Is former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee ready for Warren?
Sort of.
Mr. Huckabee said Friday that while he admires Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts for the courage of her convictions, Democrats would suffer a defeat on the scale of Sen. George McGovern’s loss in the 1972 presidential contest if she ends up as the party’s 2016 presidential nominee.
“Please give us Elizabeth Warren,” Mr. Huckabee said on Fox News in a video flagged by the Daily Caller. “Please, God, let us have Elizabeth Warren.”
“Look, I think she’s a very passionate person and I respect her because I think she has the courage to speak her convictions,” added Mr. Huckabee, who is being mentioned as a possible 2016 candidate himself on the Republican side. “I just think her convictions don’t sync with most of America. But I do respect that fact that she comes out and says something, and she’s not so handled and scripted. That’s refreshing.
“But having said that, I think her views are so far to the left that it would be a disaster for the Democratic party on the George McGovern scale if in fact she got the nomination,” he said.
Former President Richard Nixon famously carried 49 states in his blowout re-election win over Mr. McGovern in 1972.
Ms. Warren, first elected to the Senate in 2012, has attracted a passionate following on the left for her sharp criticism of Wall Street in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn. But Ms. Warren has thus far not answered the pleas from liberal groups prodding her to run as an alternative to former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, saying she’s not planning on a bid.
Though she has not declared a run for the White House either, Mrs. Clinton is widely presumed to be the odds-on favorite for the Democratic nomination if she enters the race.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.