Mike Huckabee admits his campaign may not have offices and paid staff like some of his peers, but he’s quick to point out that he has something even better: “We have an army of ordinary people who are out there not because someone is paying them to love me.” That army of individuals includes a growing number of homeschoolers who are proving to be a powerful political network for him. Although too small of a subset to account for Huckabee’s entire national climb, in Iowa homeschoolers are prolific and could make the difference in the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses.
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A matter of life
Hopefully, when he loses the nomination, he will not scream or howl on national television.
The only think Mike will be screaming and howling about is giving praise to God when he wins the nomination!!
Random Name, do you portend to know the outcome of the primaries and GOP convention? Your statement sounds very arrogant. I don’t know who will win. But I predict that Huckabee will be the next president, even though I am not a Huckabee supporter.
Hopefully, when he wins Iowa he will rally for Christians in all the states, calling them out one by one, to “take back this nation for Christ.”
If he wins, instead of screaming, I want to hear him say GOL-ALL-LEE! SHAZAM!
Random Name, based on polling data, I wouldn’t count him out. (He’s not my preferred candidate, but the poll numbers are what they are.)
Kristin, in what way are homeschoolers “prolific”. If you mean that they are prolific in producing offspring, I would remind you that children are not allowed to vote. If you mean that they produce a lot of written material, I suppose you have a point.
I hope Huckabee learns from his mistakes, if he becomes president, and doesn’t free more convicted rapists to go out and rape and kill more people, like he has in the past.
That, combined with his antiscience position, is enough to show to most reasonable people that he is an unreasonable person.
Remember yesterday when I said that Drudge had just nailed the coffin door shut on Huck’s chance of getting into the White House, by finding and publishing that quote about “taking the nation back for Christ”? How it would help him in the primaries but destroy him in the general election? And how Dems would make sure this quote would come back to haunt him in the election if he wins the nomination?
Still, I was surprised at the lack outrage from liberals and Democrats. The silence of the ADL was particularly shocking, as normally they would’ve issues a press release denouncing the statement on the part of a presidential candidate. But no. Nothing. Very strange.
Well, Drudge explains it all today. It seems the Democrats are treating Huck with kid gloves, because they want him to win the election, seeing him as incredibly easy to defeat come November. And they’re probably right. He looks like Gomer Pyle, he’s got a funny name, and he’s a religious fanatic who wants to “take this nation back for Christ”, which will scare the daylights out of moderates, Jews, middle of the roeaders, secularists, etc., and even many Christians. Here’s the story.
Time was when home schoolers were fans of small government. I wonder when that changed.
I certainly wouldn’t count him out either, Kyle. He has huge momentum right now; he’s come from virtually nowhere to first place in just a few short weeks, and, as this post reminds us, evvies are quite enamored of him. For a while they were leaning toward Fred as their man, because of his star power. But it eventually became clear that Fred’s not all that interested in being president, not if it means he’s going to have to work for it anyway, and that he’s not nearly as bent out of shape about social issues as the evvies had first thought. Fred’s campaign is dead, as it always was, and evvies finally realized it. Then along came Huck, with his Jesus talk and his long and vocal opposition to gay marriage, abortion, and federally funded abortions for gay guys. He makes a lot of sense too, saying he got into government because government doesn’t have the answer, only Jesus does. Evvies eat this kind of talk up, and they must’ve swooned yesterday when the “taking America back for Christ” quote came out. I bet James Dobson started speaking in tongues. So Huck’s now their man. Unfortunately for the Christians, the vast majority of them don’t sense just how crazy all this Jesus talk sounds to the average middle of the road voter, let alone Jews, liberals, Democrats, etc. A lot of the fundies labor under the delusion that ” a silent majority” shares their religious views and will be as thrilled with Huck as they are. But they don’t, and they won’t, and if he wins the nomination, he’ll be destroyed in the general election. (Unless, of course, the Dems are crazy enough to nominate Barack Hussein Obama. The GOP could probably run Mark Foley and still beat Obama.)
Will he win the nomination? He certainly could; a lot depends on just how many evvies vs non evvies vote in the primaries.
It seems the Democrats are treating Huck with kid gloves, because they want him to win the election . . .
The S.O.B.’s
Wait a minute, Night Train! Giuliani loves Huckabee. And Romney has only just now begun attack his brother in Christ.
The question is, are we going to se a mud fight between a Mormon and a Southern Baptist? If God could only be so good! Romney will win, but not before Huckabee has declared Jesus not to be the brother of Satan.
So Huckabee wins Iowa. Then what? Until he quits touting the Fair Tax and being a nanny-state shill, I can’t see him getting many conservative votes.
The Fair Tax is a loser. Ask Jim DeMint.
One other thing that I haven’t seen ANYONE talk about: why did Huckabee leave the pulpit to go into politics? I could understand if a politician found religion and became a preacher, but the other way around? Something doesn’t add up.
All I can say is woooo-eeee, this is gonna be fun the next few weeks!
Watching Romney, Guiliani, and Huckabee pick up sticks and pound each other is good stuff! My political self wants to see a knock-down drag out fight for the Republican nomination. The nastier and the meaner, the better. A hobbled Republican candidate is good news for the Democrats in the general election.
Each little “revelation” about each other will be loaded into the DNC’s computer banks for use in the general election, which is gonna be one nasty fight to the finish. It’s gonna make the “Swift Boating” of John Kerry look like a little girl’s tea party.
As for Huckabee, I have sort of liked him and defended him on several occasions on here, because I thought him a decent fellow. I’m starting to turn, now that I’ve read his response to quarantining people with AIDS a number of years ago (and his refusal to back down on the statement this past weekend).
I could see him ending up as the VP candidate to Rudy!, but not to Madge Romney.
Well I must admit I find the Huckabee phenomenon fascinating.
We have an individual with no money and no formal organization who is pulling into the lead against Romney in Iowa, making great progress in South Carolina, and statistically tied with Guiliani nationally.
And possibly peaking just right for the beginning of the delegate race.
And we can say confidently that Huckabee will provide a clear distinction to any Dmeocratic nominee.
While of course OPbama is pulling ahead of Hillary.
What an interesting race!
#2
It’s a joke. I was suggesting that Huckabee is a Republican equivalant of Howard Dean. My stupid joke, that at least a few people got, is about the infamous “Dean scream.”
In Cyberia, a comedian who explains his jokes is tortured slowly by the inquisitors for a long time before he is finally allowed to expire.
Read the Jack London story, Lost Face.
http://www.online-literature.com/london/75/
NightTrain: The only thing I object to is that you are giving the Democrats too much credit in thinking in unity. They are easily as divided as the Republicans at this stage of the game as noted by the rise of Obama and even Edwards in Iowa over Hillary. They have their own problems to contend with.
However, I will give you credit in this. The “evvies” as you call them are a block of votes that the Republican party absolutely needs. Although the Repubs can’t win the election with only the “evvies” they certainly can’t win it without them.
Plus, on the “evvies” side, there is the component of conviction. For too long other Repubs have given the evangelical community not much more than lip service. The “evvies” are fed up and are willing to stand up for their convictions even if it means that the Republicans can lose the election. Standing for conviction is more important at this stage of the game than is compromise.
One last thing. Don’t underestimate the grassroots. Americans are much more conservative than these early primaries are revealing. The fly over states, as a general rule don’t like Obama (for obvious reasons I don’t even have to state), Edwards because all he is missing is the plaid jacket and paisley tie of a used car huckster, and Hillary because most of them see her as an egotistical opportunist who is capitalizing on her husbands popular coattails.
This won’t be a Democratic runaway as some people are prone to think if Huckabee is the Republican nominee. It will be a close general election as far as popular vote, and still be determined by a few states electoral college votes. States that are not clearly red, or blue.
If you’re wondering how Gov. Huckabee’s hundreds of clemencies compare with neighboring states, get ready for a shocker.
___ Huckabee leads the pack.
___ He has issued more commutations and pardons than all of the six neighboring states combined.
Governors seldom reduce sentences in other states – and almost never for murderers serving life without parole or for rapists or for habitual drunk drivers, while in Arkansas it’s a regular habit with Huckabee.
___ Other governors use their clemency power only rarely, while Huckabee has made it routine. As we’ve told you before, he has issued more than 700 pardons and commutations during his eight years in office – more than 137 this year alone – and more than his three predecessors combined.
___ Here are the figures for neighboring states since 1996, when Huckabee took office (and keep in mind the population of these states is nearly 20 times ours):
___ >> Louisiana – 213.
___ >> Mississippi – 24.
___ >> Missouri – 79.
___ >> Oklahoma – 178.
___ >> Tennessee – 32.
___ >> Texas – 98 (in-cludes 36 inmates released because they were convicted on drug charges with planted evidence).
___ Total: 624 vs. Huckabee’s 703.
___ Governors in neighboring states almost never grant killers clemency, while Huckabee has commuted the sentences of a dozen murderers.
___ “That is extremely rare here,” said one corrections official in a neighboring state.
___ She recalled one case in the early 1990s when the governor commuted a killer’s sentence and none since then.
___ In Texas, we could find only one clemency case for a killer.
Governors in the states we studied grant clemencies only on special occasions, such as when they leave office. Last January, after Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, a Democrat, lost his re-election bid, he issued 16 clemencies, and there was a huge outcry. That’s how many Huckabee averages per month.
___ By contrast, Haley Barbour, Mississippi’s new Republican governor, has issued no clemencies all year, nor has Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, Louisiana’s new governor, a Democrat.
___ In Tennessee, Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, has issued no clemencies since he took office in January 2003.
http://www.arkansasleader.com/frontstories/st_08_11_04/huckabee8.html
Aww-Shuckabee will increase the size of the govt.
He will make it easier for illegals to get in to this country. (Unless you believe his lies about securing the border…which would mean that he has been abducted since being gov. and replaced by some pod, or else he is completely schizo. With his recently demonstrated penchant for lying, I’ll just assume that he is still the liar that he was in Arkansas) Then, once here, if they kill or rape somebody, he will just pardon them.
Woo-Hoo!
Yay Huckabee
And all the while, he’ll be claiming to be a better Christian than those who call him on his lies.
StuBob
Post 8. You said it. I sit in awe that many “conservatives” seem not the least bit bothered by Huck’s big government mentality. I’m fascinated by the destruction of conservative values begun in the Bush administration.
Coyoteblue: Could it be that conservatives have accepted that with the current candidates the “big government” mentality is not an issue in that they all pretty much are the same with the exception of Ron Paul.
I don’t know that conservatives aren’t bothered as much as they have other fish to fry.
Metanioa
Maybe. But the other fish do get caught in this net. Foreign policy — is a robustly Wilsonian foreign policy conservative? Do conservatives know what conservatism is any more or is it changing to not be what Goldwater and Reagan had in mind?
I don’t know that conservatives aren’t bothered as much as they have other fish to fry.
Well, more and more Christians are coming around to the view that “compassionate conservatism” (big government for Jesus) is compatible with Christianity. But as metanoia says, the vast majority of them have bigger fish to fry. Most of them regard opposition to abortion and gay marriage as the sine qua nons of an acceptable political candidate, and have subordinated everything else to those two goals. If a politician is for those, most of them don’t really care what else he’s for or against. Others have come to view the “war on terror and ‘Islamofascism’” as the paramount issue, trumping even abortion and gay marriage. But most of them, from what I see, still take the old view, and judge politicians by their stands on abortion and gay marriage. If it takes a big government type to outlaw them, that’s fine.
Of course, abortion is never going to be outlawed, and gay marriage will, in a few short years, be the law of the land, so they’re kidding themselves by trying to stop them. But evvies are good at that.
Met
Post 15 — I think Huck would lose the independent swing voters in droves. What they like about the Republican party is small government, fiscal discipline, strong on law enforcement, strong foreign policy. Huckabee’s record fails on fiscal policy, fails on law enforcement, fails on small government and his foreign policy sounds as Wilsonian as President Bush. The GOP can do well with the social conservative base, but it can’t win a national election without swing voters.
‘Conservatism’ is just a label to get suckers to vote. No political candidate has ever wanted to shrink the size of the federal government, it’s just not the way the game works.
I don’t like any of these tools. Where is Ed Abbey when you need him? Oh yeah, buried in Glen Canyon.
Coyoteblue #21
Problem is no one else running on either side is much different on all the collective issues you’ve mentioned. Which is what makes Huckabee’s candidacy so appealing to evangelical conservatives.
It will take a a lot to convince me that Democrats are standing by licking their chops hoping for a Huckabee nomination. If I were the Democrats I’d be worried, as Huckabee is the only Republican running that will be a contrast choice to the Democratic nominee.
I have a hunch that given two opposites (Huckabee and Clinton) the soft middle will tend to vote more to the right than to the left.
Hat tip to Erasmus. President Abbey does have a nice ring to it.
Statements like these won’t help Huckabee.
“Take back the nation for Christ.”
“A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ.”
Met
If I were a dem strategist I’d be licking my chops wanting Huck. Here’s one gimme: The fair tax will take away your mortgage break, health care break and child care breaks. In return you’ll be taxed on your food. Fair tax? or a Huckster’s tax? (Before you object to the unfairness of such an add, I’ll admit it is a distortion, but not so much of one that it won’t resonate with voters.) And that is only the tip of the iceberg. Guliani or Romney would be harder to beat.
Someone needs to let them know that Huckabee is not honest or sincere. Romney has changed his postion on a few things over the last 10 years but he at least has the courage to come out and say I changed my mind on this issue as I learned more about it. Huckabee just lies about his past and because he was a preacher people believe it. Before you vote for him think about these FACTS:
He increased spending and taxes in AR
He campaigned against republicans
He not only let many violent criminals out he pushed to do away with the 70% law even for violent criminals.
He destroyed the republican party in AR
In 1999 he accepted on average over $300 a day in gifts!
He did tell our DMV to give illegals driver licenses.
He broke his no tax increases pledge and then ridiculed people who called him out on it.
He has a record that we as conservatives can not trust and will say anything including lies to get elected.
BIOJOSH @ 27 Romney has changed his postion on a few things over the last 10 years
Ahem, Romney has spent his political life to the left of most Democrats, including Hillary, and now he has the money to lecture his Republican opponents about not being conservative enough. Which is why from Huckabee to McCain they all hate him with unconcealed contempt. None of them are going to go down without taking Romney out with them.
Two Cents: The only reason Giuliani is still in the race is that everybody hates Romney.
Ahem, Romney has spent his political life to the left of most Democrats, including Hillary, and now he has the money to lecture his Republican opponents about not being conservative enough.
That really is amazing. I can’t imagine the gall it takes to try to pull off such an act. The only thing more amazing is that so many people have fallen for it. Yeah, he just happened to wrestle with his conscience over abortion and gay marriage right around the time he began planning his run for the White House. Truly, God works in mysterious ways.
Coyoteblue #26:
I definitely agree with you that those will be contentious issues when the stumping starts. But I also believe that most Americans know that following through on those planks of his platform are all but impossible anyway.
Presidential candidates need to be able to tell people what they want to hear thereby effectively convincing them that (s)he knows where they are and how they feel. Most of us who have a half dozen presidential elections under our belt have pretty much given up on whether the platform promises can be fulfilled. We continue to vote because we just don’t want our voices to be silenced.
I’ll agree that Romney would be difficult to beat, but doubt that Guiliani will put up much of a fight as he stands absolutely against everything that conservative hold dear. In the minds of most religioius conservatives, voting for Guiliani is no different than voting for Hillary or Barack. As I mentioned before you can’t win with only the conservative vote, but you definitely can’t win without it and Guiliani will not get most of that vote.
I’m still convinced that the Dems will have the toughest time with Romney and/or Huckabee.
There may be something to that, Scroop.
A new national CNN/Opinion Research shows the Republican race very close. Rudy Giuliani is now ahead with 24%, followed by Huckabee at 22%, and Romney third at 16%. John McCain is fourth at 12%, followed by Fred Thompson with 10%. The three remaining candidates are in single digits.
A new NYT/CBS poll showed Giuliani leading the Republican field with 22% support, followed very closely by Huckabee at 21%, and Romney at 16%.
Watching Romney, Guiliani, and Huckabee pick up sticks and pound each other is good stuff!
Anlir: The debating between the GOP candidates has been child’s play compared with the attacks between Hillary and Obama!
Wow, it only took me about 45 seconds to read all the posts on this thread, since I now automatically skip over anything written by Erasmus, Hamachitwo, Night Train, Scroop and Musing.
Thanks again, whoever re-designed this site with the monikers at the top!
It’s nice to hear the balance on the Huckabee candidacy provided by Christians such as StuBob and Meaner and BioJosh.
OUTKAST : I now automatically skip over anything written by Erasmus, Hamachitwo, Night Train, Scroop and Musing.
Don’t toy.
Ditto. If only we could all be so fortunate.
Dang! He’ supposed to be skipping over me too! What did I do to deserve this?
Yes, a person can change their mind - it’s a free country. But when a man changes his mind several times on fundamental issues like abortion and gay rights, as Romney has done, you do start to wonder about whether he will change it again once he gets in office. It will be interesting to see if conservative Christians take that chance on Romney. After all the times they’ve been burned, you’d think they’d be leery of taking a chance again. But political power and access will do strange things even to religious people.
“It’s nice to hear the balance on the Huckabee candidacy provided”
Even more telling is the fact that 2 of the 7 conservative republican voters in the state of Arkansas have voiced their disapproval of Huckabee in one thread.
“Dang! He’ supposed to be skipping over me too! What did I do to deserve this?”
I think he likes you, Anlir
Chris Matthews reports tonight that yes, Huckabee has pointed out that Mormons teach that Jesus is Satan’s brother!
Wait . . . that would have to be half-brother, no?
I would like to know why the media is giving Romney a pass on the explicity racist passages in the Mormon scriptures.
I always read your posts Anlir, or at least begin reading them before rolling my eyes and moving on.
Whatcha gonna do? Email Lynn . . . or call the FBI?
Well, judging from Huckabee’s interpretation of the Bible, which is the basis of his compassion by govt. mandate philosophy,(which is more like playing God, rather than making it easier for people to serve God) I’d say that the only thing about which I agree with Huckabee, is the fact that Jesus lived, was crucified, and resurrected.
I think even Romney would agree with that.
Having said that
when all the smoke clears, ol bald, baggy-eyed Fred starts looking pretty good.
Scroop in #38,
This could get interesting!! It would be fun to have Huckabee and Romney on together in a “Whose God Is It?” type game show/contest.
Can I git me a piece a that there Huckabee pie?
Problem is, Night Train, if Mitt Romney answers questions like yours, one thing will lead to another, and the ACLU will be able to shut down WorldMagBlog. Religious freedom is under threat by people who ask too many dang questions, Night Train. Romney loves Jesus too, or at least a brand of Jesus that is just as good as the leading brand, so we mustn’t discuss it, as a tribute to our Great Nation.
There’s a good side to what you call the “racist passages” in Mormon scripture, Night Train. We have received a blessing like a rainbow after a terrible flood — you can see it on the handsome faces of the Romney family, our strong heritage of patriarchy. Stop trying to tear down, Night Train.
Mark my words. Next election, no one will be elected President.
Heavenly idea, Hamachitwo. A game show! For 1,000 points, and a four year term in the White House, is Jesus from a.) Galilee or b.) Albany, NY? Such questions would keep the audience tuned through now end of 6-minute commercial breaks. If these things matter, to you, boy do they ever!
Here’s one for y’all.
Have any of you ever heard of certain sects. of Christianity that claim that Africans are the cursed descendants of Canaan?
I know I have.
Of course, they are completely nuts, and should be reading Dick and Jane books instead of the Bible…but they do exist.
For all I know, Huckabee may believe that. I’ve heard those claims from more than one good ol’ boy-Southern Baptist.
just sayin’
Mr_Meaner,
Fred is “dead” (in the water, that is). He came out of nowhere in October, but has since fallen off the radar.
Perhaps there will be a movie about him:
“The Hunt for Fred October”
Anlir
Normally, I’d agree with that.
But the way things are shaping up, it just might be that the current top three will kill each other off.
I know that there will be more coming out about Huck. I just hope it is brought up by the GOP candidates. If they let him slide through all of this dirt, and he gets nominated, the dems will rip him a new one.
Fred has already had his dirty laundry exposed.
I refuse to believe that the GOP will nominate McCain.
Giuliani, Romney, and Huckabee have enough potential damage, yet to come, that Fred could sneak in there…if he goes on offense.
Someone is going to put all of the GOP dirt out there eventually. The candidates would be stupid to wait and let the dems do it to them in the general election campaign.
Mr_Meaner,
Well, it’s going to be interesting, that’s for certain. I enjoy the process and watching it all happen. I vote and then I sit back and enjoy the ride. I told weeping friends 7 years ago that it was not the end of the world that Bush got elected (not yet, anyway), and that we would survive his Presidency (so far, so good), and that he would be re-elected (and he was). While I enjoy the rough and tumble of politics and debating people about it, I’m actually pretty sanguine about it when all is said and done. This country has an amazing resiliency when it comes to electing Presidents. We transfer power peacefully and we always make it through somehow (well, except for Nixon that is).
Only 405 days, 2 hours, and 25 minutes until Bush is out of there!
. . . and the next GOP President is in there.
Scroop moth I have a question for you if you are supporting Huckabee then tell me how you can be ok with his changes. While Governor he did not allow our state troopers to become trained in immigration law he said it was racist and bad public policy. He has now rolled out a immigration plan with this exact program as one of the key points. He now says he is for lower taxes he raised taxes more than Bill Clinton and he lied about doing it on Fox news. He has expanded government more than any Governor in AR history. He says he had nothing to with the release of Wayne Dumond yet his own staff say they begged him to not release the guy and that he ignored them. He has changed his mind on immigration and lied about past postions, changed his mind on taxes and lied about the past. I will not even go into the ethic issues in the mans past.
Anyone who wants Hillary or Obama to be the next president should just vote for Huckabee in their primary.
He’s not only a big government politician, but a bleeding heart idiot who has pardoned hundreds of stone cold criminals and murderers. He’d make Dukakis blush. On top of that is his inane Fair Tax schtick.
You know who invented the Fair Tax scam?
Scientologists
He’s also soft on Iran - softer than Hillary, for God’s sake.
No wonder the DNC wants Huckabee to be the GOP presidential candidate.
Please do the nation a favor and reject Huckabee.
BIOJOSH I want to elect John Edwards. Democrats are supporting Huckabee because he’s the joker who may trump the strongest Republican candidate in the primaries, Romney. Giuliani is in the catbird seat for the nomination, but Romney would run stronger against a Democrat, because independent swing voters seem to like oily. Romney has enough oil to end the energy crisis.