Leftist in Evangelist's Clothing Fails to Win Secular Support
Mon, Jan 21, 2008 at 8:24:35 am PST
Mike Huckabee did his pandering best to enlist the support of non-evangelicals in South Carolina, but as John Fund reports, he basically failed.
Mike Huckabee tried his best to expand beyond his evangelical base in South Carolina and appeal to what his campaign called “Joe Six Pack” voters. Mr. Huckabee was the only candidate to pander to devotees of the Confederate flag, telling crowds that outsiders should leave the banner flag, now displayed in a corner of the grounds of the state capitol, alone: “If somebody came to Arkansas and told us what to do with our flag, we’d tell ‘em what to do with the pole, that’s what we’d do.” Contrast that with the comments of Mr. Huckabee’s fellow Southerner Fred Thompson: “For a great many Americans, [the flag] is a symbol of racism. I’m glad people have made a decision not to display it . . . in a state capitol.”
Mr. Huckabee also tried pandering to immigration foes. As governor he had opposed measures targeting illegal aliens. Just before the primary, he signed a pledge that he would use law enforcement to send all 12 million illegal aliens home. He vehemently denied any inconsistency in his views. It didn’t work. Among the one-fourth of voters for whom illegal immigration was a top issue, Mr. Huckabee defeated John McCain by only 33% to 24%—a sign that many voters recognize the issue’s complexities and view it in context once they get inside the voting booth.
Once again, Mr. Huckabee failed to achieve significant support outside his evangelical base. Only 1 in 7 non-evangelicals voted for him, placing him behind not just Mr. McCain but Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney. He finished a close second overall only because he won more than 2 out of 5 evangelical voters, who made up 60% of South Carolina’s primary turnout. And he pandered to his base, too, running TV ads proclaiming himself a “Christian leader.” The vote among voters who considered themselves evangelicals and those who said TV ads were “very important” in determining how they voted was the same: Mr. Huckabee defeated John McCain 43% to 28% in both categories.
This repeats a pattern seen in other states. In Iowa, where evangelicals also were 60% of the electorate, Mr. Huckabee won but carried the votes of only 13% of non-evangelicals. In three states with more secular Republican electorates—New Hampshire, Michigan and Nevada—he has won between 4% and 8% of non-evangelicals, trailing even fringe candidate Ron Paul.
