Patricia Mellin/Flickr
Former Arkansas governor and failed Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee delivered what appeared to be a standard far-right speech in Iowa over the weekend, though it included one interesting twist.
Huckabee, now a Fox News personality, complained that "speaker after speaker" spoke at the Democratic National Convention last summer to declare, "I want to be able to take the life of my baby and I want someone else to pay for it." It wasn't clear what in the world Huckabee was referring to -- taxpayer funding of abortion is already impermissible -- and no one at the DNC said anything to the contrary.
Huckabee also compared legal abortion in the United States to the Nazi Holocaust, which may seem outrageous, but for the GOP activist, has been a standard argument for many years.
This, however, seemed a little more interesting (thanks to my colleague Rebekah Dryden for the heads-up).
[Iowa Family Leader head Bob Vander Plaats] said that if the GOP veers from its anti-abortion stance, "we will run from this party."
Huckabee, too, said: "This is why this issue cannot be moved off our platform and if it is, then I'll meet you somewhere outside the tent and we'll build a new one."
To be sure, the likelihood of Republicans becoming more mainstream on reproductive rights is poor. On the contrary, the party still seems preoccupied with becoming more extreme, not less, going after Planned Parenthood, which has traditionally enjoyed bipartisan support.
But the interesting thing about the comments from the weekend is that it's a lingering threat to the party's leadership: don't even think about adopting mainstream views on these issues, or we'll walk.
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"It wasn't clear what in the world Huckabee was referring to -- taxpayer funding of abortion is already impermissible ..."
He was likely referring to contraception, not abortion. The anti-contraception camp is always angling to conflate opposition to contraception with anti-abortion beliefs, in order to broaden the appeal of their position. And while public funding of abortion didn't come up much, if at all, during speeches at the Democratic national convention, a number of speakers did advocate that family planning services and contraceptives should remain covered by insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act.
It's kind of like the NRA: when there isn't any actual opposition to your agenda, you need to go more extreme to keep the base juiced up.
Opposition to abortion and opposition to contraception do overlap to arch-Christian theocrats, though not in logic. Their real mission is to reimpose Christianity's stranglehold on sexual behavior, like we had in the 50's. Doing that requires pervasive sexual shame, and use of out-of-wedlock babies as inflictors of shame and stigma. Fear of that shame and stigma vaporizes with safe and available contraception and abortion services as a backup.
"Thou shalt not bear false witness" never seems to matter much to the "let's display the Ten Commandments" crowd. If it serves their cause, lying about what the other side is saying and about the difference between abortion and contraception is always A-OK.
Let 'em walk! It would be the best thing the GOP could do for itself.
These republicans are becoming more and more irrelevant.
#3 Marty, And stupid, and ridiculous.
Mike Huckabee belongs on Fox news. How about Fox hiring Rand Paul, Paul Ryan, Jan Brewer and a host of others we could do well without in our government.
Give Ted Cruz an anchor job on Fox. Keep him very busy. How about Lindsay Graham as the weather girl?
Please, I dare you - change your mind, make them keep their promise to walk! Please, I said please....
Best case scenario . . . Huckabee and the other christian conservatives form their own party, which will split the republican vote and ensure many decades of progressive dominance and a much brighter future for our country.
Hey . . . I can dream, can't I?
Effectively, it's already split, with the two factions duking it out to see who's going to get the upper hand. There's turmoil in the tent, trauma drama unfolding in public view. Time for an intervention. Or not. ;-)
Aren't there three GOP factions? Christian conservatives, the Tea Party, and then apparently Karl Rove believes there's a binder full of "sane" Republicans from which elected offices should be filled.
Oh, I suppose you could compare the GOP to Afghanistan, with multiple tribal affiliations and the friction that goes with it. Not that the Democrats are truly monolithic, either, but from my vantage point, they're at least trying to get something useful done rather than block all progress until they get their way. But I hear what you're saying, Coffee. Yes, at least three.
If they walk where will they go?
The Republican party is a national party. It is well funded. The people in the media pay attention to it. All of this might end if the Republican party refuses to change to meet the current demographics and the demands of America's youth.
Does Huck think his angry flock of conservative evangelicals (I hesitate to refer to them as Christian in any sense of the word associated with traditional followers of Jesus Christ) are going to form a successful 3rd party? Without the Republican party, they might actually have to consider the gospel which is filled with all that icky forgiveness and love thy enemy stuff Christ talked about. They certainly wouldn't have much political clout outside the South.
According to Pew, 16% of the population oppose abortion in all situations.
Again - Pew, of the 93% expressing a party or leaning, if Republicans have half of that (46.5%) - subtracting 16% would make them a non-player. Unlikely that many would defect from the Democrat Party. The far religious right are well organized for political action and while they would only be a spoiler for Presidential elections, they could run Republicans out of many state level positions and make good inroads into the House.
I saw him at the NAMM show, his obvious need for adulation and attendant celebrity whoring, was no surprise. I got a great still shot of his glassy eyed moment with an overwhelming crowd of two, both staffers in that manufacturer's booth who were being paid to get photos.
Otherwise, the people in attendance, either didn't care or had to ask who he was.
So he is relevant how exactly?
People like Mike Huckster and Ted McCarthy Cruz are pandering to the same element that took this country into prohibition, albeit in a Sal Russo kind of way.
From the grandfather of conservatism, Barry Goldwater:
"There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this Supreme Being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God's name on one's behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their positions 100%. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain; they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both. I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in A, B, C, and D. Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even angrier as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of conservatism."
You can imagine what Goldwater thought when Regan embraced the religious right to win the Presidency.
You'd think the Republican leadership would be thrilled to have those guys walk. When the extremists walk, the party moves towards the center. It happened with Democrats and if the Republican muckity-mucks opened their minds half an inch, they'd go for it.
Once you've sold your soul to the devil, it's hard to go back.
The Republican party has gotten so removed from reality their only thought is power and whatever it takes to get more.
It would be easier for the GOP to jettison the tea party than the religious right.
And how large is the group that belongs to one and not the other?
The GOP apparatus in several states has been taken over by the religious right. If the religious right were to leave, the GOP would end up in third place in several states.
Huckabee knows this. His public threat to lead an anti-abortion walkout is a warning shot to the GOP establishment.
The interesting part is that Huckabee felt he had to fire off the warning shot. Perhaps the GOP civil war is getting a bit heated?
I've wondered for a while whether the republican party politicians really and truly want the abortion issue settle in their favor. They can pull it out any time the going gets rough and the base musters the troops. It's a battle cry.
Same here. That is a fairly accurate portrayal.
This is kind of like a person being insulted and slowly walking out, then keep keep looking over their shoulder to see if they're begging them to stop and come back.
Pitiful, but tells us they feel vulnerable.
Mr. Huckabee's position on abortion, if not reasonable, would at least be more reasonable if he had a more realistic position on birth control. If his belief, that life begins at conception ever becomes law, it will make "the pill" illegal and could make the rhythm method popular. I don't know whether Mr. Huckabee would be satisfied with that but he would probably find it somewhat more agreeable. (obamasay.com)
Good.
Of course the Republicans are becoming more extreme. As long as they can force us to have a 60% majority on anything, they are in control. Things will never change, and the majority of us will continue to be ruled by an extremist minority.
Get to stepping, then Huckabee.
Serving two Masters is really the issue. This foisting your beliefs and laws on everyone is not going to fly in America. We are not a theocracy, that is how it is. So, shake the dust off your shoes and move on if you feel that is fitting.
Give that good ole boy a job at the Grand Old Opry! He can pick and grin till Hell freezes over.
Or the Republicans agree to tax revenue. (same thing).
yet.
DC, We will never be a theocracy. Atheism is becoming too popular. I see us heading toward a Plutocracy.
Given the mosterous way Big Business has ground customer service under it's heel while jerking the leash on our bought and paid for legislators, I'd say our American consumer culture has endebted itself to a richly rewarded corporate oligarchy.
Let 'em walk. It's a Center Left nation, now.
Hickabee wants to water down the whiskey huh? How much is he wanting to add? I'll be watching.This "reproductive rights" and "feminism" is merely a modern way of saying,"I want the right to act like a big time slut". It does nothing to "empower" women. Look at "Sex in the City". This is the portrait of the modern American woman. Keep it honey!!
It sound like you just labeled yourself. I really don't care what you do, but you pay for it!!! "Sex in the City," sounds Influential in your life A!!!
When I read that Huckabee is considering looking "outside the tent", I was reminded of Lyndon Johnson's comment about J Edgar Hoover: "It's probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in."
If Huckabee and the other extremists leave the "tent" of the Republican party, you can be damned sure they will be pissing into the tent.
Should be amusing for those of us who never were in the tent in the first place.
Huckabee really is a horse's arse.