As a native Arkansan, many may view me as a biased fan of the former Governor of AR, Mike Huckabee. True, part of my support for the man comes from a history of great experiences with him and his family, but I would like to take a moment ask readers to reflect on what could possibly be a repeat of history.
Over a decade ago, another man from Hope, AR, former President Bill Clinton was an underdog in the 1992 Presidential race, and he too proved to be the dark horse in the competition.
Of course, Governor Huckabee and President Clinton have starkly opposing political views, but the story of their "come out of nowhere" pasts are similar.
Let's think about this for a second. As I've said before, right now voters are looking for something new and something fresh i.e. Barackobamamania. Every candidate and their dog thinks they can win the open '08 seat i.e. 16 people have announced the formations of their exploratory committees.
But, what these candidates and the media have to understand in reference to conservative voters is that just as the democrats are looking for their "hero" in '08, so are the Republicans. And, when "push comes to shove", the republican primary will be one heated battle to watch. Galvanized by the '06 elections, the Republican base will be searching the crowded field for the "true conservative", and I believe that when they do, they will seek out Mike Huckabee. As he stated on Meet the Press, he does not apologize for his beliefs.
- He is pro-life.
- He believes in the institution of marriage as the union between a man and a woman.
- He truly can "feel your pain" as a former minister who has spent several hours beside deathbeds and helping families deal with crises.
- He served as a healer to AR by assuming the position of Governor after a corrupt democratic governor by the name of Jim Guy Tucker was asked to step down.
- He thrives as the underdog. After then being elected to two 4-year terms, this led to an unusual 10-year stint as AR's 4th Republican governor since Reconstruction.
- What better position to prepare you for President of the United States than the position of Governor? You are the Commander-and-Chief of a state and must work with a state legislature.
- Who better to work with a Democratic congress than someone who has had to do it for 10 years already? Governor Huckabee never had a Republican state Congress in AR.
- He can carry the South.
- He was President of the bipartisan National Governors Association again proving his ability to work with "both sides of the aisle".
- He is not tied to the Iraq war. He has not served in US Congress or Senate and seemingly escapes much of the anti-war criticism.
- HE IS AN INCREDIBLE SPEAKER. Many people will attest to this as he as spoken all over the country. Like Clinton, he's articulate with southern charm.
- He is a fresh face with a positive non-DC-insider outlook.
- He can match the "cool factor." He plays guitar in a band called Capitol Offense.
If I were a betting woman, I'd put my money on Huckabee's presence on the '08 ticket. If Republicans are smart, they will give him a chance.
Posted by princella at January 30, 2007 11:49 AM
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Princella,
I have a sense that the field is open for someone new, I don't know a lot of people in the excited segment of our win-the-war party who are excited about McCain or Giuliani, and Romney is not exactly a social conservative. Although from a neighboring state, all I know of your governor is what I saw of him at televised hearings, and he comes across as smart but not too intellectual (like Gingrich may be), as righteous but not judgmental (like Tancredo may appear). We need someone the whole country can get behind, and if Huckabee can win Arkansas, he can get support from Reagan Democrats. It's true he may not satisfy fiscal conservatives, but most people in the last several years voted for morals, against terrorism, and against corruption, so he would fit into that picture. To be frank, if Iraq doesn't turn around in six months, no President will be electable who wants to persevere, so I see it's going to either be a positive for Huckabee if it gets better, or a neutral even if it doesn't.
Posted by: Morris at January 30, 2007 12:54 PM
Posted by:
BSR at January 30, 2007 01:37 PM
I certainly like the idea of having someone in the White House with Clinton's charm and humble origins, but without his womanizing and leftward leanings (although Mr. Bill is not as far left, by any means, as Ms. Pelosi and some others in his party), and with some talent for public speaking.
I like Tom Tancredo because he's serious about securing our borders, but it's a difficult jump from congressman to president.
I think I can be counted as someone who is not too excited about Giuliani, McCain and Romney, as Morris suggests (except that I'm not a member of the GOP), or even Gingrich. Maybe Huckabee is not quite a fiscal conservative, but with the huge spending increases we've had under Bush, there's some room for improvement, without going to the other extreme and abolishing entire departments, as the class of '94 tried to do.
Posted by: Bigfoot at January 30, 2007 01:56 PM
Huckabee is the only Republican I see that I could truly support to be the President of the United States, and I have thought so for a long time. I think that he definitely will surprise us all in the next election, and I hope that he is the winner of the Republian primaries and the general election next year.
Posted by:
shoelimpy™ at January 30, 2007 03:51 PM
Princella, thanks for the update on Huckabee. I'm from the Rocky Mountain area, and am not familiar with him, so it was helpful to get your perspective.
I like Tancredo a LOT, but as a Representative he has no experience in real leadership. He's not nearly as judgmental as he is portrayed, but is very thoughtful and rational----and not afraid to say what he thinks. He has the integrity and the moral courage, but probably lacks the experience to be President.
But Huckabee sounds good, and thanks to you I will start to pay more attention to him.
I have been saying for a long time that my take on national politics is that the Dems have done such a brilliant job of demonizing Bush, millions did not vote for him even though their own candidates were pretty awful just because of the emotional element. On the other hand, the Democrat Party has been hijacked by the radical Left, which has left those same millions in a very tough spot---they aren't too crazy about where their own party is going, but on the other hand sure couldn't support that most evil of men, Bush. I envision them as backed up against a retaining wall of irrational dislike, and I have thought for a long time that if the Dems continue on the course they are following now and nominate a real radical, and/or a polarizing figure like Hillary, all we have to do is have a genial, likable, competent kind of guy for that retaining wall of prejudice to come down, with those moderate Dems flooding over to our side.
All the Dems had against Bush was character assassination, and that is a very dangerous tool to keep taking out of the shed. At some point, even the most naive will start to catch on that their party is trying to substitute irrational loathing for a genuine platform and real ideas.
They will always retain those who get off on being irrational and hateful, but I think with a likable candidate to offset the radical Leftism and/or strident shrillness and message of hate the Left depends on, a lot of Dems will abdicate. The shrill hypocisy and spitefulness of the Clinton administration drove me to an examination of what else was out there, and I think it will happen to more and more all the time, once the polarizing Bush is gone.
BTW, it seems that Hill is running against Bush---did you see that? Someone needs to tell her he won't be on the ticket this election, and maybe she should start working on issues instead of running against HIM.
Posted by: Almiranta at January 30, 2007 03:57 PM
Won't even make it out of the primaries. Can you say Willie Horton? McCain and the like won't let him forget he pardon a rapist that went on to rape again in another state. He is trying the old Republican trick of not taking responsibility for his actions and blame it on Clinton.
Posted by: Josh Keaton at January 30, 2007 05:37 PM
BTW, it seems that Hill is running against Bush---did you see that? Someone needs to tell her he won't be on the ticket this election, and maybe she should start working on issues instead of running against HIM.
Almiranta, what I see with Hill is that she's gonna get major passes from this biased media. They claimed they were good for 15 points during Ol' Spitball's failed '04 run; I'd assert that they're worth 20-25 points for Hill. They're biased; they've got no balls to ask the tough questions, and they're shilling for her. It's an uphill battle for anyone in the GOP field. Don't expect anyone to beat her...
Posted by: God is Great--Libs I Hate... at January 30, 2007 06:39 PM
I, too, do not know much about Mike Huckabee and will be keeping tabs on him from now on. He sounds like someone I would vote for. Thanks P!
Speaking of Hillary ... Gallup asked a national sample of Democratic primary voters from Jan. 5-7 if they'd vote for Hillary if the primary were today. About a third (34 percent) said they definitely would, and about half (52 percent) said they "might consider" voting for her.
The remaining 14 percent said they would "definitely not" support her in the primary.
Then Gallup followed up with the two-thirds of the sample that was not "definitely" voting for Hillary - asking why. The No. 1 reason? They felt she couldn't win.
Twenty-nine percent cited the fear that she would lose the general election; 16 percent mentioned her inability to win the nomination as a "major reason" for not voting for her. Many cited both.
(Only 26 percent said the major reason for their lack of support was disagreement on the issues; 11 percent cited personal dislike of her, and 10 percent said they didn't want "another Clinton in the White House.")
Amen to the last point. I'll be working 24 hours a day at the GOP headquarters to make sure that ain't gonna happen. :-)
Posted by: kimberly4bush at January 30, 2007 07:09 PM
Huckabee did raise taxes did he not?
I also thought he had a "Willie Horton" in his closet. I'll research that.
Posted by: Tony Teveris at January 30, 2007 07:26 PM
As a left-leaning, Independent, member of the U.S. Military. I would suggest every Republican elect Gov. Huckabee. He's a great speaker, and uniter (worked with a huge Dem congress). Gov's and Gen's win historicaly. I would pray to God to see Gov. Huckabee and Gen. Wes Clark (which I will support, once he decides to run) go toe to toe in a national election. Pure, honest, and rightful debate about politics. There isn't much bad to say about either of them, and I'm not even from Arkansas! It would be the first election to pick the better of two goods in long time. Spread the word for both!
Posted by: IndyJim at January 31, 2007 12:24 AM
IndyJim...why would you support Wes Clark? Just curiuous....
Posted by: Almiranta at January 31, 2007 12:02 PM
I spent a few minutes looking for info on the claim made by Josh, who predicted another "Willie Horton" moment for Huckabee based on Josh's claim that he pardoned a rapist who went on to kill.
I found some confusion on the matter, finding approximately equal references to "pardon" and "parole" to describe how the man was set free.
At this point, no matter which is correct, I wonder if the BS crowd is planning to claim this was anything more than a mistake. Are they planning to set up some sort of wierd conspiracy theory centered on this tragedy?
They were mad at Bush because he did NOT pardon convicted murderers, so I am curious about how they plan to handle this.
Josh tips us off that they may be planning another irrelevant vicious and unfounded attack based on manipulation of fact to create a hysterical knee-jerk reaction, a la Willie Horton. Wouldn't surprise me a bit. Maybe they can hire the same sleazy guy who created thst shameful pickup truck/Texas license plate/dangling chain ad that they ran to try to connect Bush with the dragging death of that man in Texas.
But we all know that no matter who runs for the Republican side, there will be no holds barred, and the opposition will stoop to anything, no matter how low, to try to slime him or her.
Me? Right now I like Huckabee/Rice vs. Clinton/Obama. One thing about Mike---being from Arkansas, he has access to the real lowdon on Comrade Clinton.
Posted by: Almiranta at January 31, 2007 12:23 PM
Wes Clark? Bwahahahahaha!!!
Posted by: God is Great--Libs I Hate... at January 31, 2007 06:31 PM
Order Matt and Mark's book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble
Princella,
I have a sense that the field is open for someone new, I don't know a lot of people in the excited segment of our win-the-war party who are excited about McCain or Giuliani, and Romney is not exactly a social conservative. Although from a neighboring state, all I know of your governor is what I saw of him at televised hearings, and he comes across as smart but not too intellectual (like Gingrich may be), as righteous but not judgmental (like Tancredo may appear). We need someone the whole country can get behind, and if Huckabee can win Arkansas, he can get support from Reagan Democrats. It's true he may not satisfy fiscal conservatives, but most people in the last several years voted for morals, against terrorism, and against corruption, so he would fit into that picture. To be frank, if Iraq doesn't turn around in six months, no President will be electable who wants to persevere, so I see it's going to either be a positive for Huckabee if it gets better, or a neutral even if it doesn't.
Great post.
I certainly like the idea of having someone in the White House with Clinton's charm and humble origins, but without his womanizing and leftward leanings (although Mr. Bill is not as far left, by any means, as Ms. Pelosi and some others in his party), and with some talent for public speaking.
I like Tom Tancredo because he's serious about securing our borders, but it's a difficult jump from congressman to president.
I think I can be counted as someone who is not too excited about Giuliani, McCain and Romney, as Morris suggests (except that I'm not a member of the GOP), or even Gingrich. Maybe Huckabee is not quite a fiscal conservative, but with the huge spending increases we've had under Bush, there's some room for improvement, without going to the other extreme and abolishing entire departments, as the class of '94 tried to do.
Huckabee is the only Republican I see that I could truly support to be the President of the United States, and I have thought so for a long time. I think that he definitely will surprise us all in the next election, and I hope that he is the winner of the Republian primaries and the general election next year.
Princella, thanks for the update on Huckabee. I'm from the Rocky Mountain area, and am not familiar with him, so it was helpful to get your perspective.
I like Tancredo a LOT, but as a Representative he has no experience in real leadership. He's not nearly as judgmental as he is portrayed, but is very thoughtful and rational----and not afraid to say what he thinks. He has the integrity and the moral courage, but probably lacks the experience to be President.
But Huckabee sounds good, and thanks to you I will start to pay more attention to him.
I have been saying for a long time that my take on national politics is that the Dems have done such a brilliant job of demonizing Bush, millions did not vote for him even though their own candidates were pretty awful just because of the emotional element. On the other hand, the Democrat Party has been hijacked by the radical Left, which has left those same millions in a very tough spot---they aren't too crazy about where their own party is going, but on the other hand sure couldn't support that most evil of men, Bush. I envision them as backed up against a retaining wall of irrational dislike, and I have thought for a long time that if the Dems continue on the course they are following now and nominate a real radical, and/or a polarizing figure like Hillary, all we have to do is have a genial, likable, competent kind of guy for that retaining wall of prejudice to come down, with those moderate Dems flooding over to our side.
All the Dems had against Bush was character assassination, and that is a very dangerous tool to keep taking out of the shed. At some point, even the most naive will start to catch on that their party is trying to substitute irrational loathing for a genuine platform and real ideas.
They will always retain those who get off on being irrational and hateful, but I think with a likable candidate to offset the radical Leftism and/or strident shrillness and message of hate the Left depends on, a lot of Dems will abdicate. The shrill hypocisy and spitefulness of the Clinton administration drove me to an examination of what else was out there, and I think it will happen to more and more all the time, once the polarizing Bush is gone.
BTW, it seems that Hill is running against Bush---did you see that? Someone needs to tell her he won't be on the ticket this election, and maybe she should start working on issues instead of running against HIM.
Won't even make it out of the primaries. Can you say Willie Horton? McCain and the like won't let him forget he pardon a rapist that went on to rape again in another state. He is trying the old Republican trick of not taking responsibility for his actions and blame it on Clinton.
BTW, it seems that Hill is running against Bush---did you see that? Someone needs to tell her he won't be on the ticket this election, and maybe she should start working on issues instead of running against HIM.
Almiranta, what I see with Hill is that she's gonna get major passes from this biased media. They claimed they were good for 15 points during Ol' Spitball's failed '04 run; I'd assert that they're worth 20-25 points for Hill. They're biased; they've got no balls to ask the tough questions, and they're shilling for her. It's an uphill battle for anyone in the GOP field. Don't expect anyone to beat her...
I, too, do not know much about Mike Huckabee and will be keeping tabs on him from now on. He sounds like someone I would vote for. Thanks P!
Speaking of Hillary ... Gallup asked a national sample of Democratic primary voters from Jan. 5-7 if they'd vote for Hillary if the primary were today. About a third (34 percent) said they definitely would, and about half (52 percent) said they "might consider" voting for her.
The remaining 14 percent said they would "definitely not" support her in the primary.
Then Gallup followed up with the two-thirds of the sample that was not "definitely" voting for Hillary - asking why. The No. 1 reason? They felt she couldn't win.
Twenty-nine percent cited the fear that she would lose the general election; 16 percent mentioned her inability to win the nomination as a "major reason" for not voting for her. Many cited both.
(Only 26 percent said the major reason for their lack of support was disagreement on the issues; 11 percent cited personal dislike of her, and 10 percent said they didn't want "another Clinton in the White House.")
Amen to the last point. I'll be working 24 hours a day at the GOP headquarters to make sure that ain't gonna happen. :-)
Huckabee did raise taxes did he not?
I also thought he had a "Willie Horton" in his closet. I'll research that.
As a left-leaning, Independent, member of the U.S. Military. I would suggest every Republican elect Gov. Huckabee. He's a great speaker, and uniter (worked with a huge Dem congress). Gov's and Gen's win historicaly. I would pray to God to see Gov. Huckabee and Gen. Wes Clark (which I will support, once he decides to run) go toe to toe in a national election. Pure, honest, and rightful debate about politics. There isn't much bad to say about either of them, and I'm not even from Arkansas! It would be the first election to pick the better of two goods in long time. Spread the word for both!
IndyJim...why would you support Wes Clark? Just curiuous....
I spent a few minutes looking for info on the claim made by Josh, who predicted another "Willie Horton" moment for Huckabee based on Josh's claim that he pardoned a rapist who went on to kill.
I found some confusion on the matter, finding approximately equal references to "pardon" and "parole" to describe how the man was set free.
At this point, no matter which is correct, I wonder if the BS crowd is planning to claim this was anything more than a mistake. Are they planning to set up some sort of wierd conspiracy theory centered on this tragedy?
They were mad at Bush because he did NOT pardon convicted murderers, so I am curious about how they plan to handle this.
Josh tips us off that they may be planning another irrelevant vicious and unfounded attack based on manipulation of fact to create a hysterical knee-jerk reaction, a la Willie Horton. Wouldn't surprise me a bit. Maybe they can hire the same sleazy guy who created thst shameful pickup truck/Texas license plate/dangling chain ad that they ran to try to connect Bush with the dragging death of that man in Texas.
But we all know that no matter who runs for the Republican side, there will be no holds barred, and the opposition will stoop to anything, no matter how low, to try to slime him or her.
Me? Right now I like Huckabee/Rice vs. Clinton/Obama. One thing about Mike---being from Arkansas, he has access to the real lowdon on Comrade Clinton.
Wes Clark? Bwahahahahaha!!!