Posted on 12/15/2007 5:17:23 AM PST by Kaslin
WASHINGTON -- Republican insiders, puzzled by the sudden rise of Mike Huckabee as a serious presidential candidate, are overlooking the role played for him by actor Chuck Norris.
Called "Huckabee's Oprah" in Hollywood, Norris is helping the former governor of Arkansas in much the same way that Oprah Winfrey boosts Sen. Barack Obama's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Huckabee began his ascent from the depths of the second tier of candidates after his endorsement in late October by Norris, called the "marshal of martial arts."
Norris's endorsement is featured in a Huckabee TV ad, which his money-short campaign has run mainly in Iowa and on the Internet. Norris may be no big deal in New York and Washington, but he is a folk hero with ordinary Iowans and has helped push Huckabee ahead of Mitt Romney in polls forecasting the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses. The Norris endorsement may be a bigger factor in Iowa than evangelical support for Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister.
PRO-LIFE W?
George W. Bush, who has been repeatedly described by his staff as the "most pro-life president in history," again will miss the annual anti-abortion March for Life in Washington Jan. 22 and instead make a live phone call to participants.
This time, President Bush will be in the Middle East the day of the march. He has called the pro-life demonstrators from Manhattan, Kan., from Camp David and from Roswell, N.M., in recent years. That the president usually ends up out of Washington is annoying to thousands of pro-life activists who take buses to the nation's capital.
"President Bush is the most pro-life president in history," was one of the talking points sent out by Bush headquarters during the 2004 campaign. Tim Goeglein, the White House liaison with religious groups, has said: "George W. Bush is the most pro-life president in American history."
BOXER'S REVENGE
Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, a personal friend and political ally of the Clintons, is behind a nearly year-long blocking of California Superior Court Judge Jim Rogan for a federal judgeship because he was one of the 13 House impeachment managers of President Bill Clinton.
President Bush in January nominated Rogan as a district judge in Los Angeles. Ordinarily, district court nominees do not experience the confirmation difficulties of an appellate judge. Boxer has prevented Senate action on Rogan, informing this column he is not in the "mainstream."
A former Democrat, Rogan served two terms in Congress representing a heavily Democratic Southern California district but was defeated for re-election in 2000. He was named as a Superior Court judge in 2006 by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
RAHM'S REPUBLICANS
Rep. Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, won private praise Wednesday from several conservative Republican senators when he launched an attack on Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
Emanuel attacked McConnell's plan to keep federal spending at President Bush's recommended level but find room for individual earmarks by cutting everything across the board. Emanuel said McConnell is "fighting for earmarks over funding for cancer cures, the veterans' health care crisis and 50,000 new American teachers." He charged that McConnell's "own re-election campaign would come first."
That is precisely what anti-earmark Republicans have been saying in private but do not want to say publicly for the sake of party unity.
THOMPSON'S CONSERVATIVE
The endorsement of Fred Thompson's presidential candidacy by Morton Blackwell, longtime Republican National committeeman from Virginia and a prominent conservative activist, was announced Tuesday a silent month after it was made.
Blackwell's support had been sought by Thompson. After due consideration, Blackwell decided Thompson was the best conservative who could be nominated. He so informed the Thompson campaign of his decision but then heard nothing until Tuesday's announcement.
The intervening month was a time when Thompson could have benefited from good news. Several Republicans trying to help Thompson have found their overtures rebuffed.
Fred Thompson and Duncan Hunter are the only candidates that can bring the party back together again. Right now it is scattered to the four winds.
Fascinating that most of the topics on FR forum are about Huck this morning.
is Duncan Hunter still in the race?
Uh..yes. He appeared on the Spanish/American TV debate and got supper loud cheers from the legal conservative Hispanic audience. I guess you missed it. The elite media, buddies of Romney F Kerry and the socialist march to China, tried to block it out from us sheeple's view but some of us know how to work our closed caption. Imagine that.
One wonders what Novak means by this.
Everybody gets a free Total Gym.
With Huckabee, there would be a federal law requiring you to USE the Total Gym.
And eat vegetables.
I told all you guys..they come for the smokers first..then the red meat and then no more exchanging of body fluids.
It's pretty simple. He's lying to help his own agenda. Typical Novak.
I’ll tell you what it means .
It means that several RINO’s have tried to get Fred to act like the Huckster and Mitt the Panderer .... Fred will have none of it ....
Lol, and Mitt the Panderer is a true pioneer in that field .
We will take you over without firing a shot, if the Muzzies don't get you first.
Truer words where never spoken.
“Fascinating that most of the topics on FR forum are about Huck this morning.”
You got it right with the “Huck” bit. Although this guy is attempting to paint himself as a Republican conservative he is in fact a populist (aka socialism-light) in drag. Fortunately, he has absolutely no chance of being nominated - Chuck Norris or no...
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