Not funny, not helpful.

Christians can have a sense of humor. This isn't funny though.

Huckabee's "vertical" thinking

Apparently the anti-evangelical crowd is today in a tither about Mike Huckabee's call for "vertical" instead of left-vs-right politics. The Huffington Post has an interesting piece about the word's roots in Christian music. Actually I think it's a pretty fair piece. Others have more prejudiced ideas, like this guy, and of course Daily Kos gets into the act as well.

Well, I never.

Seriously.

I attend McLean Bible Church. I like some Christian rock bands. And I promise, someone forgot to give me the memo. They didn't give it to She Who Sighs either, even though she's the grandaughter of a conservative Protestant pastor and a regular visitor to a Christian summer camp since she was born.

We both thought the governor was talking about lifting people up, inspiring them, instead of dividing people into opposite camps. Would it be wrong if that's what he means? I thought that's what Sen. Obama is trying to do as well -- and I like it from him, honestly. So why the double standard?

You don't have to be liberal ....

to look down your nose at Mike Huckabee. Conservatives at The National Review and The Weekly Standard seem to be doing plenty of it these days. It is fair to engage in Huckabashing because of policy differences, or in questions about how well the governor is prepared for a serious run at the presidency. In my own view, Gov. Huckabee has given other conservatives plenty of fodder in recent days and weeks for legitimate criticism.

But in a not insignificant amount of the criticism to date, there is plenty of sheer snobbery. You would expect this contempt from places like The Nation or Rolling Stone or even Andrew Sullivan. I just thought maybe people who generally found the Republican Party a hospitable home would actually have some respect or at least make some attempt at a general understanding of a wide swath of America that forms the base of the GOP.

However, the fact that Mike Huckabee is from a small Southern state, went to a Baptist college, and spent his young adult years as an aide to a pastor, and then a pastor himself apparently earns him extra helpings of "let's-eat-our-young" fire from the right.

(Note: Earlier version called it a Bible college, but it's actually not, and in fact a highly rated college according to U.S. News & World Report).


Such as:

Andrew Stuttaford, who as a Brit and a New Yorker probably understands the South as well as I understand the difference between Uptown or Downtown Manhattan, links Huckabee with the Puritans

Richlieu, whoever that is, at the Weekly Standard, likens Huckabee to a "simpleton" and mocks where the governor went to college.

And the reigning queen of "we hate those Baptists from the South" snobbery, Lisa Schiffren. She's a former speechwriter for Dan Quayle, a declared Rudy supporter, and a definer of what is "tacky:. She can hardly post on National Review with a reference to where Huckabee went to college, which of course wasn't nearly as prestigious as Bryn Mawr. You can just read her sneer here:

That bait shop on the lake — it's looking good. You'll be surrounded by nice neighbors, real Christians, and you can be the smartest guy in the room. You can go out running every morning. Remember Huck — Jesus wouldn't be dumb enough to go into politics.You were right on that one. Maybe it's not what he wants from you either.

Yes, those people in the South, they're stupid. Even "no count." Especially if they didn't go to a fancy college in Pennsylvania. And especially if they believe the Bible. I suppose this kind of snobbery is one's birthright if you have climbed the social ladder high enough to get your wedding announcement in The New York Times.

Finally today Rich Lowry calls for an end to this nonsense, or at least some of it. Mike Huckabee can and should be able to handle criticism about policy or his politics -- and if he can't, he shouldn't be the Republican nominee. But real people ought to be able to have honest discussions about what it means to be a conservative without resorting to claiming themselves superior because they were born north of the Mason-Dixon line and have a degree from a better college.

Huckabee in The New York Times

Lots of hub-ub today about one sentence in a New York Times profile of Mike Huckabee. Reading the whole thing gives one the kind of context the AP story is completely missing.

The campaign's response is here.

Complaints about the AP story aside, Gov. Huckabee needs to be preparing for political debates, not musing out loud about theological ones. The doctrines of Gov. Romney's religion should not be relevant to his candidacy.