Karl Rove and the ubiquitous Wall Street capital interests created their latest Frankenstein, Mike Huckabee, unintentionally. Now, they want to destroy it. The GOP has committed rank usury of the social conservatives for decades. Instead of helping them destroy their creation, I propose we sit back and enjoy it a little first.
Schadenfreude is a perfect (if not slightly sadistic) German word describing the pleasure one derives from someone else’s misfortune. Today, I admit my open schadenfreude regarding Mike Huckabee. However, everywhere I turn, it seems progressive news/blogs are assisting the GOP corporate attack aka Huckacide. Believe me, I understand this instinct. I indulged in it myself after reading a Huckabee article on Salon. But, this time, I’m learning to temper my knee-jerk reaction and enjoy this deeply ironic Rovian moment.
I’m deriving my pleasure from Karl Rove and the GOP's freying troubles, of course. Mike Huckabee is the result of Rove’s electioneering and heavy tinkering in the last 6 years that began with the ‘Southern Protestant Strategy’ many decades ago. Rove manged to keep the Huckabees very active and generous, however, in the basement for the better part of the decade. Rove calls them out for every election, of course, but never at the top of a ticket. This empowerment illusion implies that this particular species of Republican has a glass ceiling. They don't win presidential primaries or not more than a few. They’re not allowed to challenge the essential Republican bargain. To prove the great corruption implicit with the ‘bargain’, Huckabee can’t even get a solid ‘religious’ endorsement from within the false ruling class of social conservatives. (Think Pat Robertson, then stop thinking). That’s incredible. That irony is not lost on Huckabee and hopefully soon, not lost on other rank-and-file social conservatives.
The coporate-social bargain states: We will call on you to vote in droves, castigate your neighbors for crimes of imagination and conscience, be viserally affected by that which really doesn’t affect you. You will support us in war without question. You will not critisize our wrongs. You will always be the 20-30% we can count on. We throw a few issues your way. The bargain ends there.
Progressive opinion is very forward against Huckabee. I think it’s valid and authentic, just untimely and thus, mistaken. First, shouldn’t we force the defense, insurance, drug, and oil lobby to spend their own money and time on this fight. Second, shouldn’t we perhaps want Huckabee to emerge as the general election opponent. Last, shouldn’t we enjoy the spiritedness and irony of it all. I didn’t get the "Democrats prefer Romney in the general election" Memo and, if I did, I'd disagree. So, I choose to enjoy the warm glow of The Rove-Huackabee Schadenfreude and point out, instead, with my free time that Romney's dad didn't really march with Martin Luther King. Reading teh National Review and the Wall Street Journal attack their own Frankenstein (while softly rationalizing it as a 'tax issue' to their main street constituents) should produce fits of laughter in all progressives. We should all show these enslaved, belittled and roundly manipulated social conservatives that we’d like to see them cross their personal Red Sea from coporate puppets to authentic voters. Perhaps they'd like to read some Nader material from 2000. Perhaps progressives will end-up lucky and the conservative social empowerment will lead to a third party and dividing of votes. Perhaps they will become disillusioned with the nasty friendly fire from the coporate GOP on their guy, Huckabeee, then protest and sit on their hands.
Huckabee’s rise is at least as much populist as it is religious, in my opinion. Many main-street Republicans are instinctually drawn to him, not on issues, but because he’s perceived as authentic and different. He’s not polished, he’s no CEO, he’s not Romney, and he’s certainly not rich. These voters, at an instinctual level, are responding to his 'from poverty made good’ story and his perception of compassion (I said perception). This is a populist response. Sure, there is a religious aspect as well, undeniable. But, don't fall into that simplistic media narrative. There is a populist narrative at the origin. Let them deviate from their party masters. Give them room, they are shifting the ground in their party. They have little money, they are the lesser among their peers, don’t stand in their way. This cross-party populist appeal could yield rippled results for your own economic viewpoint in time, raw populism works in mysterious ways. His popularity is bankable as raw disaffection with the moneyed interests of the GOP and their standard corporate representatives (Romney, Rudy). Let that happen.
The current populist movement in 2007 touches Edwards, Paul, Huckabee and many smaller party enthusiasts. Populism crosses parties and threatens mainstream static thinking. Let it happen.
Both parties are attacking their populists, whether it be the DLC or the economic right. As a matter of raw, perhaps, rough principals, at this point in time, I’m staying out of Huckabee’s way. Of course, take notes. If he wins the GOP nomination, I will return with a dairy explaining why Huckabee should never be president and why he will never be president.
But, until then, please....
Shhhhhh!