Enough with the Mike Huckabee bashing. I know it's a bit late to speak out about this now; he's probably done after Florida. But I've been growing sick of the anti-Huckabee vitriol coming from some conservative talk show hosts and bloggers nationally and locally.
I agree that Huckabee has a weak record on taxes and ethics. Clearly, that's fair game for discussion. But the vitriol has gotten tiresome.
Inherent within it seems to be subtle disrespect for social conservatives on some programs. I don't mean all the time; I mean in the presidential election. There's an implication that it's not "OK" for conservative voters to put, say, abortion first by choosing Huckabee.
None of the candidates is "perfect" on the issues. It seems many conservative talk radio hosts have decided that candidates who "fail" the social conservative litmus test - Rudy Giuliani comes to mind - are OK, but people are "fools" to vote for the candidates who "fail" the economic and immigration litmus tests (like Huckabee). I don't mean all hosts, either. I mean some of them.
Every voter has to prioritize the issues in this election. Some social conservatives care mostly about abortion, gay marriage, religious values, and the like. They have a right to do so without condemnation.
Other conservatives - call them tax-and-terror conservatives - prefer a candidate who is strong on those questions (I'd add immigration in there), even if they are weak on social matters.
What we are seeing is a growing rift in the movement between social conservatives and tax-and-terror conservatives, who aren't always comfortable with the social issues, or, at least, aren't as passionate about them as they are about fiscal and national security concerns. This might be a faux rift. It's probably exaggerated by the fact we've got a presidential field filled with candidates who are really strong in one area, but not the other, in different ways, requiring people to stake out what matters most to them. After all, I think most of the talk radio hosts are pro-life too. It's just that they've decided it's not the issue voters should care most about if forced to choose by such a fragmented field.
Personally, I am more of a tax-and-terror conservative. I care about social issues like abortion (I am pro-life) but, perhaps because it's a time of war, I place them secondary in this presidential election. I wish there was a candidate who was strong on all the issues, but there's not (except maybe Mitt Romney, and I don't trust him). I've always leaned toward Rudy Giuliani.
However, enough with the Huckabee bashing. And, for that matter, can we lay off the John McCain bashing too? It's not the criticism per se. He deserves it, too, on a lot of issues. It's just the tone of it.
