In the middle of the stage stands a man with a microphone who is injecting himself into the current controversy gripping the nation. In front of him are hundreds of people shouting about their mistreatment and injustice because of who they are and what they believe. These people believe they are under siege and this man is saying he will fight for justice for them and be willing to go to jail for his beliefs. This righteous leader takes over the event (and seems to have actually planned it) and quickly puts the attention on himself instead of the person who was wronged.
You may shake your head and say "That Al Sharpton, is at it again", but you would be wrong. This supposed fighter for justice of the discriminated against is none other than Republican Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee.
At first glance one would think that Mike Huckabee was fighting for religious freedom, racial equality, the homeless or for people displaced and driven out of their countries by war. But no, he was standing up for a government official who refused to do the job that she was paid by taxpayers $80,000 a year to do because she didn't agree with same sex couples being allowed to marry. I absolutely believe that as a Christian and a private citizen that Kim Davis has the right to not support same sex marriage. However, as a government agent it doesn't matter what she personally thinks or feels. Do your job. She is an agent of the government deciding what law abiding citizens can and can't do. This is big government at its worse.
This is representative of what the right usually attaches to liberals: A nanny state controlled by meddling bureaucrats interfering in the lives of its citizens. Democrats want you to get your mind right and will punish you if you don't agree with their view of the world. Conservatives say they respect the law even when they disagree and believe that the rules apply to everyone otherwise there is chaos.
Isn't that how Al Sharpton is portrayed? As a man who makes his own rules, causes chaos and injects himself into racially charged situations to make himself the standard bearer of all black and brown people in America. People invite him because the cameras follow him wherever he goes. It's an unspoken agreement between the aggrieved and Al Sharpton that he will draw attention to their cause and in exchange he will be the face and spokesperson of the movement. Mike Huckabee is doing the same thing in this case. Injecting himself into a situation so that he can become the face and spokesperson for religious conservatives in a bid to become relevant in the Republican Presidential Campaign.
For the last few years conservatives have watched with dismay as government regulations have intruded into our lives with issues like limiting soda size in New York City or heavily taxing cigarettes because the government doesn't want you to smoke anymore. Now it's the government refusing to give a marriage license to someone because they don't agree with who you are going to marry. This is not about the bible or persecution of Christians. This is about government at the local and state level stepping into our homes, our bedrooms and now our wedding halls.
Even if you disagree with gay marriage, do you really want to endorse government agents determining what you can or cannot do, especially when it has been shown to be your constitutional right to do so? If you're unsure that this is such a bad thing, then I warn you the next time that it may not occur on an issue you're in agreement with. What about the government agent who doesn't believe in guns, refusing to give out gun licenses? The tide can quickly turn against you, and fighting it after you've empowered these people to trample the rights of individuals will only be more difficult.
I truly believe that Mike Huckabee is a genuine Christian, but more than that, he proved himself to also be a grandstanding, insincere politician that is more concerned about pandering than following the law or the constitution. Mike Huckabee showed himself to have more in common with the Rev Al Sharpton in this regard. Maybe he should be in the Democratic debate instead because he's not acting like a Conservative.