Mike Huckabee is getting slammed by Fred Thompson and some others because of something he said today. He talked about how he believed in a living, breathing constitution.
To conservatives, when you say the constitution is a living, breathing document, that's code for "liberal speak," and is commonly used by left wing groups like People for the American Way. Thompson picked up on that today and is trying to capitalize it.
The Brody File received a statement from the Huckabee campaign. Read it below:
I believe there is a significant difference between liberal judicial activism which works to reinterpret the Constitution and collective action by the people to amend the Constitution. Over 221 years as a nation, we the people have joined together 27 times to amend our primary governing document. The Founders set up clear principles for this process - setting in place steps that make change difficult but not impossible for good reason. As a result, as a people together, we have been able to institute the Bill of Rights, abolish slavery, and grant voting rights to women through the Constitutional amendment process.
Do my political opponents believe that those efforts were illegitimate?
I believe that a Human Life amendment to protect all human life, a Federal Marriage Amendment to protect the definition of marriage and an amendment to repeal the 16th amendment are issues that need to be addressed at the Constitutional level. But this is something for the people to decide through the democratically-established process of Constitutional revision - not unelected judges who are not accountable to the people.
It is now clear why Senator Thompson opposes a Human Life Amendment and he opposes an Amendment to protect marriage- he opposes amending the Constitution despite the clear intent by our Founders that we be able to do so.
You can watch Huckabee's interview here.
Listen, it's a stretch to think that Huckabee is going to start nominating liberal judges. Clearly that's not what he was saying here.
But using that liberal term doesn't help him because Fred Thompson and others have already tried to brand Huckabee as liberal. This just gives them more ammunition.
A remark like this by any candidate can be detrimental in such a close race.