Strategizing For A Climb Back To The Top (Herod, You Know, Was Frightened By A Baby Born In A Barn)

For someone who claims he isn’t on track for another run at the presidency, or “any other office,” former Republican candidate, Southern Baptist pastor, and Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee sure is making some noise. He has a new book, Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America, and is liberal, to use an ironic term, with his advice to the Republican Party.

All well and good, except that in reading about all this, I have the impression that for Huckabee the Republican Party is first and foremost, and the issues he says are important, are important to the extent that they raise the GOP back into national political dominance.

I tend to look for a different emphasis from someone who tries to give spiritual leadership.

The Reverend Governor calls upon his political party to pay more attention to religious conservatives as it picks itself up and dusts itself off following the recent elections. He, of course, is opposed to gay marriage, and also suggests that being pro-life “draws people to the Republican Party who otherwise might not necessarily feel that much of a loyalty. It's not that it's the only issue, but it's an issue that we have to be faithful to.”

Huh? The issues are important because of the impact they have on the Republican Party? So, that’s what it’s all about? Making sure the Republicans can reel in voters who resonate with those issues?

Huckabee also does some upbraiding of fellow right-wing Christians who didn’t support his candidacy: “I came to the conclusion that political expediency and pragmatism had supplanted prophetic principles among those who aspired to influence the process but unwittingly had become influenced by the process and, in fact, were held captive by it.”

This guy is beginning to scare me. Issues and “values” must by highlighted in order to feed the GOP’s ability to achieve worldly political power. Those who didn’t support him were “held captive” by the enticements of power and the process for achieving it.

Maybe he’s too close to it to see his own image in that mirror, but I thought that faith and prophecy were means of transforming people’s hearts and the world.

I never imagined them as tools for partisan power-grabbing.

Light Breaking Through The Darkness

I remember someone saying to me one time that “decisions based on conscience get peoples’ attention.” Of course, I knew that to be true, and I always remember how then-Attorney General Elliott Richardson refused President Nixon’s direct order to fire Independent Prosecutor Archibald Cox when he was turning up the heat on the Watergate investigation.

Elliott Richardson either resigned, or more likely, was canned on the spot by Nixon, thus earning my respect and high esteem. Almost twenty five years later I had the opportunity to meet Elliott Richardson, and I told him how much I appreciated and admired the way he stood up to Nixon. He smiled.

I have mentioned in this blog previously my appreciation for Richard Cizik. Up until a few days ago, Cizik worked for the National Evangelical Association as Vice President for Governmental Affairs. He was a Washington guy for almost thirty years, and while I’m no fan of the NEA, I took note of his reasoned, thoughtful approach to the issues.

Cizik is out, now.

He recently appeared on NPR and expressed the opinion that “I would willingly say I believe in civil unions. I don't officially support redefining marriage from its traditional definition, I don't think.'' Of course, anything remotely tolerant of homosexuals and their loving relationships with another human being is condemned by many evangelicals. Add this to Cizik’s prior advocacy of being informed on and concerned for environmental issues, including global climate change, and you find a “resignation” waiting to happen. It also didn’t help that Cizik let it slip that he voted for Obama in an election primary (and some suspect he may even have voted for Obama in the general election!).

Focus on the Family long has called for Cizik’s dismissal, true encouragement for me to find reason to appreciate him. An editor for Christianity Today said, “(Cizik) seemed to be abandoning the one thing where evangelical activists felt they had actually made a difference this time around,” referring to a couple of state referenda that defined marriage in a way as to exclude homosexuals.

What an accomplishment – clamping down against the rights and freedoms of people who are different from you, and whom you despise. Right here in the “land of the free.”

My hope is that Richard Cizik’s openness and courage in stepping out of the shadows of intolerance, ignorance and hatred will encourage others to do the same.