My Broken Heart: A Letter to Our Social Conservative ‘Leaders’

Dear Social Conservative Leadership,

Like a young romantic who’s trust has been betrayed, my heart is broken and in need of repair.

I entered the political world for three reasons: because I am concerned about the security of this country, want responsible spending and low taxes, and because I value the traditional family and sanctity of human life and expect our government to do the same.

These basic values are nonnegotiable.  I have always considered myself a Catholic member of a Christian conservative movement working to promote these same principles and the Republican Party the best vehicle for doing so. I and so many others have trusted you to help organize and mobilize us and to fight for these values. In 2008, you have abandoned us.

Over one year ago, I thoroughly researched all of the possible presidential contenders that were being tossed around. I analyzed the records of those candidates and measured them up against the values that the Reagan coalition fights for every two years. The contest wasn’t even close: if we wanted a fiscal and social conservative that was prepared to lead us in the War on Terror we had to look toward Mike Huckabee.

I drafted an outline highlighting my rationale for supporting Governor Huckabee and with the help of my friend T.J. Harrington it developed into a feature story in New Man Magazine called ”One of Our Own”.

Primaries are a time for the Republican family to have a discussion about who represents their party the best. In a primary, we should vote and support who we truly like, not who is ahead in the ephemeral moment or who we have calculated will win and make us an insider. At the end of the day,as Christian activists, we have a duty to be loyal to God’s values, not any political party.

I believed that we had Christian Conservative leaders who felt the same way; I was wrong. 

Today, we have a Christian conservative movement which is more concerned with winning elections than the principles they believe in. They are willing to compromise on marriage, abortion, and campaign finance reform all in the name of defeating Hillary Clinton and supporting the guy who is currently ahead in the race.

Christian Leaders, “If you gain the whole world, but lose your soul, then what have you really gained?”

Pat Robertson went so far as to ENDORSE Rudy Giuliani. Pat Robertson should be arrested for fraud. I know many Christian Conservatives and while many of us may rally to Rudy if he wins the nomination, NONE of us actually want him to win the nomination.

Pat Robertson should be ashamed of himself. Despite all of the embarrassing things Pat Robertson has done to make conservatives look stupid over the years, I am perhaps most embarrassed by his endorsement of Rudy Giuliani because it basically represents the Christian Conservative movement holding up a white flag and declaring surrender.

While, sir, I don’t declare surrender. I believe there are still some things worth fighting for.
Ironically, these political calculations end up ensuring a Hillary Clinton presidency. If Giuliani is the nominee, Republicans may be able to convince 80% of anti-abortion voters to go along with him, but in the end, that will not be enough. Giuliani will lose states such as Arkansas, Tennessee, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Although he may win the popular vote nationally by tightening up races in California, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, he is unlikely to win any of those states as Republicans trail so badly there. Mitt Romney has the “flip-flopper from Massachusetts” personality that caused Democrats to lose in 2004. Romney would also do poorly in the south.

Leadership is not about following – it’s about knowing what’s right and having the courage to fight for it. As governor Huckabee has said, we cannot lower God’s standards to meet cultural norms, we must raise the cultural norms to meet God’s standards.

Based on the Values Voters Debate straw poll and the FRC Washington Briefing Straw Poll, if you truly represent the people that you claim to represent, then an overwhelming majority of you agree with Mike Huckabee the most. But so few of you have had the courage to stand up for what you believe in and endorse him. 

Perhaps, what is most troubling to you is that it seems that Mike Huckabee doesn’t need you. Without 90% name recognition (Giuliani and McCain), nearly 60 million dollars (Romney), or a political elite willing to take a risk on him (Thompson), Mike Huckabee has been able to surge to third place nationally, second place in Iowa, double digits in New Hampshire, and ahead of Fred Thompson in Florida.

They say breaking up is hard to do, but I guess Mike Huckabee doesn’t need you, and neither do we. You have failed to lead a movement and only succeeded at serving yourselves. It’s time for some new and genuine Christian, conservative leadership.

Respectfully,

Huckamania!

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