Posted on 10/31/2007 2:19:28 PM PDT by Eric Blair 2084
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, of late, has been the subject of endless punditry among Republican insiders. Some insist he is the new dark horse who can grab the nomination while others contend that he’s an irrelevant creation of a bored press corps.
In truth, he is neither.
Despite the rave reviews for his debate performances and his crushing win over Mitt Romney in the straw poll of religious conservatives who actually attended the Family Research Council (FRC) Voter Values Summit, Mr. Huckabee is limited.
He has raised a fifth of what Ron Paul has collected. He lacks appeal in urban states, holds views which are antithetical to fiscal conservatives and lacks any foreign policy experience. His odds of actually capturing the nomination are roughly equivalent to the chance that Rudy Giuliani would get through a debate without using the phrase “when I was mayor of New York City.”
Yet it would be a mistake to ignore Mr. Huckabee. Even without winning, he’s likely to factor heavily in the primary, posing a threat in particular to the candidacies of Mr. Romney and Fred Thompson.
Polling in Iowa shows Mr. Huckabee’s stock rising after he placed a respectable second in the Ames Straw Poll. After his surprising showing at the FRC event, some state polling in Texas and in Georgia had him tied or ahead of Mr. Romney, while a recent Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll showed him leading Mr. Romney nationally among religious conservatives.
His plain-spoken appeal and social conservative credentials make him a viable alternative to Mr. Romney in Iowa and to Mr. Thompson in South Carolina. Neither state requires huge media buys and both have high concentrations of evangelical conservatives--the type of voter that embraced him at the FRC. Moreover, as the self-proclaimed David to these two Goliaths, Mr. Huckabee need not actually get more votes than his better known opponents to declare a moral victory.
By contrast, after inflating his lead in Iowa through incessant visits and enormous expenditures on paid ads, Mr. Romney has raised expectations which a close second place by Huckabee could easily undermine. Similarly, he could harm the Thompson bid simply by diminishing Mr. Thompson’s margin of victory in South Carolina.
But beyond all that, Mr. Huckabee is a walking, talking advertisement for his opponents’ flaws.
Mr. Romney’s elastic views and slick presentation seems that much worse to social conservatives next to Mr. Huckabee, a Baptist preacher whose fire-and-brimstone invocation of religious values makes the Romney message seem plastic and contrived.
And Mr. Thompson, he of the forgettable public appearances, lethargic schedule and distain for retail politics, suffers badly when compared to Mr. Huckabee’s considerable charm and energy. It often seems that Mr. Huckabee is the actor and Mr. Thompson the small-state governor.
Mr. Huckabee may not have the profile or resources to win the nomination, but he could do serious damage to two contenders who have yet to get their political acts together. In that regard, he may well live up to his hype.
Yesterday I ran into one finally, someone who likes Huckabee. The guy was complaining about illegal aliens. When I told him Huck let the taxpayers of Ark. pay for a Mexican Consulate, he was stunned. He remarked that Huck sure doesn’t give the ‘impression’ of being pro illegal alien. These guys are getting votes on ‘impression’ instead of their records.
The media doesn't want you to know about Duncan Hunter. Hunter was way ahead of Huckabee until the media started pushing him.
If you read the comments in the NY Observer blog following the article, there are some fools who buy what the MSM is selling.
We know that Socialism and Authoritarianism doesn’t work. Sometimes I wonder about Democracy. It’s becoming clear that most people are just too damn stupid to govern themselves.
Why would the liberal media go out of their way to push a conservative?
It is all about education and engagement. If you have neither, you will end up with a tyranny.
Are you talking about Huckabee? He's not a conservative.
No, I meant Hunter. A real conservative. The guy who will be President from 2016-2024.
Anybody brave enough to come on here and talk to FReepers and answer questions from conservatives has what it takes to take on islamofascists and explain to people who think they are left wingers why Freedom is the right option.
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money (generous gifts) from the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship.”
“The average age of the world’s greatest civilization has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through this sequence.
From bondage to spiritual faith;
from spiritual faith to great courage;
from courage to liberty;
from liberty to abundance,
from abundance to selfishness;
from selfishness to complacency,
from complacency to apathy,
from apathy to dependency,
from dependence back into bondage.”
-—quote credited to Alexander Fraser Tyler, but it’s debatable. Probably a compilation of different quotes.
Whoever said it was a genius.
I would have to agree with that. There really is no middle ground, there is only the truth.
I am not a wealthy person. I know what you say is fact.
Duncan Hunter was stuck between * and 2% in the likely voters poll the whole time I supported him. He might have the best views in the campaign, but they do no good if he cannot find a way to get them to people.
There is no way a Congressman with no name recognition can become President. It’s not an accident that nobody has ever gone from Congress to the Oval Office in 230 years.
Is a child really being "punished" by not being allowed to have a free ride in public colleges at taxpayer's expense? Of course not. Huckabee's comments on this subject are a mash of populist demagoguery and subtle deceit. Quite unbecoming of a Baptist minister.
Actually, Abraham Lincoln did it. His only prior political experience was a two-year stint in the House of Representatives. But he was elected president during an extraordinary period when the United States was fractured and literally dissolving. He won a plurality with far less than 50 percent of the total vote. His case was unique. Hunter does not have the same opportunity.
A couple of posts gave some good one-line descriptions of Huck:
‘He’s Bill Clinton without the sexual dalliances ...’;
‘Huckabee is Susan Collins with a 5 o’clock shadow...’; and my personal favorite,
’He’s Bill Clinton with a theology degree ...’
“The “value voter” supporters of Huckabee just might get what they apparently want....Rudy/Hillary.”
No, in my opinion you are wrong. As a “moral values voter” I would simply like to see Senator Thompson move more to the right on moral issues. He needs to become a strongly outspoken opponent of the homosexual agenda...and stop using his “federalism” as an excuse not to be. I believe him already pretty solid on opposing abortion.
A pledge to veto any homosexual rights/protection legislation would be a nice start. A pledge to work to keep homosexuals out of military service...and public service would also be a nice touch.
Finally a clear cut pledge to appoint only SCOTUS nominees that are originalists (meaning they interpret the constitution and ammendments based on their original intent, and don’t add to or take from that) would also be great.
However, if you just want to blow off “value voters” as irrelevant and not heed their concerns, then if Hillary gets elected because Guiliani gets the nomination....then blame yourselves not us. We clearly warned you what we intended to do. If you (meaning Senator Thompson)want our votes, then meet our perceived needs....even if you don’t agree.
“In all seriousness, Huckabee is a liberal who happens to be pro life. He is in the wrong party.”
It is NOT my intention to be an apologist for Governor Huckabee - I’m not his supporter. However, it is really scary the way some folks on this forum will say some really ugly things about anyone (in this case Huckabee), when they perceive their particular candidate is losing to or because of that person. This kind of rhetoric is growing tiresome.
BTW - Eric Blair 2084. I do not mean to single you out. It is just that your post is representative of the ill rancor going on.
Yeah, but Jesus wouldn't force everybody else to pay for Julio and Miguel's kids' educations and create an incentive for Julio and Miguel's brothers and sisters to sneak over the US border so their kids could get the same perks.
You’re right about that. Jesus was apolitical.
Nothing personal on my part towards Mike. He kicked smokers out of restaurants, it’s what he wanted to do after surviving his near death experience at the hands of that global health menace...chicken mcnuggets. He got religion about “health”. Smokers will keep him out of the White House. Payback is a bitch.
He seems like a nice guy. I wish him much health and luck in his retirement and private life, where he won’t have the bully pulpit of Gubmint to impose his progressive liberal beliefs on his fellow Americans.
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