OPINION & EDITORIAL
Unifying candidate or bigoted clown?
Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.
Also by Gerald Cox:
- Barack Obama secret Muslim; good for you, Hillary (April 29, 2008)
- Destroy ASM? Too late (April 21, 2008)
- Put transient threat in perspective (April 14, 2008)
- Vigilance key to preventing tragedy (April 7, 2008)
- Stick with seg fee pros in election (March 24, 2008)
Related Stories:
- GOP voters might 'heart' Huckabee (November 6, 2007)
- McCain deserves your vote (February 14, 2008)
- 'Oprabama?' No thank you (December 10, 2007)
- Thompson's debut far from stunning (October 11, 2007)
- Presidential race crazier than ever (February 19, 2007)
Share This:
by Gerald Cox
Monday, January 28, 2008
A few weeks ago, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee seemed poised to ride a wave of evangelical fervor to the Republican nomination. It wasn’t until after a revealing campaign stop in Myrtle Beach, S.C., that I began to take a closer, more critical look at Mr. Huckabee. And what I saw was at once humorous and scary: a witty, homophobic, quasi-racist opportunist who — even more than your average Republican presidential candidate — was sorely out of touch with mainstream American thought.
Mr. Huckabee’s Southern Baptist preacher style of delivery made him my favorite Republican to listen to in a debate. It was Mr. Huckabee who, of all the Republicans, scored the most points with me after he admitted Barack Obama’s message of change may be something the Republican Party should look into.
A Republican who would say such things about a Democrat appealed to my appreciation for balance and nonpartisanship. At one point during a debate, I turned to my family and insisted, “This man needs to be the Republican nominee.”
My opinion now: not so much.
In the early primary state of South Carolina, Mr. Huckabee made a misstep that may have helped him among a few bigots in South Carolina, but cost him among many potential supporters elsewhere. Campaigning in Myrtle Bearch, Mr. Huckabee, according to CNN, insisted that South Carolinians “don’t like people from outside the state telling you what to do with your flag.” Perhaps inspired by the ferocity of sidekick Chuck Norris, Mr. Huckabee went on to opine that, “if somebody came to Arkansas and told us what to do with our flag, we’d tell them where to put the pole.”
As a Christian, an American and an African-American, I was appalled by Mr. Huckabee’s attempt to cater to the crowd. A former minister giving a wink and a nod to South Carolinians who wish to insert a flagpole into any offending American’s hindquarters who so happens to suggest that flying the Confederate flag is wrong? I know Christ turned a few tables over in the temple, but I doubt flagpole rectal penetration was something our savior would sign off on.
No presidential candidate of the United States should endorse officially flying a flag that represents not only slavery and racism, but also the desire and intention to do away with the unity of the nation. While it is well within an individual’s right to fly any flag, a state should surely refrain from invoking the legacy of the Confederate cause. The governor, however, failed to stipulate such a distinction.
Mr. Huckabee has also expressed a strong desire to amend the Constitution to reflect “God’s standards.” Mr. Huckabee would be hard pressed to define satisfactorily what “God’s standards” are to every Christian. Would this new Constitution provide for punishment in the case of premarital or extramarital sex?
While I ask that my leaders’ decisions be somehow informed by a reverence for the Almighty, I’d be afraid to allow a man’s interpretation of God’s will to run roughshod over America’s Constitution.
And if this weren’t enough, Mr. Huckabee’s continual parading of actor/martial artist cum laude Chuck Norris in what can only be called an incredibly prolonged publicity stunt is much like the recent spate of jokes in which the actor now stars as punch line: funny, yet increasingly tired.
Mr. Huckabee, always the jokester, further sought to appeal to South Carolinian voters in particular by asking comedian/actor/popular TV show host Stephen Colbert to be his running mate. Funny, and cute, Mike, and I love watching the clip on YouTube, but it just doesn’t seem too presidential to offer the vice presidency to a man like Mr. Colbert, despite his wit.
The governor certainly didn’t intend for voters to take such antics seriously. They didn’t. It may be that voters began to see Mr. Huckabee’s campaign as a joke. A joke with terrible implications for the homosexual community, a lifestyle he has now famously compared to bestiality.
The way things appear, we will most likely not have to worry about a Huckabee presidency. Voters in Florida and later states stand poised to jettison his unique style of politics about as effectively as any Chuck Norris roundhouse kick. Good riddance, I’ll say, and take your overdone Norris jokes with you.
Gerald Cox (gcox@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in economics.
Anonymous (January 28, 2008 @ 8:20am):
If it's the Huckster then the Dems win going away.
Anonymous (January 28, 2008 @ 8:21am):
Mr. Cox,
Could I cast my vote for Governor Huckabee as a republican since 1950's; no he does not have the hard core leadership needed in todays global as well as domestic levels of organization. He just doesn't measure up..
However could I cast my vote for you as a equal view journalist, no again... what you take out of context from Gov. Huckabees stating as choice of a a states majority by inserting the race and slavery issues also shows weakness. The American people and the World need Leadership to get all issues under control, not popularity as the youg are hyped up about,, not campaign promises party advisors put in speeches, and certainly not the invented media hype nonsense.
We need another Lee Iacocca strength Candidate: Ask yourself, who among our choices is that person...
"Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder.
We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course"
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the damned "Titanic". I'll give you a sound bite: "Throw all the bums out!"
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the " America " my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest "C" is Crisis!
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes.
A Hell of a Mess
So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves.
The middle class is being squeezed every which way.
These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?
We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan.
Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed
that there could ever be a time when "The Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we
going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope, I believe in America .
In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: the "Great Depression", "World War II", the "Korean War", the "Kennedy Assassination", the "Vietnam War", the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this: "You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to "Action" for people who, like me, believe in America . It's no t too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had "enough."
Excerpted from "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?".
Copyright (c) 2007 by Lee Iacocca. All rights reserved.
Anonymous (January 28, 2008 @ 8:21am):
bigoted clown
Anonymous (January 28, 2008 @ 9:27am):
Gerald, you'd be hard pressed to find a candidate in this year's election who does not harbor some sort of bias. Clinton and Obama haven't exactly been cordial toward each other lately.
You can also complain all you want about the few Klansmen and neo-Nazis in Ron Paul's contingency, but Barack Obama has a gained an impressive following in members of the Nation of Islam. Hillary Clinton enjoys substantial support from La Raza.
Yep, I'd say there are candidates on both sides that are so desperate to get elected that they'll jump in bed with anyone with a few bucks to put into their campaign coffers.
Anonymous (January 28, 2008 @ 10:38am):
I so felt the same way when I was watching him earlier. I thought, "This guy really seems like he cares" and the way he was talking it wasn't even clear to me what side he was on... but once I hit up his website, his caring attitude didn't really seem to match up with his initiatives.
Anonymous (January 28, 2008 @ 11:28am):
For a second, I thought you were going to talk about the Clintons' recent fiasco in South Carolina. Obama = Jesse Jackson, HA!
Anonymous (January 28, 2008 @ 12:14pm):
TIME appears to have at least one clown - bigoted or maybe just stupid.
Racist TIME Mag Headline---
"Obama 'Rejiggers' Race!"
... Unbelievable!!!
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/01/racist-time-magazine-obama-rejiggers.html
Anonymous (January 28, 2008 @ 7:04pm):
8:21, way to transcribe half of someone else's book. No one reads anything that long, jizz bag.
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 12:30am):
Well based on your articles Hillary is bad Obama is bad Huck is bad. Catching a lot of negativity here. Really though, you could write a negative article like this about any candidate. Now I understand if the herald has your balls and won't let you actually endorse a candidate, but it would be nice to read something constructive or at least hopeful.
Anonymous (January 29, 2008 @ 12:58am):
"Informed with a reverence for the Almighty"
Here's the problem with this: There is no good reason to believe in the "Almighty."
Why should I have reverence for something that won't reveal its existence?
Anonymous (January 30, 2008 @ 7:31am):
hey buckwheat.....not everyone needs outside input.thats why we have 50 states.don't like one,you can move to another!
VaSteve VaSteve (February 1, 2008 @ 8:10am):
I wonder what Huck has to say about affirmative action and 'set asides'in the state of Wisconsin.Or should people outside of Wisconsin mind their own state?mmmmmmm?
Anonymous (February 1, 2008 @ 9:13am):
You know with an unending war, slightly illiterate children in university, a collapsing dollar and an eroding middle class, one would think that there are more important matters to discuss other than whether or not South Carolina has a war dead memorial on its state house grounds. But silly me, I forgot the first rule of PC: If an African-American is offended, all other matters must come to a grinding halt and take priority until he feels he had sufficiently had enough exposure and attention--not unlike a spoilt child.
Add a comment
We welcome your thoughts, but please keep your feedback thoughtful, on-topic and respectful. Offensive language, personal attacks, or irrelevant comments may be deleted.
Login...
Not registered? Sign up now.
It's quick, free, and the email address you provide will not be sold or solicited.
