Rove's Frankenstein

According to Andrew Sullivan, Mike Huckabee's current rise among the GOP candidates is Rove's Frankenstein moment.

Huckabee, along with Sam Brownback and Tom Tancredo, was one of the three who raised their hands during the debate where they were asked if they don't believe in evolution. As for what should be taught in public schools, Huckabee said he wants "schools to acknowledge that there are views that are different than evolution." And the polls show that more Americans believe in the devil than accept Darwin.

After the last debate Huckabee's poll numbers have been rising. Andrew even thinks that Huckabee is likely to be the most appealing candidate for the big-spending, evangelical, Southern Republican party.

Huckabee is turning out to be as slick as Slick Willy. He was on MSNBC's "Hardball" today (as I write this), the show hosted by Chris Matthews, and Matthews tried to nail Huckabee on his ads that feature the word "Christian," pointing out how Huckabee seemed to be saying he is "the Christian candidate -- like some of the other candidates are not Christian." Chris pretty much just let Huckabee get away with a bullshit answer with Huckabee saying he didn't mean to accuse others of not being Christian. Chris seems not to notice that Mitt Romney is being accused not being a "Christian" and that Rudy's religiosity is considered questionable by the evangelical right. In such an environment Huckabee gave a bullshit answer, his ad by default accuses the others.

During the debate a question about the death penalty came up in that "what would Jesus do" format and Huckabee slipped out of answering it, to audience applause, by saying "Jesus was far too smart to seek public office." Well, Jesus may not have sought public office, (like being King of the Jews or something), but he seemed to have something to say about the death penalty, something to do with only those who haven't sinned should be "casting the first stone."

When Chris brought up the question and the death penalty execution in Huckabee's state, Huckabee tried to say that "forgiveness" doesn't mean you don't punish people. The hell it doesn't! Forgiveness doesn't mean anything if you're still punishing the person you are "forgiving." Saying you are doing both is Orwellian bullshit. The New Testament has a kind of economic model, forgiving sins is like forgiving a debt. You can't make someone pay a debt and forgive the debt at the same time. Forgiveness is not about you not feeling angry when you end someone's life.

Huckabee resembles no Republican of the past more George W. Bush. And more than Bush, Huckabee resembles the real life Democratic populist, William Jennings Bryan, of the Scopes Monkey Trial fame.

But Huckabee isn't the real Frankenstein's monster here. No, the real monster is the Republican base that asks questions like "... how you answer this question will tell us everything we need to know about you. Do you believe every word of this book?" Questioner waves around a Bible. "...this book that I am holding in my hand, do you believe this book?" The real monster is the one that represents the foul core of the Republican party.