Running as a “Christian Leader” was enough to proper Mike Huckabee to victory in Iowa, but it didn’t play too well in New Hampshire, where he finished a distant third.
So what is his plan going forward?
Republican Mike Huckabee is trying to soften the image of the religious right as he reaches out to liberal Christians and blue-collar workers for support in his presidential campaign.
It’s a delicate balancing act for the ordained Baptist minister who staunchly opposes abortion and gay marriage.
But the folksy southerner told Reuters he believed some evangelicals had widened their political concerns beyond the hot-button cultural issues that helped put George W. Bush in the White House and had mellowed enough to embrace causes like poverty and the environment.
Huckabee, who won the first presidential nominating contest in Iowa with the support of evangelicals and placed third in New Hampshire on Tuesday, wants to help bridge that divide.
“Unquestionably there is a maturing that is going on within the evangelical movement. It doesn’t mean that evangelicals are any less concerned about traditional families and the sanctity of life,” the former Arkansas governor said.
“It just means that they also realize that we have real responsibility in areas like disease and hunger and poverty and that these are issues that people of faith have to address,” he said in an interview aboard his campaign bus.
Presumably, any effort to soften his image or reach out beyond his right-wing religious base will have to wait until he gets back from this:
Together for Life Memorial Service and Walk, Georgia’s annual pro-life gathering, will be held Tuesday, January 22, 2008 on the steps of the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Memorial Service, sponsored by Georgia Right to Life (GRTL) begins at 11:30 am and is followed by a one-mile long silent walk through downtown Atlanta.
This year’s keynote speaker is Gary Bauer, an esteemed author, political activist, and President of American Values. He stated, “We must build an America where all of our children, rich and poor, black and white, are welcomed into the world and protected by the law. Human life has dignity at every age; the taking of innocent human life is always wrong.”
…
Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee will also speak as a strong pro-life advocate and supporter of the Human Life Amendment. “I’m pro-life because I believe life begins at conception, and I believe that we should do everything possible to protect that life because it is the centerpiece of what makes us unique as an American people. We value the life of one as if it’s the life of all… it’s what separates us from the Islamic jihadists who are out to kill us. They celebrate death. They have a culture of death. Ours is a culture of life.” The Georgia Right to Life PAC has endorsed Mike Huckabee for President.
