Home-schoolers propel Huckabee
Thousands of evangelical Christians who school their children at home have found a candidate they can support in Huckabee, and they provide the former Arkansas governor's outsider campaign with hundreds of volunteers.
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As a small subset of social conservatives, home-school activists are too few to account for all of Huckabee's recent jump to the top of the Republican field in the state.
But they number in the thousands and could make the difference in a close contest on Jan. 3, when Iowa's precinct caucuses kick off the presidential nominating process."They stand for the same things, and they trust each other," said Christine Hurley, a Pleasant Hill Republican active in the state's home-school network.
"I think that's what's happening with the Huckabee thing," said Hurley, who supports Huckabee. "When you understand he's a Baptist minister, you don't have to ask what he stands for."
I think it's great that homeschoolers are starting to have a bigger impact in politics. I remember very clearly working on campaigns when I was growing up. I would stand outside the voting areas and hand out flyers to people coming in to vote.
That was over 10 years ago. I personally now have twice as many (homeschooled) siblings that can vote, and I also have 3 nieces and a nephew who will be homeschooled. And I know many families that are just as big, active, and concerned about politics as mine is.
While homeschoolers are regularly scoffed at, stereotyped and dismissed out of hand, we are also growing in number and becoming more active in the public arena. Homeschoolers make great grassroots campaigners. I mean think about it; homeschoolers are taught to value hard work, manners, and passion for what you believe in. What else would a campaign manager ask for?
I predict that the influence of homeschooling campaigners will grow exponentially over the next few years. And that the non-Christians and mainstream press will continue to completely misunderstand what homeschooling is really about.
For the record I do support Fred Thompson over Mike Huckabee. But I do hope that homeschoolers will support whomever the nominee ends up being. Politics and our Country will benefit greatly from our involvement.
