Today’s Reading List – November 20, 2007
Push Polling, The Saga Continues…
"The Huckabee campaign does not condone this type of activity."
Tepid, don't you think? Which raises an interesting point. Phillip Klein at AmSpec Blog finds:
I got pulled away on another story when this first came up Friday afternoon, but I found Romney's comments attempting to tie the anti-Mormon calls to McCain-Feingold to be a cheap shot.
McCain was the first and the most strident of the candidates to denounce the push poll, but the McCain-Feingold facts are what they are. What is truly interesting though is that Romney had just suffered one of the cheapest of cheap shots in American history, not unprecedented mind you, but that does not make it any less heinous – and we are going to call his timing on addressing a genuine issue "cheap shot?" Talk about cry baby.
Lowell: That's it? That's all that Huckabee has to say? Wow. He really is running as the Southern Baptist candidate, perhaps afraid to offend the tiny bunch within his base who probably approve of the push polling smear. Compare Huck's limp denunciation to that of Fred Thompson:
"There is no room for this kind of smut in a Republican primary election. While there are certainly issues our campaigns disagree on, we are united by far more than that which divides us. One of our candidates is going to emerge from this process as the standard bearer for all Republicans, and we will need a united party to win next year. This kind of robo-dial bigotry which tears down Republicans today will only serve to prop up Democrats tomorrow. It has to end and end now."
So the colorful, loquacious Huckabee can only manage a one-line statement? Excuse me, but Huck gets no chapter in "Profiles in Courage" for this one.
As for McCain, it is his brainchild that made such anonymous smear tactics easy to use. That's what Romney is saying. Those who claim Romney's taking cheap shots at McCain are simply wrong.
Tagg Romney chimes in and RCP hits Hemingway. Captain Ed speculates.
But perhaps the most amazing development is that many people seem to be moving to legitimize this illegitimate political discussion. Rush Limbaugh danced around it a bit, and said something to the effect that "The press loves excitement and hates boredom," which I think goes a long way to explain why everybody is talking about it, legitimate or not. USAToday says:
If candidates can court the faithful, they should be willing to answer questions of faith as well.
No, there is a line between the politics of identity and reaching out to a people group.
My point is this. At the moment, with Mitt Romney refusing to get drawn into a defence of his faith, people are free to characterise it as they see fit. Perhaps he does need to address it full-on, and ask people to think about what Mormons do and what they stand for?
What Mormons believe is readily available. That is why there is a church, you know.
One thing is for sure, the press has gotten exactly what they want out of this – Reason to talk about The Question. You know I am reminded of the guy that goes to the porno shop and spends hours looking at everything in there in intimate detail proclaiming how disgusting it is . . .
Thank goodness guys like John Mark Reynolds are around to refute some of the very worst of it.
And yet, it is an excuse for the left to get very snotty – Huffington Post and Independent of London.
Lowell chimes in a bit more: I wonder if whoever did the push poll hasn't gotten exactly what they wanted – so far? Everybody's certainly talking about Romney's Mormonism now. As John notes, many otherwise responsible commentators have lost their minds (temporarily, we hope) and are either minimizing the nature of the poison involved, or even making the absurd case that Romney himself was behind the outrage. Isn't it entirely possible that whatever reptilian creature is behind this is sitting somewhere in his den right now, smirking?
I am not a conspiracy guy, but to me it is such a great stretch to suspect that a lefty Garry South type might have done it. As Geraghty observes:
The more I hear angry accusations from campaigns, and the more bad blood that is stirred, and the accusations that some campaigns employ bigoted arguments against a candidate, I start wondering… isn't this what some deep-pocketed Democrat would want to see in the GOP primary?
It is even less of a stretch to suggest that a Huckabee zealot did it. In any event, there's now a lot of new focus on Mitt's faith. Lots of people have an interest in seeing that happen: Mormon-haters; lefties; or fans of another candidate, very likely Huckabee.
Speaking of Huckabee…
His conservative credentials are continuing to diminish:
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee rejects letting states decide whether to allow abortions, claiming the right to life is a moral issue not subject to multiple interpretations.
Good move Huck, let's replace one enormous federal mistake with another. And then he rises to the defense of multi-millionaire preachers under congressional investigation (HT: BHT):
In another twist, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is a friend of Copeland and his wife, Gloria. Time magazine reported this week that Huckabee is standing by them despite the investigation by Grassley, the senior Republican in the first-in-the-nation caucus state where Huckabee has been surging in the polls.
"Kenneth and Gloria Copeland are about the most gracious, authentic, and humble people I know and I consider them dear friends," Huckabee told Time. "They have brought hope to millions and have operated with the utmost integrity as far as I know."
Integrity?!?!? Since when is traveling in a private jet, limos, etc.; all paid for by donations from some of the poorer members of our society a measure of integrity? The Copelands are free to preach and teach as they see fit, but give me a break here.
What is fascinating to me is that Romney probably has quite a bit more money than the Copelands, but he actually worked for it.
An Elmer Gantry-ish picture of Huckabee is emerging at a rapid pace. It's not pretty.
Quote of the day…
This quote comes from a Godblogging friend of mine in the UK who is not talking about politics at all; he is discussing theology, but this insight is just too on point for this blog:
It is interesting to note this idea that legalism and racism are closely entwined. At their core they are both rooted in pride and a superior view of ourselves and our cultural groups.
Think about it…
Finally…
Sarcasm works. [Lowell: This is really funny.]
Posted in Reading List | Comment on this post » | 
Print this post
| 
Email This Post