Hindus for Huckabee

On yesterday’s Townhall.com blog, Phoenix talk show host and author Austin Hill posted a Huckabee hit piece entitled: “Mike Huckabee: ‘Vote For Me, I’m An Evangelical’”. In this article, Hill whines about not being able to recognize his beloved Republican Party “anywhere”. Then he proceeds to fire off one unsubstantiated charge after another, calling Mike “more reminiscent of President Carter”, “anathema to the political conservative movement”, having “a less-than-conservative track record” as Governor of Arkansas, without detailing even one of Mike’s actions or position’s with which he disagrees. These would certainly qualify as “nanny state mud balls” I wrote about it my post the other day.

But then, about a third of the way into his article, Hill gets down to the nitty-gritty hinted at in his title: “By both implicit and explicit means, Huckabee has been conveying that his Evangelical Christianity—his personal faith, his having attended a Bible college, and his status as an ordained Pastor—qualify him to be President!”

Then he accuses Mike of “forc(ing) theological arguments into the political debate.”

Hill’s polemic gets more and more strident. He talks about Mike’s “dangerous mindset (which) precludes the possibility of building consensus with anybody who doesn’t happen to go to the ‘right’ church.”, and he concludes his hit piece with the “hope that there are other conservative Americans who are as disgusted” as he is.

This is pretty vile stuff. And you have to figure that what really put Hill over the top (although he doesn’t even mention that specifically) is the video Christmas message Mike Huckabee put out the last week, which 28-second video has the media going nuts.

As Mike Gallagher said in his Townhall.com post on Dec. 21 (“Huckabee’s Cross”), “Americans who are completely disgusted with the full frontal assault on anything and everything Christian paid attention. They simply could not believe their eyes and ears, that mean-spirited, Christmas-hating pundits and liberal media elitists were actually whining and complaining that someone (perhaps) had the audacity to display a Christian symbol during a Christian message that celebrated Christmas!”

Mike Gallagher then goes on to talk about such visceral anti-Christian reactions to Mike Huckabee’s Christmas video ad moving many undecided Christian voters to support Mike Huckabee.

It’s even more sweeping than that, Mr. Gallagher.

As a New Yorker, my circle of friends and associates is quite ethnically and religiously diverse. One Indian-American Hindu friend of mine has been supporting Mike Huckabee for weeks, attracted particularly by his advocacy of the Fair Tax, and her support of Mike is as strong as ever now.

But another Indian-American Hindu friend of mine reacted even more strongly. “I like Huckabee”, he said, “because I think he’s the most genuine of the candidates”. But the reaction to Mike’s Christmas message really drove him over the top, to volunteering to put his name on the ballot as a Huckabee convention delegate. “This political correctness is outrageous!”, he told me. “How could anyone possibly object to a candidate giving a Christian message in a country in which the overwhelming majority are Christians? All this ‘Happy Holidays’ stuff is really outrageous. We have the same political correctness in India. India is a county in which the overwhelming majority are Hindus, but you’re not allowed to say ‘Happy Diwali’ anymore, you have to say ‘Happy Festival’!”

Mike Gallagher, you’re onto something here, and it’s even bigger than you suggest. Mike Huckabee’s appeal runs wider and deeper than just among Evangelicals and even wider Christianity. That’s one reason Mike will make a great President for all Americans; even you, Austin Hill!