ABC News reported last night that Arkansas Gov. Mike [tag]Huckabee[/tag] (R) played the compassionate-conservative card yesterday, appearing at the [tag]Family Research Council[/tag]’s “[tag]Values Voters Summit[/tag],” and delivering a half-way progressive message that the audience didn’t want to hear.
ABC suggested it was Huckabee’s “[tag]Sister Souljah[/tag] moment.” It wasn’t.
At today’s Values Voters Summit, Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR), a former president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, showed that while he has a set of accomplishments that fit into what the public typically thinks of as social conservatism (a ban on partial-birth abortion, a parental consent law, a covenant marriage law), he is also willing to challenge the faith community and Evangelicals to let the broader public know “the things we stand for and not just the things we’re against” as he explained to ABC News following his speech.
Indeed, Huckabee drew a muted response when he told the far-right activists in attendance that being truly “pro-life” includes caring about people after they’re born, not just before. So, does Huckabee deserve kudos for breaking slightly from the religious right script? Maybe a little, but before anyone praises the Arkansas governor too much, consider the context of his comments, as described by TAP’s Ben Adler.
It was only toward the end of the speech, when Huckabee finished off his appeal for the welfare of children by calling on the audience to imagine “what we could do if instead of paying half their income in taxes, but gave a dime of every dollar to their church or charitable organization,” that it became apparent what Huckabee’s real game was: speak the language of compassion while resolutely opposing any governmental action to address those in need. He even miraculously spun the government’s incompetence in dealing with Hurricane Katrina to that end. The audience, clearly relieved, gave Huckabee an enthusiastic standing ovation.
A “Sister Souljah moment“? I don’t think so.