As possible Republican contenders like Newt Gingrich have stayed out of the presidential race and as Fred Thompson has declined to voice clear support for causes like a constitutional ban on gay marriage and 2005’s Terri Schiavo congressional intervention, God-o-Meter has learned that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is picking up new support among Christian Right activists. God-o-Meter has learned that prominent evangelical conservatives like Mat Staver, chairman of Liberty Council, and author and radio host Janet Folger have contacted Huckabee to announce that they will endorse him.
Many of the social conservatives galvanizing around Huckabee, including Staver, are treating Mitt Romney as their second choice, vowing to support him should the GOP nomination battle turn into a fight between Romney and ex-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
“I was waiting to see what Thompson would do, but he opposed the Federal Marriage Amendment and frankly hasn’t done anything to excite the conservative base,” Staver says. “Everybody likes Huckabee, but the big question was whether he could win. Now people think if they can get behind him, he can win.”
At a gathering of religious conservatives last weekend in Salt Lake City under the auspices of the secretive Council for National Policy, Staver and Folger made a presentation on Huckabee’s behalf. They urged evangelical leaders to coalesce around Huckabee rather than back a rival plan to draft a third-party candidate in the event that Giuliani, an enemy of the Christian Right because of past support for abortion right and gay rights, clinch the Republican nomination.
“Support for Romney’s leveled off and Fred Thompson’s flip-flop on the marriage amendment to the U.S. Constitution took the wind out of his sails,” says a prominent social conservative who attended the Council for National Policy meeting. “Of late, Huckabee has done well.”
Among those at the session where both the Huckabee and the third-party strategies were discussed was Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, perhaps the country’s most influential social conservative, who has ruled out supporting Giuliani, McCain, and Thompson, but has left the door open to a Romney or Huckabee endorsement.
Many Christian conservative activists said the turning points for Huckabee were his second place finish in August’s Ames straw poll and his performance at last month’s “Values Voters” debate in Florida. Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuiani, and John McCain all declined to appear at the forum.
“Huckabee cleaned house at the Values Voter debate,” says Folger, referring to a straw poll that night in which Huckabee won 63-percent of the vote.
Phil Burress, an evangelical activist in Ohio who led the successful charge to ban same-sex marriage in his state in the 2004 election, says he is still undecided but that he is “leaning” toward Huckabee.
“I was in the Thompson camp until he came up with this concoction of every state having its own marriage laws,” says Burress. “The fact that he wasn’t gaining in the polls or raising much money has certainly been the drawback of Huckabee till now… he has a track record of always being solid on the family issues.”
8
posted October 4, 2007 at 7:43 pm
How serious is b’net in seeming to approve of candidates sucking up to the worst part of Christianity?
If one had the courage to say they were, say, Muslim, would that get an uptick or a big spike downward?
This is a joke, right?
posted October 6, 2007 at 6:39 am
Huckabee is a great guy. He was the governor here in Arkansas, and he did a great job. He even sent our national guard down to help out in New Orleans.
I usually vote Democrat, but I’d vote for Huckabee. He’s a great candidate. The most conservative Republican that’s in the race.
posted October 6, 2007 at 4:00 pm
MIGHT MAKE A GOOD PRESIDENT!
posted October 6, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Why The Faith & Values of Presidential & Congressional Candidates Matters…
-Theresa Fleming, Moms For America
Family, faith and freedom are the foundation upon which this country has been built and they are the reasons for its enduring success. It is these core beliefs that have become the very heart of the American spirit. And it is these beliefs and values, along with the courageous service and sacrifice of so many, that has made America the kind of country that millions all over the world wish to come to, and millions thank God every day to be a part of.
Having the courage and taking time to honor God’s place in our country and our country’s history doesn’t take away from the fact that we also care deeply about other important issues such as national security, the economy, education, health care and social security. Throughout our country’s history, we have faced many such challenges, but because our country has been built upon a foundation of faith, family, and freedom; and blessed with people who care far more about the welfare of others than they do for themselves, we have always managed to find solutions to the challenges that we face. And that’s why, if we hope to find solutions to the challenges that we face both today and in the future, we must work together to preserve and protect the values and traditions that have served us so well in the past.
As for those who would remove God from our Pledge of Allegiance and from our country and our country’s history. Although there are a few people who would like to remove God from every facet of our society, the vast majority of Americans do believe in God. God has always been a part of our country, and our country’s history and culture.
God is in the Declaration of Independence, The Star Spangled Banner, The Gettysburg Address, and on every single dollar bill.
God was there on the day so many gave their lives fighting so that we might be free and He was there the day the Declaration of Independence was signed.
God was there the day our boys stormed the beaches of Normandy and He was there the day the Twin Towers came down.
Without a doubt, our country has seen some very difficult times, and yet we have always been able to find a way to stand together in times of need, as one people, “One Nation Under God”, to meet the challenges that we faced.
And what has always brought Americans together, what has given us the courage and strength to face the tough times and the terrible tragedies that sometimes occur in our world, is Faith.
Faith in God, Faith in Each Other, Faith in the Values and Traditions that have so well stood the test of time. And that’s exactly why, as Moms, we do feel that the faith and character of Presidential and Congressional candidates matter. And, in fact, it matters more than any other issue.
For if a man or women wishes to lead this nation, they must first be able to show the American people that they understand and support the American values and traditions that have for so long stood the test of time and that they are as committed as we are to ensuring that America remains what it has always been-”the land of the free and home of the brave”.
posted October 8, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Theresa:
Didn’t I just read your try at proving that this is a Christian nation on another God-O-Meter site? I still disagree, and your quotes haven’t convinced me. This isn’t a Christian nation…no matter how much you might want it to be.
As to Huckabee… any candidate the RR would support is out as a possiblility for my vote. Don’t think this country can handle more years of a conservative Christian!
posted February 3, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Romney shouldn’t count on the endorsement of family values conservatives even if Huckabee doesn’t prevail.