...in the Republican Iowa caucuses, where a new poll practically has him in a statistical tie for first place with Mitt Romney. wow. It's an impressive surge.
And at first glance, Mike Huckabee seems to have much to offer to principled conservatives. He's very much in favor of prosecuting the war on terror. He's solid on social issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage.
But watch out. On many issues of importance to the Right, he falls short. He smacks of populism and protectionism. He opposes school choice. He favors a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. As governor of Arkansas, government spending under his stewardship rose 3 times faster than did inflation. And on and on--there's a good summary here.
Conservatism and populism really don't coexist very well. Conservatives don't necessarily believe that democratic choices are always the right ones, or that the mythic entity "the people" are always right. Populists do. Conservatives hate demagogy; too often populists don't. It's good that Mike Huckabee is solid on social issues. But social issues aren't the whole ballgame for conservatives. Beware.
