http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=2814
http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=2712
by Ed Stoddard
Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee sees his conservative religious base as reaching beyond evangelical Protestants to Catholics as well.
Huckabee, an ordained Baptist preacher, won the Iowa caucus last week which kicks off the nominating process for the November presidential election, largely because of support from the state’s numerous evengelical community.
While campaigning in New Hampshire — where he is hoping for a solid third place finish in the state’s Tuesday primary — Huckabee told reporters on the bus on Monday that he felt his broad message resonated with many Catholics.
“Catholics were a major source of support for me in Arkansas. And they have been nationally. And it’s not only because of the pro-life and pro-family issues,” he said, refering to his opposition to abortion rights and gay marriage.“I certainly believe that Catholics are right about talking about poverty, disease and hunger. Things I talk about … I think a lot of evengelicals have not talked enough about it quite frankly,” he said.
Huckabee’s remarks point to a strategy that sees a broader coalition than the old “Religious Right” — one that unites not only socially conservative Catholics and evengelicals but also those who see Biblical sanction for helping the poor.
http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/2008/01/07/huckabee-seeks-catholic-support/