I Heart Huckabee.....Not!!!

Those who know me know I am conservative. They know I am charming and they know I do not like Mike Huckabee because to embrace him would not only be incongruous with my charming conservative persona it would go against my very conscience. We have been watching this surprise rally by Huckabee in Iowa where he stands a very good chance tonight of stealing the caucuses right out from under the early entrenched Romney clan. I listened last night to Iowa voters – many of them evangelicals – who say they like Huckabee primarily because of his family values and his stance on social issues. But if you ask me it seems these all-important evangelical voters are being blinded by the fact that Huckabee was once a Baptist minister. While I think it's nice to know that Huckabee is a God fearing man (and let's face it - I don't see an atheist running for President any time soon) being God fearing alone should simply not be enough for any true conservative voter.

Conservatives outside Iowa are rejecting Huckabee more and more once they get past his ability to turn a warm and fuzzy phrase (which is something I always wished George Bush could do more easily). There's no doubt Huckabee is comfortable in his own skin which is a strong voter attribute for any Presidential candidate. But what about his policy? Come on, conservatives and wake up! Don't let this Baptist Minister fool you! Huckabee's record as governor speaks for itself. He is wrong on taxes. He is wrong on illegal immigration (despite his recent cries to the contrary). He was not all the impressive in the wake of the tragic Bhutto assassination. And Huckabee is so socially conservative that he turned off even this charming GOP voter while listening to his comments regarding homosexuality this past Sunday on Meet The Press.

Another thing I heard over and over again last night but from democratic caucus participants is they want to vote for the candidate who can beat the republicans. The democrats have been down this path before as we saw when they selected John Kerry because they felt he was the most electable particularly after Howard Dean's memorable melt down. The democrats in 04 ran on an "ABB" platform and here in 08 they are still running largely against a man who is no longer even in the race. Yes, electabilty is important but to vote primarily based on "electability" seems somehow misguided to me. Nevertheless, and on the flip side – I will use this "electability" criteria in determining who I will NOT vote for in my primary. I will not vote for Mike Huckabee in my primary #1 because I believe he is no conservative (other than on social issues) and #2 because he can not win the national election. I keep hoping that the pundits are right that Huckabee is but a media creation and that he will quietly go away after this anamoly that is Iowa. Does anyone else think it's strange that the media is enamored with an even-more-than-George-Bush overtly religious candidate? The answer is quite simple and mirrors exactly the reasons why I won't vote for him: he is no conservative and he cannot win the national election.

And so it seems there is only one thing that is certain this time around and that is at this very moment on the eve of the Iowa caucuses there is no sense of inevitability on either side of the aisle. I do believe an inevitable candidate will emerge more quickly on the democrat side with a longer fight to inevitability on the republican side. And while Hillary may lose in Iowa, I still believe she will become the eventual democratic candidate. But just what will happen on the GOP side continues to be anyone's guess. In Iowa no doubt it will be Huckabee or Romney. In New Hampshire I see McCain with a better than average chance which means the GOP will move on to South Carolina, Florida, and Super Tuesday with nearly an open playing field.

But this nagging question on just who to vote for this time around in my primary has been haunting me and haunting me. And now I have my answer. It's once again a simple answer, really. Voters of Iowa, voters of the United States of America, it is time to pick our President….the time is now…..be not afraid….listen to that little voice inside you and by all means vote your conscience--vote not just for the candidate who can win but for the candidate who most closely represents both your values AND positions on the major issues of our day (no easy task to be sure). So while I have reached my answer what about the rest of you? I turn once again to you my fellow viners and I ask you to please participate in my LISAED poll. Tell me what will be the key driver of your primary vote – will it be your conscience or will it be electabilty? As always I thank you for sharing your opinions with me and Happy New Year! 2008 for better or worse is finally here!

My name is Lisa. And I approve this message. (thanks, epi!)

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	Huckabee, Obama face new hurdles in New Hampshire	The L.A. Times	Fri Jan 4	2
	The 10 Best Moments in Mike Huckabee's Extremism	AlterNet.org	Fri Jan 4	17
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