Ron Paul on Huckabee Holiday Ad: "When Fascism Comes...It Will Be Wrapped in the Flag, Carrying a Cross" [VIDEO]

Posted by Will Thomas, Huffington Post at 5:27 AM on December 19, 2007.

Mike Huckabee is bringing his Christmas cheer, and his Baptist minister roots, to Iowans this election season. His recent ad, "What Really Matters," features the former governor offering citizens a Merry Christmas.

This isn't your ordinary Happy Holidays event. Huckabee let's loose the Christian spirit, saying "what really matters is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ." The ad also features a bookshelf in the background that appears to some like a "floating cross." The ad is a not-too-subtle play to Iowa value voters, who cringe at what they view as an increasingly secularized holiday.

Asked about the ad today, Ron Paul decried Huckabee's religious iconography with his own veiled reference on Fox and Friends:

"It reminds me of what Sinclair Lewis once said. He says, 'when fascism comes to this country, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross.' Now I don't know whether that's a fair assessment or not, but you wonder about using a cross, like he is the only Christian or implying that subtly. So, I don't think I would ever use anything like that."

Mike Huckabee's campaign today denied that the bookshelf/cross was an intentional reference. Iowa Director Eric Woolson responded:

It's the window frame in the background... Once you've got it in your head that it's a cross, it's a cross.

See the original ad below and Ron Paul's response to your right.

Tagged as: religion, fascism, christmas, huckabee, paul

Will Thomas is an Associate News Editor and Political Reporter at the Huffington Post. Previously, he worked as a researcher for Talking Points Memo and TPMmuckraker. He lives in New York.