The thing I like about Gov. Mike Huckabee is that he’s consistent. When under fire, he stays true to his beliefs. Huckabee said:
The one thing I feel like is important to note is that you stick by what you said. I’m not going to go around changing my opinion on everything. … If I were making those same comments [about AIDS] today, I might make them a little differently but obviously I have to stand by what I said.
But to other candidates, standing by your convictions is not so obvious.
As Gary Glenn of AFA of Michigan pointed out, the most indicting thing Mitt Romney said in his “Mormon speech” is: “Americans do not respect believers of convenience.” Not something you expect to hear from a candidate who conveniently flipped on every major social issue just before running for president. Regarding his beliefs: I’ll admit the idea of becoming a god is attractive, but the position’s been filled.
The thing I like about Mike is that he knows the one sitting on the throne, and in a recent interview he responded to a question about the significance of praying on our knees. “It shows humility” – an important trait for a presidential candidate. It’s pretty important to God, too, who despite presidential-library speeches, isn’t likely to scooch over and share the throne any time soon.
In a 1998 speech in Salt Lake City, Huckabee explained why he left being a pastor for politics:
“I didn’t get into politics because I thought government had a better answer. I got into politics because I knew government didn’t have the real answers, that the real answers lie in accepting Jesus Christ into our lives.”
He added: “There’s not one thing we can do in those marbled halls and domed capitols that can equal what’s done when Jesus touches the lives of a sinner.”
In that same speech, he also had an interesting perspective on why government has become so big:
“I’m often asked why taxes are so high and government is so big. It’s because the faith we have in local churches has become so small. If we’d been doing what we should have – giving a dime from every dollar to help the widows, the orphans and the poor – we now wouldn’t be giving nearly 50 cents of every dollar to a government that’s doing … what we should have been doing all along.”
Timeless principles consistent with where Huckabee remains today and relevant to the recent headlines. Also nine years ago, Huckabee said the1998 Jonesboro shootings were driven by “the winds of spiritual change in a nation that has forgotten its God.”
“Government knows it does not have the answer, but it’s arrogant and acts as though it does,” Huckabee said. “Church does have the answer but will cowardly deny that it does and wonder when the world will be changed.”
He gets it. And the message of values grounded in the Word of God are timeless. The winds of spiritual change that have forgotten God – even on His birthday – have driven current events and the most recent shootings like a tornado through a trailer park.
Romney is right: “Americans do not respect believers of convenience.” That’s why, speaking as an individual, I’ll be voting for Gov. Mike Huckabee. He’s grounded. Solid. And consistent.
And according to MSNBC, Huckabee is now perceived as having the “best chance to win” in 2008: “Huckabee’s lead is across the board. He even leads all the candidates … as being the candidate with the best chance to win in November.”
No surprise: Americans respect authentic believers of persistent principle.
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