Huckabee the Rebel

The report described them as "broadly religious and socially conservative, but they deviate from the party line in their backing for government involvement in a wide range of policy areas, such as government regulation and more generous assistance to the poor."

They sound like Huckabee conservatives -- or what conservative writers Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam called "The Party of Sam's Club" in a 2005 Weekly Standard article that they have expanded into a book to be published next year.

"On domestic policy," say Douthat and Salam, the Republican Party "isn't just out of touch with the country as a whole, it's out of touch with its own base" (their emphasis). Reaching such voters requires "talking about economic insecurity as well as about self-reliance." That's what Huckabee does.

The polls suggest that religious conservatism, not economic populism, is behind Huckabee's rise in Iowa. But he is not backing down from his role as a tribune of the dispossessed. On NBC's "Today" Wednesday, he declared that "the Wall Street-to-Washington axis, this corridor of power, is absolutely, frantically against me." He insisted: "The president ought to be a servant of the people and ought not to be elected to the ruling class." Power to the people, Mike. Right on!

If you had to bet, you'd wager that the Republican establishment will eventually crush Huckabee. But the rebellion he is leading is a warning to Republicans. The faithful are restive, tired of being used and no longer willing to do the bidding of a crowd that subordinates Main Street's values to Wall Street's interests.

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