Conservative Pulse » Mike Huckabee

Posted on 02.18.08 by Stephen Covington @ 7:30 pm

Former President George H.W. Bush, father of current president George W. Bush, has endorsed McCain, saying that he is “a remarkable patriot” and dismissing concerns about his conservative credentials.

Asked about conservative unease with McCain, the 41st president read from the diaries of former President Ronald Reagan, who was also assailed by the Right during his presidency for being “a turncoat.” Bush dismissed conservative criticism of McCain as “an unfair attack,” and said the Arizona senator has “a sound conservative record but not above reaching out to the other side,”

This, along with the earlier announcement of Nancy Reagan’s tacit support, Jeb Bush’s direct endorsement and even an endorsement by McCain’s former competitor, Mitt Romney, sends a strong message that the conservative establishment is rallying around McCain to defeat whoever might emerge as the challenger for the Democrats.

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee remains as the only serious challenge to McCain, although so far the rhetoric between the two has been amicable. Huckabee is widely considered to be “running for vice-president” - staying on good terms with McCain, while using the opportunity to show that he can campaign strongly and draw in socially conservative voters.

Huckabee Wins Louisiana Beauty Contest

Posted on 02.10.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 6:32 am

Mike Huckabee has scored a second win for tonight, taking the Louisiana primary by a very narrow margin of 44-43%. However, because no candidate recieved 50% of the vote, tonight’s vote is merely a beauty contest and no delegates will be awarded. Louisiana has a complicated three-step process for picking delegates.

John McCain and Ron Paul did well at the state’s recent convention to select delegates, with this primary not having an impact, it looks like McCain is still in a good position to wrap up many of the state’s actual convention delegates. However, the primary victory for Huckabee is certainly a momentum boost.

At this point, Huckabee is still mainly asserting himself as a Vice-Presidential candidate. It would be practically impossible for him to win the nomination. In fact, earlier tonight, CNN showed a simulation that showed what would happen if Mike Huckabee won every single remaining Republican primary by a 50-40-10 margin over McCain and Ron Paul. The result: John McCain still wins enough delegates to comfortably capture the nomination.

The results of the Washington caucus are still pending, as McCain leads Huckabee there by only 2% with 85% of the votes counted. We’ll have to wait and see what happens there.

Filed under: Campaign 2008 and Election Results and John McCain and Mike Huckabee
Comments: 5 Comments

Huckabee Wins Kansas Caucuses

Posted on 02.10.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 2:54 am

As expected, Mike Huckabee dominated today’s Kansas caucuses as he turned out that state’s largely rural and religous voters in large numbers. Huckabee took in 60% of the vote, with 24% going to McCain, 11% for Ron Paul, and 1% for Alan Keyes.

The state’s 36 convention delegates are winner take all and will be awarded to Huckabee, brining his total up over 200. That inches him closer to overtaking Mitt Romney for second place in the delegate standings.

Romney suspended his campaign earlier in the week, following weak Super Tuesday showings and John McCain’s huge delegate lead.

Filed under: Campaign 2008 and Election Results and Mike Huckabee
Comments: None

McCain Wins California, Missouri

Posted on 02.06.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 5:41 am

A pair of huge wins for John McCain seem to have cemented his status as the likely Republican nominee. In Missouri, McCain narrowly beat Mike Huckabee to win all 58 delegates from that state.

In California, the delegates will be split between McCain, Romney, and possibly Huckabee. But the media is calling the race for McCain statewide. That was a state that Romney had to win in order to make a rational case for keeping his campaign going.

Both Romney and Huckabee have vowed tonight to keep fighting this battle, but it’s hard to imagine how either could possibly overtake the large lead that Senator McCain has built.

With California and several other Western states yet to be counted, McCain has hit 512 delegates… that’s almost half of what he needs to win the nomination. Romney and Huckabee are trailing back around 200-300 each.

We’ll have more solid numbers in the morning, but all signs are that this race is essentially over with.

Filed under: Campaign 2008 and John McCain and Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney and Super Tuesday
Comments: None

Huckabee Wins West Virginia Caucus

Posted on 02.05.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 8:05 pm

Mike Huckabee became the first candidate to declare a victory on Super Tuesday as results from West Virginia’s complicated caucuses were released. Huckabee, Romney, and Ron Paul were the main candidates that courted voters at the state’s convention today.

It paid off big for Mike Huckabee. With voters still casting ballots in some close Southern states, a win like this might help encourage his supporters to stick with their man rather than voting for Mitt Romney or another candidate. Plus, Huckabee will be awarded the state’s entire slate of 18 delegates.

Huckabee defeated Mitt Romney by a 52-47 margin. This is also good news for John McCain, because it denies the delegate and momentum boost that Romney might have gotten out of a WV win.

Ron Paul appears to have recieved zero votes, despite speaking to the assembled delegates at the convention. That’s got to be a stinging blow to his campaign, which had targeted West Virgina as the possible site of an upset.

Filed under: Campaign 2008 and Election Results and Mike Huckabee
Comments: 12 Comments

Huckabee is Exacting His Revenge on Romney

Posted on 02.03.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 7:24 am

John Edwards dropped out of the race, so why won’t Mike Huckabee? After all, Edwards was the “third wheel” in the Democratic race just like Huckabee is in the GOP contest.

Huckabee knows there’s almost no chance he can win now. Yet he pushes forward with the hope that Southern states might hand him enough delegates to keep him viable past Super Tuesday.

But there’s another reason he’s still running. Huckabee is someone who has been known to hold the occassional grudge and he feels badly burned by the brass knuckles campaign that Mitt Romney ran in Iowa. By staying in the race, Huckabee is drawing votes that might otherwise go to Romney. And if he stays in the race until Wednesday, Huckabee will be able to help tip things to McCain.

Huckabee would like to be Vice-President and all signs suggest McCain would like having him on the ticket. The two men get along well and have a great deal of respect for each other.

Romney has no one to blame but himself. In the early contests of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina the races eventually came down to 2-person contests…

(more…)

Filed under: Campaign 2008 and John McCain and Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney and Super Tuesday
Comments: 11 Comments

Huckabee courts the Fair Tax vote

Posted on 01.28.08 by Stephen Covington @ 12:07 pm

A FairTax rally held in Jacksonville, FL on Sunday drew dark-horse Presidential candidates Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas and former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel, both of whom have made the revenue reform concept part of a theme in their campaigns. Although Huckabee is not considered a likely winner in Florida, his efforts as of late have been seen by some as an attempt at running for Vice-President - specifically, as a possible running mate for John McCain. He may be able to build support among the conservative base, especially evangelical voters. Huckabee has recently been supportive of McCain’s military service record in debates, while along with fellow contender Giuliani, criticizing Romney.

Huckabee was also in town for other appearances, including at the Jacksonville Landing. He may have originally been scheduled to preach a sermon at Trinity Baptist Church, but the event was possibly canceled. Instead, Huckabee visited First Baptist Church of Orlando before stopping in Jacksonville.

Filed under: Campaign 2008 and Mike Huckabee
Comments: 15 Comments

Thompson Staffer: “Boycott Chuck Norris”

Posted on 01.27.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 6:13 pm

Darrell Ng, the Thompson campaign’s “main point of contact for the media on all travel logistics and scheduling,” has some free time now that Fred has dropped out of the race. And he’s decided to put his time and effort into a boycott of Huckabee supporter Chuck Norris.

A few days ago, Ng launched BoycottChuckNorris.com with the aim of hitting the actor and martial arts champion where it hurts - in his wallet.

The site urges a boycott of all Chuck Norris related entertainment products. The Total Gym, a home exercise product whose spokesperson is Chuck Norris, is also being boycotted. Among other companies targeted are KFC, Payless ShoeSource, Nutrisystem, Tylenol, Geico. All are cited as advertisers on “Walker, Texas Ranger” reruns that air on the USA Network.

When asked why he was targeting Norris and not other celebrities who had backed Presidential candidates, Ng responded that: “But Chuck Norris has endorsed a candidate, went out on the stump with him numerous times in different states and even appeared in a commercial with him. To me, that sets him apart and makes him fair game.”

Filed under: Campaign 2008 and Endorsements and Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee
Comments: 2 Comments

Has the Huck-a-Boom Gone Huck-a-Bust?

Posted on 01.25.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 11:41 pm

Chuck Norris doesn’t wear a watch, he decides what time it is. Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door. Chuck Norris does not get frostbite, Chuck Norris bites frost.

But when Chuck Norris endorses a Presidential candidate… it doesn’t mean we skip the election entirely and just swear the guy in. Mike Huckabee is learning that firsthand.

On fire after his upset win in Iowa, Huckabee has failed to win any additional states and his campaign appears to be practically broke. Senior staff members are no longer drawing salaries, and some have been laid off. Huckabee is considered to be an afterthought in Florida, where a recent Mason-Dixon poll shows him trailing Giuliani with 15%. That puts him in fourth place.

The man that supporters and opponents alike give affectionate nicknames, such as Huckster and Huckleberry, does seem to be maintaining a loyal following among many evangelical Christians. He has also not drawn the ire of those who lean left on social issues, an impressive feat for a former pastor who has said he wants to change the Constitution to bring it in line with God’s word. Huckabee is commonly considered to be a “nice guy” and either because of his personality, or simply because he’s not considered a threat, is not generally a target for criticism from the other candidates. In fact, many are speculating that he’s at the top of a Vice-Presidential short-list for Senator John McCain, should McCain actually win the nomination.

But the chances of a President Huckabee (at least this election) are looking pretty slim at the moment, and the candidate clearly knows it.

“If the campaign doesn’t make it all the way we want to walk away completely in the black,” Huckabee said earlier this week.

Filed under: Campaign 2008 and Mike Huckabee
Comments: 4 Comments

Republican Debate Highlights Distaste for Romney

Posted on 01.25.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 4:11 am

Tonight’s debate in Florida continued to highlight one of the most interesting elements in this year’s Republican primary battle. While all of the candidates seem to be running to win, they’re all pretty friendly with each other at the same time. It’s almost like they wouldn’t mind losing to each other that much. Well, except to Mitt Romney.

McCain, Giuliani, and Huckabee all seem to absolutely hate the sight of the millionaire former Governor.

At every opportunity tonight, the shots were aimed squarely at Mitt, with Huckabee suggesting that Romney ought to stop spending his children’s inheritance.

McCain came to Rudy’s defense when he was being pressed: “I happen to know he’s an American hero,” said McCain of Giuliani’s leadership during September 11th.

Giuliani took a shot at Romney in his question about the idea of a national catastrophic fund, poking Mitt’s record of flip-flopping on the issues: “I was wondering if you’ve come to a position on this,” Rudy asked. Then it was Huckabee’s turn to take a shot at Romney on 2nd Amendment issues.

A NY Times article today made note of the intense dislike for Romney among his major rivals…

“Never get into a wrestling match with a pig,” Sen. John McCain said in New Hampshire this month to reporters when asked about Romney. “You both get dirty, and the pig likes it.”

Mike Huckabee’s pugilistic campaign chairman, Ed Rollins, appeared to stop just short of threatening Romney with physical violence at one point.

“What I have to do is make sure that my anger with a guy like Romney, whose teeth I want to knock out, doesn’t get in the way of my thought process,” Rollins said.

…

“The glee the other candidates go after Romney with is really unique,” said Dan Schnur, a Republican strategist who worked on McCain’s presidential campaign bid in 2000 but currently is not affiliated with any campaign.

A Romney adviser, Ronald Kaufman, pointed to his personal fortune and upstart status in politics as breeding resentment. “They think he didn’t pay his dues,” said Kaufman.

Filed under: Campaign 2008 and Florida Primary and John McCain and Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani
Comments: 22 Comments