Friday, December 21, 2007

Tired of the Attacks of the "Intelligencia"

This week has been filled with attacks. I'm talking about the attacks on presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. Granted, he's not the only candidate under attack, but since he's my candidate of choice I tend to pay more attention to those against him.

Huckabee debuted a new TV ad (he has maybe one other ad out?) not about policy, but about the importance of family and of Christmas. The liberal media immediately jumped on it as some sinister plot to reach evangelical voters and pronounce himself as the Christian leader because there's a "floating cross" behind his left shoulder. For real? Looks like a bookshelf to me. What if it was supposed to look like a floating cross, it's part of Huckabee's Christian faith and the story of Christmas. Why is that religious pandering? What surprised me the most were the so-called "conservative" columnists (Peggy Noonan for one) that jumped on the bandwagon to attack Huckabee. Even if you're not a Christian, can't you respect someone else sending a Christmas message pointing to the Saviour whose birth we're celebrating? It's called religious liberty and it's a sad day when the liberals and the conservatives are abandoning it.

I think this presidential season is revealing a new day in the conservative movement. It may be time for some new columnists (Mike Gallagher, not new, but in touch with his readership) who are closer to their roots and not so safe in their shiny office buildings in NYC or DC. I think those in my generation are well aware of the importance of religious liberty and the need for strong families grounded in a faith that provides a set of absolute standards. This is not the time to keep faith out of the public square. Faith is what we need most.