baptists and other very very conservative evangelicals view Mormonism as a cult. Did Mitt relieve their fears and concerns with this speech? Well, out of 2,540 words he only mentioned the word Mormon once.

Overall, Mitt's Mormon speech *may* have been a good tactic. With all eyes on Mike Huckabee, Romney's speech may divert attention away from Huck for at least a day or two. Lots of free press coverage at least. However, I don't think the Mormon questions will cease any time soon.

What do you think?

Mike Huckabee - The Republican Howard Dean?

Rolling Stone has a lengthy piece on Mike Huckabee, his faith and his economic populism. Written by Matt Taibbi who clearly has little use for conservative Christianity (or religion period), this article offers a nice glimpse into Huck's populism and how he mixes his religion and politics. If you're offending by a few choice words - don't follow the link. It is from Rolling Stone magazine after all. Some snippets below:

Mike Huckabee, the latest it girl of the Republican presidential race, tells a hell of a story. Let your guard down anywhere near the former Arkansas governor and he'll pod you, Body Snatchers-style -- you'll wake up drooling, your brain gone, riding a back seat on the bandwagon that suddenly has him charging toward the lead in the GOP race....

Ever since Huckabee turned in a dominating performance at a summit of Christian voters in Washington a few weeks ago, he has been riding a surge among likely Iowa voters (he's now second to Mitt Romney, and gaining). The media, like me, have been charmed by their initial impression: "It's hard not to like Mike Huckabee," gushed Newsweek. Even The Nation said he has "real charm."

But all the attention on his salesmanship skills obscures the real significance of his rise within the Republican Party. Mike Huckabee represents something that is either tremendously encouraging or deeply disturbing, depending on your point of view: a marriage of Christian fundamentalism with economic populism. Rather than employing the patented Bush-Rove tactic of using abortion and gay rights to hoodwink low-income Christians into supporting patrician, pro-corporate policies, Huckabee is a bigger-government Republican who emphasizes prison reform and poverty relief. In the world of GOP politics, he represents something entirely new -- a cross between John Edwards and Jerry Falwell, an ordained Southern Baptist preacher who actually seems to give a {hoot} about the working poor....

What the press doesn't understand is that Huckabee has changed the equation of party-specific orthodoxies. A generation of GOP candidates have used the poor as a whipping-post stage prop, complaining about lazy, homeless fiends living in cars, {lowering} the property values of Decent Folk. Huck turns that rhetoric around by saying, "We shouldn't allow a child to live under a bridge or in the back seat of a car." It's a brilliant innovation for a candidate like Huckabee, who recognizes that the only thing he has to lose by talking about poverty and high CEO salaries is the support of the big-money wing of his party -- something he doesn't have anyway.

Choosing that strategy also allows Huckabee to do what no evangelical since Jimmy Carter has, which is talk about his faith in terms of sympathy for the underprivileged. "You can't just say 'respect life' exclusively in the gestation period," he says. Huckabee also edges openly into class politics, criticizing his own party for harping on the supposed success of the overall economy. "The reality is, there are many families that really are working as hard or harder than they've ever worked in their lives, and they're not seeing that pay off," he says.

This God stuff isn't just talk with Huck. One of his first acts as governor was to block Medicaid from funding an abortion for a mentally retarded teenager who had been raped by her stepfather -- an act in direct violation of federal law, which requires states to pay for abortions in cases of rape. "The state didn't fund a single such abortion while Huckabee was governor," says Dr. William Harrison of the Fayetteville Women's Clinic. "Zero."

As president, Huck would support a constitutional amendment banning abortion and would give science a back seat to religion. "Science changes with every generation and with new discoveries, and God doesn't," he says. "So I'll stick with God if the two are in conflict." Huckabee's well-documented disdain for science was reflected in the performance of the Arkansas school system when he was governor; one independent survey gave the state an F for its science standards in schools, a grade that among other things reflected Huckabee's hostility toward the teaching of evolution.

Huckabee at most times is gentle and self-deprecating in his public address, but when he talks about religion, he gets weirdly combative and obnoxious, often drifting into outright offensiveness. At one appearance, Huckabee -- who's been known to make fart jokes in front of the state legislature -- said he would oppose gay marriage "until Moses comes down with two stone tablets from Brokeback Mountain saying he's changed the rules." And he recently scored a rare offend trifecta, simultaneously pissing off immigrants, Jews and the pro-choice crowd when he ludicrously claimed that a "holocaust" of abortions had artificially created a demand for Mexican labor....

When Huckabee talks like this, he sounds like what he is -- the Howard Dean of the Republican Party, an insurgent candidate who shot toward the top by appealing to a disaffected base. But Dean, who ended up stumbling out of Iowa learned the hard way that populist campaigns have a way of imploding under the glare of the modern campaign process. Which means: Charm only goes so far if you're full-bore nuts. Huckabee may be able to get away with saying he's not a primate, but he'd better not scream it.

The Judge Speaks - Paul Pressler on Mike Huckabee

Check out John Fund's op-ed over at The Wall Street Journal.

A few snippets follow:

Mr. Huckabee attributes his support to the fact he is a "hardworking, consistent conservative with some authenticity about those convictions." He is certainly qualified for national office, having served nearly 11 years as a chief executive. I have known and liked him for years; on the stump he often tells the story of how we first met outside his boarded-up office in the state Capitol, which had been sealed by Arkansas Democrats who refused to accept he had won an upset election for lieutenant governor in 1993. But I also know he is not the "consistent conservative" he now claims to be.

Nor am I alone. Betsy Hagan, Arkansas director of the conservative Eagle Forum and a key backer of his early runs for office, was once "his No. 1 fan." She was bitterly disappointed with his record. "He was pro-life and pro-gun, but otherwise a liberal," she says. "Just like Bill Clinton he will charm you, but don't be surprised if he takes a completely different turn in office."

Phyllis Schlafly, president of the national Eagle Forum, is even more blunt. "He destroyed the conservative movement in Arkansas, and left the Republican Party a shambles," she says. "Yet some of the same evangelicals who sold us on George W. Bush as a 'compassionate conservative' are now trying to sell us on Mike Huckabee."

And The Architect of the Fundamentalist Takeover of the SBC, Judge Paul Pressler Speaks:

Rick Scarborough, a pastor who heads Vision America, attended seminary with Mr. Huckabee and is a strong backer. But, he acknowledges, "Mike has always sought the validation of elites." When conservatives took over the Southern Baptist Convention after a bitter fight in the 1980s, Mr. Huckabee sided with the ruling moderates. Paul Pressler, a former Texas judge who led the conservative Southern Baptist revolt, told me, "I know of no conservative he appointed while he headed the Arkansas Baptist Convention."

I just can't picture Mike Huckabee as a moderate or someone who would sympathize with the "ruling moderates." Anyone have any additional details?

On another unrelated note:

Last Friday, I was maliciously maligned in the blogosphere by a Baptist minister who apparently has nothing better to do than spread lies about a fellow Christian less than half his age. The post was promptly removed, its record kept, and I've been instructed not to discuss the details. For those who caught a glimpse of the hate speech spewed my way, please consider the source. Thanks.

Richard Land's Man Crush & The New Republic

Apparently, the folks at The New Republic are familiar with Sir Big Daddy Weave.

Michelle Cottle, senior editor of The New Republic has picked up a bit of my man-crush lingo in her latest post appropriately entitled Richard Land's Man Crush. Check it out:

RICHARD LAND'S MAN CRUSH:

While, as Chait points out, many social conservatives remain unconvinced of Fred Thompson's commitment to their cause, the Southern Baptist's Richard Land continues his tireless cheerleading for Big Daddy.

Even having talked to Land about Fred at some length a few months ago, I still don't understand this particular attraction. It's not as if Fred is the most conservative or the most religious or has the most irreproachable personal history of the GOP contenders.

My best guess is that Fred's appeal for Land is culture based--i.e., he is the only arguably top-tier Southerner in this race. Rich or poor, Southerners tend to be protective of our own, in part because we're sensitive to the fact that much of the rest of the country still looks down their noses at us as a bunch of racist, ass-backward, banjo-pickin' hicks.

Continue reading here.

For more on Richard - check out the blog by onemom (here and here) - a Southern Baptist who is ticked that Land has snubbed Mike Huckabee.

Onemom concludes:

What’s most important Mr. Land … money? Power? Or standing firm on our convictions - especially when there is a horse in this race that is a TRUE CONSERVATIVE, and not one who just came by those beliefs recently to achieve a political goal. You encourage Christians to vote their values in one breath, and then in the next you encourage us to make compromises in areas of conviction just to support candidates that you see as rich and powerful.

You have said that you think Mike Huckabee best represents the conservative Christian base, but that you won’t support him because you don’t think he can win. Well, Mr. Land - he can and will win, but it would be a whole lot easier if you followed your own instructions and voted your values. If you would pick up the banner for Mike Huckabee, the burden would be lighter.