Houston, we (may) have a problem here....
And his name is Mike Huckabee. A former governor of Arkansas (why does that miserable poop-hole of a state produce so much trouble for the rest of us???), and an ordained Baptist minister, he represents much of what troubles Blue State America ("BSA") about Red State America ("RSA"). "They don't think like us."
For the most part, I am glad that RSA does not think like BSA ... BSA is full of whining, leftists looking for the next government handout, bent on interfering with my rights to live my life as I please because I might offend someone by doing so. BUT (and that should be in 60 point caps), RSA is also the home of some real loonies of the religious persuasion. Note that Liberalism is in reality a form of religion too, but a religion based on social politics and lies promulgated by power hungry wannabe dictators and intellectuals writing books about ideals that totally misunderstand human nature. By contrast, Liberalism is NOT based not a different "book" dictated by fantasists almost 2000 years ago, based on the oral traditions of story telling and heavily edited by various power-crazed "theologians" over the next 20 centuries. For ease of distinction, we shall maintain the modern interpretation: both Liberalism and religious Conservatism rely on the unthinking belief in a set of rules, "facts" and dogma.
What scares me about Huckabee is that he is a classic RSA religious crazy. He sounds sooo reasonable, affable and caring. He probably is ... you just can't fake that sort of down-homsey friendliness. I'd probably like to watch a game with him, coach little league baseball, play golf ... most of your day-t0-day activities. I mean, would anyone (who is telling the truth, anyway) want to do any of the above with Hil-liar? If you would prefer Hil-liar, it tells volumes about your own character, or lack thereof. The trouble with Huckabee is that precisely what makes him decent and kind in the extraordinary way is also what make him singularly unsuited for President of the United States.
Huckabee believes in every word of the Bible as the absolute truth -- God's word. He believes in the creation as described therein ... in effect, we run the risk of electing a President who believes in Santa Claus. The man with the power to push the button ... the man who would be Commander in Chief of the most powerful military force on the Earth ... believes that the heavens and Earth were created in one week by the almighty.
Friends, that is a suspension of reason beyond any that is acceptable for someone occupying elected office. It is entirely similar to the putative beliefs of the Taliban and Iranian theocracy. If I were a European, I'd write off the United States as another country run by religious zealots. And no, it is not true that Huckabee's beliefs would be insulated from the rest of the country and we would have nothing to fear: the tone is set from the top down. Precisely why Hil-liar scares me so much: a congenital liar as President, a person so bent on achieving power that she will tell anyone any set of untruths, so long as she gets to hold the ring. Sauron in a dress. Huckabee would not represent that level -- or any level -- of cynicism, but might be just as scary, or even more so. Nose to nose, eye to eye, with Vlad the Impaler Putin ... who would you want? Hil-liar or Mike? No question there, none at all.
So you see, if Mike gets the nod from the GOP, even a staunchly Hil-liar loather as I am, I'd have to vote for her.
The support that Huckabee is getting in Iowa also shows how people think in the RSA ... they are voting on their gut, their sense of decency -- quite in distinction to BSA, who are voting to receive the most handouts they can, for social "justice" paid for out of my wallet. And you instinctively want to side with RSA -- and vote for the decent person. But can we "afford"" that? Is there a middle ground?
For the most part, I am glad that RSA does not think like BSA ... BSA is full of whining, leftists looking for the next government handout, bent on interfering with my rights to live my life as I please because I might offend someone by doing so. BUT (and that should be in 60 point caps), RSA is also the home of some real loonies of the religious persuasion. Note that Liberalism is in reality a form of religion too, but a religion based on social politics and lies promulgated by power hungry wannabe dictators and intellectuals writing books about ideals that totally misunderstand human nature. By contrast, Liberalism is NOT based not a different "book" dictated by fantasists almost 2000 years ago, based on the oral traditions of story telling and heavily edited by various power-crazed "theologians" over the next 20 centuries. For ease of distinction, we shall maintain the modern interpretation: both Liberalism and religious Conservatism rely on the unthinking belief in a set of rules, "facts" and dogma.
What scares me about Huckabee is that he is a classic RSA religious crazy. He sounds sooo reasonable, affable and caring. He probably is ... you just can't fake that sort of down-homsey friendliness. I'd probably like to watch a game with him, coach little league baseball, play golf ... most of your day-t0-day activities. I mean, would anyone (who is telling the truth, anyway) want to do any of the above with Hil-liar? If you would prefer Hil-liar, it tells volumes about your own character, or lack thereof. The trouble with Huckabee is that precisely what makes him decent and kind in the extraordinary way is also what make him singularly unsuited for President of the United States.
Huckabee believes in every word of the Bible as the absolute truth -- God's word. He believes in the creation as described therein ... in effect, we run the risk of electing a President who believes in Santa Claus. The man with the power to push the button ... the man who would be Commander in Chief of the most powerful military force on the Earth ... believes that the heavens and Earth were created in one week by the almighty.
Friends, that is a suspension of reason beyond any that is acceptable for someone occupying elected office. It is entirely similar to the putative beliefs of the Taliban and Iranian theocracy. If I were a European, I'd write off the United States as another country run by religious zealots. And no, it is not true that Huckabee's beliefs would be insulated from the rest of the country and we would have nothing to fear: the tone is set from the top down. Precisely why Hil-liar scares me so much: a congenital liar as President, a person so bent on achieving power that she will tell anyone any set of untruths, so long as she gets to hold the ring. Sauron in a dress. Huckabee would not represent that level -- or any level -- of cynicism, but might be just as scary, or even more so. Nose to nose, eye to eye, with Vlad the Impaler Putin ... who would you want? Hil-liar or Mike? No question there, none at all.
So you see, if Mike gets the nod from the GOP, even a staunchly Hil-liar loather as I am, I'd have to vote for her.
The support that Huckabee is getting in Iowa also shows how people think in the RSA ... they are voting on their gut, their sense of decency -- quite in distinction to BSA, who are voting to receive the most handouts they can, for social "justice" paid for out of my wallet. And you instinctively want to side with RSA -- and vote for the decent person. But can we "afford"" that? Is there a middle ground?
posted by Zaphod at Tuesday, December 04, 2007
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