Mike Huckabee, Christianity and Racial Harmony

Everybody knows Mike Huckabee is a Christian. Most know he was a former pastor. And since he is a Southern Baptist and he is white, the assumption might be he doesn’t care about racial issues.

However, what most people don’t know, is that Mike Huckabee won 48% of the black vote in his bid for governor in Arkansas (a highly democratic state) in 1998. While some dispute that number, they agree that Huckabee still had at least 20% or more of the black vote in his state.

Mike Huckabee is actually one of the few Republican candidates for president who really is seeking the black vote. When Guliani, Romney, Thompson & McCain found excuses to miss a nationally televised Republican candidates forum on black issues this September, Huckabee shined. Many pundits legitimately questioned the Republican front-runners absence in the debate. Newt Gingrich said, “I think it is a terrible mistake….I did everything I could to convince them it was the right thing to do, [but] we are in this cycle where Republicans don’t talk to minority groups”. The Boston Globe article linked above went on to say “Gingrich added Republicans cannot afford to ignore black voters during the primaries because the GOP will need their support if they hope to win the general election.”

Now, Huckabee’s presence in the debate aimed at black voters certainly helped him politically. He was the only top-tier candidate in the debate. BlackRepublican at RedState even wonders if that debate was the next step (after his 2nd place finish in the Ames Straw Poll) up in his surge to the front of the polls.

So the charge could certainly be made that Huckabee is just playing politics in pandering to the black vote, and earning some union endorsements as he has done. But is it just politics? Or do Huckabee’s Christian values impact his view of racial issues?

The charge can legitimately be made, unfortunately, that conservative Christians were instrumental in hindering the civil rights movement. But don’t let our sad history influence your view of the Bible and this issue. In Christ, there is to be no class or racial distinctions. We are all one in Christ. And we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. These truths very practically intersect with the racial debate in this country. Indeed, these truths convinced William Wilberforce, a thoroughly evangelical Christian and member of England’s parliament, to dedicate his life to the abolition of the slave trade in England (see this post for more on this wonderful story). Today, more and more, conservative Christians are beginning to promote racial harmony in their churches and communities.

Huckabee reflects this evangelical movement. Listen to his words in the recent Hispanic presidential debate broadcast on Univision.

MODERATOR: Governor Huckabee, is there a risk standing up here (inaudible)?

HUCKABEE: Well, I think the great risk is not so much that we would come. The far greater risk is if we didn’t. And it’s not just that we would offend or perhaps insult the Hispanic audience of this country. I think it would insult our own party. It would insult every voter in this country.

To act like that somehow we’ve become so arrogant that there’s any segment of our population that we’re either afraid to speak to, hear their questions, or somehow that we don’t think that they’re as important as another group. And it’s why I think whether it’s an African American audience, a Hispanic audience, a union audience, as Republicans, we ought to be more than willing to sit down, even with people with whom we might know there are disagreements. And I think, frankly, it’s important for us to be here. It’s important that you gave us this opportunity. And I want to say thanks for letting us have this audience on Univision.

(APPLAUSE)

He basically is saying it would be wrong if Republicans didn’t interact with Hispanics and other minority groups.

Consider also the following quotes from “A Pastor’s True Calling“, one of the articles on Huckabee in this week’s Newsweek.

Alone among the GOP candidates, he speaks emotionally about the legacy of Jim Crow and the dangers of ignoring lingering racism. It is wrong, he says, that inner-city blacks routinely receive harsher sentences than affluent whites arrested for the same crime. [page 2, online]

The Immanuel Baptist Church was an all-white congregation when Huckabee took over the pulpit. One day he announced that a young black man, who heard his sermon on the radio, had asked to worship with them. Huckabee welcomed him to their pews. Some church elders were furious and refused to let the man sit with them. Huckabee threatened to quit unless his guest was greeted warmly. A few members quit in protest, but the rest of the congregation went along. (The church is now integrated.) [page 4, online]

As a boy in segregated Arkansas, Huckabee says he was deeply ashamed of Jim Crow laws. Caldwell, his friend from Boys State, recalls his friend “cringing” whenever someone told a racist joke. As a pastor, Huckabee sermonized about the failure of Christians to speak out forcefully against racism. In 1997, President Clinton and Governor Huckabee both gave emotional speeches in Little Rock at an event marking the 40th anniversary of Central High School’s desegregation. Clinton, slipping into a preacherly cadence, moved the audience. But Huckabee moved many to tears: “Today we come to renounce … the fact that in many parts of the South, it was the white churches that helped not only ignore the problem of racism, but in many cases actually fostered those feelings and sentiments.” He called on people of all faiths “to say never, never, never, never again will we be silent when people’s rights are at stake.” [page 5, online]

Democrats expected the worst of their new evangelical, Republican governor, who welcomed anti-abortion activists to the mansion and tried to pass a law outlawing gays and lesbians from adopting children. But they discovered that Huckabee’s “do unto others” world view also led him to push for more money for schools and a health-care program for poor children that became a model for other states. When he took office, he found that the state’s roadways were falling apart. Huckabee supported controversial legislation that would raise gas taxes to fix them. Some of his fellow Republicans were furious, but voters went along. Huckabee served out his first term and was re-elected twice by wide margins. Even as a Republican in fractious Democratic Arkansas, he maintained approval ratings in the high 50s. [page 5, online]

I found these quotes helpful and exciting. It is wonderful that Huckabee shares a Scriptural approach to racial issues. For those interested, my church promotes racial harmony, and here is a list of online sermons, articles and resources on that topic addressed from a Biblical perspective.

Oh, and click here for links to all the Huckabee articles in this week’s Newsweek, where he’s on the front cover.

Keep up on the latest Huckabee news by checking out my tumble blog: Go Huckabee!

Mike Huckabee: The Next Howard Dean??

Does anyone remember all the buzz that surrounded 2004 Democratic candidate for president Howard Dean? His support came mostly from blogs and the internet, and at that time blogs were quite new. His campaign fizzled and he never did win the nomination, but he helped redefine politics as we know it. The web had come of age, and politics had a new venue.

The web gives all the candidates an equal playing ground, for the most part, and that helps Huckabee’s shoestrings campaign immensely. Now Huckabee is no Ron Paul, but he is using the web to generate tons of support and momentum. He said recently, “The internet has been the key to our success, the blogosphere and people going to our website.”

Huckabee has been consistently at the top of campaign website traffic (recent data from Hitwise has his website second among all campaign websites for hits, behind Ron Paul). And he has raised 2 million dollars online in just the past month or so. And his web support is translating into real, on-the-ground support as well.

Blogging is a significant element to web-campaigning. More than simply contacting or emailing people you know, blogging brings people of similar interests together. These interested readers will be more likely to respond positively to posts promoting Huckabee.

Chuck Norris is living proof that blogging has dramatically impacted Huckabee’s campaign. Recently he added his support to Huckabee, and helped create some fascinating and unique campaign ads. Right around the time Chuck gave his support, Huckabee’s campaign started surging forward at an incredible pace. In his own words, Chuck Norris said he started thinking of Huckabee largely because of an email from two teenage bloggers, Alex and Brett Harris of The Rebelution. (This video will show you both a Norris ad, and his discussion of blogs and the web influencing him to support Huckabee.)

And if that was a big development, my own blogging has to be considered as well! I speak facetiously here, but let me illustrate the power of blogging. I read Brian McCrorie’s blog where he promoted Huckabee. Then a month or so later (in April), I came out and started supporting Huckabee. Now over the past several months, I’ve had many tell me they are considering Huckabee because of my blog. And recently Rhett Kelly pointed to my blog as the reason he now supports him. And the chain will go on.

All of this is intended to be a shout out to you bloggers out there. Start blogging about Huckabee!! Do 1 post at least. Add a banner in your sidebar. Get yourself linked from Huckabee’s website (it will bring traffic to your blog.) Jump in and lend a hand. Even if you don’t have spare change, your blogging can really help his campaign.

All along people have said they like Huckabee and his message but don’t think he can win. Now that he is near the top of national polls and all the state polls, what are you waiting for? He has a big chance to win the nomination, and an even better chance of winning the presidency. As Jonathan Alter of Newsweek said a while back, “[Huckabee] may be the only Republican candidate with a decent chance to beat the Democrats next November.”

For those still unfamiliar with Huckabee, I came across a great post co-authored by Justin Taylor. In it he, with Joe Carter of Evangelical Outpost, details the reasons why Huckabee is both the best candidate ideally and pragmatically. He is consistent conservatively and has a real shot at winning the general election. My thoughts on Huckabee can be seen in my Huckabee category here, and especially in this post. Also, you can keep up with the latest on Huckabee by following my Go Huckabee tumble blog.

One final note: today is Mobilize for Mike Day. Mike Huckabee is asking for people to send emails to friends introducing them to himself and his campaign. You can do this via the Huckabee website and that will help keep track of all the emails today. The goal is 100,000 emails to that many different people. This is one more pain-free way to support Mike Huckabee, now while there’s still time for Huck to win the nomination.

So lets work to make Huckabee more than a Howard Dean has been. Let’s band together and propel him to the presidency!

Huckabee 1st in the Nation?! Go Huckabee!

Mike Huckabee is now 1st in national Republican Primary Polls (Rasmussen Reports) [picture above borrowed from Huckabee’s website]! He’s a close second in two other national polls (details here).

I’ve got more to say on Huck, but for now, let me point you to my Huckabee blog: Go Huckabee! I compile links, videos and other posts relating to Huckabee there. You can also see the latest posts on that blog in the sidebar of this one.

Go Huckabee!

Before I go, one more link. Be sure to read my assessment of why Huckabee can win the General Election.