Posted by
Jyalai on Friday, January 04, 2008 6:27:06 AM
In his blog on townhall, Patrick Ruffini makes this statement:
"The problem is that Mike Huckabee’s momentum brought in new voters off the beaten path — more Evangelicals, more women, people lower on the income ladder. Think about this: In the 2000 Caucuses,
only 37% described themselves as “religious right.” This year, 60% described themselves as “Evangelical Christians.” That’s an imperfect comparison, but the universe of Evangelical voters almost certainly expanded this year. "
Many of us, who are just too uncomfortable with what Huckabee has said and done see his success in Iowa as a negative. I have a different take. I don't believe Huckabee has the ability to make it all the way through to the convention. However, if he is bringing in new evangelical voters into the Republican party, its a good thing. If these new voters are not alienated by the visceral reaction to Huckabee's win from those who think it gives them carte blanche to castigate evangelicals, they will vote for the Republican candidate in the fall and keep Iowa red. Mission accomplished!
The fact that so many of them came out to get involved in politics for the Republican party gives me hope that this year, as in 2004, we will see a surge in value voters that will put the Republican candidate over the top.