It's Not Huck's Faith That's Got 'em Freaked

Andrew Sullivan says this disingenuous bit from a Wall Street Journal editorial that criticizes Mike Huckabee shows why "fundamentalism" is destroying conservatism. Here's the bit from the Journal:

Mr. Huckabee is also only now being discovered by most Republican voters. His innocence (or ignorance) on foreign policy, penchant for borrowing liberal economic attack lines, and even his rejection of Darwin's theory of evolution deserve to be understood by voters before they make him their standard bearer.

Why is that passage disingenuous? Because -- and I think Andrew would agree on this -- everything the Journal's editors find objectionable about Huckabee is also present in their favorite son, George W. Bush...except the quasi-populist economic views. George W. Bush is skeptical of evolution, and we knew that when he ran in 2000. G.W. Bush was famously ignorant of foreign policy when he ran in 2000. Did the Journal's editorial page object?

If Mike Huckabee held Mitt Romney's economic views, the Journal's editors would be falling all over themselves to praise him as the only thing that could save the country from a Democratic presidency. In his debut column for the NYTimes, Bill Kristol -- who is very far from a Huck fan -- gives the Arkansan props, developing a Strange New Respect for the man who beat the hell out of Moneybags Mitt in Iowa. Excerpt:

Now it's true that many conservatives have serious doubts about Huckabee's positions, especially on foreign policy, and his record, particularly on taxes. The conservative establishment is strikingly hostile to Huckabee -- for both good and bad reasons. But voters seem to be enjoying making up their own minds this year. And Huckabee is a talented politician.

His campaigning in New Hampshire has been impressive. At a Friday night event at New England College in Henniker, he played bass with a local rock band, Mama Kicks. One secular New Hampshire Republican's reaction: "Gee, he's not some kind of crazy Christian. He's an ordinary American."

In general, here in New Hampshire he's emphasized social issues far less than in Iowa (though he doesn't waffle when asked about them). Instead he's stressed conservative economic themes, seamlessly (if somewhat inconsistently) weaving together a pitch for limited government with a message that government needs to do more to address the concerns of the struggling middle class. This latter point seems to be resonating, as headlines in local papers announce an increase in the national unemployment rate amid speculation about a coming recession.

I don't get why Andrew calls Huckabee's rise a sign of "the perils of fundamentalist politics." For one, Huckabee is not a fundamentalist. He's more of a Rick Warren Evangelical, which is not exactly an Andrew Sullivan Catholic, to be sure, but it's not the same thing as a fundamentalist. For another, as more and more people are catching on to, Huckabee's rise is not because of some zombie Jesus cult. He's scoring with folks for much the same reason Obama is: because he's an exceptionally good orator whose style is in tune with the mood of the country right now. Plus, his Joe Lunchbucket economic populism is striking a resonant chord with many Republican voters.

You could see as far back as the Pew political typology in 2005 that the Republican vote was moving more toward economic populism, without leaving behind social conservatism. Somebody was bound to find that sweet spot sooner or later. If Huck doesn't make it this year, he's not going away, and besides, there will be more Huckabee-style Republicans emerging in years to come.

Kristol seems to see why Huck matters, and respects it. So does Matt Yglesias, who thinks both Huckabee and Ron Paul have wacky economic ideas, but:

...the point is that both Paul and Huckabee try to connect to people feeling economic pain while Rudy McRomney seem to be living on a weird planet where none of these problems exist. Certainly, they don't deign to try to expose Paul and Huckabee as selling snake oil and propose something more constructive; they're just ignoring it.

Huck won't do well in New Hampshire, of course. But the real test will be Michigan, which is under a lot of economic stress right now. It's where Romney was born, but I bet Huck's going to beat him there. Might not beat McCain, but he'll beat Romney.

Sooner or later, folks are going to understand what Kristol's secular New Hampshire Republican said after seeing Huck: "He's not some kind of crazy Christian. He's an ordinary American."