Huckabee: Real Republicans Vote for Me
The video below the fold is interesting for a couple of reasons. One of them is that Huckabee once again points out that many of those who vote for him are value voters. That’s obvious. But what’s more interesting is that he, as AllahPundit notes, starts to talk about economic issues in a way that sounds (reasonably) acceptable to fiscal conservatives. He’s talking about small businesses: if he continues to play that card, he’ll do better in many other states than most anticipated.
His way to help small businesses is right out of the fiscally conservative playbook (to which fiscal conservatives – like myself – can only say “Amen”): less regulation, less taxation and less litigation.
Awesome one-liner: “small business is nothing more than a big business that hasn’t gotten big yet.”
However, although he may talk about small businesses, and although that may appeal to quite some fiscal conservatives, he continues to sound like an economic Populist which will turn these same voters off. Comparing himself to Reagan is quite ludicrous in this regard IMO. Having said that, Republicans shouldn’t try to find a second Reagan, they should try to find a First Whomever.
He also said something that will, I’m sure, anger quite some conservatives. “Real Republicans aren’t unhappy with why I won in Iowa.”
Pardon me? Real Republicans? How’s that? I know some real Republicans who truly don’t want Huckabee to win. If he wants to unite the party he has to stop referring to people who oppose him as the “big business” or “establishment” or “not real Republicans.”
Then again, that approach is of course in line with his populism. If he stops doing that, his populist message will be weakened.
As they say, never change a winning team.
Here’s the video, watch it, more of my thoughts below it.
Once again he presents himself in a fantastic manner. When you listen to the guy you can’t help but like him. That’s his main strength, of course.
If he drops the attitude somewhat, he may be able to unite the party more than he’s been giving credit for. Sadly for him and for the GOP I don’t think that he’ll break with populism any time soon.
It’s a tough line, to define yourself as an anti-establishment candidate without ramping up that rhetoric so much that you alienate those who favor the establishment (or the investor class, or what have you.)
But I really do think that our current climate calls for this kind of change. Voters in ‘06 clearly saw that DC had become a cesspool of corruption and special interests, so there’s a strong current of ‘throw the bums out’ mentality that Huck is tapping into.
BTW, I’ve predicted that he’ll start presenting his economic platform in a way that’s more palatable to paleoconservatives and I think this is the start of it. He’s absolutely right about the small business issues, and he needs to keep hammering on those topics.