The Values Voter Summit concluded over the weekend, showcasing the religious right (and more on the proper usage of that label later on) and its fervent opposition to President Obama.
Mike Huckabee won the presidential straw poll, a key test of religious right voters, but it was with a weak plurality in a very divided field: Huckabee 29%, followed by Mitt Romney Tim Pawlenty, Sarah Palin and Mike Pence, all with about 12% each. That said, it's natural in some ways that the GOP should have no obvious frontrunner at this point in the cycle, and this isn't really a huge problem -- but don't mistake these numbers for a major Huck win.
Huckabee was obviously a big hit, and really did play into the worldview of good versus evil. For example, he besmirched the very motives and patriotism of their political enemies, and of those who tell the the GOP to be less conservative and more moderate: "I'm not sure the center makes a whole lot of sense when it's coming from people who certainly don't have our interest, or our country's interest, at heart."
Another possible presidential candidate, Tim Pawlenty, spoke to the crowd. Pawlenty tore into the Democrats on spending, abortion, etc. -- and made a religious invocation of Ronald Reagan:
I want to close with one last story. It's a true story. In January of 1981, it was a cloudy, cold day in Washington, D.C. It's a time when the country was discouraged and worried, hostages were being held, the economy was in deep trouble. And shortly after noon on a January day, 1981, Ronald Reagan walked out of the United States Capitol and he strode to the podium to be sworn in as the president of the United States of America. As if on a director's cue, the clouds parted and a ray of sunshine hit the podium and him, and Ronald Reagan said later it's as if a burst of warmth or an explosion of warmth hit his face at that very moment.
Mitt Romney slammed government takeovers of the economy, including bank bailouts in the list of grievances -- which he used to support.
Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) got the crowd going with an amusing story to explain the chaotic nature of Washington -- and how you have to play the ball where the monkey throws it.
Conservatives will sometimes bristle at the label "religious right," but Star Parker proudly embraced it:
"We have two opposing views in this country. We have the religious right, versus what I'm calling, and called in my first book, the lewd left. When you think about the biblical worldview, 'God said,' and you think about these secular humanists that say, 'Are you sure?" We say, 'Yes, we are sure.'"

TPM Stories Now Surging on Digg.com

Xantar
September 21, 2009 1:49 PM
Huckabee is making a big mistake. His biggest asset was always his ability to appear amiable and reasonable even to those whose personal beliefs are diametrically opposed to his. When he starts acting like a partisan firebrand, questioning the motives of those he disagrees with, he loses a lot of his appeal.
Not that I think that's a bad thing for the country.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Walter Mitty
September 21, 2009 1:52 PM
He was just catering his message to the crowd he was in front of. He'll be back to "Aw Shucks Huck" when he's in front of a broader audience.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
wickning1
September 21, 2009 2:00 PM
So much easier to be sure when you don't know what the hell you're talking about.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
CT Voter
September 21, 2009 2:09 PM
I don't agree with the besmirchiness of all of this, but this does remind me of all the turmoil among Democrats--those who argued for Republican-lite, and those who argued that they should move further left.
Despite all the insistence by Brooks, Broder, and the whole Beltway crowd, the country has moved left, and Democrats prospered when they started acting like Democrats.
That said, I think the opposite will be true for Republicans. When they start acting like reasonable politicians, they'll start sucking away the independents.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
musgrove
September 21, 2009 2:11 PM in reply to CT Voter
Well i don't see that happening anytime soon.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Schmed
September 21, 2009 3:42 PM in reply to CT Voter
I'd be happy for them to just start acting like Republicans again and not like in-bred John Birchers with a twist of McVeigh. Watching Boner and Graham on Gregory's MTP (a real puke trifecta) made me wonder where the moral fiber of Goldwater's party is hiding.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
CT Voter
September 21, 2009 3:52 PM in reply to Schmed
Well, I got called a troll for pointing out that "republican" these days = "Birchers with a twist of McVeigh", as you so aptly put it...
Mainstream Republicans either don't exist or have gone into exile, and I miss them. And if one were to pop up on the national scene, Obama might have his hands full in 2012. This may seem out of left field, but I was pretty happy to see Huntsman accept the nomination for Ambassador to China. He seems so sane that I was really worried he'd run in 2012.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Schmed
September 21, 2009 5:45 PM in reply to CT Voter
Trolling at RedState.com? ;-)
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
CT Voter
September 22, 2009 11:56 AM in reply to Schmed
Geez, I WISH. No, it was right here at TPMDC. I was denounced as a troll. A stupid troll, at that! Why? Because I kept arguing that Rush/Beck/Drudge are, NOW, the mainstream of the Republican Party, because no so-called "moderates" or "reasonable" Republicans are taking them on, and denouncing their shitty tactics for what they are.
"Moderate" Republicans might have "moderate" views, but they're not the ones who are controlling the party. So I use the word "mainstream" to reflect who's in charge of, and charting the direction of the party. Their views may be fringe, but the fringe is now the dominant faction in the party.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Minne sconsin
September 21, 2009 3:54 PM in reply to Schmed
Goldwater's party?
Reagan sprung from Goldwater's party. Although Goldwater himself had a little libertarian streak, let's remember that this guy ran on "states rights" and voted against the Civil Rights Act. He was only one of 22 who voted against censuring McCarthy.
He was the first Republican to win the deep south (it's all he got) which gave his party the inspiration for the "Southern Strategy".
Goldwater's party is alive & well.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Schmed
September 21, 2009 4:24 PM in reply to Minne sconsin
Actually, toward the end of his life Goldwater repudiated the neo-con philosophy, particularly the Religious Right and their sanctimony. To wit:
He was also somewhat prophetic:
His party died shortly before he did.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Marioth
September 21, 2009 6:06 PM in reply to Schmed
It's a goldern shame (can I say "goldern" here? They have undies wedgititis over on the Rheil World over such things...) when Goldwater is looked-to as the stable voice of reason.
The sooner we recognize that the modern Republican party is now an old time tent revival, and ought to be treated as such, the sooner we can get back to honest debates. It is not good for the country for prolonged periods under one party, however well-intended.
When we reflect that there are no more true moderates, I would add that this is directly related to the decline and fall of statesmanship. Bless the Big O for trying to bring it back in vogue.
Democratic Republics require compromise with an unwavering attention to the rule of law. Today's GOP will embrace neither. It is completely irresponsible to duck HCR, and Charlie Cook's pie eyes for a GOP comeback in 2010 are gone when it's passed.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Minne sconsin
September 21, 2009 6:20 PM in reply to Schmed
I agree that, at the end, Goldwater appeared to listen to his inner libertarian. But he planted the seeds for this mess himself back in the early 60's. The fact that he disowned his creation does not leave him any less responsible.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Winski
September 21, 2009 6:36 PM
Well isn't that special....more from the Klan meeting that was organized by the church from Atlanta...
If these people ever had to make it on their own in the real world the streets would be littered with their remains coast to coast...Delusion started them - delusion guides them and delusion will lead them off the cliff..I for one say, good riddance...
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
sashimi
September 22, 2009 8:50 AM
I miss "what the Huck!" moments during the republican primary... He maybe won with "the value people" but @ US news & World report online poll on 9/22/09
the Republicans already looking at a 2012 challenge to President Obama, who is best suited to capture the angry town hall protest vote?
5.81% Fred Thompson
50.85% Sarah Palin
24.42% Mitt Romney
18.92% Mike Huckabee
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Redshift
September 22, 2009 12:29 PM
If someone went ahead and openly started a Church of St. Ronald Reagan, I wonder how many wingnuts would join? (It would officially be a Kreestian church, of course, while ignoring everything that Jesus actually said.)
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?