Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said evangelical voters are atypical this election year, and as a result, the evangelical vote is up for grabs.
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(Photo: AP Images / Mary Altaffer)Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, left, and Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., talk to reporters on board McCain's'Straight Talk Express', Friday, April 25, 2008, in Little Rock, Ark. during the 'It's Time for Action' campaign tour.
"The issues that drive evangelicals are the commitment to protect human life and sanctity of marriage, but it's no longer just those two issues," Huckabee told Montana-based The Billings Gazette this week.
"Younger evangelical voters are also concerned about poverty and the environment. I think the candidate that fails to address the broader agenda is going to fail to unify evangelicals."
In this election year, young evangelicals moved beyond the group’s traditional agendas of same-sex “marriage” and the sanctity of life to consider candidates’ policy positions on climate change, public education, health care, torture among other social issues.
During the Florida primary, young evangelicals said they were searching for a presidential candidate that was compassionate, which they characterized as someone who cared about issues that dealt with alleviating human suffering.
And during last month’s Compassion Forum, even older conservative evangelical leaders asked the Democratic candidates to explain their stance on Darfur, prescription medication, and poverty – topics formerly associated with liberal Christians.
CNN, who co-sponsored the event with Faith in Public Life, noted afterwards that evangelicals have changed and are broadening their list of major concerns. Commentators also highlighted how far the Democrats have progressed in addressing religion and politics.
Beliefnet.com’s God-o-Meter has typically rated Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama way above Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain when it comes to the amount of God talk by the presidential hopefuls.
One of McCain’s religious advisors recently said that the Arizona senator feels uncomfortable speaking about his faith on the campaign trail because he feels that he is using religion for public gain.
His lack of religious talk, past bout of anger with religious right leaders, combined with his reputation as a maverick have been obstacles in uniting evangelicals behind his candidacy.
Evangelicals in the past were a core constituency of the Republican Party; in 2004 more than three-quarters of this voting bloc supported President Bush’s bid for re-election and accounted for about a third of Bush’s votes.
But thus far in the 2008 race, McCain has not been able to coalesce evangelicals who are leaving the party to be independent voters.
"They're (young religious voters) leaving the Republican Party in droves, but they're not automatically Democrats," said Jim Wallis, best-selling author of God’s Politics and The Great Awakening, to The Associated Press. "They're not going to jump in the pocket of the Democratic Party the way they did with the Republican Party."
Political science professor Christopher Muste of the University of Montana observes that the non-stereotypical evangelical voters this year combined with no strong evangelical candidate means that the sizable evangelical moderate population could be the swing vote, according to the Billings Gazette.
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The Church has lost people because 1. Leadership is controled and operated as a family center, not as a worship center. 2. Money is the object because they are paying tto entertain people. 3. 58% of the Pastors or better don't believe in the virgin birth of Christ.
4. Sin is excepted as a norm of the times, so sin is over looked.
"Younger evangelical voters are also concerned about poverty and the environment. I think the candidate that fails to address the broader agenda is going to fail to unify evangelicals."
If younger evangelical voters are also concerned about poverty and the environment, then they are watching too much secular television.
Young or old, evangelical voters need to be concerned with winning souls and being the salt of the earth. Maybe then the evangelicals could be influencial enough to produce their own candidate instead of trying to side with secular Party's.
Mike Huckabee got my vote in the primary. He IS the best Godly man for the job! You have to admit, when it looked bleak for him, a number of times he had god's favor. He captured more votes than even imagined. I think John Mc Cain would be wise to pick Huckabee as his runningmate! It's very nice to see Huckabee is still around.
To say that Huckabee rode into town just in time is an understatement. McCain is shy about his faith, which may be very real, but who needs a President shy about his faith? Huckabee can balance out the ticket and knows how to answer with boldness questions about faith, national security, tax reform, and the compassion for health care and fighting poverty. He is not tricked up by questions, and usually gives sound reasoning and good goverment leadership. I hope McCain picks Huckabee. John & Mike can beat Barak and Billary.
*** BREAKING NEWS ***
Reports coming out of Washington insiders are indicating Evangelical Christians have a unique opportunity this election season to captialize on their movement in the Republican party. Unlike any other time in recent history do those who have failth in a higher power have a landmark opportunity to score big in this upcoming generation.
"I've studied world and political history for quite some time and I have to say, those who believe in a higher power, that is an intelligent creator of mankind, are simple poised to make a paradigm shift in world politics this season and the generation coming through."
Our guest was interviewed a second time, and later reaffirmed his confidence that those who believe in life, marriage, poverty and the environment have leveraged the political platform in such a way to score big this election season.
"I was hesitant in coming out in saying this, but I thought the Republican party was basically doomed this November, but after seeing the rise of Arkansas's Governor Huckabee, this changed my mind or you can say my predictions this fall. The Governor has litterally pulled a rabbit out of his magic hat, he has created a storm of social conservatives that I have not seen or studied in the last century. His ability to communicate is extrodinary, he's been able to harness a power in dynamic speaking abilities that has put fire back into the social conservative movement."
The professor was asked if he thinks Huckabee could be tapped as Vice President. And the professor said rather bluntly, "Well, let me tell you this, if he doesnt, then my predication of the Republican party is doomed for sure. No money is going to buy this election from either party, this is going down to the wire, that is who can verbally convince the voters their ideas are the best for America."
Governor Huckabee appears to have rode into town at just the right time for the Republican party. A party and social conservative platform that may have gone out of existence, looks like it can hold on and take it into the next generation if Governor Huckabee is choosen as John McCain's running mate.
Does it really matter what Huckabee says or does??!!?? The FACT is, my evangelical brothers and sisters seem to be marching in lockstep to the Republican Party, believing that Party to be the "Christian" party, which is the furthest from the truth.
If you want change, vote RON PAUL, or even better, vote CHUCK BALDWIN, the Constitution Party's candidate for President!!! Now that's a real Christian alternative to the two "same" parties, who talk and walk and look alike. EVANGELICALS, really look at your vote. Forget McCain, Obama, and Clinton!!! Vote for Biblical and Christian values!!! Vote for Constitutional principles to be enacted and a return to the tenor of the Republic!!!
BE DIFFERENT!! VOTE DIFFERENT!!! LET'S NOT DO BUSINESS AS USUAL!!! DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN PARTIES HAVE ABANDONED PEOPLE OF FAITH AND ARE NOW TRYING TO BUY US ALL OUT WITH EMPTY PROMISES, BUT WHAT THEY'LL DELIVER IS MORE OF THE SAME - THE MURDER OF CHILDREN AND THE HOMOSEXUALIZATION OF THIS NATION!!!
REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND!!!! (This includes Christians!!!)
I thought Huckabee was supposed to be supporting McCain. Doesn't sound like support to me. For all those who want to vote for some unknown party as a protest, the way the election works is this: the one with the most votes wins. You can vote for the martian party if you want, but if Obama has more votes than McCain, you're going to see the floodgates of depravity open up on this country and the martians aren't going to be able to help you.
Huckabee lost my vote! For him the side with the likes of McSAME just shows that he is NOTHING But a Compromiser! And a Compromiser is worse than NOTHING, it's like voting for the lesser of TWO EVILS and we can all see what that got AMERICA!
The idea that our Mike Huckabee would run with an adulterer like McCain makes me nauseous. Mike would have won if he had stuck it out. But if he gets th VP spot then I would vote for him only because he could influence what McCain does. Maybe then we can stop the Federally Sanctioned Murdering of children in America.
Frankly I am considering the Constitutional party as I am sick and tired of the lies of the the RINOs but for now I stick with Mike.
As a wise lady, Janet Folger of F2A.org, said recently, "You don't pass a burning orphanage by because you can't save them all."
Abortion: A nice way to say murder.
Let's save some children this year...
Patrick@OnlyJesusSaves.com
I am ok with McCain not expressing his faith all the time, nor do I want him to pretend to be more religious than he is just to gain votes.
However, I still have some lingering concerns about the values McCain holds too and whether he would protect the values that I have This is why McCain might struggle to get as much of the Evangelical vote as he could otherwise.