Tim Russert, Mike Murphy and especially Mary Matalin, argued that Huckabee’s continued presence in the race helps McCain and hurts Romney, which Matalin argued is “unfair”. Matalin seemed particularly incensed about that “fact” - resorting to offensive and childish name-calling.
I’m very skeptical about their assessment. I believe, in fact, that Huckabee draws support away from McCain more than he does from Romney. Here’s my reasoning:
- Huckabee’s support comes largely from social conservatives who are especially concerned about the abortion issue. Romney’s alleged pro-life stance is very suspect given his public pronouncements made prior to his presidential candidacy. His position “change” just looks like more of the same dishonest and cynical pandering that we’ve seen in the last 2 presidential elections.
- Huckabee is a populist and his middle-class supporters understand that the old G.O.P doesn’t have their best interests at heart. Romney represents the traditional Republican positions that result in the transfer of wealth and power to the corporate elites at the expense of the middle and lower classes.
- McCain’s sincere pro-life stance, along with his integrity and courage, make him the obvious second choice for the typical evangelical Huckabee supporter.
As far as unfairness is concerned: isn’t is “fair” if the rules are the same for all of the candidates? Was it “fair” that the extremely non-viable Fred Thompson kept Huckabee from winning South Carolina? Where’s the outrage about that?
No comments:
Post a Comment