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What would lunch be like with Mike Huckabee?
By JOHN CARLSON
Des Moines Register News Columnist
August 31, 2007
Two things are to be considered when sitting down for lunch and a chat with Mike Huckabee.
First, remember that he is an ordained Baptist minister, so watch the language and pass up having a short beer - even though we're in a brew pub.
Second, the former Arkansas governor lost 100 pounds, ran four marathons, authored a book on responsible eating and has turned into a bit of a health nut.
But what the heck.
I ordered fries with my barbecued pork sandwich, and asked why a nice, seemingly normal person would want to ease himself into the muck and run for president.
"Because I don't know any better," shot back Huckabee - who, in case you're wondering, ordered soup, a salad and a side of tomatoes. "No, I'm kidding."
FULL ARTICLE
Excerpts from an interview with Governor Mike Huckabee
"If Christian Evangelicals and the leaders within that community don't give support to a person who is one of them. Who's not coming to them.. but is coming from them. Then it will have a chilling effect on future Evangelicals wanting to run for office.
They're gonna say, "You know what? If I can't get the support of my own family, of the people who are most like me, people who have in essence mentored and encouraged me, then maybe, for whatever reasons they are looking elsewhere"... means that we've now come to a place where we've lost any real sense of the Evangelical Leader having a role.
If the NRA, for example says well this time, 'We don't care about your position on guns, it's really all about your position on global warming.' Then the NRA has just lost it's leverage. If Greenpeace says, 'We don't care about your positon on the environment all we care about is your position on guns', they've lost their leverage on their issue.
If the Evangelical Comminity doesn't hold our feet to the fire as canidates, about our own personal character as well as our stand and our record on issues like the sacntity of human life and the role of traditional marriage, then you know what? We've lost our leverage. We're another political special interest group like the Republican Women of any county USA. And have lost any real impact in helping to shape the debate and move the election.
I would hate to see that happen. Because many of us have become involved in and embroiled in the political world BECAUSE of our convictions, BECAUSE we believe things.
What a shame if we lose that. What a shame if all the years in which people have worked to try to make sure that we could influence the position of our government toward the innocent human life that is now taken at will.
If we lose that, it's not about losing elections, we've lost really our soul, our integrity and our purpose for being involved."
Christian: Pray about these matters, because it matters what you do.
Union says: Mike Huckabee Has Guts
The 700,000 member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers on Thursday endorsed Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton for it's Democrat workers and Republican Mike Huckabee for its estimated 230,000 republican members in the presidential primaries.
This is the first time the union has had a dual endoresement.
"Mike Huckabee was the only Republican candidate with the guts to meet with our members and the only one willing to figure out where and how we might work together," said Union President Tom Buffenbarger. "He is entitled to serious consideration from our members voting in the upcoming Republican primaries." It is the first time the union has done a dual endorsement. It chose to do so this year to encourage all members to participate in the election.
Mike Huckabee Wins Support from Machinists and Aerospace Workers
August 30, 2007LITTLE ROCK, AR -Former Governor Mike Huckabee (AR) won the support of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) today. The IAM, for the first time in its 119 year history, endorsed candidates in both the Republican and Democratic primaries.
Huckabee welcomed the IAM endorsement stating, I'm proud to have the support of the workers who bring prosperity to America on a daily basis.
Huckabee spoke before over 700 members of the IAM in Orlando, Florida on Monday about jobs, globalization, health care, and other 21st century domestic issues. During his conversation with IAM workers, Huckabee stated, In order for this country to be free, there are three things we must do: feed ourselves, fuel ourselves and fight for ourselves. That means we need to be manufacturing our own means of defense and making it a national security issue.
During his speech on Monday night, Huckabee outlined his program to improve the lives of working Americans, including his support of the Fair Tax. Under the Fair Tax, he said, American companies are far less likely to move overseas and foreign companies are far more likely to come here, hiring Americans to build and work in their new plants.
Huckabee also said he believes in fair trade. Free trade has to be fair trade. We are losing jobs because of an unlevel, unfair trading arena that has to be fixed. Behind the statistics, there are real families, real lives, and real pain. I'm running for President because I don't want people who have worked loyally for a company for 20 or 30 years to walk in one morning and be handed a pink slip and be told, I'm sorry, but everything you spent your life working for is no longer here."
Huckabee received the historic endorsement this morning during the final day of IAM's National Staff Conference. Shortly after receiving the news, Huckabee thanked President Tom Buffenbarger on a phone call : I appreciate the unprecedented opportunity to participate in the IAM meeting this week and to receive this historic endorsement.
Huckabee Stars as GOP Stumbles
Despite six no-shows, the Republican session of Lance Armstrong's cancer forum firmly established health-care as a campaign issue. And it gave the former Arkansas governor an opportunity to shine.
Only Two Republicans Show at Cancer Forum Despite six no-shows, the Republican session of Lance Armstrong's cancer forum firmly established health-care as a campaign issue. And it gave the former Arkansas governor an opportunity to shine.
Armstrong Challenges Dems on Cancer
Web Exclusive Commentary
By Jonathan Alter
Newsweek
Aug. 28, 2007 - On the second day of Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Presidential Cancer Forum, only two of the eight invited Republican candidates showed up—a reflection of some poor thinking in the GOP. But it didn’t matter too much. Attendees at the Cedar Rapids, Iowa event may look back at two “surges” that began here—one a boom in health care as a major campaign issue for Republicans; the other the emergence of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as a serious candidate for president.
Full Article
The best qualification for President
By the Editor
I just left this comment on a web site that had several comments for and against Mike.
I come to this discussion with a slightly different perspective than most. I have known Mike Huckabee for over 15 years and worked on the Governor's staff for almost 5. As someone else mentioned, I could have an enormous list for why he is qualified to be President. But in these very uncertain and dangerous times only one is necessary. I trust him with my family's life.
Fox News Sunday!
Sunday, August 26, 2007 9:00 a.m. ET – Guest on “Fox News Sunday” with host Chris Wallace to discuss presidential politics and other topics.
Huckabee On A Roll!
by John Gizzi
Presidential politics was in full swing at the Midwest Republican Conference here, as Mike Huckabee brought the 400-plus guests to their feet with a fighting luncheon speech.
"I'm a little sick of runnng a credit card through the gas pump and knowing I just made the Saudi oil family a little more rich," the former Arkansas governor told the cheering crowd, underscoring his call for energy independence by the United States. Huckabee went on to decry spending "$250-to-half a billion dollars a year on compliance" by Americans with the federal income tax, and repeated his now-familiar call for a "fair [consumption] tax" that "a kid running a lemonade stand could understand."
Serenaded by luncheon guests on his 52nd birthday ("Now tell me how great I look!" he joked to them), Huckabee also spoke of the Republican Party as "the party of Main Street and not Wall Street" and gave his reasons for being a Republican, which included his beliefs that "life begins at conception" and marriage "is between a man and a woman and nothing else."
When I spoke to Huckabee before the lunch, he and top fund-raiser Chip Salzman made it clear that his stunning second-place finish in the Iowa "straw vote" ten days ago had given him the momentum of a rocket ship. Having raised $1.3 million for his campaign up until the vote in Ames, Iowa, Huckabee "has now brought in several hundred thousand dollars just since then," according to Salzman, formerly the top fund-raiser for onetime Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.). In addition, the governor is sandwiching in his speaking engagements with a string of 20 fund-raisers, including events in Virginia, California, and Missouri. The Huckabee campaign also released a string of major political endorsements in New Hampshire, site of the first-in-the-nation primary.
His recent fund-raising and publicity success notwithstanding, the Republican "man from Hope" did tell me before lunch that he finds distasteful the process by which candidates' status is determined by how much money you raise. "Successful fund-raising doesn't make you credible -- it just makes you rich," he said, adding that his views are shared by some of the other B-Team candidates and that he may be endorsed by at least one who has dropped out of the race so far.
"I understand the frustration [of candidates forced to drop out because of financial constraints]," he said, "and when money determines a president, we'll have a plutocracy. Like a growing number of state Republican chairmen, Huckabee voiced positive feelings about getting out of primaries in the future and letting states determine national convention delegates by convention or caucus (the venue for national convention delegate selection in most states up until the mid-1970's.) "It might be a better way [to select presidential nominees]," he told me, and went on to note that the present primary system "is consultant-driven and advertising-driven. It's hard for a candidate to study issues when he has to ask for money in small increments all the time."
"You give me enough money," said Huckabee with a laugh, "And I'll look like my head should be Mount Rushmore. But it wouldn't be necesssarily true."
John Gizzi is Political Editor of HUMAN EVENTS.
Even Obama Likes Mike!
Barack Hussein Obama on the Daily show with Jon Stewart
"Is there a Republican in the field you admire, who you think might do a nice job?" Comedy Central host Jon Stewart asked Obama during his Wednesday night appearance on the program.
"I think some of these folks are decent people," Obama said. "I mean Mike Huckabee..."
Stewart then remarked, "Worst backhanded compliment ever!" - a remark that drew laughs.
"No, no, no," Obama insisted. "I think there are guys like Huckabee who I think are sincere and decent."
Sign Mike Huckabee's Birthday Card
A note from Janet Huckabee
Today I would like you to help me do something for my husband Mike Huckabee's upcoming birthday on August 24.
Please sign his online birthday card below and forward it to your friends, family members and co-workers and ask them to sign his card.
My hope is that thousands of individuals will join our family in wishing Mike a very happy birthday. He has spent so much of his time lately on the road campaigning that I know he is looking forward to a quiet day at home with family and friends.
When I am not campaigning with Mike he sends me many updates about the warm, optimistic and hopeful people he meets on the campaign trail. It is clear from his updates that the people he has met from Florida to New Hampshire to Iowa to California and everywhere in between have helped energize him along the way.
Thank you. Mike believes in America and he has a hopeful and optimistic view of our country. He is campaigning to lift America up and make it a better place for everyone.
I know you share in his hopes and that is why I knew you would want me to reach out to you and give you the opportunity to wish Mike a very Happy Birthday!
Sign his birthday card today and then forward it to your friends, family members and co-workers and please ask them for me to sign Mike's card as well.
With warm regards,
Janet Huckabee
Sign the Birthday Card!
Two Key New Hampshire Conservatives Endorse Mike Huckabee
Following his success at the Iowa straw poll and a four day visit to New Hampshire over the weekend, future President Mike Huckabee has picked up the endorsement of two well known New Hampshire conservatives.
Former state Senator Russell Prescott and former Executive Councilor David Wheeler will formally endorse Huckabee.
In addition to Prescott and Wheeler, former Transportation Commissioner Carol Murray and five additional state representatives are expected to also endorse Huckabee.
I Like Mike Discussion Group Started
I just started an "I Like Mike" Discussion Group on Yahoo!
Come by, join and leave a post.
Invitation to Brownback: Join Team Huckabee!
By the Editor
Senator Brownback is an honorable man and if not for the presence of Mike Huckabee, he would have my support.
The Senator is taking a five day vacation.
I hope he spends the time in prayer and reflection.
Then, I encourage him to step down and support Governor Huckabee.
This would be a selfless and courageous act and one that would give strength to the causes he believes in. I see him as a great leader in the Senate during the Huckabee administration.
Then, I encourage him to step down and support Governor Huckabee.
This would be a selfless and courageous act and one that would give strength to the causes he believes in. I see him as a great leader in the Senate during the Huckabee administration.
Governors Win
The case for Mike Huckabee.By S. T. Karnick
National Review Online
Look back into the history of the past century, and one U.S. political-cultural truth is eminently clear: Governors win the presidency.
Full Article
Democrats worst nightmare: Mike Huckabee
“If he (Mike Huckabee) had money, he would be our worst nightmare,” says Democrat strategist John Lapp.
Lapp, who helped bring down Republicans in 2006 as executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said, “The real threat of Mike Huckabee is that he is a happy warrior, a down-home guy comfortable in his own skin. Right-wing conservatism with a smile.”
Mike Huckabee will surge in the polls
Mike Huckabee is the Republican Iowans Have Been Waiting For
Election 2008 Polls
8/18/07
Summary: Mike Huckabee has a bump in post-debate polls then drops back down after voters question his viability. With Huckabee's strong second place performance at the Ames Straw Poll, his viability will no longer be questioned by Iowa voters. Look for a surge in the upcoming polls.
Contributors to this Article
David Terr, holds a PhD in Mathematics with a concentration in Number Theory from the University of California, Berkeley. He is widely published in number theory journals and currently studies how poll movement occurs and what they mean over the course of political campaigns.
Proloy Bhattacharyya holds an MS in Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles with a concentration in Probability and Statistics.
Full analysis
The Last 10 Days
There has been a substantial increase in visits to this blog beginning a few days before the Iowa Straw Poll.
The chart above compares the past ten days to the preceding 10 days.
The peak was on the day of the Iowa Straw poll.
Everybody's Talking about Mike!
Chicago Tribune
CBS News Watch the Eye to Eye Video of Mike
The Fix on the Washington Post
The Caucus on the New York Times
National Review Online
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Union Tribune Online
Christian Science Monitor
Bloomberg
Houston Chronicle
Virginia House Speaker Endorses Huckabee
Huckabee: He Could Be the Real Deal
By: Michael Medved August 15, 2007
The more I think about Mike Huckabee’s stunning 18% showing at the Iowa straw poll the more I’m persuaded that he could be the exciting, unifying conservative standard bearer the GOP base has been craving.
I challenge any die hard Fred Heads to watch tape of Thompson addressing a live audience and then to contrast it with tape of Huckabee working a crowd – or performing at one of the televised debates. There’s no comparison.
Huckabee spontaneously deploys the warmth, humor, gift of gab, accessibility and kindness that we haven’t seen in a GOP Presidential contender since Reagan. He comes across as a regular guy who cares about other regular guys. He also possesses a rare ability to craft catchy phrases that connect with people.
Aside from his likely ability to unify the party, two other factors argue for Huckabee as the strongest possible GOP standard bearer.
Full Article
A Great article about Mike's sense of Humor
For a Joke-Telling Candidate, a Second-Place Finish
By Adam Nagourney
Published: August 13, 2007
DES MOINES, Aug. 12 — “I can’t buy you — I don’t have the money,” Mike Huckabee, the Arkansas Republican seeking the presidency, told Republicans at the Iowa Straw Poll this weekend. He offered a mock frown. “I can’t even rent you,” he said.
The crowd, which had been rustling, burst into warm laughter at a pointed joke intended to remind them of Mr. Huckabee’s earnest underdog campaign. Five hours later, the voters rewarded him with 2,587 votes and a second-place finish in the poll — surprising, it would seem, even Mr. Huckabee.
Full Article
Great Article!
Viva Huckabee!
New Republic's "The Plank" written by: Noam Scheiber
Here's when I realized Mike Huckabee might be on the verge of something: Shortly after 1 o'clock, Laura Ingraham, our intrepid emcee, introduced each of the straw poll candidates. Because Romney was speaking immediately after the introductions, and because he'd clearly bused in the most people from around the state--"Team Romney" apparently had one bus for each of Iowa's 99 counties--you expected the Hilton Coliseum audience to be fanatically behind him. And, judging from the crowd reaction--and the sea of yellow T-shirts the Romney campaign had outfitted its supporters in--it clearly was. Thereafter, each candidate was introduced to respectful applause. Tom Tancredo. John Cox. Ron Paul. (Okay, John Cox received a slightly less than "respectful" round of applause. But even I have no clue who John Cox is and I was covering the event...) Finally, Ingraham got to Huckabee, at which point the crowd erupted all over again.
Full Article
They Like Mike by Byron York, National Review
Excerpt:
When it was all over, there was no doubt that the winner of the day was Huckabee. “It is beyond huge,” Huckabee told reporters. “Tonight, for all practical purposes, we won the Iowa straw poll. No one was even saying we would come in second…You gotta admit, for what we had to work with, the resources we had, for us to surge, coming in second, is the victory, it is the story.”
Full Article
Mike Huckabee comes in Second at Iowa Straw Poll!
Way to go Team Huckabee!
14,302 ballots cast
1st place: Mitt Romney (4516 votes)
2nd place: Mike Huckabee (2587 votes)
3rd place: Sam Brownback (2192 votes)
4th place: Tom Tancredo (1961 votes, 13.7%)
5th place: Ron Paul (1305 votes, 9.1%)
6th place: Tommy Thompson (1039 votes)
7th place: Fred Thompson (231 votes)
8th place: Rudy Giuliani (183 votes)
9th place: Duncan Hunter (174 votes)
10th place: John McCain (101 votes)
11th place: John Cox (41 votes)
Mitt bought the race, so he was a foregone conclusion. He doubled Huckabee.
Fred Thompson scored best of the non-competitors in this poll, leading Rudy and McCain.
Simple and profound.
“Real change is going to require real change.”
–Newt Gingrich, speaking to at the Ames Straw Poll just moments ago.
They Like Mike!
This Article was in The Politico
By: Mike Allen Aug 5, 2007
At a Drake Diner screening of the GOP debate in Iowa, Huckabee wins new fans for being, well, a regular guy.
DES MOINES -- Going into Sunday's Republican presidential debate, most of the Iowans noshing on English muffins in the sun room of the neon-bedecked Drake Diner had never heard of Mike Huckabee, or knew very little about the ex-preacher and former governor of Arkansas.But by the debate’s end, they knew a lot more — and liked what they saw. “He speaks to you — he doesn’t try and make everything seem like the correct answer,” Jesse Fetters, 26, a FedEx handler from Des Moines, told The Politico afterward. “He just tells you his answer.”
Full Article
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