More Huckabee

Many seem to believe that a Huckabee victory is the best thing that can happen to Giuliani from a Romney victory. They argue that Huckabee can't compete nationally because he doesn't have the money.

Maybe. But I don't think so.

Mike Huckabee has run a total of zero ads in South Carolina. His first one runs today. He is currently leading there, with 21% to 17 for Giuliani.

While everyone argues that money is the predominant factor in political success, I don't necessarily agree. If you can manage to get publicity, even without a large amount of money, you have a shot. People aren't idiots and they will look around a little bit for the right candidate, especially motivated constituencies. That is what Huckabee has in his favor--millions of Christians in this country who can support no other candidate. They are flocking to him now that they know who he is. They don't care if he wanted to quarantine people with AIDS; hell, they might still believe that. Letting the rapist go could hurt him here, but again, who else are the Christians going to vote for?

Ever since the Republican Party unleashed the lunatics with Richard Nixon's Southern Strategy, they have been able to keep control of them. They get the crazies to vote for candidates who pander to them while being under the thumb of the Republican power brokers. But the problem with this idea is that eventually those people are going to figure out they are being used and will strike out on their own. They can now flex their power in the face of the elite. That's what Mike Huckabee represents. I'm surprised this hasn't happened before.

It is still a few weeks before the Iowa caucuses. A lot can happen between now and then. But if Huckabee wins in Iowa, I firmly believe he will be the Republican nominee, despite being loathed by the power brokers.