The continuing Huckasurge of interest

The rise of Mike Huckabee in the polls has certainly roiled the Republican presidential race, and it has conservatives really thinking. Check out The Corner on National Review Online--for the past several days it's been filled with Huck-related stuff. The majority on NRO are opposed to Huckabee. It's got some pro-Huck conservatives fearing NR has gone anti-evangelical. Today, the focus has been on rebutting this--here's a good example: "I am probably one of Huckabee's more strident critics here on the Corner, but let me stress that it is not because he is an evangelical, nor is it because I support another candidate (Fred Thompson). I happily support evangelical candidates (or candidates of whatever religion) who espouse sound policy views.
My inital complaint about Huckabee was that there was nothing particularly conservative about him other than his views on a handful of social issues (and even here his views were not particularly consistent). Neither his record nor his rhetoric suggested that he believed in limited government, economic liberty, federalism or personal responsibility. The more I looked, the more I found that was unnerving, from his indefensible call for an AIDS quarantine to his excessively forgiving approach to clemencies to his juevenile views of foreign policy. That he has a hard time acknowledging errors or changes in his views — as in his ridiculous claim that the "isolation" of AIDS victims is not a quarantine or his dissembling over the Wayne Dumond case — further soured me on him, and had even made me doubt the depth of his convictions. While he is a very effective politician, the sheer number of alleged ethical improprieties combined with the above makes we wonder whether he is as authentic as he appears."

Huckabee be gainin'...

...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.

Huckabee be risin' in the polls

Especially in Iowa. And this particular poll has been pretty consistent in detailing his rise.
Indeed, among likely voters, this poll has Huckabee LEADING in Iowa.
The biggest loser, if Huckabee wins Iowa? Romney, hands down.
Wow. Stay tuned.