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The most fascinating discussion I've read this weekend is one concerning Mike Huckabee. Who is he, why did he win Iowa, is he going to upset the GOP's applecart (which isn't exactly stable, given our years of ongoing conflict, the Bush Bashing that's fragmented our politics and challenged even the most knowledgeable pundit's divinations) and what do we do to get rid of him? What do we do about "This year's man from Hope"? (Yes, Mike Huckabee is from Hope, Arkansas.)

Of course this discussion is at Protein Wisdom, with Karl posting this insight. Let's take a look at Mike Huckabee.

We know that his rise to win Iowa was unexpected...Giuliani still polls ahead, nationally. McCain, for now, leads polling in New Hampshire. South Carolina (the Firewall) awaits the Republican candidates, we should see at least one or two drop after January 19. Newsflash! Huckabee now leads polling in Michigan (Jan. 15) and South Carolina (Jan. 19). Not bad for an evangelical who barely caused a stir when he first entered the race.

"...the thing really pushing his supporters, is that they believe that what ails America and threatens its continued existence is not economic collapse or jihad, it is our culture.

"They have been bruised and offended by the rigid, almost militant secularism and multiculturalism of the public schools; they reject those schools’ squalor, in all senses of the word. They believe in God and family and America. They are populist: They don’t admire billionaire CEOs, they admire husbands with two jobs who hold the family together for the sake of the kids; they don’t need to see the triumph of supply-side thinking, they want to see that suffering woman down the street get the help she needs." emboldenings mine

Peggy then goes on to brush off these 'populist' notions, because, well, they will get us trashed in the General Election by anyone the Democrats care to put forth, with the exception of Kucinich.

Karl then goes on in his lengthy, well-documented post to point out some of Huck's frailties to Conservatives, and the various methodologies we can use to derail him. If we could get a word in edgewise to his base, who are not really Conservatives.

Conservatives can't really throw their arms around the Huckster, for more reasons than just the General Election. From the comments, this link to a WSJ piece titled "The GOP's Time for Choosing"...

"Mike Huckabee's stunning victory in Thursday's Iowa caucuses does more than change the GOP nomination race. With a platform explicitly grounded in his Christian faith and a populist economic message, Mr. Huckabee offers the Republican Party a new political narrative, light years removed from the limited government principles governing the GOP in the Reagan and post-Reagan era.

"This pro-faith, pro-government message may sound strange to American ears -- but it is a staple of conservative political parties on the European continent. Mr. Huckabee, in other words, essentially gives Republicans a choice: Does the GOP want to become a Christian Democratic party? To answer that question, Republicans should look carefully at Christian Democracy to see if it is a model worth emulating."

Short answer, no, the European CDP's as implemented are not as our Reagan Conservatism could recognize...

"Christian Democracy is a different beast than Reagan-era conservatism, which drew upon the traditions of the Founding Fathers -- which are extremely suspicious of government power, regulation and redistribution. It is virtually impossible to imagine a Christian Democratic leader inveighing against government intervention in the economy as Ronald Reagan did in his first inaugural address. ("In the present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.")

"American conservatism also differs from Christian Democracy in its attitude toward faith. Reagan conservatism is faith-friendly, supporting the free exercise of religion and traditional morality. But it does not define its political principles with reference to its faith; in this view, Christianity is consistent with proper political principles, but is not the primary wellspring of those principles.

Which is essentially an in-your-face to the evangelical wing of the GOP.

So how do we incorporate Huckabee into the GOP? With his early (and increasing) levels of support, that question is troubling some...from the very knowledgeable commenter Ric Locke...

"There are really only two things possible: shoot him or accommodate him. I don’t recommend shooting. It might serve as a strictly temporary solution, but the long-term side effects are likely to be horrific.

"Accommodation remains, and the real question is, to what lengths will it be necessary to go to accommodate Huckabee? The problem is that he represents the visible tip of a very large, hitherto quiescent group with a serious grudge.

"The one suggestion I do have is one I’d really, really, rather not have to make, and one that’s going to piss off a lot of people, with a great deal of justification: homosexuals need to shut the f* up and lay low for a while, or they’re going to be longing for the comfort and security of the closet."

Because of the backlash, obviously.

There will be much squalling from the Democrats, from the Leftists-secularists who view anything with religion attached as instantly ridiculous. But Darleen leaves us with a true reason for a season of accommodation, not only of Mike Huckabee, but to his "large, hitherto quiescent group with a serious grudge". This is an important point...

A lot of secularism/humanism touted by the Left is really a form of religious dogma. And because it has been done TO American culture with a kind of “nyah nyah nyah” rub-the-Xtians-nose-in-it gleefulness, the “Christian Right” have used their post-Carter awakening to flex their political muscle. If black Americans… 13% of the population … can wield such political influence to have their needs addressed, why not the Christian Right?

Nyah, Nyah, Nyah. Indeed.