A forfeit = a win, especially if your opponent is ducking questions

As Time Magazine's Jonathan Alter reports on MSNBC.com ("Only Two Republicans Show at Cancer Forum'), it seems that Huckabee's GOP opponents are afraid to answer certain questions. Here's Alter's first 'graph:

"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."

Murdock Clubs Romney

Deroy Murdock does the type of analysis of Romney's record in Massachusetts ("Mitt Romney vs. Rudy Giuliani" on National Review Online) that you'd expect the Club for Growth to do. Of course, that presumes the Club for Growth is interested in reflecting poorly on anyone other than Huckabee.

After comparing Romney's economic record unfavorably to Giuliani's, Murdock writes:

"It would be easier to draw parallels if, like Giuliani, Romney had won reelection, rather than duck a second-term bid that experts widely predicted he would lose. Romney explained to the Boston Globe that he stood aside because, “There was very little that had to spill into a second term that we had any prospects of ever getting done.” So, what remains to recommend Romney? No doubt, he showed how to succeed in business by founding Bain Capital, which flourishes today. Also, Romney is smooth, charismatic, and handsome. Someday, he could portray George Clooney’s older brother in Ocean’s 14. But, given his flimsy gubernatorial legacy, that doesn’t mean much. In essence, Mitt Romney is just another pretty face.

Ouch.

Huckabee video bio

Here's one of those great candidate bio videos about Mike Huckabee. Pop some popcorn and take a peek . . .



HT: IHeartHuckabee and Mike Huckabee08 blogs.

Xposted at WisdomisVindicated.

Front-runners fading?

Joel Belz of World Magazine "Finding a front-runner" revisits his prediction from May of this year that some of the front runners for the GOP nomination would fade from (and drop out of) the race in due time. He interviewed a disenchanted voter at the Ames Straw Poll who was not inclined to support any of the current "top tier" candidates and wrote about what he found:

But [the dissatisfaction] comes far more from the discovery by the voters that the 'Big Three' (in both parties) just maybe aren't all that big. In my May prediction, I suggested that one or two candidates would say something dumb and then crash and burn. That hasn't happened yet—at least the crashing and burning part. More likely, I said, some front-runners would just wear out. I think you're watching that. And all that is what prompted the young mother to say so fervently:

"Ahhh. I finally found a candidate I can support. Mike Huckabee. It was like he was speaking to my heart. I think I even got teary. I'm not saying Mike Huckabee's the man. I am saying it's becoming altogether likely that an unlikely man with an unlikely name will push the front-runners aside."

I think Belz' marathon analogy (hinted at here but fully discussed in his op/ed) is appropriate. Perhaps, in this election cycle more than any other before, it is possible for a tortoise to beat a hare to the finish line.

Huckabee rebuts Club for Growth

Huckabee is gracing the cover of the current edition of National Review "Another Man from Hope" by Byron York), and the article provides Huckabee's rebuttal to the Club for Growth's charges (here, here)that he is weak on economic issues:

"The area where Huckabee has encountered the most flak from conservatives is taxes. In the week before the straw poll, the Club for Growth spent nearly $100,000 to run ads portraying him as a profligate taxer and spender. “There once was a governor from Hope, Arkansas, who raised taxes like there was no tomorrow,” the ad began. “Who is that liberal tax-and-spend Arkansas governor? Bill Clinton? No. It’s Mike Huckabee.” Specifically, the Club for Growth hit Huckabee for, among other things: supporting taxes on Internet sales and access; signing sales-tax increases on gas, cigarettes, and nursing homes; opposing repeal of the sales tax on food and medicine; and allowing a 17 percent sales-tax increase to become law. “All of those allegations have pretty much been debunked, repeatedly,” Huckabee tells me. For example, “I have always staunchly opposed any tax on Internet access. I am adamantly opposed, always have been. For them to say anything otherwise is an outright lie.” As for the Internet sales tax, Huckabee argues that he supported proposals — also supported by other Republican governors — to let states collect sales taxes on goods sold on the Net by out-of-state vendors. “It’s simply a way to create a level playing field for taxes for Internet merchants as well as Main Street merchants,” Huckabee says. “It wasn’t a new tax at all.”

On the gas tax, Huckabee points out that Arkansas’ interstate highways were in terrible shape — among the worst in the nation. In 1999, the legislature approved an increase in the gas and diesel taxes, and Huckabee, who believed the increase was a good idea, signed the measure. Along with the gas tax, there was a $575 million bond issue for further improvements, which was put to a statewide vote in June 1999 and passed by a landslide, 80 percent to 20 percent. “I would argue that we did rather well on that.”

On the grocery tax, Huckabee stresses that he “philosophically” supported its repeal, but he felt that in the money squeeze that beset Arkansas in 2001–02 the state couldn’t afford it. “It was not that I philosophically opposed [repeal], because I have always philosophically supported it,” Huckabee tells me. “The only thing they’re going to hit me for is that I opposed it in the 2002 election, because I knew that we had already made deep [budget] cuts, and if you cut the grocery tax, there was no way to make it up.”

The biggest tax increase during Huckabee’s tenure was the sales-tax increase, which went to education, and it began not with Huckabee but with the Arkansas supreme court. In 2002, the court ruled that the state’s system of funding its schools was unconstitutional and ordered the state government to come up with ways to spend more money on education and distribute it more equitably among the state’s school districts.

Huckabee had to do something. And with a heavily Democratic legislature, it was a sure bet that more money was going to be raised and spent on schools. So along with a tax increase, Huckabee attempted to fix Arkansas’ amazingly chaotic school-district system. The state has 75 counties, and at the time it had 310 school districts, each a separate fiefdom with its own budget and bosses. Some school districts had as few as 100 students in K–12. Huckabee wanted to consolidate districts so that each would have a minimum of 1,500 students. He lost that fight, with the legislature choosing to make the minimum size 350 students. Still, that meant the consolidation of the smallest districts, with significant savings for the state. Even so, when the bill got to Huckabee’s desk, he declined to sign it, knowing that it would become law anyway. “I thought that we were not pushing for the level of efficiency that we should have,” he says.

So what does his record add up to? Well, the charges have not, as Huckabee claims, been pretty much debunked. Some of them are true. But Huckabee also cut taxes on several occasions, and he argues that, in contrast to the senators who want to be president, he was the man in charge who had to make hard decisions. “Unlike the federal government, governors don’t get to print money,” Huckabee tells me. Besides that, a number of his actions were undeniably popular with most Arkansans, with Huckabee working to meet the state’s needs while hewing to conservative principles."

York goes on to describe Huckabee's seal of approval from Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform, and from FAIR tax supporters. Read it for yourself . . .

Incidentally, the Club for Growth's original "white paper" on Huckabee is here.

See also at WisdomisVindicated.

Even Obama likes Mike

It appears that even Sen. Barack Obama likes Mike Huckabee. (ABC News: "Obama: GOP Field 'Outbidding Each Other'"): In an appearance on "The Daily Show," Obama acknowledged that governors have an advantage in running for President:

Obama suggested that presidential candidates who have been governors have an advantage over those who have been in the Senate, which he described as "paralyzed" and "designed for you to take bad votes."

"A governor is more likely to set the terms of the debate," he said. "They can give a speech, they can say, 'This is my initiative, this is my proposal. I won't sign it unless I agree with it.' Dealing with senators, you end up, you know, having to actually vote on stuff that has no relevance whatsoever but can be used later on to attack you."

And he also singled out Mike Huckabee for "faint praise":

"Asked if he admired any of the Republican candidates, Obama offered faint praise: 'Yeah, I think some of these folks are decent people.' Obama cited only former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee by name. Then he criticized the GOP field for 'outbidding each other' while arguing that the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should be expanded rather than closed."

In an awkward (IMHO) exchange (at least it ought to be awkward for peacenik Democrats):

Noting that Obama has been criticized for lacking experience, Stewart asked, "Have you thought about running a smaller country first?"

Obama smiled and said, "You know, what I did think about though was invading a smaller country ..." He suggested the island nation of Grenada.

X-posted at Wisdomisvindicated.

Sarah may be crushing

Some kind (and un-shilly) words for Mike Huckabee from Nashville blogger Sarah Moore MooreThoughts » I Feel a Crush Coming On!.

Bully Pulpiteer v. Bully

Here's an interesting article from Politico Huckabee: 'I'm a Main Street Republican' - W. James Antle III - Politico.com. James Antle argues that Mike Huckabee, like a number of pseudo-successful Republican candidates before, is attempting to combine economic populism and cultural conservatism:

"But only Buchanan enjoyed significant electoral success combining economic populism with cultural conservatism. The problem for Huckabee is that a conservative alternative to the GOP front-runners will need support from both the economic and social right. And fiscal conservatives aren't fond of men from Hope who accuse tax-cutters of greed."

While I think Antle correctly characterizes Huckabee's message, I think he overstates the significance--in practical terms, of Huckabee's rhetoric.

I think there is a difference between (a) using the bully pulpit of elected office to influence the culture and (b) using one's office to impose your values through laws and regulations. I think Huckabee fully appreciates the difference. And while I don't think Huckabee is disingenuous in speaking up for values like "greed is immoral," I don't think he has any plans to outlaw greed.

A candidate's values and character--even if not directly translated into policy, can bolster his credibility and assuage or blunt the edge of policy proposals. For those candidates of the Libertarian or Conservative persuasion, it can be especially important to give the voter confidence that your rationale for not wanting to, for example, open up the public coffers for any and every supplicant is not rooted in enmity or hard-heartedness. And if a voter is convinced--by looking at Huckabee's life and record and rhetoric, that he is sympathetic to "middle class" or "blue collar" concerns then that voter will be more inclined to accept Huckabee's Conservative solutions, solutions which rarely are as "generous" as their Liberal counterpart.

I think people like Nashville blogger Sarah Moore appreciate this quality about Mike Huckabee, and I it is perhaps his greatest strength as a candidate.

Also over at WisdomisVindicated.

NHites have surprised many a "front-runner"

David Broder ("the Dean of the Washington Press Corps"!!!) opines that New Hampshirites might hand a surprise to the current GOP frontrunners--as they have before David S. Broder - The Next Huckabee Surprise? - washingtonpost.com:

"Buoyed by his surprise second-place finish in the Iowa Republican straw poll, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is plotting an even bigger coup against Mitt Romney in the first presidential primary, in New Hampshire. His inspiration for the audacious plot comes from two unlikely people: Pat Buchanan and Bill Clinton."

You should read the article, but I personally don't think that Rudy/Mitt/Fred are comparable to Paul Tsongas (Clinton's major opponent in 1992), or that Huckabee inspires rebellion like a Pat Buchanan (HW's opponent in the same year), or that Huckabee has the same squishy appeal that John McCain has (W's opponent in 2000). I guess time will tell . . . meanwhile, Charles at Evangelicals for Mitt concludes that such speculation reflects Huckabee's new status as the media's favorite candidate.

Huckabee-- LIVE with The King!

Here's a funny pic of former Governor Mike Huckabee playing on-stage in Ames, Iowa with "Elvis."Hymns proclaim White House poll - World - theage.com.au

Rich Lowry on Sam Brownback

Yikes. National Review's Rich Lowry )"It's Quittin' Time" -- National Review Online) makes a pretty compelling case for Sen. Sam Brownback to drop out of the GOP race. I am kind of surprised to see such a thing from a prominent Conservative pundit at this early point in the race. Lowry must be pretty serious about his challenge.

Here's a generous portion, but there's even more over at NR:

"Sometimes a campaign can be about delivering a message over and above any concrete political considerations. But the truth is that the Brownback presidential campaign is doing the senator’s moral cause no favors. If anything, say to say, his cause is being hurt by the association. First, there’s the negativity of his campaign. I don’t have any problem with negative campaigning and there’s obviously nothing wrong with Christians engaging in political and intellectual combat, but the spectacle of such a self-consciously Christian candidate running perhaps the most negative of any of the campaigns is jarring and discomfiting. Second, there’s the fact that Brownback hasn’t shown great aptitude for politics at the presidential level. At the outset of a campaign in which support for the Iraq war is crucial for conservatives, Brownback opposed the surge. At a time when opposition to illegal immigration was becoming the hottest hot-button issue on the right, Brownback endorsed last year’s Senate amnesty bill, before backtracking and opposing this year’s (somewhat tougher) amnesty bill, before twisting himself into the spectacular act on the Senate floor of voting for cloture on the bill right before voting against it. Sam Brownback is a principled and sincere man. He can do lots of important work promoting the cause of protecting and honoring the dignity of all human lives — in the U.S. Senate."

WSJ, new hope and old pic for Huckabee campaign

Aside from the Doughy, dated image of Huckabee (though Romney's image is a little pudgy, too) this WSJ article reports how significant this day in August may prove to be for the Huckabee campaign. Huckabee, Iowa Poll's Real Winner? - WSJ.com:

"AMES, Iowa -- The biggest winner of Iowa Republicans' weekend straw poll of 11 presidential rivals may well turn out to be not Mitt Romney, whose first-place finish here was expected, but surprise runner-up Mike Huckabee, the guitar-picking former governor of Arkansas. Should Mr. Huckabee capitalize on his second-place showing here Saturday to get a second look from demoralized Republicans unhappy with their choices -- and to get much-needed funding -- the repercussions could reshuffle the party's contest for its 2008 nomination. Social conservatives, who have come to dominate the Republican party, could decide the candidate they have been looking for has been in the race the whole time, languishing at the back of the pack with little money to promote himself."

What's a Religious Conservative to do?

This is a great article about the battle for the Realigious (sic) Conservative vote in the GOP Primary. (The American Spectator--"Split Decision"). James Antle questions whether events (esp. post-Ames) might be helping to ensure that Rudy comes out of the process as the nominee--despite the fact that Religious Conservatives make up a plurality of the GOP base. Aside from his generally accurate (in my opinion) insights, I had two observations.

First, I think that Antle has a too-limited view of the process; he writes, ". . . the social conservatives in the race have been ignoring the pro-choice, pro-civil unions frontrunner and instead cannibalizing each other." But I think Antle fails to see that some acrimony is inevitable in winnowing out the field or settling on a Religious Conservative candidate. This amounts to "public" vetting of the candidates, as Antle references in the article's first paragraph: "Whenever a top-tier candidate presents himself as a more conservative alternative to Rudy Giuliani or John McCain, disturbing news soon emerges about his past record." There is a similar--more nit-picky process among the second-tier folks, but it is something that has to play out. People are loathe to pick a candidate and then have to admit they settled on him/her in haste.

Second, I think that it will be important for Huckabee to jettison the "Baptist Preacher" label asap. Though I am Southern Baptist in my roots, and though I realize that Evangelical voters will have an inherent ideological comfort level with Huckabee based on this aspect of his resume, I believe that his greatest strength is that he has both real-world executive experience and a fully-formed, seasoned and well-worn worldview. I think too much of the coverage of him to date has focused on the more-marginalizing aspect of his resume (as far as average voters are concerned) than the bandwagon-enhancing aspect of his resume.

Cross-posted at WisdomisVindicated.

Straw poll: Huckabee spent just $58/vote for 2nd; Romney $442/vote

Not bad ROI for Huckabee in Iowa, I'd say, Straw poll: Huckabee spent just $58 per vote for 2nd place and revived prospects - On Politics - USATODAY.com, of course, he had no choice:

"• Third-place finisher Sam Brownback says he spent about $325,000 to win his 2,192 votes. That's $148.27 for each vote. • Second-place finisher Mike Huckabee spent about $150,000 and received 2,587 votes. That's $57.98 per vote. • Winner Mitt Romney has not said how much he spent. The reporting in this Washington Post article suggests at least $2 million and possibly more than twice that much. Assuming $2 million for 4,516 votes, that's $442.87 per vote. But it could top $1,000."

Huckabee has hope . . .

If you can see past Huckabee's wedding tux . . . this is an inspiring video about the other man from Hope.

Huckabee wins the Iowa Straw Poll! (more or less)

I was happy to hear that Mike Huckabee finished in second place at today's Iowa Straw Poll. (from the DesMoinesRegister.com), and based on the circumstances, Huckabee more or less "won" today.

"Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee had said his campaign’s future depended on a strong showing in Ames. He finished in second place, with 2,587 votes or 18.1 percent. Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas placed third with 2,192 votes, 15.3 percent after campaigning aggressively to be the choice of the Iowa GOP’s influential social conservatives. “Obviously this was an incredible day and victory for us,” Huckabee said. “What happened for us today was stunning.” Huckabee said he and his campaign staff had been saying they had momentum and it proved true. “We overperformed,” he said. “The bigger story is we did it with not a dime of paid advertising.” He said he hopes all the people who promised they’d get behind him “if he got traction” will now step forward."

Huckabee's comment about spending for the event is interesting, because if you look at the vote totals, campaigns who don't spend money on the event and don't show up at the event don't get any votes (to speak of) at the event.

Fred, Rudy and McCain--who didn't attend or spend in Ames, finished a DISTANT 7th, 8th and 10th, respectively. Which makes it even more impressive that Huck didn't spend a lot of money and got a lot of votes.

Also at WisdomisVindicated.

Alas, the Iowa Straw Poll . . .

Today's a BIG day in GOP politics, in a couple of different ways, as this Iowa blogger (w/ links) demonstrates The Swamp: Come out and join us at the Iowa Straw Poll today.

Here's an excerpt from an Iowa report:"While the results have no direct effect on the selection of delegates to the Republicans' national nominating convention next year in Minneapolis, a poor showing can spell the end of the campaign trail for lesser-known, lower-tier contenders while a decent showing can help a candidate remain viable for another day. In 1999, when the last straw poll was held, 235 chartered buses traveled to Ames, more than 23,000 Republicans voted and nine members of the 10-candidate field showed up. The presidential campaigns of former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander, former Vice President Dan Quayle and future North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole ended shortly afterward as George W. Bush, then the governor of Texas, easily won the contest with 31 percent of the vote to billionaire Steve Forbes' nearly 21 percent. But the dynamics of this year's straw poll have created questions about the real political value of a top finish and what it means in the larger sphere of an unsettled Republican field."

Fortunately for the second (or third) tier candidates, some of the "front-runners" have chosen not to participate, thus providing an opportunity for some to emerge as viable top-tier candidates.

On the other hand, unfortunately for the second-tier candidates (and GOP voters in general?) . . . some of the "front-runners" have chosen not to participate; thus, the straw poll is likely to only have the impact of giving viability to all of the lower-tier campaigns. In sum, none of them are going to lose so badly (how can some of the candidates do any worse than they are already doing in scientific polls?) that they will fold up their tent. I take that back, Tommy Thompson appears to have flatly declared that he is dropping out of the race if he doesn't come in second place at the straw poll. Kudos, Mr Thompson.

I was glad to hear Huckabee say recently that he, like Thompson, does not consider himself an "issue" candidate--that is, a candidate who is running to push an idea and not to actually get the nomination.

Huckabee's uncommon candor (and humor)

Another example of Huckabee's admirable (in my opinion) candor. This Politico article Mike Huckabee's political ministry - Roger Simon - Politico.com describes Huckabee's use of humor in a recent campaign stop, and then follows with this report:

"But in the question period that followed, the mood instantly got a lot more serious when an elderly woman asked him what he was going to do about the illegal immigrants “who are trying to take over” Iowa and do her personal harm. Some prominent border state Republicans — Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and John McCain for example — have been sympathetic to the problems of illegal immigrants and while Arkansas is not technically a border state, Huckabee shares that sensibility. “Most of the immigrants I know are not coming here to commit crimes, but to find a better life,” Huckabee told the woman. “If I was an immigrant, I would want to come here.” Which is not what the woman wanted to hear. Both Romney and Tancredo talk very tough on illegal immigration and that is a popular position among Iowa Republicans. Huckabee is sticking to his guns, but he does emphasize border security these days. “I am mad at Congress for not building better fences,” he told the woman. “Why should it be harder for me to get on a plane in Arkansas than to cross an international border?”"

Aside: One of the best jokes relayed in the article is this one:

“My dad never finished high school,” Huckabee said. “He was fireman and on his days off he worked in a generator shop. The work of the day was always on his hands. The only soap we had in the house was Lava. I was in college before I found out it’s not supposed to hurt when you take a shower.”

Romney's political heatwave

Here's an interesting article about the increasing heat Mitt Romney is taking for his fairly recent conversion on the abortion issue. Romney Pushed on Conservative Credentials - New York Times I thought this comment, from Steve Deace, a Des Moines talk show host is the root of my discomfort with Romney:

Mr. Deace now devotes almost daily parts of his show to attacking Mr. Romney’s shifts on abortion and other issues, including gay rights. “If he has had a sincere conversion on life, no one would be happier than me,” Mr. Deace told listeners Wednesday as he urged them to be wary. “But what is the source of his conviction?”"

All that being said, I have to admit that Romney showed his political mettle during last week's debate when he announced, ""I get tired of people that are holier-than-thou because they've been prolife longer than I have."

Also at WisdomIsVindicated.

Huckabee: speaking "truth" to primary power

One thing I appreciate about Huckabee is his candor (or what appears to be candor). In this WaPo article Huckabee: Dems Would Label Romney a Flip-Flopper - washingtonpost.com Huckabee (aside from stating the obvious: that changing your opinion 180 degrees on an issue is not a political positive on balance) distances himself from Dubya's foreign policy and Dubya's "enhanced interrogation" policy. I'd say these two positions are--perhaps reflexively (in reaction to DEMagoguery on the issues over the past 6 years), not shared by a majority of GOP primary voters. But they are very reasonable positions and these statements/positions will probably enhance Huckabee's credibility.

Also posted at WisdomIsVindicated.

"They like Mike" - Politico.com

Mike Allen of Politico.com reports on an intriguing focus group of today's GOP debate:

"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."

Read the rest of the article here ("They like Mike" - Mike Allen - Politico.com)

Cross-posted at WisdomIsVindicated.

Mitt on message; obnoxious host on Mitt

Over at Jonathan Martin's blog Jonathan Martin's Blog - Politico.com I read about this contentious exchange between Mitt Romney and a local talk radio host in Iowa (when you watch the video you'll see why he is likely to remain "local").

I think that Romney needs to be asked tough questions--regarding his evolution on various issues dear to the GOP base, but there's a difference between asking a candidate questions and acting as know-it-all, wannabe campaign consultant.

Also, Jonathan Martin also has some interesting comments about Romney's challenge as a devout Mormon--or devout member of any religion, running for President. Running as a Mormon is unique in that most Americans are not Mormons, but I agree with Romney's position (as stated in the video) that it is important for Religious Conservatives to demonstrate how they will scrupulously not impose their religious beliefs on others.

If you watch the full video you'll see that Romney is very disciplined about staying on message. And I agree with his message.

A great one-liner and article . . .

The Other Man From Hope: "Muscatine, Iowa
Here in this small but engaging river city, known for its watermelons and sunsets, Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and now a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, wants the two dozen Iowans seated around him in Green's Tea and Coffee to know that he's 'leading' in the polls. This is startling news, since Huckabee has never polled above single digits in any survey. But Huckabee proceeds to explain. He cites the AP's interpretation of a recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll saying that no top-tier candidate--not Rudy Giuliani or John McCain or Mitt Romney or Fred Thompson--did better than 'none of the above.' Pausing, Huckabee announces, 'Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am 'none of the above.'"

Huckabee: Trim Waist, Hefty Record

I just came across this flattering article about Mike Huckabee who was chosen in 2005 as one of the Governing: 2005 Public Officials of the Year/Huckabee. From the article:

MIKE HUCKABEE

Trim Waist, Hefty Record

Mike Huckabee is probably best known nationally for having recently shed more than 100 pounds after being diagnosed with diabetes. As the governor of Arkansas for the past decade, he has done just as much to reshape government, forcing changes in most important areas of state policy.

It's a pretty good overview of his time as governor.

Photo by Sean Moorman

Arkansas Blog: Huckabee gets clubbed

Via Jeremy at Huckabee.wordpress.com I learned of this likely explanation for Mike Huckabee's recent bushwhacking at the hands of Club for Growth. Arkansas Blog: Huckabee gets clubbed.

Huckabee had recruited Madison Murphy, Jackson T. Stephens Jr. and Jim Walton a number of years ago to bankroll his Next Step foundation to work for education reform. Over time, it became clear that Huckabee's aim was more about the governor's political advancement than the sweeping reform the barons had envisioned.

Anyway, along the way, another important issue came up. At a Mansion meeting brokered by Jay Dickey, Huckabee met with Stephens, heir to part of the Stephens Inc. fortune. Stephens, who had toyed with the idea of running for governor, was backing an initiative to remove all the sales tax on groceries. Huckabee promised him he would not be actively involved in the issue. Then he reneged. He came out -- commendably -- against the ruinous proposal. If we had to guess, we'd put DFA boss Richard Weiss at the top of the list of suspects who helped convince Huckabee that his weight was needed in opposition to a government-crippling idea. The initiative failed by a huge margin. Stephens never forgave Huckabee for breaking his word. Stephens is a major supporter of the Club for Growth. Follow the dots.

Follow the dots, indeed . . . and connect the money.

Club for Growth's inexplicable attack on Huckabee--update

I have to say that the Club for Growth's $85k attack ad buy this week (ironically, masked as "call Mike Huckabee and tell him . . ." ads) seems a bit out of whack. Real Clear Politics - News - Mid Term Elections - Elections 2008 - Opinion - Commentary - TIME. I am familiar with Club for Growth's work--heck, I'm a "member," and I generally support the values of the Club for Growth and I certainly support the idea of working to help a good candidate emerge from a primary.

Likewise, I won't deny that a couple of Huckabee's decisions to condone or advance tax increases while governor of Arkansas aren't easy to defend. By saying that, I'm not conceding that any defense amounts to shilling; I'm just saying that a Conservative voter has a right to ask why Huckabee failed to categorically oppose tax increases. I think he has a legitimate explanation.

But I'm more interested in Club for Growth's explanation for going jugular via a massive media buy against an admittedly second-tier candidate more than six months prior to the election (and one week prior to the Ames Straw Poll). If Huckabee is so bad on taxes and spending (economic issues) then surely the other front runners are as suspect . . . Rudy? Romney? McCain? These guys don't have comparable economic blemishes? Then--as top-tier-types, wouldn't they be more suitable for attack? If the answer is that they're not competing in the Ames Straw Poll, then it appears that Huckabee is being targeted in favor of some other second-tier candidate, no?

UPDATE: It appears that the clubbing isn't so inexplicable . . .

Will converting to Catholicism suffice?

I was trying to be sympathetic to Brownback in regard to anti-Catholic comments by a Huckabee supporter, but I'm starting to get annoyed. Brownback Campaign Again Calls Huckabee to Denounce 'Anti-Catholic' Slur | Christianpost.com It really is hard not to conclude that Brownback et al are trying to make hay of this incident.

Cross-posted at WisdomisVindicated.

Maybe Brownback should check his inbox before calling his Press Secretary

I just saw this AP report . . . Senator Sam Brownback says Mike Huckabee should apologize for anti-Catholic comments made by a supporter of Huckabee in an email. 3 senators call for regional primaries for 2012 election - The Boston Globe:

"Brownback wants apology
WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential hopeful Sam Brownback said rival Mike Huckabee should apologize for a supporter's 'prejudiced whisper campaign' against Brownback for being Catholic."

I certainly understand Brownback taking offense, but anyone who is paying attention (vs. someone who is trying to make political hay of the situation?) would know that Huckabee has already attempted to make amends.

Cross-posted at WisdomIsVindicated.