The most fascinating question to my mind is which of the other viable 2016 GOP candidates Mike Huckabee will dislike the most. He is a capable assassin. In 2008, his distaste for Romney was obvious — and often hilarious. Like a lot of Evangelicals who grew up on books describing Mormonism as a “cult,” Huckabee couldn’t restrain himself from making less-than-respectful comments about Latter-Day Saint theology. He considered Romney “presumptuous and arrogant,” and in the most memorable line of the 2008 GOP primary, said Mitt looked more “like the guy that fired you” than the one who hires you. Huckabee did more than anyone to create a McCain comeback, certainly more than McCain himself.
In this way, Huckabee has a kind of veto power. He’s able to prevent his opponents from consolidating social conservatives as part of a primary coalition. Who will be the next victim? Huckabee has a well-documented dislike of libertarianism. He considers The Wall Street Journal editorial board and Club For Growth’s vision of a GOP purified of social conservatism and social concern a “heartless, callous, soulless” version of conservatism.
Does that make him a natural enemy of libertarian Rand Paul? Or a foe of Jeb Bush, the kind of establishment Republican the WSJ actually likes? Your guess is as good as mine.
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