Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee took a shot at Republican leaders with a warning that embracing same-sex marriage would cause a severe backlash among evangelical voters who typically pull the lever for the GOP. Given the context of the current Supreme Court cases involving same-sex marriage, clearly there is a recipe for a hot button issue heading into 2014 and 2016.
Huckabee made the comments to the Christian Post:
Evangelicals will leave the Republican Party if it supports redefining marriage to include same-sex couples, Mike Huckabee said.
When asked if he believes the Republican Party will change its position and support gay marriage in a Wednesday Newsmax interview, Huckabee remarked, “They might, and if they do, they’re going to lose a large part of their base because evangelicals will take a walk.”
Huckabee currently hosts a Fox News show called “Huckabee.” He was formerly the governor of Arkansas and ran for president in 2008. Before he entered politics, Huckabee was a Southern Baptist pastor and a religious radio broadcaster.
“And it’s not because there’s an anti-homosexual mood, and nobody’s homophobic that I know of,” he continued, “but many of us, and I consider myself included, base our standards not on the latest Washington Post poll, but on an objective standard, not a subjective standard.”
Huckabee is a potential candidate for the Republican nomination in 2016 and has stated he is open to exploring the possibility of running.