It was interesting to watch the rather heated squabbles, not to mention the strange bedfellows, in the conservative ranks early in the Republican primaries. Now, a rare case of admitted buyer's (or in this instance, NON-buyer's) remorse from conservative icon Paul Weyrich, related by Jonathan Martin of Politico.com. He depicts a scene from a meeting held last month in New Orleans at the conservative Council for National Policy meeting:

Then, venerable Paul Weyrich—a founder of the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority, and the Council for National Policy (CNP)—raised his hand to speak. Weyrich is a man whose mortality is plain to see. A freak accident several years ago left him with a spinal injury, which ultimately led to both his legs being amputated in 2005. He now gets around in a motorized wheelchair. He is visibly paler and grayer than he was just a few years ago, a fact not lost on many of his friends in the room, some of whom had fought in the political trenches with him since the 1960s.

The room—which had been taken over by argument and side-conversations—became suddenly quiet. Weyrich, a Romney supporter and one of those Farris had chastised for not supporting Huckabee, steered his wheelchair to the front of the room and slowly turned to face his compatriots. In a voice barely above a whisper, he said, "Friends, before all of you and before almighty God, I want to say I was wrong."

In a quiet, brief, but passionate speech, Weyrich essentially confessed that he and the other leaders should have backed Huckabee, a candidate who shared their values more fully than any other candidate in a generation. He agreed with Farris that many conservative leaders had blown it. By chasing other candidates with greater visibility, they failed to see what many of their supporters in the trenches saw clearly: Huckabee was their guy.

Too bad it's too late. I think at this point, most of the folks who complained that Huckabee wasn't conservative enough admit that he was to the right of McCain on most of the things that really matter to them. Caveat emptor.

Huck remorse

And while I'm on the topic of Huckabee, WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT??

Hat tip: Pam Y.

Labels: Political Observation