Huckabee Public Schedule for Friday (1/18/08)

8:00 AM – 9:00AM – Sun City Rally
Sun City Community Center
Sun City Hilton Head
138 King’s Creek Drive
Bluffton, SC 29909

10:00AM – 11:00AM – Aiken Airport Rally
Aiken Municipal Airport
129 Aviation Blvd.
Aiken, SC 29805

12:00PM – 1:00PM – Greenville Rally
Greenville Technical College
506 S Pleasantburg Dr
Greenville, SC 29607

3:00PM – 4:00PM – Spartanburg Rally
Wofford College
429 North Church Street
Spartanburg, SC 29303

6:00PM – 7:00PM – York County Rally
Winthrop University
McBryde Hall
701 Oakland Ave
Rock Hill, SC 29733

9:00PM – 10:00PM – Columbia Event
University of South Carolina
Capstone Conference Center
Columbia, SC 29208

Leading Arkansas Businessmen Supporting Huckabee

News Release: Arkansas Businessmen Release Statement Supporting Former Governor and Presidential Candidate, Mike Huckabee

January 16, 2008

Columbia, SC - Today, the following businessmen from Arkansas released a statement in support of former Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee: Scott T. Ford, President and CEO, Alltel Corporation; Warren A. Stephens, President and CEO, Stephens Inc.; Madison Murphy, Former Chairman, Murphy Oil Corporation; John Tyson, Chairman of the Board, Tyson Foods, Inc; and French Hill, Chairman and CEO, Delta Trust and Banking Corporation:

"We are a traditionally bi-partisan group of executives of several of the largest corporations headquartered in the State of Arkansas, each with considerable exposure to the Administration of Governor Mike Huckabee. Of late, Governor Huckabee has attracted what we believe to be unwarranted criticism regarding his business record."

"Our experience with Governor Huckabee indicates that he not only values greatly the freedoms of religion and liberty, but of the free market as well. He is an atypical leader who garnered the respect of not only the professional business community but of the working men and women across our State as well."

"When he became our Governor, he inherited our long sub-standard education system, infrastructure, and regulatory climate. Under his leadership, we were able to grow our businesses, increase our employment, reduce our litigation exposure and enjoy, along with all of our fellow Arkansans, a healthier economy, improved schools, updated highways, and new healthcare delivery facilities."

"In our support of Governor Huckabee's truly conservative, small government business outlook and his pragmatic, yet compassionate style of governing, we invite you to look past the shallow rhetoric of yet another campaign season to see what we have experienced first hand - that with the right political leadership in place, businesses and citizens can jointly prosper and as they do, they contribute so much more to the economic and societal fabric of a community than simply tax revenues."

Huckabee to Campaign with Chuck Norris and Ric Flair on Thursday (1/17/08)

Media Advisory: Mike Huckabee to Campaign with Chuck Norris and Ric Flair on Thursday, January 17, 2008

Little Rock, AR – Former Arkansas Governor and Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee will campaign with martial arts expert and action hero Chuck Norris, as well as former 16-time World Wrestling Champion Ric Flair at the following events in South Carolina on Thursday, January 17, 2008.

NOTE: Subject to change.

Thursday, January 17, 2008
8:30 a.m. ET – Charleston, SC – Addresses employees at Nucor Steel Berkeley located at 1455 Hagan Avenue in Huger, SC. (Nucor employees and press only)

11:00 a.m. ET – Myrtle Beach, SC – Attends “Huckabee for President” Rally at the General Aviation Hangar of the Myrtle Beach Airport, located at 1100 Jetport Road.

12:45 p.m. ET – Florence, SC - Attends “Huckabee for President” Rally at the Powers Aviation Terminal of the Florence Airport, located 500 South McCall Boulevard.

3:00 p.m. ET – Clemson, SC – Attends “Huckabee for President” Rally with martial arts expert Chuck Norris and former 16 time World Wrestling Champion Ric Flair at the Jervey Athletic Center on the campus of Clemson University, located at 100 Perimeter Road.

5:30 p.m. ET – Lexington, SC – Attends Grand Opening of the office of the Lexington County Republican Party, located at 109 Old Chapin Road at The Shoppes at Flight Deck.

7:00 p.m. ET – Columbia, SC – Media Availability at the Capital City Club, located on the 25th Floor of 1201 Main Street.

8:45 p.m. ET – Hilton Head, SC – Meet and Greet with supporters at the Savannah-Hilton Head Island Airport at 1001 Davidson Drive, Suite 150 in Savannah.

Response to "Push Polling" Charges

There has been a lot of press, blog postings and emails recently regarding "Common Sense Issues" ... the group that has run anti-McCain, anti-Romney and anti-Thompson push polls in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan and NOW South Carolina.

Many of Gov. Huckabee's rivals have been seeking to capitalize on this situation to frame Gov. Huckabee as a Christian hypocrite and to under cut the campaign's positive message by tying him to this group ... and that somehow he is controlling this group and could make them stop if he wanted to.

The point these opponents fail to make is that Common Sense Issues (under various alias') has been doing push polling for awhile in multiple races across the country ... and no candidate (including Gov. Huckabee) has been successful in getting them to stop.

Here are a few:

(1) Common Sense Maryland (push polled for Michael Steele)
http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=12877
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/66/23637
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/02/AR2006110201672.html

(2) Common Sense Ohio (push polled for Ken Blackwell)
http://tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001903.php
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-simon/pushpolls-what-is-commo_b_77551.html
http://www.plunderbund.com/2006/10/01/push-poll-from-common-sense-ohio/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-49yka6SNRI (a negative ad funded by CS Ohio)

(3) Common Sense Tennessee (push polling for Bob Corker)
http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2006/10/30/procter__gamble_exec_behind_senate_push_poll
http://www.slate.com/id/2152529/

(4) Common Sense Montana (push polling for Conrad Burns)
http://www.sporky.net/wp_archives/2006/11/05/sporkynet%e2%80%99s-super-special-election-edition-or-takin%e2%80%99-it-to-the-man/
http://grannyinsanity.blogspot.com/2006/10/burns-gets-another-push-poll.html

(5) Common Sense Colorado (push polling against Mark Udal - The Colorado GOP hasn't picked their candidate to take on Udal yet)
http://www.politicswest.com/2008_election/14486/attack_ad_group_also_stirring_controversy_iowa

Are the Thompson/McCain/Romney campaigns REALLY going to make the argument that all FOUR of these candidates along with Governor Huckabee are secretly controlling this group and giving them their "behind the scenes blessing"?!?!?!?

Finally, some are saying that Governor Huckabee needs to do more ... Below is a list of all that Gov. Huckabee and his campaign have done to date. What more can he do?

December 3, 2007 - Huckabee Campaign Denounces Push Polls
http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Blogs.View&Blog_id=830

December 4, 2007 - Huckabee speaks out in NY Times interview against Push Polls
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/04/us/politics/04huckabee.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

December 15, 2007 - Huckabee Campaign Denounces Push Polls - Again
http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Blogs.View&Blog_id=909&CommentPage=2

December 17, 2007 - Huckabee Campaign asks New Hampshire AG for an Investigation into Push Polling
http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Newsroom.PressRelease&ID=443
http://www.newsweek.com/id/88754

January 16, 2007 - Huckabee Campaign Denounces Push Polls - Again
http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Newsroom.PressRelease&ID=509

The fact is the ONLY person/group that is being helped by these push polls are the owners of ccAdvertising which seems to be making ALOT of money off running some highly ineffective campaigns ... which mainly seem to hurt the candidates they "claim" to help.

UPDATE: Apparently, the only campaign that has paid ccAdvertising to make calls on its behalf was the Romney campaign which spent $53,755 for "survey research" prior to the Iowa Straw Poll in August. Full Story ... HERE

Huckabee Signs “No Amnesty” Pledge in SC

At an event sponsored, by two anti-illegal immigration umbrella groups, Huckabee signed a “No Amnesty” Pledge, that read in part that as president he would oppose” amnesty or any other special path to citzenship for the millions of the foreign nationals unlawfully present in the United States.”

Roy Beck, head of Americans for Better Immigration,one of the event organizers, said Huckabee was the only presidential candidate so far to sign the pledge.

Full Story & Video Clip

HERE

Rasmussen National Poll: Huck opens 3 pt lead on Giuliani

Still not peaking ....

Full results HERE

Huckabee 20
Giuliani 17
McCain 13
Romney 13
Thompson 10

MORE importantly, Heels4Huck is proud to report that Huckabee has opened a 16 point lead on Rudy and a 17 point lead on Fred.

Mike Huckabee 33
Rudy Giuliani 17
Fred Thompson 16
Mitt Romney 9
John McCain 8
Ron Paul 3
Undecided 10

Full Report HERE

Governor Reagan: "Pro-Life Liberal"???

What would the Club for Growth have said about Governor Ronald Reagan in 1980???

[Governor Reagan] "signed a series of tax increases aimed at ending the state’s deficit. Nonetheless, during his tenure California’s budget more than doubled and the number of state employees increased significantly.] Columbia Encyclopedia

"Unfortunately, Governor Reagan's efforts to reduce taxes and spending in the Golden State met with less success. ... Reagan reluctantly signed a tax increase in 1967." National Review

"[Governor] Reagan did institute property and inventory tax cuts, but during his tenure the sales tax was increased to six percent and withholding was introduced to the state income tax system. Under Reagan’s administration, state funding for public schools (grades K- 12) increased 105 percent (although enrollment went up only 5 percent), state support for junior colleges increased 323 percent, and grants and loans to college students increased 900 percent" Reason Magazine

"But in 1968, California was a high tax state -- among the top 10 in the country. The previous year, California's new Republican governor, Ronald Reagan, had just called for, and signed, the biggest tax increase in the history of any state." Sacramento Bee

"Gov. Reagan raised taxes by an amount equal to 30% of the general fund" Los Angeles Times

"[Governor Reagan] was a liberal Democrat and a supporter of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal in the 1930s ... [Governor Reagan] signed a series of tax increases aimed at ending the state's deficit. Nonetheless, during his tenure California's budget more than doubled and the number of state employees increased significantly." Factmonster

Governor Reagan in 1973: "When I took office in 1967, we discovered that the promise of "no tax increases" could not be carried out. ... In seven years we've managed to increase state support for public schools by 92 per cent, although enrollment this year is less than 6 per cent grater than it was in 1967." National Review

... Thank goodness the Club for Growth wasn't around in 1980 to go after Ronald Reagan and selectively twist his record like they do against so many others today.

Huck supporters like his softer side ... Politico.com

Politico has a great article HERE.

Pertinent Portion:

"[Rep. Bob] Inglis, a South Carolina Republican, said that despite being wooed by all the leading GOP presidential candidates, he went with Huckabee because of his emphasis on more consumer-friendly issues like health care, federal arts funding, climate change and other topics that would appeal to broad group of voters, not just traditional social and Christian conservatives.

“It’s probably not what people would have expected out of a Baptist preacher from Arkansas," Inglis said in an interview. “He's a conservative who’s focused on the future, and rooted in principle and experience. It’s the reason people are taking a look.”

...
“I certainly think social issues matter, because they go to the core of our convictions and principles. But I don’t think that’s all there is,” Huckabee said after preaching Sunday morning at First Baptist Church in Fountain Inn, S.C., a small upstate community. “People look at a history of effective government. People want somebody who actually has a record of being able to accomplish something — not just talk about it, but do it.”

New Yorker Article: HUCKABEE?

Full Article HERE

Pertinent Portions:

On a recent day that Huckabee spent in Seattle, where he went to scare up a little cash (he has raised and spent a tiny fraction of his opponents’), his unexpectedness was fully on view. A luncheon speech to a roomful of like-minded supporters—such people do exist even in the land of Microsoft—was remarkable for what it wasn’t. The snobbery of cultural élites, the “homosexual agenda,” the alleged desire of Democrats to surrender to Islamofascists—these went unmentioned, as did abortion, gay marriage, and the liberal media. Nor did he have anything unpleasant to say about any of the other candidates of either party, unless you count an otherwise respectful reference to Hillary Clinton as “the presumptive Democrat nominee.” (“We get along cordially,” he said, referring to the Clintons. “They’ve campaigned against me and raised money for every opponent I ever had, and that’s O.K., because I’ve campaigned against them just as fervently.”)
...
Like another governor from Hope who once ran for President, Candidate Huckabee reserves his real passion for matters domestic. On education, he talked not about standardized tests or back-to-basics but about something like their polar opposite. “We have to change and reform the education system so that we’re capturing both the left and the right sides of the kid’s brain,” he said. “There ought to be a new focus not just in math and science—which there needs to be—but also a balanced focus on music and art and right-side-of-the-brain activities. Otherwise, we end up with an education system that’s like a data download—a great database but no processor.” On health, he skipped the usual denunciations of socialized medicine and noted, as Republicans seldom do, that “we spend so much more per capita than any other country on earth”—far more than second-place Switzerland. “The current system says, ‘We won’t pay a hundred and fifty dollars for the visit to the podiatrist, we’ll wait until there’s a thirty-thousand-dollar amputation and we’ll cover that.’ ” Huckabee, who has Type 2 diabetes (but lost a hundred pounds and now runs marathons), knows what he’s talking about.
...
To all appearances, Huckabee’s gentle rhetoric is a reflection of temperament, not a stylistic tactic. Arkansans caution that he is capable of churlishness. But his history suggests that he prefers consensus to confrontation, that he regards government as a tool for social betterment, and that he has little taste for war, cultural or otherwise. He seems to regard liberalism not as a moral evil, a mental disease, or a character flaw—merely as a political point of view he mostly disagrees with. That may not seem like much, but it makes a nice change. If talk radio hears about it, though, it might be enough to keep him from the top of the ticket.

YOU be the Somebody ... YOU do the Something ...

Zig Ziglar endorses Huckabee

The Real Deal - RealClearPolitics.com 11/14/07

Full Story HERE

The Real Deal
By Reid Wilson

It's official: Mike Huckabee is really, actually, shockingly on the move, and in a big way. The latest polls out of Iowa, dating back to the middle of October, show what is now more than a few good days for the former Arkansas Governor: They show him clearly, solidly in second place in the GOP race. That's a huge accomplishment for a guy with no money.

In a mid-October University of Iowa poll, Huckabee was tied for second place. In subsequent polls from American Research Group, Zogby, CBS/New York Times and Strategic Vision, he's in second place by himself, by as many as seven points, in the Strategic Vision poll, and six points, in the CBS/NYT poll. He trails only Mitt Romney, though by 12.8 points in the latest RCP Iowa Average.

The Huckmentum is unbelievable, considering that Huckabee has fewer staffers total than Romney has in Iowa alone. ... look for Huckabee to sustain his momentum. The Iowa Christian vote is estimated by some to be as high as 40% of the GOP base. If Huckabee can form a coalition of even half those voters, he will vault himself into serious contention. ...

RealClearPolitics.com Aggregate Poll Link

Best response I've seen for Fund/Club For Growth Attacks ...

... is found HERE

Lucas Roebuck simply rips apart the John Fund article point by point.

Huckabee Responds to Fund Attack Column

Link to John Fund Article HERE

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee wrote the following letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal in response to Friday’s column by John Fund:


To the Editor:

John Fund’s view of my ten-and-a-half-year record as governor of Arkansas and my vision for America’s future (“Another Man from Hope, Who is Mike Huckabee?”) calls for me to set the record straight.

It’s important to note that every living Republican in Arkansas who has been elected to either a statewide or a federal office has endorsed my candidacy. I’m grateful for their support and proud that in 1998, I received the largest percentage of votes ever received by a Republican gubernatorial nominee in Arkansas, and that Arkansans re-elected me to another four-year term in November 2002.

I am even prouder that, throughout my tenure as governor and lieutenant governor of Arkansas, I campaigned tirelessly for countless Republican candidates for the state house and federal office – and even helped get some elected.

As governor, I pushed through the Arkansas Legislature the first major, broad-based tax cuts in state history — a $90 million tax relief package for Arkansas families; led efforts to establish a Property Taxpayers' Bill of Rights; and created a welfare reform program that reduced the welfare rolls in the state by almost 50 percent. We also doubled the standard deduction to $2,000 for single taxpayers and $4,000 for those who are married. In total, I led the fight to cut taxes and fees over 90 times during my ten-and-a-half years as governor, saving the people of Arkansas almost $380 million. When I left office, Arkansas had over $800 million in state surplus.

One of my proudest achievements as governor was signing legislation creating ARKids First – creating health insurance coverage for more than 70,000 Arkansas children who otherwise might have gone without. I am firmly committed to finding a way to provide health care and a better education for America’s children, who hold the key to our nation’s future. Unfortunately, there seems to be a serious misunderstanding about my SCHIP comment at a recent presidential debate.

I was not criticizing President Bush’s veto as a matter of policy, but as a matter of politics. I fully believe that Bush should have negotiated a compromise and not let it get to the point of a veto. Bush indicated he was willing to spend more than the $5 billion he originally proposed, but less than the $35 billion the Democrats pushed through, so there was clearly room to negotiate. In no way do I support spending an additional $35 billion, or moving two million children from private insurance to government insurance, or letting SCHIP be a step on the path to socialized medicine.

I believe that we must be good stewards of our environment and support many paths to reducing our emission of greenhouse gases, such as more nuclear power and alternative sources of clean energy. As part of our overall effort, I also support a cap and trade system, which has worked well for reduction of sulphur dioxide emissions. However, I do not agree with those who want all allowances to be auctioned off because I believe that will create too great a burden on businesses. The alternative to cap and trade is a carbon tax, which I don’t support.

It is difficult to fully understand the institutional challenges of a Republican running for office in Arkansas. In 1993, when I was elected lieutenant governor, I was the fourth Republican to be elected to statewide office since Reconstruction. Students of Arkansas politics should talk to former U.S. Senator Tim Hutchinson, U.S. Rep. John Boozman or former Rep. Jay Dickey, all of whom support my candidacy for president, but none of whom is cited in Fund’s column, about these challenges.
Nevertheless, running for election and re-election, and more importantly, governing in an overwhelmingly Democratic state, prepared me to climb that next mountain: running for president and leading America with an optimistic vision and solid plans to successfully confront the complex challenges we face today.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Mike Huckabee
Presidential Candidate
Former Governor of Arkansas (1996-2007)

Interesting reporting from Slate.com

Full Story HERE

Pertinent Portions:
While reporting on Mitt Romney's campaign last week, I spent a lot of time talking to Republicans in Iowa and New Hampshire, most of them unaffiliated voters or county-party chairmen who are staying neutral. ... Thompson is slipping. Voters seem more irritated with his sluggish demeanor, and meanwhile, Huckabee seems on the rise after his strong showing at the Values Voter conference and in the recent GOP debate. "I don't think Fred is going to be the guy," says Iowa's Sioux County GOP Chairman Mark Lundberg. "What support there was for Thompson is less than before he ran." Explaining the new enthusiasm for Huckabee in Iowa's O'Brien County, County Chairman Kelly O'Brien explains, "I think the conservatives have just been waiting to see who they should coalesce behind. I thought it would have been Fred Thompson, but he may be a disappointment."
...
My interviews don't represent a scientific sample, of course, but a door feels like it's closing for Thompson, even after his improved second debate performance Sunday. Thompson says the criticism is only coming from the Beltway chattering class and he'll ignore it (except, presumably, for the pundits working for him). I was prepared to think regular people had a more generous view of his slow start for awhile, but the people I talked to don't live in Washington. They live where the voting is going to take place. They're buzzing about Huckabee, not Thompson, and what they are saying about Thompson doesn't sound good for him.

Huckabee's Speech to FRC Values Voters Summit

If you only have 5 minutes ... watch Part 3. It is an honor to support a man who calls us not to a candidacy, but to a cause that is greater than ourselves. Please consider doing what you can to support this cause AND this candidate today. More people need to hear this message.

GCM

Huckabee FRCAction Speech Pt. 1 (8:08)


Huckabee FRCAction Speech Pt. 2 (8:05)


Huckabee FRCAction Speech Pt. 3 (6:35)

Newsweek: The Case for Huckabee

Full Article HERE

The GOP's Best Bet?
Hope and a common touch: reasons to like Mike Huckabee

By Jonathan Alter
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Updated: 12:25 PM ET Oct 22, 2007

The GOP is in a deep hole and keeps digging. Even after Mike Huckabee won big among attendees at last week's "Values Voters Convention," many evangelicals have been telling the former Arkansas governor—and onetime Baptist minister—that they like him but won't back him because he can't beat Hillary Clinton. They have it exactly backward. He may be the only Republican candidate with a decent chance to beat the Democrats next November.

Huckabee? Yes, Huckabee.

[See Full Article]

Huckabee comes across more hopeful than Giuliani, more believable than Romney, more intelligent than Thompson and fresher than McCain. He would hold the base and capture moderates drawn to his down-home style. His greatest asset is that he alone among the Republicans "speaks American." He connects to his audience with stories and metaphors and a geniality that can't be faked. "I'm conservative but I'm not angry about it," he likes to say, and it's true; his gentle mocking of the intraparty warfare that broke out during the Fox debate—likening it to a "demolition derby"—confirms the point. This was Reagan's secret, and it worked for Huckabee in Arkansas, where he won the votes of independents and Democrats.

Huck gets some love from the NY Times

As an aside, I bet it seemed pretty absurd when Kennedy said to put a man on the moon in 10 years.

Despite what David Brooks thinks about energy independence, this is one of the best ways we, as citizens, can mobilize to fight the war against terrorism while also putting our financial house in order. Simply put, we need to place Energy Independence firmly at the top of our top domestic agenda. If we mobilized the American people to look for resources at home and to innovate and conserve, I’m positive that the American people, if properly motivated, could accomplish this in 8 years.

Full article HERE

NY TIMES
From the Back of the Pack
By DAVID BROOKS
October 19, 2007

The first thing you notice about Mike Huckabee is that he has a Mayberry name and a Jim Nabors face. But it’s quickly clear that Huckabee is as good a campaigner as anybody running for president this year. And before too long it becomes easy to come up with reasons why he might have a realistic shot at winning the Republican nomination:

First, Republican voters here and in Iowa are restless. That means that there will be sharp movements during the last 30 days toward whoever seems fresh and hot.

Second, each of the top-tier candidates makes certain parts of the party uncomfortable. Huckabee is the one candidate acceptable to all factions.

Third, Huckabee is the most normal person running for president (a trait that might come in handy in a race against Hillary Clinton). He is funny and engaging — almost impossible not to like. He has no history of flip-flopping in order to be electable. He doesn’t seem to be visibly calculating every gesture.
...
Sixth, he’s a former governor. He talks about issues in a down-to-earth way that other candidates can’t match. For example, he’s got a riff on childhood obesity that rivets the attention of his audiences. He asks them to compare their own third-grade class photos with the photos of third graders today. Then he goes down the list of the diseases that afflict preteens who get Type 2 diabetes.
“The greatest challenge in health care is not universal coverage,” he argues while introducing his health care plan. “It’s universal health. A healthy country would be less expensive to cover.”
...
He endorses programs that are ideologically incorrect for conservatives, like his passion for arts education. He can’t understand how the argument over the size of the S-chip funding increase became an all-or-nothing holy war. He also criticizes the Bush administration for its arrogance. “There was a time when people looked up to the U.S. Now they resent us, not because we’re a superpower but because we act like one.”

Huckabee has some significant flaws as a candidate. His foreign policy thinking is thin. Some of his policy ideas seem to come off the top of his head (he vows, absurdly, to make the U.S. energy independent within eight years [SEE MY NOTE ABOVE]).

But Huckabee is something that the party needs. He is a solid conservative who is both temperamentally and substantively different from the conservatives who have led the country over the past few years.
He’s rising in the polls, especially in Iowa. His popularity with the press corps suggests he could catch a free media wave that would put him in the top tier. He deserves to be there.

Huckabee continues climb in Iowa Polls

Rasmussen completed their first poll of likely 2008 GOP Caucus Voters the results:

Romney 25%
Thompson 19%
Huckabee 18%
Giuliani 13%
McCain 6%
Paul 2%

Full Story HERE

Iowa Surprise? - Washington Post

Full Story Here

Pertinent Portions:

Mitt Romney, who has spent the most and campaigned the hardest in the state, has maintained the double-digit lead he established last spring. But the order of finish among the rest of the field has undergone a sizeable shakeup -- and even Romney should be nervous about what the poll reveals.

Back in May, when the Register last surveyed the state, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain were essentially tied for second in Iowa, with McCain at 18 percent and Giuliani at 17 percent. Today, second places goes to Fred Thompson, at 18 percent. Mike Huckabee is now third at 12 percent in a virtual tie with Giuliani, who has dropped to 11 percent.

McCain, who may be showing some signs of revival in New Hampshire, continues to languish in Iowa. He has fallen all the way to fifth in Iowa, at just 7 percent, which puts him only a few points ahead of Tom Tancredo and Ron Paul.

...

Romney and Thompson are the apparent beneficiaries of the slippage by Giuliani and McCain. Thompson has made himself a force here by virtue of his generally conservative image and by showing up, even though he has played to mediocre reviews in the national press.

...

Neither Thompson nor Romney did as well on that question as their overall poll numbers would have suggested. While Romney led among the Republicans in terms of overall support, at 29 percent, just 20 percent said they thought he would make the best president. ...

Thompson, who was at 18 percent on the ballot test, was cited by just 12 percent as making the best president. ...

Huckabee, who lacks both the resources and the celebrity status of the big four candidates in the GOP field, now appears poised to embarrass several of them in January. He was virtually tied with Giuliani on the question of who would truly be the best president among the Republican candidates. His status as a former governor is appealing in the abstract to GOP voters.

...

When I sat down on Friday evening with a group of Linn County Democratic Party officials and activists to talk about politics, the last thing I asked them was to give me their impressions of the Republican field. I wanted to know which candidate they thought might prove toughest in a general election race.

Surprisingly they named Huckabee. McCain, they said, was past his time. Romney's flip-flops, they suggested, would make him an easy target in a general election. They also said they found him too slick and plastic.

One said Giuliani would appeal to Democrats and worried about that. But others argued that Giuliani was too much identified with New York and the East Coast to play well in the Midwest, which once again is likely to be the critical battleground in 2008. Plus they thought he would split the Republican Party.

Huckabee drew only positive comments. One in the group said she has a friend in Arkansas who told her people there admire what he did for the state as governor. Another said he seemed like "a genuinely nice guy." Another described him as "grounded."

Huckabee remains the intriguing dark horse in the Republican race -- a candidate whose appeal in Iowa could further shake up a contest in which none of the candidates is yet able to take control.

Huckabee - Global Warming Solutions (2:31)

Huckabee on Jim Lehrer (10/5/2007)

ON EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE AND BEING THE "PARADOXICAL REPUBLICAN"(4:06)


ON FOREIGN POLICY: POWER & RESTRAINT (1:34)


ON FOREIGN POLICY: POWER & RESTRAINT (1:47)


ON SCHIP & HEALTHCARE (4:44)


ON PASTORAL EXPERIENCE (5:20)

The next president of the United States

posted: October 2, 2007

Faith2Action Column
By: Janet Folger

Every column I write I write as an individual, but I want to be especially clear that I am writing this particular column not as the president of Faith2Action, a radio host or as a member of the Values Voter Debate committee, because in this column I want to tell you how I believe those who value life, liberty and the family will regain the White House – and who I believe is the man to do it.

The dilemma we face is that we have a conservative vote-split between some very good candidates and the only way we can win is if we unite. The question is whom to unite behind? Let's set up the ground rules: the one the values voters unite behind must be pro-life and pro-marriage. Not a particularly high standard, but a disqualifying one. Secondly, he needs to be able to win – which of course, happens when we unite behind him.

That life/marriage disqualifier rules out:

-- Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama: rabidly pro-abortion and anti-marriage. Duh.

-- Mayor Rudy Giuliani: wants you to pay for child dismemberment with your tax dollars and is against the Marriage Protection Amendment – other than that, he's a nice guy.

-- Gov. Mitt Romney: His position, perhaps best summarized by the question asked by Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth to an empty podium at the Values Voter Presidential debate:
"Governor Romney, you are running as a pro-life, pro-marriage candidate, but you have a history of being strongly pro-abortion on demand and pro-homosexual. You supported Roe v. Wade and said abortion should be 'safe and legal.' In 2002, you opposed a state constitutional amendment that would have stopped homosexual so-called 'marriage' in Massachusetts. You said homosexuals should be allowed in the Boy Scouts of America, and as governor, you officially celebrated 'Gay-Straight Youth Pride Day.' You sat on Marriot's Board of Directors for 10 years while it profited off the sale of hard-core pornographic videos to its guests. Why should voters trust you after you spent so much of your career aggressively promoting anti-life and anti-family positions? I understand a 'change of heart,' but a 'change of position' on life, marriage, gun control, pornography, and immigration all preceding your run for president?

One of the reasons Mr. Romney was the ONLY candidate to receive ZERO votes from the Values Voter delegates.

-- Sen. John McCain: one of only seven Republican senators to vote against the Marriage Protection Amendment. He also tried to silence our voice with his "campaign finance reform."

-- Fred Thompson: against the Marriage Protection Amendment that would protect the sacred union of a man and a woman from being redefined by state legislatures like California, New York and New Jersey, who have announced plans to do so. I'm also not comfortable with a guy that brags about not going to church.

There's a reason why none of these candidates came to the Values Voter Presidential Debate – they were afraid. Sure, they'll come and speak to pro-family groups, but they won't go where they have to answer any tough pro-family questions. Beyond cowardice, there's also arrogance. They have the mentality of far too many in the Republican party – who have shoved values voters into the back of the bus and believe we have to support who they say because "we have nowhere else to go."

We must now leave the back of the bus and get into the driver's seat by picking a candidate and uniting behind him. With two-thirds of evangelical Christians sitting on the sidelines, we were still the largest voting bloc – 36 percent of the president's vote – in the last election. So with an average presidential primary turnout as low as 7 percent, if we unite, we will select the nominee … period.

All of the seven with the courage to face our questions profess to be pro-life and pro-marriage. I went into the debate with loyalties to Sen. Sam Brownback, our best friend in the Senate, great fondness for Reps. Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo, the strongest voices on the border, and Alan Keyes, the most articulate. I liked that Gov. Mike Huckabee came in second in the Iowa straw poll (at five cents on the dollar that Romney spent to win) and respected Rep. Ron Paul's courageous stand against U.N. threats to American sovereignty.

To find our answer, the first thing we did was ask people around the country to fast and pray for 40 days before the debate for God to "reveal the David" from among "Jesse's sons." The second thing we did was select delegates to represent us. Unlike other straw polls, which are flawed by design, the Values Voter Debate straw poll wasn't open to the undue influence of candidates who bought votes or bussed in supporters. Hundreds of delegates were chosen by 40 pro-family leaders to best represent the largest voting bloc in America: the Values Voters.

Here's what I saw: While he's been a courageous defender of the Constitution, Ron Paul had too many wrong answers at the Values Voter Debate to receive our support. Save your angry e-mails until you've seen the video of his podium lit "red" with "no votes" while everyone else voted "yes" to questions about whether they would protect disabled patients like Terri Schiavo from a starvation death, agree to prosecute all violators of the federal obscenity law, and support a trade policy with China contingent on improved human rights and quality standards.

Joe Glover of the Family Policy Network clarified it further when he asked Paul: "Many libertarians oppose laws against same-sex marriage, prostitution, and illegal drugs. Do you share this view?" Go watch it for yourself at www.ValuesVoterDebate.com. His answer was "yes," he's a libertarian and doesn't think the government has any business protecting marriage and human life. It was Thomas Jefferson who best outlined the role of government when he said, "The care of human life and not its destruction is the first and only legitimate object of good government." Mr. Paul, to protect human life is the only reason government exists – even if that human life is disabled and unable to ask for food and water themselves.

But as I sat on the debate panel, I began to worry that we blew it. The questions were great, but they didn't seem to differentiate and separate the rest of the candidates. Apart from Paul, everyone answered nearly every question right. How were the delegates going to choose a winner?

Fearing a massive tie, I was shocked to find the results were exactly as we had prayed: crystal clear. The winner, with five times the votes of anyone else, was … Gov. Mike Huckabee. See them for yourself. Gov. Huckabee, pro-life, pro-family and supported by the best representation of the values voters we have.

While you may have pledged your allegiance to one of the other good pro-family candidates, consider this: only one president came directly from the U.S. House – James Garfield – and that was 128 years ago. Only two people went directly from the Senate to the White House: Warren Harding (1920) and John F. Kennedy (1960). Four out of five of the last presidents were governors, and only one governor meets the life/marriage standard: Mike Huckabee. For those concerned about his immigration stand, after the debate, I asked the governor to further clarify his stand on immigration. His response: "We must first secure the borders before we even discuss anything else." Sounds like a good place to start.

Newt Gingrich put it this way on Sunday:

I think Huckabee is very effective, and if Huckabee can find money, he will be dramatically competitive almost overnight. He's probably the best performer in terms of giving speeches and being appealing. … I mean, there's something about him that is just – you just have to like Mike.
– Newt Gingrich, "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" – Sept. 30, 2007

Unity not only gets us a pro-family president, but it could get us an administration that looks something like this:

President Mike Huckabee
Defense Secretary Duncan Hunter

Director of Homeland Security Tom Tancredo

Attorney General Sam Brownback

Director of Heath and Human Services Alan Keyes

If we combine the votes of these good men, we move from the back of the bus into the driver's seat and select the nominee. It's not only our best way to win the White House, from where I sit, it's the only way. United we drive, divided we crash.

Mike Huckabee: How I am going to win (3:49)

Bill Clinton & Newt Gingrich AGREE!

... "both said Sunday that they view Mike Huckabee as the most likely Republican dark horse candidate for the GOP nomination."

Gingrich: “I think Huckabee is very effective, and if Huckabee can find money, he will be dramatically competitive almost overnight ... He’s probably the best performer in terms of giving speeches and being appealing.”

Gingrich ... later on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos: "“I mean, there’s something about him that is just - you just have to like Mike"

Bill Clinton on Meet the Press called Huckabee the only GOP “dark horse that’s got any kind of chance.”

Full story ... here

If you like what you are seeing on this page ... please consider donating here

Gov. Huckabee Discussing the Little Rock 9 - 50 Years later

PBS All American Presidential Forum

On Thursday night (9/28), Gov. Huckabee participated in a Presidential Forum at Morgan State University hosted by Tom Joyner and moderated by Tavis Smiley. It was a tremendous opportunity for Republican candidates to speak to issues important to African Americans.

Unfortunately, Mayor Giuliani, Senator McCain, Senator Thompson and Governor Romney declined to attend, several noting that they were worried that the audience would be hostile ... despite the fact that the event was supported by Chairman Ken Mehlman, former Md Lt Gov. Michael Steele, former Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Rep. Jack Kemp.

The full debate will be rebroadcast on C-Span at 8pm and can be watched at any time at PBS.org (click here)

Note: Governor's attendance at an event of this nature may be why he was able to earn 48% of the African American vote in Arkansas.

Below are a few other snippets, in case you don't have time to watch the full event.

Governor Huckabee discussing Participation in the Event (1:07)


Governor Huckabee discussing Legacy on Race (1:03)


Governor Huckabee discussing Enforcing the Death Penalty (1:07)


Governor Huckabee discussing Healthcare and the Minority Community (1:13)

WELCOME! Thanks so much for visiting.

I have been a Huckabee fan since the late ‘90s when I read and was deeply inspired by his book “Character is the Issue: How People with Integrity can Revolutionize America.” However, like many of you, I just wasn’t sure about him, and his campaign when I first started considering my choices for 2008. So I looked around at the other choices. However, with each of the other candidates, there was always something that just didn’t feel right.

Meanwhile, the more I heard and watched Gov. Huckabee, whether in the debates or in speeches and interviews on YouTube, the more I excited I got … not just about Gov. Huckabee and his campaign, but about America and what we can do as a country if we truly begin to “love our neighbor as ourselves”.

In Gov. Huckabee, I saw ...
-- a leader with decades of executive experience at the highest levels of state government and in the nonprofit sector;
-- a leader who can effectively communicate with candor, kindness and humor where he stands and why;
-- a conservative candidate who isn’t afraid to take his message to all Americans (even groups traditionally hostile to a conservative message); and
-- a leader with a fresh perspective and the ability to rise above the poisonous partisan rancor to seek solutions for the serious issues America is facing.

That last point is especially important to me. America is facing incredibly serious challenges in the areas of Social Security, Medicare, healthcare, education, immigration, and wars on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In this election, I am looking for a leader who is not only committed to his core values and able to communicate them, but also a leader who is able to will prioritize seeking real solutions for America not just scoring political points for the next reelection campaign.

And so here I am … asking you to do what I did and simply watch and read some of the speeches, interviews and articles below and determine for yourself if Gov. Huckabee is the type of leader that you would like to see transform the political debate and lead our country in the face of these challenges.

If you like what you hear and read, then I ask that you consider (1) donating $20.08 to his campaign, (2) asking other citizens to check out Gov. Huckabee’s videos and (3) looking for more ways that you can participate at the grassroots level in what promises to be a very special campaign (it’s always more fun to come from behind and win :).

Thanks so much for your time.

Gideon Moore
gideon@alumni.duke.edu
gideon@alumni.unc.edu

P.S. Check back often for updates and feel free to leave comments to the videos and articles you find here.

More Clips from 9/5 GOP Debate in New Hampshire

Romney & Huckabee on Abortion (1:15)


Huckabee explains FairTax (1:52)


Huckabee turns the tables on SpinRoom (1:34)


Huckabee on Immigration (1:53)


Huckabee on Healthcare (2:22)


Luntz Post-Debate Commentary on Paul/Huckabee Interchange (1:57)


Huckabee on Hannity & Colmes Post-Debate (6:51)


Huckabee on a Difficult Military Decision (1:15)

Huckabee exchange with Ron Paul from 9/5 Debate (3:18)

Marc Ambinder, The Atlantic Monthly: "Huckabee earned the biggest applause of the night. It may have been -- dare we say -- his break-out moment in New Hampshire" ... Full Story here

David Yepstein, Des Moines Register: "Huckabee probably will move up in some polls of Republican voters with his work Wednesday night." ... Full story here

Steve Kornacki, New York Observer: "man to watch may actually be Mike Huckabee ... Time and again, Mr. Huckabee asserted himself as the strongest orator of the bunch" ... Full story here

David Brody, Christian Broadcasting Network: "McCain and Huckabee Shine in GOP Debate" ... Full Story here

Huckabee on This Week w/ George Stephanopoulos on 9/2.07 (7:28)

Information on the FairTax

As I've been speaking to folks about Gov. Huckabee, I've been fielding more and more questions about the FairTax and how it would.

The best source of information on the FairTax is Americans for Fair Taxation.

Also, you can check these out:

- The FairTax: Fundamentals and Facts
- The FairTax Prebate Explained
- The FairTax vs. The Flat Tax
- Origins of the Income Tax
- Frequently Asked Questions (i.e., What about Roth IRAs?)

Washington Post: Huckabee on Thompson, Obama and Keith Richards

Exerpts:
But Huckabee did not let the moneyed surroundings keep him from offering his usual populist appeal, which the former minister delivers in language seldom heard from Republican candidates. "What you see today is CEOs who make 500 times that of their average worker, who take a $200 million bonus and buyout and steer the company into bankruptcy and the employees who work all those years end up losing their pension and their paychecks," he said. "That's not how America was made a strong nation economically."

Would such talk scare off donors and voters in a Republican primary? He thought not. "A lot of Republicans are people who want there to be free market system but they want it to be a free market system where there is an understanding that the people who bring about the wealth should share in it, not by government mandate but by nature of how a good free market really works," he said. "The people frankly that that turns off probably wouldn't be my kind of folks anyway. What it does, it turns on a whole lot of people .. in the heartland of America who know that no other Republican has had the courage to say that. But it doesn't offend people who are good strong entrepreneurs who have amassed great amounts of wealth but have also returned it back."

Huckabee was equally sanguine about the imminent entrance to the race of Fred Thompson, the former Tennessee senator who will likely compete for some of the same socially conservative voters as Huckabee. He noted that unlike Thompson, he has executive governing experience. "Certainly his entry is going to have a big presence," he said. "But the expectations are so incredibly high for him. It's challenging for anyone to walk into the arena with the expectation that anytime you step up to the plate you have to hit it into the third deck."

Governors Win: The Case for Mike Huckabee (National Review By: S.T. Karnick)

A few excerpts:

Look back into the history of the past century, and one U.S. political-cultural truth is eminently clear: Governors win the presidency.
...
The reasons governors beat national politicians are probably fairly simple. They have accomplishments they can cite, have served as CEO of a large government organization (as the U.S. presidency is), and, most importantly, they don’t have a voting record on important and controversial national issues.
...
Before last weekend’s Iowa straw poll I was telling associates that among the current candidates the best choice for the Republicans would be Mike Huckabee. A former Baptist minister who served two terms as governor of Arkansas, a state long controlled by Democrats, where he nonetheless enjoyed high approval ratings, Huckabee is hardly more obscure than Bill Clinton was in 1991 (unless you think Clinton’s tenure as leader of the National Governor’s Association made him world-famous). His appeal to evangelicals is a given.

Huckabee has sometimes been criticized from the right for not being sufficiently anti-tax and not strongly enough opposed to illegal immigration, but those are positions on which he will no doubt continually move to the right, and he did cut numerous tax rates as governor of Arkansas. (The cuts resulted in rising revenues and a billion dollar surplus, in true supply-side fashion.) Plus, it’s not as if most of the other Republican candidates have spotless low-tax and immigration-enforcement records.

In policy terms, Huckabee’s no Ron Paul, to be sure, but from a practical standpoint the Arkansas governor would certainly seem to fit the bill. (Paul should run for governor of Texas before running for president, but he’d be too old by the next go-round for the presidency thereafter. Alas.)

Given all these factors, from a tactical perspective Huckabee has appeal as a prospective presidential candidate, though most Republicans would probably welcome the entry into the race of some other prominent Republican governor. (Former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson was hopeless because of his association with the currently unpopular George W. Bush administration.) Failing that, it would seem that they could do a good deal worse than to settle for Huckabee.

After his strong, second-place finish in last week’s Iowa Straw Poll, Republicans should take a good luck at Huckabee. Unless another Christian, low-tax governor (not named Bush) enters the race unexpectedly, Huckabee actually gives them the best chance of winning in 2008, if history is any guide.

Livestrong Presidential Cancer Forum

Governor Huckabee discusses cancer ... his family's battles with it and how he'd fight it.

MSNBC Video Coverage of the event can be found here, here and here.

Jonathan Alter of Time Magazine discusses Gov. Huckabee's performance here.

Aug. 28, 2007 - On the second day of Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Presidential Cancer Forum, only two of the eight invited Republican candidates showed up—a reflection of some poor thinking in the GOP. But it didn’t matter too much. Attendees at the Cedar Rapids, Iowa event may look back at two “surges” that began here—one a boom in health care as a major campaign issue for Republicans; the other the emergence of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as a serious candidate for president.
...
Where Brownback was plodding and humorless, Huckabee was ambitious, fresh and amusing. He explained how he had lost 110 pounds, then set about transforming the health of the people in his state. Smoking is big in the South, so it is especially impressive that he got the Arkansas state legislature to ban all smoking in public places and workplaces. “It’s a work place safety issue, not just about bars and restaurants,” Huckabee noted. He also eliminated co-payments for colonoscopies, prostate tests and other screening, arguing that early detection will save the state billions. Considering that most states still don't require insurance companies to even cover colonoscopies—about the most pound-foolish policy imaginable—that's a real accomplishment.
...
Huckabee has a way of explaining things in ways people can relate to, and he received the most laughs and applause of the whole event. For example: "People today aren't eating food, they're eating 'food products'. You're better off throwing away the contents and eating the packaging. At least the cardboard has fiber."

He’s also the only candidate in either party who introduces truly fresh ideas I’ve never heard before. Some months ago, he launched the idea of federal funding for art and music programs, which he rightly says are necessary to help the U.S. keep its creative edge in global competition. And today Huckabee talked about a food-stamp program that would offer financial incentives for healthy choices, so that a dollar in food stamps would buy $1.25 worth of fruit and vegetables but only 75 cents worth of junk food. Worth a try.

American Research Group Poll (Taken 8/26 - 8/29)

American Research Group Poll of Republican Caucus Goers From August 30, 2007:

Iowa
Romney - 27%
Giuliani - 17%
Huckabee - 14%
Thompson - 13%
McCain - 5%

New Hampshire
Romney - 27%
Giuliani - 23%
McCain - 12%
Huckabee - 9%
Thompson - 8%

South Carolina
Giuliani - 26%
Thompson - 21%
McCain - 12%
Huckabee - 9%
Romney - 9%

Lunch with Mike Huckabee

From the Des Moines Register:

Even some Democrats are impressed by the staunchly pro-life, conservative Republican with the Gomer Pyle grin and Will Rogers wit. He's funny, charming and quick and the humor is smart, with some bite. He's as comfortable talking about duck hunting in flooded Arkansas rice fields as he is going on and on touting a national sales tax that would put the IRS out of business.

His dad was a firefighter, working 24-on-24-off shifts and running a generator repair shop on the side. His mom worked full-time as a clerk at the local gas company. He started working full-time at the age of 14, stocking shelves and sweeping floors at J.C. Penney.

"I'm more comfortable around the people working in the kitchen than I am the people sitting at the head table in the banquet room," he said.

"The people in the kitchen, that's who I am. I had to learn how to sit at the head table, but I'd rather be talking with the people in the kitchen."

The Best of Mike Huckabee (Compilation 8:11)

Huckabee on Energy Independence (3:01)

Huckabee on Federalism (1:12)

Huckabee on 2nd Amendment

The Mike Huckabee Story (5:00, 5:00, 5:00, 1:19)

Huckabee & Air Traffic Control

Huckabee & Bill Maher (6:25)

Huckabee re: Rights & Responsibilities (7:07)

Huckabee Speaks to Pastors

Huckabee talking Vertical Politics in Iowa (2:11)

Want to see the IRS disappear? Huckabee and the Fair Tax (

Mike Huckabee with Elmo (5:19)

From Governor Huckabee's days chairing the National Governor's Association:

Huckabee - State of the Union (Sermon re: Marriage ~30:00)

http://www.gatewaypeople.com/sermons/2007/20070616_StateOfTheUnion.html

Huckabee - Aames Straw Poll Speech (5:00, 5:00, 4:37)

Huckabee - Midwest Republican Leadership Conf. (8:46, 6:23, 9:48)

Huckabee on Evolution (2:17)

Huckabee with Charlie Rose (prior to campaign - 58:20)

Huckabee speaks in Fort Mill, SC (9:56, 6:41, 9:28)

A New Hope for America, Mike Huckabee