[doodad]

And I just got a call from Huckabee here in GA crowing how he won WV.

[levotb]

Excellent post, jdm!

This kind of thing is typical of the left, of Dems, which clearly Suckabee and McNasty are, not Republicans.

But now what? I don’t think it hurts Romney as much as we may think. Better things are coming...out of CA!! Californians don’t like backroom deals, if we know about them as this one, so anything can happen tonight. Suckabee was polling in single digits in CA yesterday. We’ll see how he does in CA. He’s never won a Northern state. He’s keeping Romney from winning in the South. We’ll see who comes out on top. 10 to 1 it’s a brokered convention now, as LEGALLY, Suckabee cannot bow out and “give” his delegates to McNasty...right? That’s ONE backroom deal that will never happen. Too bad Romney and Paul’s folks can’t get together and form a bond of mutual protection...

[Travis McGee]

Huckster is just whoring himself out for a position in the McAmesty administration.

[Yaelle]

And right now on the radio is a Huckster ad for his stupid book.

[nightlight7]

The rest of the story is that even with McCain's support, Huck didn't have the majority. So his side made a deal with the Ron Paul's supporters to switch to Huck in return for the 3 national delegates. Hence the final WV delegate count is:

15 Huckabee
3 Paul
0 Romney
0 McCain

[socialismisinsidious]

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.

Thank you Huckster for giving us McCain! If there was any doubt: there is no way this man is a Conservative. He is a populist hucking for McCain and hucking for a job. shameless.

It's not -- it's just good, old-fashioned hardball.

Agreed but any self-respecting American wouldn't mess around with the socialist tip. We are too close to ruining this country, rotting it from the inside out with socialism, so why shove US over?

[paudio]

It's not illegal, it's part of politics. I don't like it, and neither do many people, but that's politics. Sometime, however, short term politics like this may cost the players another win in the long-run, as people perceive them as un-ethical (regardless whether it's justified or not).

I see it more as McCain's people move than Huckster's, though.

[JRochelle]

“It has to be disappointing for the Romney campaign to spend so much gold for yet another silver,” McCain spokesman Brian Rogers told Mike Allen.

LOLOLOLOL

[Common Tator]

Romney's team wasted no time calling this a "backroom deal": Would it make you happier if we called it a front room deal? Of course it is legal. We have known that Huckabee's staying in the race is to spit conservative support between Mitt and Huck. Of couse when the asked about it both Huck and McCain say it is not so. Someone needs to tell the Huckster he will go to Hell for lying. But the Huckster does not believe in heaven or Hell. Becuase he says in his book he could do more good as a politican than as a minister of the gospel. That says being saved from an eternity in Hell is not nearly as important as seeing that the welfare checks get out on time.

[Recovering_Democrat]

CQ has it right: those were the rules.

But then again, the denial by the two camps that they aren’t working together is a testimony to their DISHONESTY.

I don’t trust McLame, and I don’t trust HACKabee.

[I Hired Craig Livingstone]

I don’t think it’s a “dirty trick” either, but I’ve listened to various media outlets and heard no mention of the backroom deals behind the end result — just the same media hyperventilation that accompanied Iowa.

The McCain/Huckabee tag team has just about permanently turned me off to the GOP.

[redinIllinois]

Sean Hannity just had Newt Gingrich on his show, and tried to get Newt to say Huckabee’s win in West Virginia was because of dirty tricks, and Newt basically said, there weren’t dirty tricks, that’s how things work.

And when Sean tried to get him to say that Huckabee should pull out to give Mitt a better chance, Newt tried to point out that a lot of Huckabee’s supporters would probably go to McCain over Mitt, but it seemed to be falling on deaf ears.

HUCKABEE / HUNTER ‘08

[oiler]

Isn’t this the kind of Washington Insider junk McLame was supposed to be running AGAINST!!

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.

[RoadKingSE]

Romney's team wasted no time calling this a "backroom deal":

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.

[redinIllinois]

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

[tioga]

after this stunt....Huckabee can NEVER earn my vote.

[jbwbubba]

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.

[Brett66]

McCain's pulling stunts to divide conservatives even more. Not surprising, coming from him, I bet he's had this plan all along to divide and conquer.

Problem is, his little scheme will catch up to him now or in November.

[Free Vulcan]

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.

[seoul62]

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........