DENVER, Colo. — It’s a new political environment for social conservatives, but Mike Huckabee is trying a familiar political formula.
Speaking at the Western Conservative Summit, Huckabee slammed unfair trade deals, denounced the “judicial tyranny” whereby the Supreme Court writes the country’s marriage laws and talked about the importance of economic independence to America’s sovereignty and freedom.
In 1996, Pat Buchanan also mixed strong social conservatism with “America First” rhetoric on trade and economics. The result was a strong showing in Iowa, victory in New Hampshire and a distant second-place showing behind Bob Dole.
Huckabee won the 2008 Iowa caucuses and performed well with evangelicals in subsequent primaries running on a similar platform. But while his warm-up speaker at the Western Conservative Summit touted his likeability and his own one-liners reflected his sunny disposition, this time there is more of a Buchananite edge to Huckabee’s presentation.
The argument seems to be: It isn’t morning in America anymore, folks.
Huckabee denied in his remarks that he is a “populist” and he said he does support free trade. But he pitched his economic appeal to the hard-working man who “sweats through his socks” and the poor old woman who can’t afford her electric bill during the hot Arkansas summer.
More tellingly, Huckabee won strong applause when he said that free trade must be fair trade. He was cheered when he said our energy policy and foreign policy were at the mercy of the Saudis. He mocked law school graduates who say the Supreme Court is the last word on constitutional questions for lacking an understanding of ninth-grade civics.
Huckabee lacks Buchanan’s specifics. The conservative pundit turned presidential candidate called for slapping tariffs on imports and using Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution to strip the Supreme Court of its jurisdiction over key social issues, drawing on William Quirk’s 1995 book Judicial Dictatorship. If the former two-term Arkansas governor turned television personality has ever proposed either, I haven’t heard it.
But the themes are unmistakable. There has been some speculation that social conservatives will change their political approach and focus more on religious liberty than either economic populism or the culture wars. Not Mike Huckabee. Judging from the standing ovation that followed his speech in Denver, his message still has a constituency.
