The Trail

CHRISTIAN VIEWS

Pastors for Huckabee

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee appears to have consolidated Christian conservative activists in Iowa who had not already signed on with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's campaign earlier this year, picking up the endorsements of dozens of pastors from the Hawkeye State.

In a news conference at his Des Moines headquarters, Huckabee accepted not only the support of many major religious activists in the state, including Chuck Hurley, who runs a conservative policy group in the state, but also the official backing of evangelical author Tim LaHaye, another influential conservative activist, and his wife Barbara. The LaHayes had been quietly backing Huckabee for weeks, even helping organize a conference in Des Moines this week where the former Arkansas governor was the only candidate who spoke.

"I urge all Christians . . . to go to your caucuses on January 3rd and vote for Mike Huckabee," LaHaye declared.

LaHaye said Huckabee would help "restore our nation's commitment to biblical values."

And Huckabee is not shy about voicing his own values. At the endorsement event, Huckabee was asked his views on intelligent design.

"I believe in the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth," he said to loud applause from the pastors.

-- Perry Bacon Jr.