Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

ne1home — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:49:38 GMT

Scheiffer asked the wrong question. It should have been, "Would you consider Giuliani as YOUR veep?" Although Huckabee's answer would have been the same...

Yes, the press has been kind to Huckabee in the last month with coverage, but it's always conditional about his chances of winning the nomination. HOGWASH! (A salute to the Ark Razorbacks:-) Mike Huckabee is the right candidate for America, and it will happen! Don't forget what happened with 5 loaves and 2 fishes!

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

Steve Soto — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:53:48 GMT

Andrew, good post. But I think you may be missing a key point here. Given Rudy's emerging ethical problems stemming from all things Kerik, the last thing he needs right now are for the evangelical base to think they can unite behind a true believer in the fast rising Huckabee. Yes, Romney has money and organization, but he is blowing through that cash at a high rate. And a large part of Romney's evangelical support results from being seen as the less-than-perfect but most likely Anyone But Rudy candidate. But if Huckabee suddenly emerges as a real alternative for the remaining uncommitted evangelicals to unite behind, then Giuliani may find himself with a re-energized evangelical base opposing him, especially after Rudy loses both Iowa and New Hampshire as they head south. If Dobson and the rest of the uncommitted evangelical leadership feel Huckabee gives them a new chance to control the nomination, then the GOP race shifts.

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

cnfrisch — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 21:13:01 GMT

In the 2008 national election, the only republican candidate I would vote for is Mr. Huckabee. He is far more intelligent, informed, and articulate than the other republican candidates. If he does not win the republican nomination, I shall vote for Mrs. Clinton. Under no circumstances will I vote for a republican candidate that has even remote political ties to Bush or Cheney. You can bet the farm that if either Bush or Cheney show up at the republican national convention and endorses a candidate, Mrs. Clinton will subsequently win the national presidential electional by a landslide!

BTW, I'm an independent!

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

ThaddeusB — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 22:28:54 GMT

Huckabee can and will the presidency. All it will take is a little more money. That's why I'm donating $100 as part of the November 20th fund drive and encourage others to do likewise.

http://Nov20ForTheChildren.com

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

grapeape — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 23:18:47 GMT

As a lifelong resident of the State of Arkansas, my condolences to the country if Huckabee is elected president. He was not considered a "liked" governor here by most people....just the lesser of two evils at the time.

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

NandiT — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:35:59 GMT

Love me some Huckabee, he is going to be a popular two term President.

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

Boomshak — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 02:05:39 GMT

What is the deal with you shills for Huckabee? Yes, the NYTImes (agenda anyone) comes out with a poll showing Huckabee 6 down. But it is sandwiched between two other polls (much more respected polls, btw), that show Romney ahead by 16 and 11 points repectively. Why don't we get to hear about THOSE polls showing Romney EXPANDING his lead, NOT losing it?

Zogby: Romney +16 (taken right before the NYTimes Poll - got zero press)

Strategic Vision: Romney +11 (taken AFTER the NYTimes Poll - got zero press)

But I don't see THESE polls referenced in your article here? Why not? Don't they fit your agenda?

Face it, the NYTimes is scared to death of Romney because he can beat Hillary. So they are doing more of their skewed polling to make it look like Romney is slipping, when in fact, their poll is the statistical outlier.

Let's try doing some research and telling the WHOLE story next time, eh?

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

mariethomson — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 02:53:58 GMT

I agree you are shills for Huckabee. All the most respected polls have him high double digits behind Romney in Iowa. Titles this week on more unbiased articles tout "Romney Owns Iowa." You are trying to create a "bandwagon" that makes Iowans think they should change allegiance like teenagers "because everyone else is doing it." And like your mom told you, "everyone is NOT doing it. They don't call Mike Huckabee the Huckster for nothing in his home state.

Mitt Romney is not just ahead in Iowa (the only place Huckabee even has a prayer of a good showing), he is ahead in 6 of the 8 early primary states and his leads are growing, not shrinking as this slanted article would have us believe.

Mitt Romney is the most intelligent, experienced and just plain nearly perfect candidate we are liketly to ever have as President. He is a great communicator and, as a Republican Governor of at Democratic state, has shown himself to be a great negotiator.

Picture this, there is a summit of world leaders and the issues are truely deterimnate, as they will be in this next term, of whether we will have a world or not. Picture Mitt Romney dealing with these world leaders in his characteristic executive style. Then look at the picture with down home huckster Huckabee at the helm. No real world experience in turning difficult situations around.

Don't be fooled by this article which insults your intelligence. The leading polls all still have Romney by high double digits. Don't jump on the bandwagon. It will only prove you just fell off the turnip truck!

Romney can beat Hillary because he has the machine to do so. Huckabee would never even come close--no money, no organization, no hope outside the Bible belt (where most folks actually live).

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

TacomaJoe — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 02:59:49 GMT

If Huckabee gets the GOP nod for the nomination, it would be the death knell of the TRUE conservative wing of the Republican Party. Huckabee is nothing more than an anti-abortion Bill Clinton:

-Huckabee supports socialized medicine (he has refused to endorse Bush's veto of the expansion of the socialist SCHIP program)

-Huckabee has a long and documented record of raising taxes and expanding government in Arkansas.

-Huckabee lobbied for the release of Wayne Dumond, a convicted rapist. He even wrote a letter congratulating Mr. Dumond on his release from prison and welcoming him back into the community. Just weeks after his release, Dumond sexually brutalized and murdered another woman. That woman's life was snuffed out due to Huckabee's use of his office to pressure the Arkansas parole board to release Dumond.

-Huckabee created a sanctuary state in Arkansas and fought to provided illegal immigrants with in state tuition benefits.

-Huckabee does not understand federalism and the 10th Amendment; or like the liberals, he chooses to ignore such founding principles

-Huckabee does not recognize that passage of a right to life Constitutional Amendment is impossible. Anyone who thinks I'm just a naysayer, provide me with a viable contingency for securing 2/3 of the Senate AND The House of Reps to support such a bill when we likely don't have close to 1/2 of Congress who would support such a measure. THEN, list the 38 states who would ratify the Amendment. Such a contentious process would likely set state-level progress of passing greater restrictions on abortion back by decades.

People do not understand that we are closer to overturning Roe v. Wade than we have ever been. The next President will likely get to appoint at least Justice Stevens' replacement. That's the fifth originalist. That's the last Justice necessary to overturn Roe and empower the states to take rightful control of the matter. If Huckabee doesn't understand, or chooses to ignore our federalist principles, he will likely appoint another leftist in disguise (See Souter) and we'll be set back another generation.

Huckabee is almost as bad as Ron Paul. DON'T BE FOOLED.

BEING ANTI-ABORTION AND CHRISTIAN DOES NOT MAKE YOU A CONSERVATIVE!!!

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

TacomaJoe — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 03:11:41 GMT

FRED THOMPSON is the only consistent conservative candidate. He may not have all sorts of jokes to tell you like the Huckster, but what he does have are PLANS, plans to help save our Republic. And he is one of the only candidates who has put forward his plans in plain view of the American public. He treats voters like adults and is honest about matters like the pending collapse of social security.

His SPECIFIC and VIABLE plans include:

-Saving Social Security through optional privatization without reducing the benefits of the elderly.

-Ending Illegal Immigration WITHOUT AMNESTY, by reducing the incentive for illegals to come here (namely, punishing employers and making it impossible for illegals to get hired here).

-Restoring our Military Dominance in the World by spending more on defense, increasing the size of our ground forces, and TAKING CARE OF OUR VETS.

Finally, Fred Thompson understands our founders' intent for this Republic: ideas of personal responsibility and self-reliance; ideas of chasing and being able to realize the American Dream without a myriad of government impediments in your way.

FRED THOMPSON IS THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR AMERICA.

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

El Republicano Tejano — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 03:51:45 GMT

Huckabee is the man! So many of the postings on this blog focus on the negatives of GOP candidates. I like all of them, yet, Huckabee fits the bill as someone who can relate to the average American and one that they can identify with as well. The deal maker for me is that at the end of the day I just want an honest, capable executive. Good gosh all the great ones of the GOP including Lincoln, TR, Ike, Goldwater, and Reagan had their faults. Let's keep our eye on the ball here folks.. . .we need to beat Hillary!!!!!

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

MichaelM — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 05:22:27 GMT

Tacoma Joe,

Some of your comments are laughable about Mike Huckabee. Socialized medicine? Give me a break. Mike has talked about turning health care over to INDIVIDUALS, not insurance companies or the government. His tax increases? Give me a break. You never mention all the taxes he reduced/ cut over 90 times. Geez, come on! If you are going to pick on a candidate, at least do it on a good issue. It would be arguing that you are not voting for Romney because he is an atheist.

Fred could have been a decent candidate but has been a bitter disappointment. He is/ will get destroyed in Iowa, destroyed in NH, down to third in SC, third and falling in Florida, etc... he is done. I had thought about voting for him... but after listening to him, I'm sorry.

Marie, Romney is not a bad candidate. However, he is seen as a "same as usual" candidate (odd, for a Mormon!). I like him to some extent, but keep in mind that he is the WORST candidate by polls when put up him against Hillary. If you don't believe me, see what Dick Morris says on his website about him (Romney).

There are a lot of good candidates in the field for the Republicans. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, but NO ONE will energise the base more (be it conservative or independent) than Mike Huckabee. If people think that the only people that are behind him are Christians- change your reading material. The religious vote is split among several candidates and Mike, as you have heard from other comments here and elsewhere, appeals to independents and even DEMOCRATS! He alone will beat the Hillary machine and he has done it before- MANY TIMES IN ARKANSAS after being only the 4th GOP elected to a statewide position since Reconstruction!

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

rayfinn — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 06:06:43 GMT

Huckabee has been bad on taxes. I want a person to run this country like it is bleeding RED INK which it is.

If religion is the issue, maybe we do not want an Evangelical per this story from the Associated Press. We do not need big spenders!!!!!

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Oral Roberts leaders accused of lavish spending

Justin Juozapavivius - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TULSA, Okla. -- A Beverly Hills house and country club membership. Vacations in Palm Springs and the South Seas. A closet as big as an apartment, stuffed with hundreds of pairs of shoes, suits, dresses and golf shoes.

People with close ties to TV evangelist Oral Roberts and his son, Richard, say they witnessed such extravagances years before a recent lawsuit accusing them of lavish spending engulfed the ministers and their debt-ridden university in scandal.

Harry McNevin said in a recent interview that he quit the Board of Regents at Oral Roberts University in disgust in 1987 after it became clear that the Robertses were dipping into the school's endowment fund for their personal use.

"We were dealing in millions," he said.

The luxurious ways of some of America's top evangelists have come under scrutiny on various fronts recently. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley announced a Senate investigation this week into whether six celebrity preachers violated their organizations' tax-exempt status by living lavishly on the backs of small donors.

The Robertses are not among the six. But those targeted include three members of the ORU Board of Regents: Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn.

In her 1983 memoir, "Ashes to Gold," Richard Roberts' first wife, Patti, documented the jet-set lifestyle: a blue Mercedes as a Christmas gift for Richard, a Jaguar for her, Italian suits and Palm Beach vacations.

"We lived like characters in a novel or a made-for-TV movie about the beautiful people and I reveled in it," she wrote. "Having made a truce, albeit an uneasy one, with my conscience over the source of our wealth, I proceeded to enjoy its prerogatives with total abandon."

Richard Roberts, who is paid $228,000 a year as university president, has taken a leave of absence pending an investigation.

But he disputed the recent allegations of overspending, which are contained in a wrongful-dismissal lawsuit filed by three former ORU professors, and said he pays personal expenses out of his pocket.

Interviewed on a flight aboard the university's leased Hawker 700 jet to a recent TV interview in New York, Roberts said the lawsuit amounts to "a personal character attack."

"There are people in the world who are against ministries," he said. "I think people are not hoping there's a Christian university in Tulsa."

The university declined comment on McNevin's accusation that endowment funds were tapped for personal spending. Endowments are supposed to be for major projects, not day-to-day operating expenses. The principal in an endowment is typically left untouched, and only the earnings are spent.

Oral Roberts University is more than $50 million in debt, its campus -- dominated by a 60-foot bronze sculpture of praying hands -- is starting to look shabby, and a long-promised student center remains in limbo.

University officials blame the debt on lack of major donors and the cost of maintenance on the 44-year-old, 5,700-student campus. Two more crippling blows came in the closing of ORU's law school and the City of Faith, a $250 million attempt by Oral Roberts in the late 1970s to build a great medical center and research institute. The City of Faith closed in 1991.

An endowment once estimated near $60 million now stands at around $34 million. (In contrast, Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va., founded in 1978 by televangelist Pat Robertson, has an endowment of more $277 million, according to published reports.)

ORU's debt load, coupled with the lawsuit's allegations, has some students wondering where their $17,580 in tuition and fees winds up.

"I have sat here and wondered the last three and a half years where my money has gone -- a new clothing line, golf cart repairs?" said Cornell Cross, a senior from Burlington, Vt.

McNevin said the ministry lost sight of the sacrifices made by countless donors who sent $5, $10 and $20 contributions to support the ministry and school. In 1980, a peak year, contributions totaled $88 million, and the ministry sent out so much mail that it needed its own ZIP code.

"It's as if you took their life's sweat and blood and, with no hesitation, just poured it on the ground," McNevin said.

McNevin said the last straw came when the board practically "rubber-stamped" the use of millions in endowment money to buy a Beverly Hills property so that Oral Roberts could have a West Coast office and house. He said a country club membership was purchased along with the home.

"His idea was if he could get on the golf course with these people, he could get donations for the university," McNevin recalls.

McNevin said another time, Richard Roberts took an ORU regent and their wives on the university jet to the South Seas just to get away for few days.

The Oct. 2 lawsuit, filed by three former ORU professors, includes allegations of a $39,000 shopping tab at one store for Richard Roberts' wife, Lindsay, a $29,411 senior trip to the Bahamas on the university jet for one of the Roberts daughters, and a stable of horses for the Roberts children.

Suzanne Culpepper, a former ORU student and $125-a-week nanny for the Robertses' three daughters, said she witnessed the lavish lifestyle. In 1989, she stayed for a summer at the Robertses' gated, several-home compound near campus. She said she was fired by Lindsay Roberts after refusing to work on her day off.

One night, with the couple away, she wandered into the couple's bedroom and inside a closet "bigger than my one-bedroom apartment," she said.

Out of sheer curiosity, Culpepper said, she found herself counting everything. The tally for Richard Roberts: 454 ties, 18 pairs of golf shoes, 100 pairs of dress shoes, 160 suits, plus a 6-foot-long dresser stuffed with 100 more dress shirts still in their packaging.

For Lindsay Roberts: two rows of dresses and blouses, and an entire wall of shoe racks with 275 pairs on them, all arranged by color.

"In chapel, they were constantly asking the students for money for the school, or this program would be shut down," she said. "Living with them, I was frustrated at the excess I would see."

Regents chairman George Pearsons, who is supervising an outside probe into the lawsuit's claims, said people have the wrong idea about how the Roberts family lives.

"It's a perception of a lifestyle that in my observation is just not true, it's not there," he said. "We're not talking about walls of gold and all that."

Pearsons is the son-in-law of Kenneth Copeland, one of the six preachers named in the Grassley investigation.

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

TacomaJoe — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:09:01 GMT

MichaelM:

You may find my assertions laughable, but they are irrefutable facts. I encourage everyone on here to do your own research into Huckabee. I thought he was great until I started digging. And what I discovered was not good. Do your own digging. I'm not afraid of the facts. I stand by my previous post.

Huckabee is soft on illegal immigration: FACT- he gave in-state tuition benefits to illegals. I take personal offense to this. I was born in Guatemala and came to this country LEGALLY. I served in the United States Marine Corps in Iraq. Yet, when I went to college, I had to pay out of state tuition because I was not a resident of the state where my college was located.

So while I followed all the rules and even served my country during a time of war, I had to pay out of state tuition. Huckabee extends in state tuition to someone who is not here legally. That is simply shameful.

Huckabee used his political power to secure the release of a convicted rapist (Wayne Dumond). That rapist, almost immediately raped and murdered another woman after he was released. But hat really destroyed any hope that Huckabee could ever gain my support, was his response. In a page out of Clinton's book, he fails to take any responsibility whatever. He shows some insincere remorse, and then passes the buck. That is a sorry excuse for a man, much less a Presidential candidate.

Huckabee raised taxes and vastly expanded Clinton's government in Arkansas. You cite that Huckabee "reduced/cut taxes over 90 times." As you say Michael, Geez, here are the FACTS- see this link for what I've posted below:

http://www.clubforgrowth.com/2007/11/updated_huckabee_white_paper.php

"Governor Huckabee has taken to pronouncing his 94 tax cuts on the campaign trail as "proof" of his economic conservatism and of the Club for Growth's "dishonesty."[18] While Governor Huckabee deserves credit for his modest tax cuts at the beginning of his tenure, several Arkansas papers have documented the fallacy of Huckabee's "94 tax cuts" line. The Arkansas Morning News called it "another bloated pronouncement encompassing every penny-ante tax break the Legislature passed during his time."[19] These "94 tax cuts" include such minor tweaks as exempting residential lawn care from the sales tax, reducing taxes on bets made at Southland Greyhound Park, and exempting Arkansas Symphony Orchestra purchases from the sales tax.[20]

Overall, Huckabee's substantial tax hikes far surpassed his modest tax cuts, with the average tax burden increasing by a whopping 47% over his tenure."

Huckabee supports socialized medicine; FACT plain and simple. He refuses to endorse the President's veto on SCHIP which is the first step towards government-funded universal health care (more accurately - Socialized Medicine). He thinks the President should have "compromised." Well we don't need a President who will compromise with liberals in establishing more social entitlement programs. We need a President who will stand by the Constitution and the American people and say no.

Huckabee is a ruthless, dishonest, and unethical politician:

CHECK IT OUT: http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/11/13/huckabee/index.html

Here's just a taste of what the author of the above-referenced article, someone with long and intimate knowledge of the Huckster, has to say:

"Until my paper, the Arkansas Times, blew the whistle, he [Huckabee] converted a governor's mansion operating account into a personal expense account, claiming public money for a doghouse, dry-cleaning bills, panty hose and meals at Taco Bell. He tried to claim $70,000 in furnishings provided by a wealthy cotton grower for the private part of the residence as his own, until he learned ethics rules prevented it. When a disgruntled former employee disclosed memos revealing all this, the Huckabee camp shut her up by repeatedly suggesting she might be vulnerable to prosecution for theft because she'd shared documents generated by the state's highest official.

He ran the State Police airplane into the ground, many of the miles in pursuit of political ends. Inauguration funds were used to buy clothing for his wife. He once took control of the state Republican Party's campaign account -- then swore the account had been somebody else's responsibility when it ran afoul of federal election laws. He repeated the pattern when he claimed in a newspaper story that his staff controlled the account to stage his second inauguration. When I filed a formal ethics complaint over what appeared to be an improper appropriation of donated money, he told a different story, disavowing responsibility for the money. He thus avoided another punishment from an Ethics Commission, which had sanctioned him on five other occasions. He dodged nine other complaints (though none, despite his counter-complaints, was held to be frivolous). In one case, he was saved by the swing vote of a woman who left the chairmanship of the Ethics Commission days later to take a state job. She listed the governor as a reference on the job application. Finally, unbelievably, Huckabee once sued to overturn the ban on gifts to him."

Oh, and you think he can energize the electorate? Maybe his jokes and feigned charm will work for a while. But there's a reason why so many in Arkansas are not behind this man. In fact, the Arkansas Republican Assemblies endorsed Fred Thompson. He garnered 80% of the vote. HUCKABEE ONLY GOT 4%. There's also a reason why Hillary Clinton is getting more support in Arkansas than Huckabee.

Finally, you claim that Huckabee has beat the Clinton Machine many times before. That is simply false. He has never run against Bill or Hillary Clinton in any election.

These are facts Michael M., and they are verifiable.

I hope you do the research for yourself (like I did) and make sure that Huckabee truly is who you think he is.

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

MoniQueMoniCat — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 04:21:10 GMT

Thanks for the great article Andrew Romano! You've got it almost 100% right. But..I couldn't say it better than Steve Soto when he stated: "you may be missing a key point here. Given Rudy's emerging ethical problems stemming from all things Kerik, the last thing he needs right now are for the evangelical base to think they can unite behind a true believer in the fast rising Huckabee. Yes, Romney has money and organization, but he is blowing through that cash at a high rate. And a large part of Romney's evangelical support results from being seen as the less-than-perfect but most likely Anyone But Rudy candidate. But if Huckabee suddenly emerges as a real alternative for the remaining uncommitted evangelicals to unite behind, then Giuliani may find himself with a re-energized evangelical base opposing him, especially after Rudy loses both Iowa and New Hampshire as they head south. If Dobson and the rest of the uncommitted evangelical leadership feel Huckabee gives them a new chance to control the nomination, then the GOP race shifts."

http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2007/11/14/could-huckabee-actually-win-iowa.aspx

I'm happy to be one of those grassroots members of Huckabee for President who gladly donate a good chunk of each of our hard earned packchecks to propel our man to the Whitehouse. There is one guy who is selling his wedding ring on ebay to be able to donate. I would encourage everyone to donate a buck fo Huck www.MikeHuckabee.com.

Miracles are surrounding this man Mike Huckabee's campaign for sure.

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

BobCu — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 05:20:41 GMT

Huckabee is a flat-earther who denies the evidence for evolution. He believes people were magically created by an invisible man who lives in the clouds. In other words Huckabee is a childish idiot. He certainly is not qualified to be president. After 8 years of Bush, we don't need another know-nothing anti-science president.

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

kbeach — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 16:20:28 GMT

Anyone requesting proof of our accusation feel free to contact us.

Our contact Info.

Alvin Parker 318-435-5754

Kristy Beach 318-789-7569 or 318-789-7567 email sis359@gmail.com

Amber Sikes 318-537-4077

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

kbeach — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 16:23:01 GMT

Anyone requesting proof of our accusation feel free to contact us.

Our contact Info.

Alvin Parker 318-435-5754

Kristy Beach 318-789-7569 or 318-789-7567 email sis359@gmail.com

Amber Sikes 318-537-4077

re: Could Huckabee Actually Win Iowa?

howellunc — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:17:05 GMT

Shame on Mike Huckabee. It was Mike Huckabee who raised the issues of a religious test for office, Romney's faith as a cult, and promoting himself as the only "Christian Candidate".

Huckabee stands back and acts like an innocent, all the while framing questions about Romney's faith to be questions of his character and integrity. Shame on Mike Huckabee.

Paragraph 3, Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution reads, “. . . all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”

Well, so much for the Constitution in Huckabee‘s mind. On the campaign trail to the 2008 presidential election, religious bigotry has reared its ugly head. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is a Mormon. As his poll numbers continue to rise there is a sudden, alarming amazement, a dread resulting in utter confusion and dismay led by Mike Huckabee!

In many denominations pastors rely on the church as their source of income. They are good, moral people whom, I believe, earnestly minister to their respective flocks. Yet, it is also their livelihood. Mormons do not pay their leaders and, doctrine aside, evangelical leaders have problems with that. Too, the rapid growth and retention rates of the Mormon Church, coupled with its superlative welfare system have only added grief to the evangelical leadership. So, from the evangelical seminaries to the smallest southern pulpit the Mormon doctrine is attacked.

Never mind that one would be hard pressed to find a more humble, clean-living, patriotic, law-abiding and civic-minded group of people than a Mormon congregation. Never mind that the church’s name is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Never mind that two major articles of their faith are: We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost, and We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. Mormons just cannot be Christians! But they are.

Pastor turned candidate Mike Huckabee, while speaking (preaching) to the choir at the Values Summit said, “Faith is also threatened, and let me share with you how. I believe that there are many who will seek our support. But let me say that it’s important that people sing from their hearts, and don’t merely lip-synch the lyrics to our songs. I think it’s important that the language of Zion is a mother tongue, and not a recently acquired second language. It’s important that a person doesn’t have more positions on issues that Elvis had waist sizes.” Oh, that was subtle, and hateful. It is just pure religious bigotry; “you can only believe what we say you believe.” And it is offensive to the principle of religious freedom. Where do these ideas come from? Well, just ask Noah Crowe, a Southern Baptist pastor from North Carolina, there's nothing Romney can do to overcome their distrust of Mormonism. ``he studied Mormonism at his evangelical college in a course called Cults and False Religions. He claims there's nothing Romney can do to overcome their ideas on Mormonism.

Unfortunately in the evangelical south, such rhetoric has marginalized the most qualified presidential candidate, the one who most shares their value system. Moreover, this consternation is unwarranted.

More than a few members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have served in our Federal Government. Democrat Senator Harry Reid is the current senate majority leader. Ezra Taft Benson, Republican, served as Secretary of Agriculture in Eisenhower’s administration. J. Reuben Clark, Republican, was appointed U.S. State Department Solicitor. In 1928, he was appointed Undersecretary of State. In 1930, ambassador to Mexico. Most in the Republican party know of Paula Hawkins of Florida, Gordon Smith of Oregon, Ron Packard and Ivy Baker Priest of California, and, of course, Orrin Hatch. Democrats know Stewart Udall of Arizona, Tom Udall of New Mexico, Ralph Harding of Idaho

Indeed, on famousmormons.net Stephen M. Studdert, Special Assistant to President Reagan says, "Ronald Reagan truly admired the Latter-day Saints. His administration included more members of the Church than any other American president, ever. Three of us, David Fischer, Gregory Newell and I, served on his personal White House staff. Richard Wirthlin was his chief strategist. Terrel Bell served as Secretary of Education, Bay Buchanan was Treasurer, Rex Lee was Solicitor General. His White House included Roger Porter, Brent Scowcroft, Richard Beal, Blake Parish, Jon Huntsman, Dodie Borup and Rocky Kuonen, and there were many other Latter-day Saints throughout his Administration.

The list goes on and on. Many more members have served in high and trusted positions throughout the world in business, medicine, law, education, media, sports, and entertainment. Thank goodness. After all, “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”