Posted on 01/01/2016 10:17:18 AM PST by conservativejoy
Back in 2008 on the day of the Iowa caucus, when I was reporting on my first election for Townhall.com, I happened to be grabbing lunch in the same hole-in-the-wall restaurant as then-Huckabee National Campaign Advisor Ed Rollins.
He sat in the cafe loudly trash talking the Romney campaign to any reporter he could call on his cell phone. Expletives and insults flew. Anyone sitting in the eatery could hear him. I, stunned any known operative would be so foolish to speak in such a way in a public place, wrote it up as an item.
These are the same people who physically blocked Ted Cruz from speaking to reporters at a rally in support of Kentucky clerk Kim Davis.
Today, Huckabee still seems to be employing operatives to shovel nasty, vindictive stories to reporters. This year, their ire is directed at Ted Cruz as they seek to undermine Cruz with evangelicals by lying about his positions, even accusing the Texas senator of supporting "amnesty."
Huckabee's SuperPAC is aggressively exploiting a report in Politico that falsely claimed Cruz spoke differently about gay marriage at behind-closed-doors New York fundraisers than in public. In reality, Cruz has made the same federalist argument about gay marriage many times in very public venues.
Huckabee himself has also dished out the same anti-Cruz linel, although in a blog post he wouldn't identify Cruz by name.
Surprised? You shouldn't be. These are the same people who physically blocked Ted Cruz from speaking to reporters at a rally in support of Kentucky clerk Kim Davis.
Mike Huckabee may be a Christian, but has a very un-Christian like habit of wanting people to believe he is the only Christian on the national stage. And now, he's smearing Cruz's record to do it.
The question, of course, is, whether Huckabee's campaign is about advancing conservative Christian goals, or advancing himself?
Consider these recent items that detail Huckabee's anti-Cruz efforts.
"Allies of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee are plotting a multi-pronged offensive against Ted Cruz as the Republican presidential race enters the final month before the Iowa caucuses.
A pro-Huckabee super PAC is among the central players in the anti-Cruz push, which is already taking hold in mailboxes and on the radio across the Hawkeye State. The group, known as Pursuing America's Greatness, is not ruling out TV advertising as it seeks to undercut Cruz's claim of being the purest conservative in the GOP field.
"All options are on the table from our perspective," said Blain Rethmeier, a spokesman for the group. "We believe Sen. Cruz is a fraud, and we hope to make that apparent to the conservatives taking part in the process in Iowa."
National Review reported:
"Many supporters of Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, the last two winners of Iowa's Republican presidential contests, are grappling with a pair of grim realities as the 2016 caucuses approach. Not only have their candidates been stuck in the low single digits for months in Iowa, but they also view Cruz, the new front-runner, as a phony opportunist who has pandered to Evangelicals for political gain, particularly in Iowa. And they fear that if Cruz notches a win in the Hawkeye State , especially if he does so by a wide margin, which many Republicans now view as a distinct possibility , he will emerge as the overwhelming favorite to capture the nomination."
So there you have it. If Huckabee can't win; Cruz shouldn't win either.
From an evangelical perspective, this doesn't make sense. Who would Huckabee prefer to win the nomination? Is it Trump, the man who has said he's never once sought forgiveness from God? Is it one of the other candidates who are allergic to Iowa evangelicals and are choosing to focus on New Hampshire instead?
Why is Huckabee dead-set on stopping the only presidential candidate who WANTED to appear at a religious liberty rally with him?
The question, of course, is, whether Huckabee's campaign is about advancing conservative Christian goals, or advancing himself?
So far, all actions point to the latter.
Huckabee has said he will drop out of the presidential race if he doesn't make at least a third place finish in Iowa.
That day can't come soon enough.
No, Huckabee just acts like Mr. entitled.
Over the years I’ve seen plenty of “Christian” folks who CRAVE power and will pull out the sharp knives to get what they want - be it a Sunday school teacher position or head usher position...
I can’t imagine it’s any different in the world of American politics.
“We evangelicals hear what he says, then we see how he behaves, and there’s a disconnect.”
EXACTLY; I’M TOTALLY DISGUSTED WITH HUCK AND RICK .. THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER .. BUT HOPEFULLY THIS TOTAL DISGRACE THEY ARE PARTICIPATING IN WILL END THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL.
So it’s either Trump or Carson then.
Huckleberry spent the last four years raking in big bucks with his boring television show so he could build a huge palace home.
Instead Huckleberry should have campaigned full-time for social issues and candidates in Iowa, New Hampshire and elsewhere. He should have been as bold as Trump and Fiorina. He should have fought the sale of fetal tissue and the abysmal Supreme Court homosexual marriage decision. He could become a fierce fiscal conservative, instead of wimpy compassionate conservative.
He could have had Iowa caucuses wrapped up by now.
“Huckabee sounds like a GOPE operative whose mission is to take down Cruz.”
It’s been clear for quite some time that Huckabee is on the side of the GOPe. When he had his show, he had on Mitch McConnell and other guests from the Establishment. When he first entered this race (before Trump thankfully messed up everyone’s calculations), I highly suspected he was a stalking horse for Jeb. The remarks he made — like all senators running ought to resign their current positions because “you can’t effectively do two jobs at once” — were so blatantly self-serving, and that remark in particular was highly inconsistent with his dead silence on the issue back in 2008 when Sen. McCain was the one he made the alliance with. Notice also that he doesn’t mention that at all these days since he appears to have thrown in with Rubio.
Huckabee is a great talker, and I agree with a lot of the things he says. I also believe he is a Christian. But we all have blind spots, he has a major blind spot when it comes to his actions during this (and the 2008) campaign. I personally don’t think his smear campaign will have much effect on Cruz in Iowa. Voters are much smarter than many of these politicians give them credit for. But it is a sad thing to watch.
Exactly what he’s doing. I hope this is the last of that fat slob.
Huckabee is a phony Christian, a pro-amnesty RINO, and a douchebag. This is NEWS?
Yes Huck is not known for loyalty. LOL!
As he did to help the traitor McCain win in 2008 b y drawing away evangelical votes from Romney...not that Mittens would have beaten the Great Black Hope either.
Huckabee’s is a GOPe as far as I can tell. His job this time was to STOP CRUZ by locking down Evangelical support in Iowa.
He failed - perhaps in part because Trump sucked all the Oxygen out of room and most people didn’t even realize Huckabee was running.
Now he’s a cry baby.
He’s a socialist with a Bible.
“He’s a socialist with a Bible.”
Did you not read my first sentence where I pointed out that he was GOPe - I covered that.
Re:”Huckabee sounds like a GOPE operative whose mission is to take down Cruz.”
Bam!
You nailed it.
Suckabee is hardly much different in his ethical ineptitude as Joel Osteen, the false prophet of the Summit.
Re:”I have a feeling that Trump will eventually greatly disappoint us if he is president, yet at this point I am willing to support him because his positions are right. I have more confidence in Cruz overall though.”
Your heart is in the right place and your mind is beginning to clear itself of the rehetoric which has blinded so many.
Cruz is the REAL DEAL.
Trust your gut.
That’s pretty cryptic.
Figuring out huckleberry is easy, he’s too much like PTL Jim.
This not being done to benefit Huckabee, Huckabee and his minions know he’s out of it, this is being done to damage Senator Cruz and benefit the gop-e. That’s why Huckabee is in the race, to divide the Conservative and Evangelical vote, not to win the nomination.
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