Social Conservatives Taking a Stand with Huckabee

The Republican establishment has looked down its nose at social conservatives far too long, tolerating us because they need our votes. But now the tables are turned. The grass roots are looking up at the establishment with the will of a Lech Walesa, demanding that fiscal issues take a back seat to moral issues for a change. It’s long past time for the moral and social issues of our times to be given more than just lip service. It’s now time for our fiscal policies to be informed by our social policies rather than sacrificing our morality to our economic standing in the world.

This is a quote from an article by Paul Edwards. I personally will always vote moral issues first. I am a fiscal conservative, too (and think Huckabee is based on his stance on the Fair Tax, cutting taxes, in Arkansas, etc.), but that will always take a back seat to a baby's right to live, protecting marriage as between a man and a woman for life, government backing abstinence education, etc. By the way, Dick Morris agrees with me that Huckabee is a fiscal conservative.

In Arkansas, the income tax when he took office was 1 percent for the poorest taxpayers and 7 percent for the richest, exactly where it stood when he left the statehouse 11 years later. But, in the interim, he doubled the standard deduction and the child care credit, repealed capital gains taxes for home sales, lowered the capital gains rate, expanded the homestead exemption and set up tax-free savings accounts for medical care and college tuition.

Most impressively, when he had to pass an income tax surcharge amid the drop in revenues after Sept. 11, 2001, he repealed it three years later when he didn’t need it any longer.

He raised the sales tax one cent in 11 years and did that only after the courts ordered him to do so. (He also got voter approval for a one-eighth-of-one-cent hike for parks and recreation.)

He wants to repeal the income tax, abolish the IRS and institute a “fair tax” based on consumption, and opposes any tax increase for Social Security.

And he can win in Iowa.

When voters who have decided not to back Rudy Giuliani because of his social positions consider the contest between Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, they will have no difficulty choosing between a real social conservative and an ersatz one.

Romney, who began as a pro-lifer and switched in order to win in Massachusetts, and then flipped back again, cannot compete with a lifelong pro-lifer, Huckabee.

Freedom Lives Day Dec. 27th

Today is the Freedom Lives fundraising drive for the Mike Huckabee campaign. I encourage everyone who can to give. Every little bit helps. Let's see if we can boost the campaign past $5m in online donations for the quarter. Don't forget to enter Donor Code 160 so that the campaign knows that you are participating in Freedom Lives Day.

Merry CHRISTmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Celebrate the amazing gift of the Creator coming to live among the His creations.

God Moves in Mysterious Ways

Today's Rasmussen numbers actually made me say, "Wow!", out loud. No one could have predicted these numbers a couple of months ago. But God has always know what would happen.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows a continuing slide for Rudy Giuliani. In the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination, it’s Mike Huckabee at 21%, John McCain and Mitt Romney at 15% each, Giuliani at 13% and Fred Thompson at 12% (see recent daily numbers). Ron Paul currently attracts 6% of Likely Republican Primary voters nationwide.

Hold on to your seats everyone! It is going to be an exciting ride to the nomination.

Merry Christmas! and politics

Mike Huckabee just released a new TV ad. It is one of the most refreshing political ads I have seen in a long time. He is taking a lot of flack for it because GASP he mentions Christ in the same ad as Christmas. There is also a shelf that has people talking about floating crosses. But when I see this ad I see a man who is not afraid to be who he is even when it is not politically correct. That is why I find this ad so refreshing. Take a look for yourself.

Revolutionary Parenting chapter 1

A while back I started a commentary on George Barna's book Revolutionary Parenting. Chapter one is about how we are failing to raise up spiritual champions. We measure "good parenting" by worldly standards such as not being in gangs and not taking drugs. While these things are worthy goals, they take the focus off of God's standards which go much deeper than these things.

Another thing Barna mentions is tendency of American's do deny facts if they make us uncomfortable and to hand our children over to "professionals". He also emphasises the fact that raising godly children is the resposibility of parents not the government, schools, or even churches.

Though this is off topic to Barna's book, his comments reminded me parental responsibility to give their children a Christian education. By the world's standards, your children might get a decent education at a government school. But will they have a great education about God and the things he thinks are important. Or will they leave school after 13 years of indoctrination with a secular humanist world view?

When confronted with the facts about government schools (as shared in Bruce Shortt's The Harsh Truth about Public School), people often deny the facts (not our government school) and hand their children over to "professionals". Really this makes me sad. I hope that we will wake up as a nation and take back the responsibilities God has given us. He gave them to us with his purposes in mind. Let's not forsake our God-given responsibilities.

Summary Huckabee's Great News

There was a lot of good news for Mike Huckabee recently. Here is a summary. Also Liberty University for Huckabee has a great graphic here.

Latest Polling from Early States by Rasmussen

Iowa Jan 3rd (Huckabee 1st, 28%)
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the Iowa caucus finds former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee with 28% of the vote, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with 25% support, and everyone else far behind.

New Hampshire Jan. 8th (Huckabee tie for 2nd, 14%)
The new primary election poll shows a virtual three-way tie for second place between former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Senator John McCain at 15% and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee at 14%. For Giuliani and McCain, those figures are a very slight dip from earlier in the month while Huckabee has gained four more percentage points.

Michigan Jan. 15th (Huckabee 1st, 21%)
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds Huckabee earning 21% of the vote. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the son of a former Michigan Governor, attracts 20% support while former New York City Mayor is the top choice for 19% of Likely Republican Primary Voters.

South Carolina Jan. 19th (Huckabee 1st, 25%)
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has taken the lead in South Carolina’s Republican Presidential Primary. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows Huckabee with 25% of the vote, Mitt Romney with 18% and Fred Thompson with 18%.

Arkansas vs. Hillary Clinton (Huckabee wins with 48%)
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee leads former Arkansas First Lady Hillary Clinton in the race for that state’s Electoral College votes. A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey found that Huckabee attracts 48% of the vote in Arkansas while Clinton earns 42%.

UPDATE 12/14/07
RASMUSSEN NOW HAS HUCKABEE IN FIRST IN FLORIDA.


Latest Polling from Early States by others

Nevada Jan. 19th (Huckabee 2nd, 23%)
American Research Group shows Huckabee in second to Romney. Huckabee has 23%.