Posted on 02/05/2008 2:12:01 PM PST by jdm
Almost heaven ... West Virginia ...
Mike Huckabee took the West Virginia state convention and the state's 18 delegates as John McCain's team threw him their support to defeat Mitt Romney. The state allocates delegates on a winner-take-all basis, and the late action by McCain's delegates keeps Romney from winning any of them. It closes out one of the states in which Romney could use to keep pace, but the move has some Republicans seeing a different kind of red:
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee won 18 delegates here Tuesday as backers of rival John McCain threw him their support to prevent Mitt Romney from capturing the winner-take-all GOP state convention vote.
In first contest decided on Super Tuesday, Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, bested Romney on the second ballot with 51.5 percent of the 1,133 delegates attending the state GOP's first-ever presidential nominating convention. Romney was backed by 47.4 percent.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who poses the biggest threat nationally to front-runner McCain, had entered the event with the largest pledged bloc and attracted the largest vote — 41 percent — on the first ballot. Huckabee captured 33 percent on the first tally; McCain, 15 percent and Texas congressman Ron Paul, 10 percent.
Some of the correspondence I've seen on this topic calls this a dirty trick. It's not -- it's just good, old-fashioned hardball. Mike Huckabee's continued presence in the race allowed it to happen, and it may not be the last state where his campaign trips Romney's run for delegates.
Romney's team wasted no time calling this a "backroom deal":
"Unfortunately, this is what Senator McCain's inside Washington ways look like: he cut a backroom deal with the tax-and-spend candidate he thought could best stop Governor Romney's campaign of conservative change.
"Governor Romney had enough respect for the Republican voters of West Virginia to make an appeal to them about the future of the party based on issues. This is why he led on today's first ballot. Sadly, Senator McCain cut a Washington backroom deal in a way that once again underscores his legacy of working against Republicans who are interested in championing conservative policies and rebuilding the party."
While there may be some truth in this -- clearly the state had more of a leaning towards Romney than either McCain or Huckabee -- it's a little like arguing against the Electoral College. The rules were set in advance, and the result may not represent the one-man, one-vote principle very well, but we knew that going into the contest.
In fact, it shows why indirect mechanisms like caucuses and conventions are much less desirable than direct primaries. It turns these elections into games, and it increases the cynicism of the voters at a time when we need to attract them and make them believe they can make a difference. The last-minute hardball by the McCain campaign couldn't have been pulled in a primary state.
I'll be live-blogging from Minnesota's caucus tonight, where I'll probably be one of the few skeptics to attend.
I WILL SIT HOME DURING THE NATIONAL ELECTION. HOW IS THAT FOR OLD FASHIONED POLITICS. MCLAME CANNOT BE TRUSTED. HE WILL DESTROY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. IF ELECTED HE WILL NOT APPOINT CONSERVATIVE JUDGES.
I confess I was thinking in terms of the daily cycle of news stories, and the things that the MSM like to stress.
I never watch TV either, so I don’t know what they’re saying about it now. I was just speculating that it would be very unusual for them to report it on the evening news, or in the frontpage headlines, or anywhere where ordinary people are likely to see it.
And, of course, it’s probably too late to effect the Super Tuesday voting anyway.
Politics is a beotch isn't it Mitt? How fair do you think Osama Obama Rodham Bin Laden is going to play? Stop whining and throw that crackback block.
A VOTE FOR HUCKABEE IS A VOTE FOR HUCKABEE!!
Huckabee - reliably pro-life, not recently pro-life.
Huckabee - reliably pro 2nd amendment, not recently 2nd amendment.
He understands that it is for self defense, not just hunting and sports.
He is an ardent, articulate supporter of the Fair Tax, and I believe he really “gets it”. It is the best hope on the horizon for giving power back to the people, and waking people up to the stranglehold the current tax system has on the people and the economy.
If DUNCAN HUNTER believes he can be trusted on border/immigration and WOT issues, I would trust Duncan Hunter’s informed, educated judgment after he spent a year getting to know the candidates, more than I would trust the opinion of any of the haters on here.
Don’t let the people who say he can’t be elected give us another self fulfilling prophecy of having to settle for someone we have to HOPE will do what he says. Right now it’s just name recognition, and when most people get to know Mike Huckabee, they like him.
They were both governors, but those people give Romney a pass for not being able to do what he “really” wanted, because he had a Democrat legislature to work with, when Huckabee was able to work successfully with his Democrat legislature.
Every vote for Mike Huckabee on Tuesday will be one more vote to show the establishment and the media that the election can’t be bought and we don’t have to settle for their opinion of “that’s the best we can get”.
HUCKABEE / HUNTER ‘08
after this stunt....Huckabee can NEVER earn my vote.
I am not a Romney supporter but I don’t like this. Laugh now because a lot of conservatives including myself are going to be sitting this election out.
If there’s going to be a lot of liberal crap going on in the White House at least they’ll be a Democratn there to blame it on.
And if McCain is the candidate, say hello to President Obama or President Clinton. Watching that POS at work, I am forced to conclude that the country would be safer with a post-menopausal, socialist Lesbian than a visibly diseased, psychotic RINO (war hero or not).
Hunter is “toast” and any candidate selecting him as VP is toast. Why? Because Hunter couldn’t carry So. Cal, much less No. Cal. Rule #1: If you can’t carry your own state, you’re worthless as a VP prior to Nov...
What’s funny is this says to Huckabee and his supporters “you don’t matter”. McCain is willing to give you an entire state because he isn’t afraid of you.
E. Cartman
ZOUNDS!! You’ve given me reason to smile on this somewhat black Tuesday...
Listen, McNasty may NOT do so well in the South, and Suckabee’s win/wins will keep him in the race and make it a brokered convention. So, let’s assume it goes to a brokered convention...Is there any way to stop a McNasty/Suckabee deal?
Me and my husband are in total agreement with what you just posted. How about Juan McCain as Secretary of Defense in a Hillary administration?
The GOP is planning on losing this time.
Well as to Huck? He will be relegated to the trash heap of history.
Medved went so far as to say these were McCain people who, realizing their guy wouldn't win the state, threw their votes to Huckabee because they truly believed he would make a better president than Romney.
I know, why do I listen to the nance.
I think Huckster wants to be the Secretary of Education so he can continue with the liberal indoctrination system and make sure all the illegal aliens get a college education, free medical care and a warm home so they will be ready to learn when they attend the gov’t schools.
Mc#uck and Huck are vile individuals.
Problem is, his little scheme will catch up to him now or in November.
I don’t know any other GOP caucus but WV that has a % rule. In otherwards, in a straight vote things look better for Romney.
He is so not there. Are all politicans from Arkansas like him? The people, when I visited there were kind, polite - what made them elect this pretender with delusions of grandeur?/Just Asking - seoul62........
McCain’s bitch can go to hades. I might have had some respect for him if he had the courage to attack the front runner, McCain, at some point in this campaign. Unfortunately, it’s too late for me to see him any different than what he is: a phony proxy for McCain.
But for some reason, the Hucklebee backers all presume that Hucklebee is who we should all be backing because he’s the most conservative person left in the race. The truth is, many of us would have been willing to do such, if we believed Hucklebee was his own man. But it is beyond obvious that he is nothing more than McCain’s attack dog in the primaries. Anyone who takes orders from McCain is not quite right in the head as far as I am concerned.
We will NEVER support McCain.
Funny, when Fred was in the race all the Hucksters screamed he was a stalking horse for McCain and would pull out and endorse him. Fred got out, didn’t endorse McCain and we find out the the Huckster IS the stalking horse for McCain.
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