# Huckabee's 2016 bid **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 5, 2015, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318 "2015-05-05T15:48:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/21 "2015-05-10T02:52:25Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > He’s a former Baptist minister, so you get that as part of who he is. Expecting a Baptist minister turned politician to not get weird about legislation with the word “God” in it would be like expecting a lawyer turned poiltician to not try to get around the law. This isn’t exactly a defense. Yes, we’re not surprised by Huckabees religious nuttery, but that doesn’t mean it’s not nuttery. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/22 "2015-05-10T03:08:32Z")
I’d say that in more practical terms, lawyers present more issues in regards to whether they are fit to be leaders than Baptist ministers. We’ve just gotten used to lawyers, who have pretty much created the political situation that exists. But that doesn’t make them any less problematic. you just get a different sort of problematic when it comes to electing former clergy. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/23 "2015-05-10T03:16:09Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I’d say that in more practical terms, lawyers present more issues in regards to whether they are fit to be leaders than Baptist ministers. We’ve just gotten used to lawyers, who have pretty much created the political situation that exists. But that doesn’t make them any less problematic. you just get a different sort of problematic when it comes to electing former clergy. Electing clergy (or equivalent) created the political situations of the middle ages, so I think lawyers have a better track record. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/24 "2015-05-10T03:30:44Z")
sure, if we elected mostly clergy and they were all from the same religion. Given the dominance of lawyers in politics, we should be more concerned about avoiding their poisonous influence. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/25 "2015-05-10T03:35:41Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > sure, if we elected mostly clergy and they were all from the same religion. Given the dominance of lawyers in politics, we should be more concerned about avoiding their poisonous influence. There are lots of “poisonous influences”, and I think the clergy is one of the worst. Collectively lawyers might have more influence on politics today, but I’d still prefer to elect another lawyer than a preacher. And it’s all about the issues, anyway – Huckabee is a nutbar fantasist. There’s no way I can possibly support a nutbar fantasist. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/26 "2015-05-10T03:37:09Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Ah, for the days of credentials fights, favorite son nominees, smoke-filled rooms, multiple roll calls, leaving the running mate selection to the convention, platforms that people actually read and cared about … Sounds like a fraternity hazing or something. Was all that actually legal back then? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/27 "2015-05-10T04:12:27Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > There are lots of “poisonous influences”, and I think the clergy is one of the worst. Collectively lawyers might have more influence on politics today, but I’d still prefer to elect another lawyer than a preacher. > > And it’s all about the issues, anyway – Huckabee is a nutbar fantasist. There’s no way I can possibly support a nutbar fantasist. I would prioritize adherence to the law, personally. Lawyers have a problem with that. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/28 "2015-05-10T04:16:52Z")
Besides, I think the word you’re looking for is “inappropriate”, not poisonous. A morally upright man of faith might be inappropriate for the office, but hardly a poisonous influence. Huck isn’t going to start a crusade to kill or convert the unbelievers. Lawyers will, however, consider the law an obstacle to their ambitions, and continue to seek ways to subvert it or ignore it if they can. They are trained to be disingenous and present arguments they know to be false in order to “win”. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/29 "2015-05-10T06:04:21Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > There’s no McCain or Romney this time. Well…I guess it’s true that if nobody else was running, Huckabee would have a pretty good chance of winning. But part of getting elected is being able to beat other candidates who are also trying to get elected. And Huckabee hasn’t been able to do that in a presidential campaign. As you note, he got beat by two different candidates who themselves got beat. So Huckabee’s apparently down in the third or fourth tier of electability. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/30 "2015-05-10T06:19:34Z")
His problem is that he only appeals to evangelicals. But with the GOP becoming an increasingly blue collar/middle class party, his brand of economic populism could make him more formidable this time around. It’s also been said that Citizens United helps a candidate like him who doesn’t like to raise money and isn’t very good at it. He can just do his talking thing and let third parties campaign on his behalf. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/31 "2015-05-10T06:41:08Z")
So the Republican Party is now the party of blue-collar working class and middle class? Have they been told of this blessing that has befallen them? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/32 "2015-05-10T07:01:52Z")
That’s the part of the base that controls the party now. I bet Democrats wish their party was controlled by blue collar voters. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/33 "2015-05-10T08:33:02Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > That’s the part of the base that controls the party now. I bet Democrats wish their party was controlled by blue collar voters. I guess the fact that almost all the rust belt states that Democrats keep winning in Presidential elections slipped past your keen eyes. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/34 "2015-05-10T08:48:10Z")
Who said anything about what voters Democrats win? I"m talking about which voters control the party. The Democrats are controlled by their richest members, the Hollywood folks, the Wall Street folks. The upside is that it seems to give Democrats the best of both worlds: party of the working man + the sophisticated party of science and cultural liberalism. That’s not sustainable in the long run though. You can be the party of the rubes or the party of the elite. And my side is winning the rubes a little more in every election. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/35 "2015-05-10T12:06:10Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Who said anything about what voters Democrats win? I"m talking about which voters control the party. The Democrats are controlled by their richest members, the Hollywood folks, the Wall Street folks. The upside is that it seems to give Democrats the best of both worlds: party of the working man + the sophisticated party of science and cultural liberalism. That’s not sustainable in the long run though. You can be the party of the rubes or the party of the elite. And my side is winning the rubes a little more in every election. The Democrats are no more controlled by their richest members (and the like) than Republicans are – which is to say that they’re both partially controlled by their richest members. The Republicans are also partially controlled by their base, which is full of people with batshit wingnut beliefs – truly crazy end-of-the-world nonsense. There is no equivalent controlling faction in the Democratic party – their partially-controlling base doesn’t have such batshit wingnuttery in any significant sense. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/36 "2015-05-10T12:09:02Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Besides, I think the word you’re looking for is “inappropriate”, not poisonous. A morally upright man of faith might be inappropriate for the office, but hardly a poisonous influence. Huck isn’t going to start a crusade to kill or convert the unbelievers. I’m not sure if Huckabee is a “morally upright” man of faith, but even if he is, his rhetoric on homosexuality is of the same type of paranoia (and false accusations) that have preceded past crackdowns focused on specific minorities. Luckily for gays and for America, I don’t think more than 10 or 20 percent actually want to “crack down” on gay people. So no, I believe he would, in fact, be a “poisonous influence” – a very poisonous influence. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/37 "2015-05-10T15:00:17Z")
[Tax Hike Mike](http://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/05/05/3654436/mike-huckabee-tax-and-spend/) Plus more of his christian stuff. Not all of us conservatives are religious. I’m more concerned what the U.S. constitution says than the bible! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/38 "2015-05-10T15:25:48Z")
George Will does not like this guy. He wrote a pretty scathing review published in the SJ Merc today. I assume it’s syndicated across most major newspapers. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/39 "2015-05-10T17:36:55Z")
Tell you what, I’ll go way out on the limb, here. If it can be shown that the “dietary supplement” he was shilling for actually cures, or even has a definite positive effect on, diabetes…I’ll fucking vote for him! > **[Fix Blood Sugar - Watch Now](https://diabetesreversed.com/ptn/hkb/1?affid=82241&subid=huckabeediabetes-hkb_diab_05-XX-15&opz=0)** > > Discover proven tips, plans, natural remedies, and recipes to create a healing environment for your body. Failing that, fuck him and the horse upon in which he rode. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318/40 "2015-05-10T17:52:26Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I would prioritize adherence to the law, personally. Lawyers have a problem with that. Dude, if you _ever_ want to get better at critical thinking, you might want to avoid sweeping overgeneralizations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabees-2016-bid/719318.md?page=3)