Huckabee vs. Brownback

[AltWorlder]

As I recall, back in the early days, the two were pretty much interchangeable as the social conservatives of the GOP runners.

So what made Huckabee triumph while Brownback faltered?

My guesses:

* Huckabee is a former governor.  Brownback's a senator.  Pretty much enough said.

* Brownback is a Catholic.  He might have the Midwest, ex-Evangelical credentials, and the Republican Party is trying to be more friendly to Catholics, but it isn't the same thing.

* Also, Sanctorum was a big GOP Catholic.  And look at him.

* Huckabee, being a Southern governor, does big gov't intiatives and public works from time to time.  Ironically, using the gov't to help people in such a way probably goes to the vein of Catholic social theory better than what Brownback's done.  And just what has Brownback done?

* Brownback isn't as charismatic.

Of course, in an alternate timeline, we could all be talking about how Huckabee's creationism, ignorance of key issues, and family skeletons killed him off so that Brownback's... well, what?  What did Brownback have to offer in the race besides being another social conservative?

[perdedor]

It's pretty simple. Brownback was unabashedly insane. Huckabee is much better at shielding the public from knowing that he is, in fact, a total f'ing loon.

[Mr. Morden]

In this thread:

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=70196.0

I asked about the counterfactual: "What if Brownback had come in second in the Iowa straw poll rather than Huckabee?"  It seems like a million years ago now, but at the time, just before the straw poll, many were saying that Huckabee's campaign was doing so poorly that he might drop out if he didn't have a strong showing in the straw poll.  Huckabee himself seemed to hint at that at one point.  So it would have been interesting to see what would have happened in that case.

[MODU]

Huckabee was able to express his views clearly, while Brownback struggled at times.

[ZamboniDriver]

* Brownback isn't as charismatic.

There's your answer. 

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Brownback's Catholic?  I didn't know that.

I still love the exchange between him and Tancredo (and he does lack charisma - see how he just answers, "Sure....": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndhweNJHWDU

[Keystone Phil]

Brownback's Catholic?  I didn't know that.

He converted. Santorum encouraged him to do so (no lie).

[Erc]

In this thread:

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=70196.0

I asked about the counterfactual: "What if Brownback had come in second in the Iowa straw poll rather than Huckabee?"  It seems like a million years ago now, but at the time, just before the straw poll, many were saying that Huckabee's campaign was doing so poorly that he might drop out if he didn't have a strong showing in the straw poll.  Huckabee himself seemed to hint at that at one point.  So it would have been interesting to see what would have happened in that case.

Is it a fair bet to say that McCain wouldn't be the nominee now if Brownback had placed second in Iowa?

[Stranger in a strange land]

* Brownback isn't as charismatic.

Of course, in an alternate timeline, we could all be talking about how Huckabee's creationism, ignorance of key issues, and family skeletons killed him off so that Brownback's... well, what?  What did Brownback have to offer in the race besides being another social conservative?

Brownback is a creationist also. The real reason I think, along with Huck's superior charisma, is the fact that he's much more media-savvy.

[Mr. Morden]

In this thread:

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=70196.0

I asked about the counterfactual: "What if Brownback had come in second in the Iowa straw poll rather than Huckabee?"  It seems like a million years ago now, but at the time, just before the straw poll, many were saying that Huckabee's campaign was doing so poorly that he might drop out if he didn't have a strong showing in the straw poll.  Huckabee himself seemed to hint at that at one point.  So it would have been interesting to see what would have happened in that case.

Is it a fair bet to say that McCain wouldn't be the nominee now if Brownback had placed second in Iowa?

As I said in that thread, I think it's entirely possible that Brownback placing 2nd in the Iowa straw poll would have messed up the chain of events that led to McCain's nomination.  You could have something like this:

Brownback places 2nd in the straw poll instead of Huckabee -> Brownback stays in the race much later and/or Huckabee never gets off the ground to the extent he did IRL -> Romney is able to win Iowa without fending off a serious challenge from Huckabee; Romney thus can devote much more attention to fighting McCain in NH -> Romney wins NH, or even if he doesn't, it's not as damaging, since he still got a boost out of Iowa -> McCain's string of pre-Super Tuesday victories is disrupted, and he may very well not win the nomination.

[JSojourner]

It's pretty simple. Brownback was unabashedly insane. Huckabee is much better at shielding the public from knowing that he is, in fact, a total f'ing loon.

Yep.

Brownback wasn't just a Catholic.  He was/is an open member of Opus Dei (like Mr. "man on dog").  I personally don't care if he wants to wear a belt with little razor blades in it any more than I care about Mitt's magic underpants. 

It's when people like Brownback and Santorum open their mouths and compare abortion rights to the murder of six million Jews...or compare two men in a committed gay relationship to men having sex with dogs, that I start to have problems.  :-)

[NHPolitico]

As I recall, back in the early days, the two were pretty much interchangeable as the social conservatives of the GOP runners.

So what made Huckabee triumph while Brownback faltered?

My guesses:

* Huckabee is a former governor.  Brownback's a senator.  Pretty much enough said.

* Brownback is a Catholic.  He might have the Midwest, ex-Evangelical credentials, and the Republican Party is trying to be more friendly to Catholics, but it isn't the same thing.

* Also, Sanctorum was a big GOP Catholic.  And look at him.

* Huckabee, being a Southern governor, does big gov't intiatives and public works from time to time.  Ironically, using the gov't to help people in such a way probably goes to the vein of Catholic social theory better than what Brownback's done.  And just what has Brownback done?

* Brownback isn't as charismatic.

Of course, in an alternate timeline, we could all be talking about how Huckabee's creationism, ignorance of key issues, and family skeletons killed him off so that Brownback's... well, what?  What did Brownback have to offer in the race besides being another social conservative?

Huck was a former preacher in a field where none of the frontrunners were model social conservatives and he is very likable.  That's it.