Dobson Reacts; I Am Not Impressed

Msnbc has Dr. Dobson's reaction to Mike Huckabee's Iowa Caucus victory:

The results of the Iowa caucuses reveal that conservative Christians remain a powerful force in American politics...That had to be a great shock to those on the far-Left! The New York Times wrote a demeaning obituary of Values Voters in an article called 'the Evangelical Crackup.' CNN piled-on, proclaiming the demise of the 'old values'... Sixty percent of the voters in the Iowa caucuses were self-identified Evangelicals, and 45 percent of them supported Mike Huckabee. The former governor may not become the eventual Republican nominee, and I have not endorsed him, but what happened there last night was evidence of an energized and highly motivated conservative community. Not bad for a supposed bunch of demoralized, depressed, disillusioned and disengaged Reaganites.

Sorry, Dr. Dobson, but that is weak. I do not think that having sat on the sideline so far (and continuing to do so to this moment) in this election that you now have authority to speak on behalf of the Evangelicals who have chosen to participate. Values Voters participated in spite of your leadership rather than as a result of it. The Evangelical "followers" in Iowa (the people you are supposedly leading) were clearly convinced that Huckabee is their candidate. The question I have is where have you been?

Dobson to Back Huckabee?

According to a post at the American Spectator today, there appears to be some indication that Dr. James Dobson has settled on Mike Huckabee as his preferred candidate for President of the United States. The Spectator writes:

Sources close to Dobson say that within the next ten days he is coordinating an endorsement plan with the presidential campaign of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Many people, myself included, have been somewhat critical of Dr. Dobson and other Christian leaders for their refusal to back Governor Huckabee. If this report is true and Dr. Dobson does intend to publicly endorse Governor Huckabee, I have a couple of thoughts.

1. Dr. Dobson's endorsement would mean that Mike Huckabee's campaign would see a significant increase in support. This would likely include, among other things, a significant increase in campaign funding.
2. Dr. Dobson's endorsement would indicate that some significant Christian leaders still do care about the principles upon which they live. Dr. Dobson's endorsement of Huckabee could trigger a domino affect, and his influence could encourage other leaders to hop on board.

If the Spectator report is true, the race for the Republican Nomination could see a significant shift.

Huckabee on Christian Conservative Leaders

Via World Magazine:

Prominent Christian leaders have been slow to embrace Huckabee, and [Gary] Bauer told WORLD that his primary concern is the candidate's electability in the upcoming primaries.

In a private meeting with supporters after his speech, Huckabee expressed frustration over Christian leaders' reticence to back him: "It's a little bit like a soldier who goes to war and his own army won't give him the supplies he needs to win."

But evangelicals at the conference handed Huckabee a huge win over the weekend: In a straw poll conducted by the FRC, Huckabee garnered 51 percent of those who voted on-site, swamping every other candidate. Romney trailed in second place with 10 percent of the on-site vote. (The FRC allowed online voting as well, and Romney edged Huckabee by 30 votes in the overall tally.)

In my opinion, there is a demonstrable rift between the so-called "Christian Leaders," and the Christians they are presumed to be leading. That rift is essentially that the aforesaid leaders are pursuing pragmatism, whereas those who are not leaders are pursuing principle. The leaders are openly skeptical of Huckabee (for unprincipled reasons, I might add), but nevertheless the voice of those attending the Values Voter Summit handed Huckabee a resounding amount of support.

Huckabee Gaining National Steam

According to a recently released Rasmussen poll, Gov. Huckabee has reached double digits in national polling for the first time. Huckabee receives 10% of national support for the Republican nomination. This may look like a small number, but the indication is that Huckabee is trending upward on a consistent basis.

Consider, for example, an important fact: there are at least some conservatives who, having previously written Huckabee off, are beginning to give him a second look. There is a growing swell of frustration with the pragmatic attitudes being adopted by conservative "leaders." The tide seems to be turning a bit as person after person abandons the pragmatic deception, and turns back to principled thinking. If that happens more, the other candidates will begin to lose some of their support as some of their less than happy supporters warm to Gov. Huckabee's princpled conservative campaign.

One example of conservatives who are beginning to warm to Huckabee is the tripartite endorsement from Christian bloggers Justin Taylor, Joe Carter, and Matthew Anderson. Having previously bought into the pragmatic notion of electability, these three have now come out in support of Mike Huckabee. They write:

For several months we have admired the scrappy campaign of Gov. Huckabee but believed it would be a wasted effort to support him with our time, energy, and finances. We bought into the notion that he could never get the GOP nomination since conservative voters would not support him. And the reason we were told conservative voters would never support him is because he could not get the nomination. To quote John Piper (from a different context), "It’s like the army being defeated because there aren’t enough troops, and the troops won’t sign up because the army’s being defeated."

We can no longer sit idly by and allow the campaign of a worthy candidate and an honorable man to flounder for lack of support.

So far, Huckabee has been able to avoid the negative attack politics that permeates the process. As he gains steam, however, I would not be surprised to see the other candidates and their supports begin to take attack shots at him. That would be a true indicator that Hucakbee is not only a threat, but a major threat.

Huckabee in the Press

Today, New York Times columnist Gail Collins, who is by no means a Huckabee supporter in the least, rebukes the likes of James Dobson, Gary Bauer, and Tony Perkins.

Why do the leaders of the religious right keep sidling away from a Baptist minister whose greatest political sin seems to have been showing compassion to a prisoner who appeared to deserve it? Why can’t they rally around the candidate who pushed for more government spending to promote poor children’s health and education, and reminded his conservative critics that when they talk about being pro-life, “life doesn’t begin at conception and end at birth?”

Meanwhile, Mike Glover writes on Huckabee for AP. Snippet:

"There have been some major surprises in the past," said Ray Hoffmann, Iowa GOP chairman. "If he does second or third here and then second or third in New Hampshire, people are going to have to take another look."