Why Huckabee is the Best General Election Candidate and What Makes Him the Ideal Candidate to Win (V

Myth Debunker | 12/14/2007 | Yomin Postelnik

[Yomin Postelnik]

Why Huckabee is the Best General Election Candidate and What Makes Him the Ideal Candidate to Win

By Yomin Postelnik

An increasing number of pundits, both conservative and liberal but all heavily entrenched in Washington or Medialand disconnect, are making assessments about the candidates. As usual, they are wrong and a party that listens to them will gain their approval at the expense of the votes of the nation.

Pundits today generally take into account small anecdotal tidbits of history that best suit their own personal biases. No analysis is given to the overall race, the candidates, or to electoral history and how it relates to the changed field of today.

The fact is that there’s one simple formula to fielding a candidate. Look at the key issues of the day and couple that with genuine leadership abilities.

For the first part of this equation, every election season is different. In 2000 the public clamored for morality and the candidate best representing moral values and who came across as most genuine had the advantage. In 2004 national security loomed largest. In 1992 the public looked for economic change after being hammered with bad economic news, even if it didn’t translate into daily life. When economic woes did affect people on an everyday basis, those elections, 1976 and 1980, resulted in change (of course, in both of those elections change in leadership persona factored greatly too).

So what does this mean for today? In short, based on analysis and current voting concerns, for the GOP it’s Huckabee or bust.

As to the second part of the equation, while issues may, the glamour for a genuine candidate never does. The public consistently wants authenticity. Sure, they’ve elected inauthentic candidates once in a while, but only after being sold on their perceived realism and usually come to regret buying the inauthentic package. This factor too makes nominating Huckabee the best political move the GOP can make.

In this election cycle, partly due to the theatrics that have been its hallmark since its untimely and all too early inception, people are dazzled, enthralled, over-enthralled and then bored to death, but through it all they have more trouble relating to candidates than ever before. Simply put, this cycle is the first 12 months premature baby to survive outside of the womb and it’s got more than a few defects which are now all too apparent.

The top tier seems superficial and superficial is tiresome. This cycle, fortunately, it’s also become loathsome. In other words, electing “the most electable candidate,” meaning the one TV pundits say is most electable, is nothing short of a recipe for disaster.

Huckabee has shown the exact opposite, an ability to connect with voters over and over again. That’s how his campaign from nowhere was launched into first place. His support grew stronger after every debate, with people first asking “Why isn’t he in the top tier?” and later realizing that he is in fact the most trustworthy, likeable and broadly appealing.

All of the arguments the punditry use against him were the same type of arguments made that Reagan was a sure loser in 1980. We know how that turned out. In Huckabee’s case the “weaknesses” they attribute to him are actually strengths. He zeroes in on issues that bother the average person and proposes new ideas that are just what the average voter wants. It’s those qualities that translate into the average voter voting for him.

To date Governor Huckabee has proposed education changes that, unlike the Democrats, don’t seek to politicize the process by fighting achievements already made and unlike other Republican candidates, are solid and well thought out. The fact is that enhanced arts education is shown in study after study to develop civic awareness and dramatically reduce truancy and juvenile crime. Society would benefit in many ways, most noticeably fiscally, in the reduction in crime that these programs always show.

Governor Huckabee also realizes that the prison system is too harsh and needs reform. The current system not only makes career criminals out of non-violent offenders (as they’re exposed to harder and more violent crime) but is also a breeding ground for Islamic extremism, which recruits dejected inmates serving long sentences. As I’ve pointed out in previous posts, even prison owners stand to benefit by turning many facilities into short labor assignment places where non-violent inmates would be contracted out for hard backbreaking labor, then sent home at night, a stronger deterrent without the climate that leads to hopelessness, which in turn leads to violent and dangerous crimes.

As far as those who challenge his fiscal conservatism go, contrary to popular belief, Huckabee does have a fiscally conservative record. If you listen to his issues, he wants more effective spending, not more spending. Unlike many other candidates, he personally supported the line item veto and the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.

Most importantly, fiscal conservatives will trust him to keep his promises because based on his record, he does keep promises. Social conservatives are less convinced that the socially liberal candidates will keep theirs. So yes, contrary to other pundits, Gov. Huckabee is far better positioned to keep the Reagan coalition of social and fiscal conservatives alive.

As for a campaign slogan, he’s got one, “I like Mike.” Something like that already worked form someone else who many talking heads once discounted because of his last name.

Lastly, it needs to be pointed out that in the general election, many solely fiscal conservatives will be voting Democrat or third party based on how they perceive the economy. Democrats are counting on this and will make this the issue. Nominating a primarily fiscal-only conservative plays into this game. Nominating a candidate who will follow conservative fiscal policies but who will relate to voters primarily for his bold societal ideas and genuine conservative moral values is the only answer to this as well. (Anecdotally, this is also why the GOP will probably lose Ohio but gain Pennsylvania this time, but that’s for another article.

[ejonesie22]

Once Great?

Try still great. Number one political site on the web according to hit wise...

[HAL9000]

It's the "new guy" syndrome.

Fred is the "new guy" - he was the last one to enter the race.

[Kevmo]

If the pro-life evangelical liberal Hucksterbee can rise in the polls, so can the pro-life evangelical conservative Hunter.

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According to Intrade, the winner of the December 12th GOP debate was... Duncan Hunter.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1938773/posts

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Depends on what you're considering spam (are you referring to the many pro-Huckabee/illegal alien articles or to something personally post?).

You're Yoda-ese is pretty cool, but Dane and dano1 were the ones you slighted--you didn't personally slight (and will give you that tend to personally butt in when probably should just not become directly involved).

Also, since the last post to you, have looked at both dano1 and Dane's (and Yomin's) FRhomepages. They are all fairly 'old'. Dane has been here since 1998, dano1 since 2000, and Yomin since 2004. Dane's has already stated that Dane is not dano1, so this is purely hypothetical. If Dane made dano1 and Yomin aliases, that would demonstrate a lot of unnecessary foresight, as he hasn't been banned from FR and three freeper usernames aren't going to make all that much of a dent in changing the already quite set opinions of freeperdom on aliens and Huckabee. As for just joshing around pretending they are the same (as some might do--not actually believing Dane has multiple usernames, but acting as though those with similar views are a carbon copy clone), can personally see that, but they should still be pinged. That's just opinion and what have read (on FR) about netiquette here. If you were the one being insulted, for most intents and purposes behind your back, wouldn't you want to be at least pinged so you could defend yourself or even just to see what others were typing about you?

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Borrowing from you:

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The big ole' intersection on that graph coincides pretty close to the Republican 'immigration' (primarily illegal alien) debate. Either the pollsters are polling both citizens and non-citizens, or [Latino] voters who tended toward the Republicans a). Make up a larger amount of the Republican electorate than they seem to be, or b). were disproportionately polled.

Giuliani and Thompson both take big drops, though Thompson was already falling (and goes from second to fourth) while Huckabee rises considerably, although from your graph, the slope was steady from before the debate and after it. Sort of going against the trend is Romney, perceived as relatively tough (compared to Huckabee) on illegal aliens, but not much affected by the debate, either.

Anyhoo, (to all) is there some place on the internet where there are audio links to the debates? (video tends to freeze on this computer). The RNC website either didn't have them, or they weren't very easy to find.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

It's still 'great.' As you've pointed out, it is the largest political forum on the internet.

However, it is not so 'great' as it once was. Surely you've noticed that there a much fewer posters and articles being posted, and that the range of opinions are smaller than they once were (and this is coming from a relative 'newbie', for 'older' freepers it is probably even more pronounced). Sort of stinks that many of the racist freepers haven't disappeared. Would pick the Macroevolutionists over them many-a-day (for the large part, they weren't that offensive, and often had interesting science that they used to support their viewpoints--which were still off, but the science they brought up was useful and interesting.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Rats. That was a great opportunity to use the align picture ‘feature.’

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

It's still 'great.' As you've pointed out, it is the largest political forum on the internet.

However, it is not so 'great' as it once was. Surely you've noticed that there a much fewer posters and articles being posted, and that the range of opinions are smaller than they once were (and this is coming from a relative 'newbie', for 'older' freepers it is probably even more pronounced). Sort of stinks that many of the racist freepers haven't disappeared. Would pick the Macroevolutionists over them many-a-day (for the large part, they weren't that offensive, and often had interesting science that they used to support their viewpoints--which were still off, but the science they brought up was useful and interesting.

[x]

Fred is the "new guy" - he was the last one to enter the race.

Okay, but look at Huck, down under 5% until he finally took off or broke out, and now he's flying high.

I don't think voters have really given him the same scrutiny that they've given McCain or Giuliani.

When they do, they may find he's not as good as he appeared at that breakout or takeoff moment.

[x]

to say Huckabee is like Clinton just underlines the degeneration of this once great forum.

It does sound like overkill. I came across a blogger who compared Huckabee to Carter, though.

Not to talk about character or personality, though, just this: Carter just didn't have the experience when he got to Washington. Also he never wholly won over part of his party, so he had Kennedy challenging him in the primaries.

I'm not saying Huck is going to turn out to be just like Carter, but in an enviroment where you have to be one thing or another, Huckabee (like Carter) tries to be too many things to too many people to be successful.

[lesser_satan]

Why Huckabee is the Best General Election Candidate and What Makes Him the Ideal Candidate to Win SUCKS: The REAL Mike Huckabee

[Yomin Postelnik]

That’s nonsense. Effective general election strategy has more to do with the candidate and his/her core positions than almost anything else - every time. If you don’t see that I see why the rest seems like “emotions” to you.

For example, see what the Dems have in store if we’re saddled with Rudy or with someone too slick and cliche like Romney.

[Yomin Postelnik]

They’re not fawning all over him. They trash him in the most subtle of ways but consistantly. Everyone watching hears them keep saying he can’t win. That’s the message they keep sending out and that, as Michael Reagan points out, is telling.