On his way to winning Iowa, Mike Huckabee overtly traded on his evangelical culture war credentials. Besides marketing himself as a "Christian leader" and appearing beside a crucifix-shaped object while urging viewers to "celebrate the birth of Christ," Huckabee rallied Christian right audiences away from the media's klieg lights against the "holocaust of liberalized abortion." He has called for quarantining homosexuals, compared homosexuality to necrophilia, and cozied up to rapture ready fanatics from Tim LaHaye to Pastor John Hagee to huckster televangelist Kenneth Copeland, whose corrupt fundraising practices have earned him a subpoena from Republican Senator Charles Grassley.

Huckabee, an ordained minister, is not simply a Christian leader. He is a radical cleric.

In the eyes of the mainstream media, however, Huckabee is the sunny Republican counterpart to Barack Obama. The New York Times' Adam Nagourney praised Huckabee's "easy-going, self-effacing, jaunty style" as his chief political asset. Nagourney's colleague at the Times, liberal commentator Frank Rich, explained Huckabee's ascent in similar terms, comparing the sudden swell of support for his campaign to the phenomenon surrounding Democratic senator and presidential frontrunner Barack Obama.

"Both men [Obama and Huckabee] have a history of speaking across party and racial lines," Rich wrote. "Both men possess that rarest of commodities in American public life: wit. Most important, both men aspire (not always successfully) to avoid the hyper-partisanship of the Clinton-Bush era." Rich, who weeks earlier had predicted the imminent self-destruction of the religious right (wishful thinking, to the extent that Rich was thinking at all), seemed to view Huckabee as a departure from the divisive Republican candidates of the past.

Yet on issues like women's reproductive rights, immigration, and religious liberties, Huckabee is arguably more radical than George W. Bush. Just as the mainstream press bought into Bush's portrayal of himself as a uniter during the 2000 campaign, they have fallen for Huckabee's pose as a "vertical" politician who lifts voters up, rather than pushing them horizontally to the left or right. If Huckabee somehow wins the presidency -- an unlikely event, but one worth considering -- the pundits and reporters who projected their own desires for post-partisanship on him will realize how dangerously wrong they were.

Because the mainstream media's leading lights have generally overlooked Huckabee's most disturbing characteristics, videographer Thomas Shomaker and I have created a sequel to his "Christian Leader" ad that might provoke them to look behind his sunny veneer. Relying entirely on factual information and Huckabee's own public statements, we have painted a picture of the candidate that starkly contrasts with his misleading pose as a uniter. See it for yourself.

Comments (22)

1. "OBAMA PORTRAIT MUSIC VIDEO" on Youtube - Don't Miss It!

   For those of you who still have not heard:

   There is a WONDERFUL and INSPIRING music video on Youtube.com entitled "Obama Portrait Music Video by Bjarne O." You can use the free downloaded high-quality stereo version from the composer's website in DVD form to show at house parties. Even people who knew nothing at all about Obama have been moved: either a thrilling introduction, or further inspiration for those of us who already know and fight for Obama. The music soundtrack, which incorporates excerpts from the famous 2004 speech, can also be downloaded separately in high-quality.

   It is an uplifting and informative campaign tool - so please, SPREAD THE WORD!

   http://youtube.com/watch?v=mCPwbozpIzM

   Together for Obama, Anne

   Posted by annevilla at 01/07/2008 @ 7:59pm

2. Dems drooling over a possible Huckabee nomination....

   and you can tell the Repub power boys are scared s**tless of it. Fox News, Limbaugh, Hannity, etc. hate the guy. (Mostly because of the economic populism stuff), but I think they know he's a sure loser.

   Posted by Mask at 01/07/2008 @ 8:11pm

3. I agree mask.

   Posted by USAPRIDE at 01/07/2008 @ 8:56pm

4. Part of me thinks Huckabee is just a generally nice, generally harmless buffoon.

   Another part is just a bit concerned about the hot evangelical winds that support him, as well as his potential to be a dangerous president --i.e. his liberal use of the projectile vomitus term, "islamo-fascism".

   But it's hard not to pull for a guy who has a unique and spicy ability to infuriate the Republican kingmakers like Bill Kristol and his ilk --especially when he has very little chance to win the presidency in the estimates of most observers.

   I say bring on the fun!

   I like Mike ;-)

   P.S. Thanks for the cool vid, Max and Thomas.

   Posted by b_kool_66 at 01/07/2008 @ 9:40pm

5. It is just biblical based Christianity that they seem to have a problem with!

   BS River @ 9:36pm

   Nope, just kookery in all of it's myriad forms.

   Posted by b_kool_66 at 01/07/2008 @ 9:42pm

6. Max is demonstrating his ignorance of and hatred towards anything that doesn't correspond with his secular-atheist liberal/socialist worldview. Max, you should stop pretending to be a journalist and stick to your partisan agenda, as you will never be objective nor informative in anything that you write, only blatantly biased and divisive. Being a good journalist requires you to set aside your personal biases in the greater pursuit of the truth, in whatever form it may take. It also requires that you conduct research and have some level of understanding of the issues (such as Christianity, Conservativism, the GOP, and middle American values, in this case).

   Posted by b_leonhard at 01/07/2008 @ 10:05pm

7. ANY REPUBLICAN = BUSH

   Posted by conshame at 01/07/2008 @ 10:06pm

8. What a waste of space. Just another anti-Christian bit of vile.

   Blumenthal, go back to your slime pit.

   Posted by lvliberty1 at 01/07/2008 @ 11:12pm

9. mr. blumenthal,

   while i normally enjoy your work,

   if found the use of the christ image rather icky,

   and i'm not a christian.

   sure,

   mr. huckabee is insane,

   but not every christian is,

   and so you belittle the faith of those of better judgement than the governor

   by juxtaposing mr. huckabee's diatribe with something that matters a lot to many peaceful people.

   it's as if you've lowered yourself to his level.

   thanks,

   fz

   Posted by frosty zoom at 01/08/2008 @ 12:49am

10. So...what exactly was so "radical cleric" about all of this? Was his comment about abortion offensive? Well, yeah, and maybe his claim that God is helping him out is a bit premature. But Max Blumenthal's incredible leap to designate Huckabee as somehow fitting the "radical cleric" mold is beyond absurd.

    Posted by Thrawn at 01/08/2008 @ 01:09am

11. Yawn. I will take a person trying to live right to a marxist murderpig any time. Or a cheap anti-freedomite swine traitor with gun control disarming innocents and causing their murders... and 40 million un and partly born americans murdered. How dare the hysterical bitch liberals complain of combat deaths lost to protecting the USA, while helping murder so many non-combatant Ameicans? Should we not get real, and get rid?

    Posted by ralphy at 01/08/2008 @ 01:19am

12. Posted by RALPHY 01/08/2008 @ 01:19am

    hey did you see the premier of the new american gladiators?

    Posted by frosty zoom at 01/08/2008 @ 01:35am

13. There may be rather more alarming facts, not interpretations, about Huckabee that deserve objective journalistic scrutiny. E.g. his paid shilling for tobacco interests while he was governor, appearing in Christian churches throughout the South on behalf of the tobacco industry (but not in Arkansas, where he would have run afoul of state conflict of interest laws).

    Posted by Lit at 01/08/2008 @ 03:09am

14. There may be rather more alarming facts, not interpretations, about Huckabee that deserve objective journalistic scrutiny. E.g. his paid shilling for tobacco interests while he was governor, appearing in Christian churches throughout the South on behalf of the tobacco industry (but not in Arkansas, where he would have run afoul of state conflict of interest laws).

    Posted by Lit at 01/08/2008 @ 03:10am

15. Posted by Frosty Zoom @ 12:49am

    I totally respect that point, Frost.

    By the way, that footage of the torturing of Christ was from the smash hit blockbuster success, Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ". Believe me, it's even far more gruesome than the snippets you saw in Max and Thomas's production.

    It's one of the deep ironies of our supposed "Christian" society that a fair discussion of horrible tortures is so often considered off limits. America is a society that, were it an individual, would be a suitable case for treatment.

    Posted by b_kool_66 at 01/08/2008 @ 04:36am

16. By the way, Frost, today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is absolutely spectacular!

    Infrared Jupiter in montage behind an erupting Io

    Posted by b_kool_66 at 01/08/2008 @ 04:55am

17. Posted by B_KOOL_66 01/08/2008 @ 04:55am

    that IS kool.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 01/08/2008 @ 08:46am

18. Look, Huckabee's main "enemy" is not going to be the "anti-Christian" Left....

    it's going to be Limbaugh, Hannity, and Fox News. They HATE the guy, for his economic populism talk (grant it may just be "talk").

    They'll let Reverand Mike go down in flames to Obama rather than allow him become President.

    Posted by Mask at 01/08/2008 @ 09:33am

19. They'll let Reverand Mike go down in flames to Obama rather than allow him become President.

    ~Maskot @ 09:33am

    You think they'd go that far?

    Then I say let's fan the flames of Huckabee fever!

    ;-)

    Posted by b_kool_66 at 01/08/2008 @ 09:42am

20. Posted by B_KOOL_66 01/08/2008 @ 09:42am

    Huh-huh. Can't. Huckabee is doing John Edwards' lines out there, talking about "people struggling to make ends meet" and "giving hope to the middle class".

    Now that may just be "all talk" (may be for Edwards too, but we won't start that fight again)...but it's NOT the "kind of talk" that guys like El Rushbo and Sean Insanity want to hear from their nominee...especially if he wins and yanks the Party to the Middle on domestic policy.

    Listen (if you can, I admit it takes effort not to spew your coffee) to Limbaugh and Hannity when they discuss The Incredible Huck....they loathe the guy, worse than Rush hates McCain (still harbors the grudge against him from the 2000 Election).

    Plus....their ratings would SKY-ROCKET under a Dem Administration (as it did in the past). Like RIO BRAVO, their only line is "Demoncrats" and complaining....they were bombing when they had to DEFEND the Repubs and Bush.

    Posted by Mask at 01/08/2008 @ 10:11am

21. Posted by RIO BRAVO 01/07/2008 @ 9:36pm

    It is continuing the theocratic White House we are against - as were the Founders of the Republic

    Posted by leftofcenter at 01/08/2008 @ 10:23am

22. Huckabee and his sidekick Girchrist are being caught in daily lies, the lastest is his stand on birthright citzenship, what I don't want is another liar in the whitehouse, 7 years is enough. I also do not want anmesty for 20 million people who do not respect our laws or who will end up on our welfare rolls for us to support, every demacrate and Mc Cain, Rudy and Huckabee will grant amnesty. go to the link (alipac dot us) for the latest on the Huckabee/Gilchrist lies. http://www.alipac.us/index.php

    Posted by SOSADFORUS at 01/09/2008 @ 5:10pm