Archive for the 'Mike Huckabee' Category
(Chronologically Listed)
VP Madness Round 3 - The Elite Eight
- Posted by Beth on May 14th, 2008 filed in 2008 election, Candidates, Cool link of the day, General, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Politics VP watch
- 7 Comments »
Political ads remixed, MST3K style
- Posted by Beth on April 3rd, 2008 filed in 2008 election, Barack Obama, Candidates, Cool link of the day, Funny, General, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Politics, Video
- 1 Comment »
McCain Officially Gets the Nomination!
- Posted by Beth on March 4th, 2008 filed in 2008 election, Candidates, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Politics
- 8 Comments »
“Broad Appeal” vs. Idol Worship
- Posted by Beth on February 11th, 2008 filed in 2008 election, Barack Obama, Candidates, General, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Paultards, Politics
- 15 Comments »
Huckabee is staying in the race
- Posted by Beth on February 7th, 2008 filed in 2008 election, Candidates, Mike Huckabee, Politics, WTF
- 13 Comments »
Post-Super Tuesday Delegate Count
- Posted by Beth on February 6th, 2008 filed in 2008 election, Barack Obama, Candidates, General, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Politics primaries
- 8 Comments »
Super Tuesday (Thank God it’s over)
- Posted by Beth on February 6th, 2008 filed in 2008 election, Candidates, Fred Thompson, General, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Politics primaries · Republicans
- 11 Comments »
This is why I’m not voting for Romney
- Posted by Beth on January 25th, 2008 filed in 2008 election, Candidates, General, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Politics, Video Alabama · health care · polls
- 10 Comments »
Pro-Huckabee push-polling recorded on video!
- Posted by Beth on January 17th, 2008 filed in 2008 election, Candidates, Fred Thompson, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Politics, Video, WTF South Carolina
- 3 Comments »
A brokered convention? Let’s hope not.
- Posted by Beth on January 16th, 2008 filed in 2008 election, Candidates, Fred Thompson, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Politics, Rudy Giuliani convention · primaries · Republicans
- 2 Comments »
Political Endorsements for Geeks
- Posted by Beth on January 9th, 2008 filed in 2008 election, Blogs, Candidates, Fred Thompson, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Paultards, Politics, Pseudogeek stuff, Rudy Giuliani
- 2 Comments »
Fox News Republican “Forum” (Debate)
- Posted by Beth on January 6th, 2008 filed in 2008 election, Candidates, Fred Thompson, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Politics, Rudy Giuliani debate · New Hampshire · Republicans
- 7 Comments »
YEEEAAAAAAARGHHHHHHH!!
- Posted by Beth on January 4th, 2008 filed in 2008 election, Barack Obama, Candidates, Funny, Mike Huckabee, Moonbats, Politics, Video Iowa caucuses
- 5 Comments »
Poll: Iowa Caucuses - What do you think?
- Posted by Beth on January 3rd, 2008 filed in 2008 election, General, Mike Huckabee, Politics, Stupid Iowa caucuses · poll
- 21 Comments »
Do you like Huck-I-Am?
- Posted by Beth on December 23rd, 2007 filed in 2008 election, Candidates, Funny, General, Mike Huckabee, Politics
- 2 Comments »
More than 10,000 votes have been cast and the Elite Eight has emerged:
* Mike Huckabee (54%) vs. Condoleezza Rice (45%)
* Mark Sanford (53%) vs. Mitt Romney (46%)
* Tim Pawlenty (55%) vs. Colin Powell (44%)
* Kay Bailey Hutchison (52%) vs. Tom Ridge (47%)
* Sarah Palin (62%) vs. Sam Brownback (37%)
* Bobby Jindal (52%) vs. Michael Steele (47%)
* Rob Portman (60%) vs. Joe Lieberman (39%)
* Charlie Crist (60%) vs. John Thune (39%)
Make your picks (mine are in boldface):
* Huckabee vs. Sanford
* Pawlenty vs. Hutchison
* Palin vs. Jindal
* Portman vs. Crist
From the people behind MST3K, Rifftrax remixes political campaign ads. Heh.
Here’s their YouTube page; they also have Hillary, Huckabee, and more stuff there too.
Finally! WOOHOO!
WASHINGTON (AP) - John McCain has clinched the Republican presidential nomination. The Associated Press count of delegates showed McCain surpassing the requisite 1,191 needed to win the party’s nod. The victory was redemption for the four-term Arizona senator. He sought the nomination in 2000 but lost to George W. Bush.
(Okay, no gloating.) HAHAHAHA!
Suck it, Coulter and all you haters!
Molly Henneberger on Fox News just said Mike Huckabee’s people said he is finally dropping out of the race tonight. I wonder if it just now dawned on him that he wasn’t going to win. (Update: Yep. It’s over. Video of his concession speech here.)
The Democrats’ Worst Nightmare has arrived! Muahahahaha!
Now I just wonder if Obamessiah will interrupt McCain’s speech tonight (again).
UPDATE: Transcript of John McCain’s speech tonight is here. I’m just waiting impatiently to find video to post.
(Updated: Got the video, thanks to Blogs for John McCain.)
Link: sevenload.com
Part of the transcript is posted below the break–the part that pretty much says why I support him. I was going to put up a separate post about my new “other” blog, but right now, go check out McCain Blogs–Beth from Blue Star Chronicles and I started it, and we want YOU to join us! (Please?!)
Interesting thesis from James Taranto today, about McCain, Huckabee, Romney, Obama, and Hillary, and their depth of support. He argues that Obama, Romney, and Huckabee have done better in caucus states, which basically means they got votes from the most dedicated supporters.
Blogger Kevin Drum offers some explanations for Obama’s caucus advantage:
Caucuses require organization and Obama was better organized. They require enthusiasm and he has more enthusiastic supporters. They require time, and his demographic has more free time. They’re mostly in small states, and Obama targeted small states. They’re dominated by activists, and activists tend to support Obama.
To put it another way, caucuses require that a candidate’s support be deep, while primaries require that it be broad.
[...]
Winning a general election is largely a matter of getting more votes than the other guy. Having an enthusiastic base helps, but as President Goldwater and President McGovern can attest, it’s not enough. If Obama faces McCain in November, the big question will be whether he can extend his appeal beyond the Democratic base. His reasonably strong showing in primaries suggests he may be able to do so.
That makes perfect sense to me. I think anyone who’s following the election at all, especially online, can see the difference in levels of enthusiasm between the candidates’ supporters. I’d add that R*n P*ul’s numbers illustrate the idea even further–he does much better in caucus states than he’s done in regular primary elections. We all know how obsessive those people are, right?
Huckabee’s got some “enthusiastic” supporters, too, although they aren’t flat-out absurd like RP’s–but then RP’s supporters are generally younger than Huckabee’s. Romney had his core voters, too–only after Fred Thompson dropped out did he pick up the less passionate supporters (except for kooks like Ann Coulter and Mark Levin, that is).
As for Hillary Clinton, she of course has her nutty die-hards, but most aren’t flat-out wacko (except for their wacko lefty political views) like the Obamessiah cultists. Again, it’s probably the effect of young Obama voters (as with RP) bringing in that wide-eyed idol worship, and damn, it’s almost creepy. Ever wonder what Obama’s real, concrete plans are? Doesn’t everyone? It’s almost impossible to get an Obama supporter to explain why they love him based on the actual issues. It’s either fear and loathing of Hillary–and that’s coming from the left (read the comments)–or it’s just how he makes them feeeeeel. It’s sickening.
Get a load of this:
On the verge of a hectic few weeks leading to Super Tuesday, the crucial Feb. 5 multistate primary including California’s, Mack wanted to drill home one of the campaign’s key strategies: telling potential voters personal stories of political conversion.
She urged volunteers to hone their own stories of how they came to Obama – something they could compress into 30 seconds on the phone.
“Work on that, refine that, say it in the mirror,” she said. “Get it down.”
She told the volunteers that potential voters would no doubt confront them with policy questions. Mack’s direction: Don’t go there. Refer them to Obama’s Web site, which includes enough material to sate any wonk.
HA!
Meanwhile, John McCain’s support goes from lifelong conservatives like me all the way to centrist Democrats like Joe Lieberman. It’s not rabid, crazed obsession, though–a lot of his support comes from people who initially supported another candidate. We’re just not loud and silly about it. Hillary Clinton seems to have sort of the same dynamic, with hardcore left-wingers to centrists supporting her (plus nutcases like Ann Coultard). Barack Obama gets all kinds of people’s attention with his pretty platitudes and “yes we can!” (And by “pretty” I mean “soporific nonsense.”) But will that attention last once he’s forced to get down to specifics, assuming he wins the nomination? Nobody’s even talking about his very left-wing views; they talk about how he’ll “unite” America and “inspiration” and how it’ll be all rainbows and unicorns! Yes we can! Gag. Hillary can’t say much about his issue positions, because hers are about as bad as his are.
I’d like to think Taranto is on to something here, because that can only mean good things for us, as long as our own ideologues show up to vote. Eventually the centrists/independents who are hypnotized by Obama will wake up. Maybe my view is colored by my support for John McCain, but I can’t see centrists and independents voting for this guy with his left-wing agenda and so very little experience (alongside a bunch of Che Guevara fans, no less). He can make all kinds of promises, but I think people will realize by November that he can not deliver.
Good grief. WHY?
This is a two-man race for the nomination, and I am committed to marching on. I believe in the importance of a strong national defense — which includes winning the war against Islamic extremists and the protection of American sovereignty.
I am redoubled in my resolve to carry on my campaign in a civil, dignified manner. The issues that got me into this campaign—protecting life and traditional marriage, enacting the Fair Tax, and border security are going to keep me in this campaign.
As a true authentic, consistent, conservative, I have a vision to bring hope, opportunity and prosperity to all Americans, and I’d like to ask for and welcome the support of those who had previously been committed to Mitt.
WHY? Even Romney, who had money to spend and more delegates, saw the writing on the wall.
Angling for a brokered convention? Looking for a primetime speech at the convention?
I think this pretty much puts to rest the suspicions from people that Huckabee is looking for the VP slot (which I’ve always said would not happen).
I can guarantee this will create a whole lot of ill will towards Mike Huckabee, and considering most Republicans already aren’t supporting him, he doesn’t need that.
From the LA Times/AP:
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Okay, I’m not gonna gloat about McCain winning big last night. Unlike some people, I’m not into insulting supporters of other candidates (except Paulbots). I’m of course happy, but I’ll keep a lid on it.
I thought it was funny as hell that the media pundits were all acting shocked that the South went to Huckabee. I wasn’t surprised a bit. I wish McCain had been able to pull it off, but Huckabee’s a strong force down here, for several reasons. First of all, he’s “one of us.” He speaks our language, and I don’t mean the religious stuff (although that’s some of it). Did you hear him mention “Roll Tide” and “Rocky Top” and the Bulldogs? That’s in Southern blood. But more importantly, Southerners are independent. Rebels, if you will, and they/we hate the media elites telling us how to vote. I think the media and blog jihad on Huckabee strengthened Southern resolve. Keep bashing Huck, and it repels Southerners. Hell, if it weren’t for some of his ideas and his lack of foreign policy credentials, I might have been tempted to vote for him just to poke the elites in the eye. But the issues do matter to me, and I couldn’t reconcile a lot of his with mine. Besides, McCain needed every vote down here and unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for Alabama. Congratulations to Mike Huckabee and the Huckabee supporters–y’all had a really good show last night, and your networking efforts have been amazing.
Well, Mitt Romney had a bad night, although I have to admit I’m not really surprised things ended up the way they did. Is anyone? (I mean other than Hugh Hewitt.) I thought California would be closer than it was. He of course won some states, more than Huckabee did, but didn’t meet expectations. We’ll see if Mitt and Huck stick around for the long haul. Honestly, I hope they don’t because I’m ready for this part of the election to be over. (Sorry. Just my opinion.)
So from here…there are a lot of Fredheads like me who have picked a candidate, and some who still haven’t. It strikes me as very strange that just a few weeks ago, we Fredheads were all on the same page, but after he dropped out, we went to war. Well, really, a one-sided war. Whatever. I do hope that the Romney supporters who were Fredheads can remember that, instead of saying (as I’ve heard over the last couple of weeks) that ex-Fredhead McCain supporters are somehow looking to destroy the conservative movement or that we’re not “real conservatives.” We all want the same things in the end; it’s just a question of how we get there. I DO think John McCain can bring about a resurgence in the Republican Party and in the conservative movement, as he brings independents on board. They won’t be invading the GOP, they’ll be joining. That’s how Reagan did it, after all. But I’ll write more about that later.
The big picture: Of the total votes cast, a lot more were cast for Democratic candidates than Republican candidates. We have to get our people voting, and we need independent voters. I know Super Tuesday just ended and that there are still nine months until the general election, but we’ve got work to do. There are people who say they will not vote in November. My job is to make you want to vote for John McCain in November (with the presumption being that he will be the nominee), and if you give us–meaning those like me–a chance, I know we can.
UGH.
I’ll vote for (and campaign for) Romney in the general election should he be the nominee, but RomneyCare is another major reason I can’t vote for him in the primary. If he is elected, I’ll fight this to my dying breath.
There are many other reasons why I’m supporting John McCain, of course. What follows is McCain’s ad about RomneyCare, but it goes much deeper than a 30-second ad, of course.
Spending on the state’s landmark health insurance initiative would rise by more than $400 million next year, representing one of the largest increases in the $28.2 billion state budget the governor proposed yesterday. The biggest driver of the cost increase is projected growth in the number of people signing up for state-subsidized insurance, which now far exceeds earlier estimates. State and federal taxpayers are expected to bear nearly all of the additional cost. Although the price tag for the initiative is ballooning, the governor yesterday reaffirmed the state’s commitment to ensuring that nearly every resident is covered.
Nice work getting it on video. This is why Huckabee will lose South Carolina.
BASTARDS.
UPDATE: Via the FredFile, here’s the group behind the push polls. Niiiice.
God, I hope not. In the Washington Post’s The Trail blog, the possibility is considered.
Yes, yes, we know. Every four years, the political class, including wise-acre journalists, gets all caught up in breathless speculation about the prospect of a brokered convention. After all, no presidential nomination has required more than a single ballot since 1952 and the prospect of actual drama seems like such a refreshing thought at conventions that in recent times have been sucked dry of any suspense whatsoever. And then every four years, the notion evaporates as modern political reality takes hold again.
…
The talk has only escalated as Iowa and New Hampshire voters weighed in. “None of our candidates seem to be able to break through,” former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum said on Fox News last week as voting began in the Granite State. “And if you look at the candidates, all have serious problems. I think, it’s my prediction, I think we’re headed for a brokered convention. I don’t think we’re going to get a nominee.” Former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) even postulated that a contested convention could be a useful thing for a Republican Party trying to find its way after President Bush. “I just think there’s nothing unhealthy about the Republican Party having a serious discussion,” he said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “We are at the end of the George W. Bush era. We are at the end of the Reagan era. We’re at a point in time where we’re about to start redefining … the nature of the Republican Party in response to what the country needs.”The conventional wisdom, of course, is that a brokered convention is good news for political journalists and junkies but bad news for a party. While the opposition rallies around a single leader in the spring, your party is divided and wasting resources with internal fighting all the way until the end of summer.
Well, why the hell do you think Kos wanted Romney to win Michigan? (For the record, I doubt they had much effect on the outcome–I think Romney would have won without the idiotarian help.)
But the point is correct: the longer this drags out, the faster the candidates’ campaign war chests drain. Well, except Romney’s, of course, but I’m not yet confident that he can win in November anyway. And let’s face it–Hillary and Obama have massive war chests. Our guys? We’ve got a lot of catching up to do, and we won’t catch up until we have a nominee, if we do at all. Remember, Bush had a huge pile of money going in to the primaries in 2000. This time around, we’re scraping around to get money for ad buys in each state because the big donors are waiting for a sure thing. I mean, if you’re looking to wisely invest big bucks, which one do you bet on? Thompson, who hasn’t even come close to a primary win (yet)? McCain, who has only won New Hampshire and has issues with many conservatives, but as of now is the only candidate who polls a win against the Democrats? Huckabee, who’s only won Iowa but has a dedicated base? Romney, with his “two golds and two silvers” but whose support looks soft? Or Giuliani, whose campaign looks dead but promises to come to life in Florida? A year ago, I figured Giuliani would be the nominee. Hell, two years ago, I figured George Allen would be the nominee. Who knows? Michigan didn’t decide anything, and apparently, neither will South Carolina.
I don’t want a brokered convention–at all. Nor do I think there will actually be one. Sure, it’d be fun to watch, but I want to WIN. Badly. I just wonder if other Republicans want to win as badly as I do–or more to the point, as badly as the Democrats do.
What this year’s primary season is showing, though, is the huge diversity of views in this country; the issues important to Michigan voters, for example, are not the issues important to Iowa or New Hampshire voters. And as we’ll see in South Carolina, Florida, and on “Super Tuesday,” those states’ issues will be different as well. Whichever candidate can best represent the issues of all regions should rightfully be the nominee. This is why I think Fred Thompson made a mistake getting in to the process late–he didn’t have the early months for his views–approved of by most conservatives–to become well-known. This is also why I have doubts about John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, and especially Mike Huckabee: they all have things that are objectionable to most Republican voters to varying degrees. But so does Mitt Romney, and I have doubts about Romney’s electability in November. I personally can live with the disagreements I have with each of them, some more than others, but can and will other Republican voters?
How badly DO Republicans want to win? And are those like me the only ones who think a Democratic presidency in 2008 would be a disaster, not “good for the GOP” as some conservatives say (wrongly, IMHO)? Why are we demanding perfect candidates now when we never did before? I say that it’s because we’re more informed about the candidates’ voting records and things they’ve said, thanks to the 24-hour news cycle and the internet (especially with blogs and YouTube). No longer are we stuck with the spin machines and sound bites; we can do our own research and either confirm our biases or find things that are “unacceptable. I’d say that even if Ronald Reagan were running in 2008, there would be people who would find things “unacceptable” as well. Remember, Reagan was once a Democrat, and a union president (the SAG) at that! (Oh noes, a flip-flop!)
Again, I don’t think we’ll have a brokered convention, but if voters insist on perfection and we end up with no candidate having enough delegates, it could happen–and this won’t be a brokered convention like those that existed decades ago, not with 24-hour news and the internet. We also won’t end up with a “perfect candidate,” either. If it happens, I assure you, we will not win in November.
(Note: I left out L. Ron Paul Hubbard and sadly, Duncan Hunter, because they’re irrelevant to the discussion, obviously.)
This is my favorite candidate endorsement post ever. I’m not going to excerpt it, because it won’t make sense in excerpts. Just go read it.
Related, in plain English.
I hate live-blogging with a passion, but I’m gonna sorta wing it.
Loved that pissing contest between Mitt & Huck, especially “You make up facts faster than you talk.” It’s the truth, isn’t it? Heh.
I’m glad to see Fred talking about Social Security; it needs fixing, and his remark that “nobody makes the case” (cough W cough) for what needs to be done is exactly why it unfortunately wasn’t fixed earlier in Bush’s Presidency.
Oh, brother…Huckabee and his populism. Excuse me while I throw up with the class wars. I’m not sure if Millionaire Mitt should be the one to slap that populist crap down, though–although it’s hard to argue with the knowledge of someone who’s made $200+ million on his own.
God, please, someone, destroy that FairTax nonsense since Chris Wallace mentioned it. Yes, we need IRS reform (or abolition), but not not not with the unFair Tax, “pre-bates” be damned. Giuliani is avoiding the subject altogether, instead talking about how he reduced poverty and welfare in New York City.
OMG, yay–Fred’s talking about a “flatter” tax. Yay! Flat Tax is the way to go! Like he said, what’s good about the Fair Tax is 1) reform, and 2) simplicity, but that’s it. I’m sorry, why the hell isn’t every conservative supporting Fred when he talks about taxes? Hello?
Oh no. They’re going to talk about “change.” I had enough of that last night during the Dems’ debate, thanks. Blech.
McCain mentions the change in Iraq, and that’s the most significant “change” we’ve seen in a very long time. No arguing with him on that–and it really, really matters. Mitt says someone from Washington can’t change Washington; I don’t really agree. I do think John McCain knows how to implement reform–he’s made it a focus of his political career, including with McCain-Feingold (regardless of how much we don’t like it, it was “change”). Of course, I think Mitt could have a reforming effect as well; he’s done it in the real world.
And…once again, Fred says the right thing. It’s not about “change,” it’s about leadership.
Yeah, Rudy! Hillobama wants “change” in the form of tax increases and retreat and defeat in the war. Damn right.
Break time, time to celebrate RON PAUL NOT BEING THERE! Yay!!! This round’s on me!






Read the rest of this entry »
God bless Dave in Texas for this important reminder. Heeeee.
I know what I think of the Iowa Caucuses - I think it’s an archaic, stupid, expensive, absurd process that gives undue weight to voters that do not represent America as a whole. I’m even more annoyed because Mike Huckabee won, and I don’t think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell that he can win a general election, no matter how charming he may appear in the soundbites on teevee–I fell under the spell for about five minutes myself a couple months ago, until I took a look at where he really stands on the issues. I just think people are as delusional as Paultards are if they believe he can win. But that’s just me.
So I wonder, why do we still do this? I’m a fan of tradition too, but this is ridiculous. Am I alone in thinking this is stupid?
UPDATE: Speaking of Iowa… and here, too.
UPDATE 2: Ed Rollins got OWNED. LOL. Rollins is still a jerk after all these years.
I don’t suppose Mike Huckabee has read this “Dr. Seuss” yet. ;-)
I would not pick you here or there.
I would not elect you anywhere.
I do not like your foreign plan.
I do not like it, Huck-I-am.
UPDATE:
Jim Geraghty asks,
Can a guy who’s been slammed as hard as Mike Huckabee has by Rush Limbaugh, the most popular conservative radio talk show host in the country, go on to win the Iowa caucuses? Anybody think Rush will have dropped this issue by the third of January?
Also, via Geraghty, from Steven Stark:
The good news for Mike Huckabee is that he’s doing one hell of a job of reuniting significant portions of the old Reagan coalition. The bad news is that it’s increasingly arrayed against him.
Ouch.

























