To Too Conservative

Republican candidate Mike Huckabee spoke out in front of South Carolinians before their primary in attempts to win them over as well as present a more conservative side of himself after his own party criticized that he was too liberal. This play was very important for the South Carolinians since 1/3 of GOP primary voters in 2000 are religious conservatives. He’s also claimed that he supports the flying of the Confederate flag, since it is a State’s business whether or not it should fly the flag, not the president’s. He has reiterated his support for constitutional amendments to outlaw abortion and same-sex marriage, which according to him, could open the door to polygamy, pedophilia and bestiality. He’s also told a Michigan audience before that state’s Tuesday primary that, “"What we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards, rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family.” Thompson has also been pounding him left and right about his immigration policy and declaring he is populist because he is too lax in his issues and policies.

I suppose since Huckabee is speaking out towards conservative states right now, he can ramp up his conservative, religious side. However, I think his statements and implications about abortion and same-sex marriage possibly leading to the integration of polygamy, pedophilia and bestiality are way out of line. To me, that just sounds illogical. I hope he’s got some sort of ingenious explanation to his statement later when he’s lobbying in more liberal areas. He seems pretty darn conservative to me from that little snippet. I don’t think he would have a good chance at presidency if he keeps his view that far-right sighted. I think he should’ve kept being a liberal conservative. Criticism from other Republicans such as Thompson shouldn’t allow him to back himself up into a corner with no way out.

By flouting his very conservative side, he’s probably lost the vote of someone like me, a fairly liberal independent.

http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Issues.View&Issue_id=10

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/17/election08.gop/index.html

Experience?

Experience Not Good Enough?

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson expresses frustration at the current political system because candidates campaigning “change” are enjoying success while those, similar to himself, campaigning on “experience” are falling out of the race. He also agrees that the world needs “change”, but some are calling his “experience” a liability. The public also agrees that they want someone with “experience”, but how can you gain experience of presidency without actually becoming the president first? The public argues that those campaigning with experience are boring and uninteresting. Even if they do want someone with experience, they must have personality and flair. Hillary Clinton did a lot better in the polls after switching the theme of her campaign from experience to change. Her exciting personality and emotional displays have also helped her win votes. Voters still agree the candidate’s stances on issues are most important.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/10/experience.2008/index.html

Clinton vs. Obama in South Carolina; Experience is a Plus

Clinton and Obama are heads to head fighting for the democratic win in South Carolina. The reported key is the African American population, which stands for 50% of the voters. The African American community feels loyalty to the Clinton family while curiosity towards the newcomer. Clinton is faring better in the stats and polls than Obama because the AA community feels her chances of winning are greater, because of her experience, and they don’t want to feel a vote wasted. South Carolina Senator John Edwards, a distant third, is playing up his roots to up his appeal.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/10/sc.obama.clinton/index.html