2008 Political Perspective

Huckabee Maryland Update

JR:

I sent this email out early this morning in my new capacity as Maryland Delegate Chair for the Huckabee for President campaign. I have been working for the last two weeks to fill out our delegate and alternate delegate slate here in Maryland and, with the exception of a few holes at alternate, was able to get a great group of candidates together. Last Friday, I joined a number of Huckabee volunteers and one staff person at a hospitality suite at the MDGOP state convention. We were the only campaign with a suite and the next morning, on the convention floor, we outstickered the other guys. Small victories but victories nonetheless. If you are interested in helping the Huckabee campaign here in Maryland, please send me an email. Also, the campaign needs help getting signatures in Virginia to get Governor Huckabee on the ballot there. If you are interested, I can put you in touch with the campaign staff. They are paying $1 per signature.

Here's the email:

Good Morning!

This email is going out to all the Huckabee supporters in Maryland that I have had contact with in the past two weeks, including every person that has filed for delegate or alternate delegate to the national convention.

First, I just want to express deep appreciation for everyone who went to Annapolis, Hagerstown, or Salisbury to place their names on the ballot. Thank you for taking the time to do that. We have an outstanding slate of candidates in every district.

I am also excited to have the Republican Minority Whip of the House of Delegates Chris Shank, Delegate Tony McConkey, and former State Senator andSecretary of Human Resources Christopher McCabe on our slate. These three stepped up to the plate to stand with us when many other elected officials had endorsed other campaigns.

There are a number of other elected and former elected officials that have expressed interest in endorsing Governor Huckabee as well, so stay tuned.

Finally, for our delegates and alternates, I just want to clear up any confusion. The campaign has a list of who you are, so they will be submitting the paperwork to put Governor Huckabee's name next to yours on the ballot. The campaign has until December 13th to do so.

A lot of people have been contacting me with great ideas about how to campaign for Governor Huckabee, hold events, and raise money. Keep those ideas coming! However, please understand that we may need to check to be sure that the campaign is okay with our activity on certain things, but having sign wavings, outreach at community events, etc. is definitely something that we should try to do.

I will be in touch again soon, and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me.

Thank you again!

Justin Ready
Maryland Delegate Chair
Huckabee for President
www.mikehuckabee.com

P.S.
Keep checking the campaign website for ways to spread the word about Governor Huckabee's record, and help the campaign in the early primary states.

posted by Justin Ready @ 2:45 PM 26 comments

Western Maryland Republican Leadership Retreat: Speaking for Mike Huckabee this weekend

JR:
I will be joining fellow Republican activist and county central committee members from Western Maryland in Hagerstown, MD on Saturday from 9:00-3:00 to discuss strategy and during lunch, hear from presidential surrogates on behalf of their candidates. There will be a straw poll following the campaign pitches. I will be speaking on Governor Huckabee's behalf.

I had a little success at my last appearance, the District 42 Republican Club in Lutherville, MD. The club president, John Fiastro, has decided to endorse Governor Huckabee for President and sign up to be a delegate, something I am considering.

My good friend Katie Nash, member of the Frederick County GOP Central Committee, is organizing this event and is doing a great job helping to build the GOP in Western Maryland. Info is below and I will include the link if you are interested.

posted by Justin Ready @ 2:44 PM 2 comments

Huckabee to 24%! Statistically Tied with Romney in Iowa, and moving up in Florida

From PoliticalWire:

Huckabee Catches Romney in Iowa, Clinton Fading
Here's the new Iowa poll we mentioned yesterday: A new American Research Group survey finds Mitt Romney barely holding on to his lead in the first caucus state with 26% support, followed closely behind by the surging Mike Huckabee at 24%. Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson tie for third with 11%, followed by Sen. John McCain at 10%.Key finding: Among registered Republicans saying they will definitely participate in the January 3 Republican caucuses, Huckabee actually leads Romney, 24% to 23%.On the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Clinton leads with 27% followed closely by Sen. Barack Obama with 21% and John Edwards with 20%. Clinton's support level is her lowest recorded by ARG in 12 Iowa polls over the past year.

Giuliani Still Ahead in Florida, Clinton Way Ahead
Political Wire got an advance look at a new Strategic Vision (R) poll in Florida that shows Rudy Giuliani leading with 31%, followed by a four way statistical tie for second place with Fred Thompson at 13%, Sen. John McCain at 13%, Mitt Romney at 12% and Mike Huckabee at 10%.The Giuliani campaign has seen Florida as a firewall in the event that he loses in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. The winners in those races could get a big bump in Florida.Meanwhile, the Democratic race is a runaway with Sen. Hillary Clinton leading with 47%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 27% and John Edwards at 8%.

JR:
The first poll is, obviously, the biggest news. Huckabee is very competitive in Iowa and can win the whole thing, not just compete for second. Now we have to be careful about keeping expectations low. However, perhaps even bigger news (because many of us have thought all along that Huckabee would do well in Iowa) is that Governor Huckabee is moving up in places like Florida, where he was in low single digits the last time I saw a poll. Now he is in a statistical tie for second place, although a close 3rd or 4th is probably where he is at this moment. Nationally, Huckabee is passing Romney and competing for 3rd place. He is moving up the leaderboard fast in Iowa and inching higher in New Hampshire (where he just has to play for an okay showing) and SC.
My point? Huckabee is first tier, so the press and the pundits need to start including him in their formulations and discussions. Huckabee is first tier, so if you have been sitting on your wallet, or reluctant to put up that bumper sticker, sign, or blog endorsement, you got no more excuses.

posted by Justin Ready @ 2:18 PM 0 comments

A great response to attacks on Governor Huckabee as "Not a true conservative"

From the Roebuck Report:

Friday, October 26, 2007
Fund's assassination of Huckabee misleading

-- Huckabee’s social conservative track record is unrivaled by the GOP frontrunners
-- The governor’s fiscal track record stacks up well, too

By Lucas Roebuck

Manhattan myopia fueled by the natural tension between fiscal and social conservatism seems to be the modus operandi of the assassination piece against former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in Friday’s Wall Street Journal, penned by John Fund, one of the Journal’s leading editorial voices.

Fund attempts to make the case that Huckabee is “not the ‘consistent conservative’ he claims to be.” However, instead of constructing a well-researched case of examples of Huckabee’s supposed conservative inconsistencies, Fund strings together a handful of individuals who simply accuse Huckabee of being liberal with little or no factual support. Furthermore, what little evidence Fund does present is skewed by critical omissions of relevant fact.

Huckabee is obviously a stronger conservative on social issues than on fiscal ones, which is the opposite of Mayor Rudy Giuliani, hometown favorite of the Manhattan GOP crowd. The Journal, based in New York City, values fiscal conservatism over social conservatism, so the worst kept secret is the group-think going on among the opinion writers at the Journal favors Giuliani.

Fiscal conservatives have become frustrated with their weakening influence in the GOP (not that I blame them) and have grown to resent social conservatives reign over the Republican party since President Bush took office in 2001. Also, the elite in the GOP have always looked down on their mostly Southern social conservative allies, and this is particular true for the Journal, which often, like much of the mainstream media, can’t see very well beyond the shores of Manhattan. Fund’s column against Huckabee embodies this frustration. Huckabee’s gaining in Iowa polls, and he is the strongest social conservative hands down among GOP candidates, so naturally he is drawing fire from the GOP elite.

The strongest case against Huckabee’s fiscally conservative record in Fund’s column is Fund’s implication that Huckabee raised the gas tax in Arkansas to pay for road repair for Arkansas dilapidated interstate system. (I would argue, even on a philosophic level, that raising gas taxes to pay for roads is not necessarily contradictory to fiscal conservatism.*)

I say that Fund implied Huckabee raised the tax, because Fund knows saying outright that Huckabee raised the tax would be inaccurate. Fund refers to Huckabee’s “efforts to raise taxes to repair roads” and cites a state senator who said Huckabee urged him to “back a gas tax increase.”

What Fund omits from his column is that this tax was a referendum in 1999 put out to be voted on by the people of Arkansas, not something imposed by a state legislature and signed into law by a governor. The people of Arkansas spoke at the ballot box, and through direct democracy, imposed the tax on themselves.

If you want the bottom line on Huckabee’s tax policy, as Fund points out, Huckabee has signed the Americans For Tax Reform no new tax pledge. Rudy has not signed the pledge.

As an Arkansas journalist for nearly a decade, I had a unique opportunity to observe Huckabee’s character. I believe Mike Huckabee is a man of his word and if elected president, will not raise taxes.

Fund, quoting Arkansas Business scribe Blant Hurt, points out that Arkansas spending rose faster than the inflation rate and sales taxes were raised during Huckabee’s tenure. Both of these facts are true, but the tax increase was the result of an Arkansas Supreme Court order in the Lake View school funding lawsuit that Huckabee fought, but lost – another fact Fund failed to mention.

Education eats the lion’s share of state expenditures, inflating the rate of increase of state spending. Lake View was a horrible court decision, and I fought it on the editorial pages at the time as Huckabee fought it in court. To use the results of the forced tax increase (and forced spending of that new revenue) as proof Huckabee isn’t really fiscally conservative is erroneous at best, if not deceptive.

Fund also trots out Huckabee’s enemies in the Eagle Forum, who take the opportunity to blame Huckabee for the Arkansas Republican Party woes. This statement is patently ridiculous. While Huckabee was governor, Republicans gained ground in the state house up until 2006, which as we know, was not a banner year for Republicans nationwide. When Huckabee was on the ballot, Republicans won more offices than they had since Reconstruction. Huckabee was always one of the most popular politicians in office, according the the University of Arkansas’ Arkansas Poll, conducted annually.

The Eagle Forum doesn’t like Huckabee because he doesn’t take the hardest line against illegal immigration. He specifically earned the groups ire when he supported a bill (which failed) that would have allowed children of illegal immigrants who were applying to become citizens access to merit based state scholarships.

If an absolute hard line on immigration is more important to you than say, ending abortion, then Huckabee isn’t your candidate. Huckabee says on immigration, “My number one priority is to secure America’s border” and “those caught trying to enter the country illegally must be detained, processed and deported” (as opposed to catch and release). Still, Rep. Tom Tancredo is farther to the right than Huckabee on immigration, so send your donations to Tancredo if this is your primary voting issue. Of course, Huckabee is as conservative or more conservative on immigration than former Mayor Rudy Guiliani, Sen. John McCain and former Gov. Mitt Romney.

Fund is either ignorant that the immigration issue is at the heart of the Eagle Forum opposition to Huckabee or disingenuous. Fund and his fellows on the Wall Street Journal are well known for being centrists on immigration reform. The Journal certainly is as centrist or even more so on immigration than Huckabee, which is probably why Fund didn’t give context to the Eagle Forum comments.

As far as blaming Huckabee for the GOP woes in Arkansas, the Republican Party in that state stared unravelling in 2004, when the social conservatives turned on Sen. Tim Hutchinson, largely because of his divorce and remarriage to a former staffer. This gave rise to pure ideologues like Jim Holt, who twice was able to win the GOP nomination for statewide races (once for U.S. Senate, once for Lt. Governor), but was unable to assemble a winning general election campaign. Don’t get me wrong, Holt worked hard and was more conservative, both fiscally and socially than President Reagan, but lacked Reagan (and Huckabee’s) communication skills. Unfortunately Holt, who managed to alienate nearly every Republican in the state legislature, was not savvy enough to beat the persecution of the Arkansas press.

Tim Hutchinson’s fall from grace also tainted (unfairly) his brother, Asa, who was the Republican who ran to replace the term-limited Huckabee. (Asa, whom I supported, was uncontested in the GOP primary, because of the sudden death from cancer of Lt. Governor Win Rockefeller, a moderate Republican who was as popular as Huckabee statewide.)

In considering Huckabee’s social conservatism, Fund either is talking out of both sides of his mouth or implying Huckabee is hypocrite. In one sentence, Fund describes Huckabee as “running hard right” on social issues, but then cites one of Huckabee’s fellow seminarians, Pastor Rick Scarborough, saying that Huckabee “never appointed conservatives while he headed the Arkansas Baptist Convention.” Fiscal conservatives? Theological conservatives? Social conservatives? Those who like conservative hymns instead of guitar-led worship? In his weak attempt to discredit Huckabee, Fund doesn’t say — another omission.

At any rate, Huckabee’s social conservative track record is unrivaled by any one else in the GOP field. Front runners Romney, Giuliani, McCain and actor Fred Thompson don’t even come close to the consistency of Huckabee’s social conservatism, which is ultimately where Fund’s analysis of Huckabee falls apart. When Huckabee is talking about being consistently conservative, he is talking about the promotion of the sanctity of life, opposition to gay marriage and other core social conservative values that his opponents have flip flopped on enough times to rival John Kerry.

Every year while governor, Huckabee led the line in Arkansas’ annual Right to Life march. Huckabee also led efforts to pass a state constitutional amendment recognizing marriage as a bond between one man and one woman. Finally, Huckabee was proactive in helping to strengthen marriages in Arkansas by promoting “Covenant Marriages” as an option in Arkansas, where couples must see counseling before a judge will grant a divorce on grounds of convenience.

Huckabee is not the perfect candidate. HIs flirting with carbon credits and his weak stance against SCHIP expansion, both noted by Fund, don’t thrill me.

But who can I count on to strongly oppose the infanticide going on in this country? Not Giuliani, who is self-described as pro-choice, nor Romney, who flips on issues like abortion for political expedience. Who can I trust not to raise taxes? Not Giuliani, who won’t sign an anti-tax pledge, nor Romeny — again, whose flip-flopping ruins his credibility.

Contrary to Fund’s assertion that Huckabee is an inconsistent conservative, Huckabee is a social conservative I know I can count on.

Fund's column can be found at: http://opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110010782

* Even hard core fiscal conservatives agree that the government must be involved in some public works projects — like roads. Few people — if any — would argue that creating a healthy system of roads is not one of the government’s primary responsibilities. I would also argue that if you are going to have a tax, making those who directly benefit from the service the tax will provide, i.e. those who drive on roads (or rather, who buy gas), pay for the tax is also fiscally conservative — as opposed to some “progressive” income tax or universal sales tax.

----

Lucas Roebuck is the former opinion page editor of the Benton County Daily Record, former assignment editor for KNWA-NBC, and former managing editor for the Northwest Arkansas Times and Siloam Springs Herald-Leader.

JR:
I posted this whole article because I think the attacks on Gov. Huckabee need to be answered. It's pretty clear that he is now in the first tier of contenders and considered a real threat for the nomination when all of these attacks start coming out. I am particularly interested in Mr. Roebuck's explanation of Governor Huckabee's record on illegal immigration and in-state tuition, as well as the education court case which forced the state to raise taxes.

I am going to be sending this around to all of my friends and aquaintences when they repeat these assertions. I think the attacks on Huckabee should be celebrated by us "Huckamaniacs" because it shows he is gaining traction.

Finally, I do not necessarily agree with my candidate on everything. However, every one of the contenders, both first tier and longshots, have some imperfections or even skeletons in their closet (not Huckabee on that one). I think we have to look at the whole picture of the candidate and the whole picture of who can be the best conservative candidate to appeal to the electorate hungry for change in 2008. Mike Huckabee will come to Washington D.C. with clean hands, ready to get to work.

If you want a candidate that will make a difference in Washington and hold true to our conservative, pro-family, pro-taxpayer values, then give this campaign your support...and if you can, GIVE!

posted by Justin Ready @ 12:55 PM 3 comments

Byron York promotes Mike Huckabee to first-tier...about time.

From National Review:

The GOP’s Wide-Open Race
At the Values Voters conference and Orlando debate, candidates make their moves.
By Byron York

We’ve just come through the most revealing three-day period in the Republican presidential race so far. Before Friday and Saturday, when all the candidates appeared at the Values Voters Summit in Washington, and Sunday, when they gathered for the Fox News debate in Orlando, we wondered whether Rudy Giuliani could survive an appearance before socially conservative voters; whether Fred Thompson could show the energy that primary voters demand in a candidate; whether John McCain could regain his place in the contest’s first tier; and whether Mike Huckabee could fully ascend to that top grouping. Now, we know the answers are “yes” on all counts. Those answers, along with the continued strength of Mitt Romney — despite doubts about his record among the voters to whom it means the most — mean that there are now five real contenders for the Republican nomination. It is the most wide-open race in a very long time... Go to National Review Online to read entire article...

As for Huckabee — he did well in Orlando, but he has done well in all the Republican debates. His true winning moment came in Washington, where he simply ran laps around the other speakers at the Values Voters Summit. It was perhaps the most overtly religious speech that Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, has given on the campaign trail — more of a sermon at times. For readers who were not there, it is worth an extended quotation:

We ought not to see things like the world does because most of you, probably like me, grew up being tutored in Sunday school. And I don’t know about you, but I never outgrew some of that. I don’t guess I outgrew any of it. You see, I was led to believe that it was a lot better to be with David — that little shepherd boy with five smooth stones– than it was with Goliath with all his heavy armor. I was thought that it was better to be Daniel than it was a whole den full of lions because Daniel would come out better off then those lions. It went to sleep before it was all over. I was taught that it was better to be one of the three Hebrew children than it was to be the fiery flames of the furnace, because with God’s power those flames couldn’t even leave the smell of smoke on the lives and the clothes of those three Hebrew children.I was taught to believe that it was better to be Elijah with an altar that had been soaked not once, not twice, but three times with water than it was to be 850 prophets of Ba’al screaming and yelling all day long for the fire to fall on Mount Carmel. I was led to believe that we serve a God who stood in the middle of a boat in the Sea of Galilee in the midst of a storm and said for the storm to stop and it did, or a Jesus who took mud and put it in the eyes of a blind man and he could see again. And one who could take two little fish and five biscuits and feed a crowd of 5,000 people and have enough leftovers that it would make the disciples realize that there was never an end to the supply of what our God could do when our people had faith — a savior who in fact could even go to the tomb of a dead man named Lazarus, so dead that the Scripture says he already was stinking — that’s pretty blunt, folks — (laughter) — and he made him live again.I don’t want ever for us to let expediency or electability replace our principles as the new value. The new value needs to be the old value. We believe in some things. We stand by those things. We live or die by those things.

It was a speech Huckabee would not have given in another situation, and it was too strong for many general audiences. But in the room at the Washington Hilton, it was an enormous success. Huckabee destroyed the field in the FRC on-site straw poll, and that performance, plus his rise in polls in Iowa, led many observers to begin including him among the top-tier candidates.Finally, there is Romney. Both his performance at the Values Voters Summit and in Orlando were workmanlike and professional; it’s unlikely that a man as thorough, careful, and successful as Romney would ever be anything less. But it’s fair to say that Romney did not move the ball at either event. The doubts that nag socially conservative voters about him still remained after the FRC gathering, and after Orlando it became clear that he faces a newly-energized and expanded field. There are still more than ten weeks to go before the first voters head to the caucuses in Iowa. After this weekend, it is a big and wide-open race.

JR:
More and more people are starting to note Governor Huckabee's incredible ability to connect and communicate a real message of change and conservative principles to any audience. Most pleasing to me is that he wrote his own speech for the event. I am sure he will have to employ speech writers as president, but he doesn't need anyone to write his convictions out for him. Plus he can speak without having to say "Uhh" every few words (Fred Thompson), and he can put two sentences together (George W. Bush).

posted by Justin Ready @ 11:40 AM 1 comments

Unleashing Huckamania in Baltimore County!

JR:
Hopefully the over-the-top title to this post got your attention...
I am going to be speaking to the 42nd District Republican Club in Lutherville, MD (Balt. County) this Wednesday, October 24th. The meeting starts at 7:00 PM. Details are below. John Fiastro, the club president asked me to come and present the case for Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign. A lot of activists here in Maryland have gotten on board with Thompson because they bought the "conservative savior" hype, and some are beginning to look again. Others have latched onto Rudy Giuliani, or Mitt Romney. There is also a strong Ron Paul contingent too. I look forward to sharing with the group why I Like Mike and why they should give him a look in this presidential race.

If you are in the area, you are welcome to come by. Non-members are certainly invited to attend.

Here's the Announcement:

Hello all, I am pleased to let you know that the Justin Ready, a Huckabee Campaign supporter, will be joining us to discuss the former Arkansas Governor and why he has chosen to support him. Mr. Ready has experience in both Republican campaigns and in policy making, as he has worked for Republican legislators in the Maryland General Assembly. He should provide us with some information on one of the field's lesser known candidates. Looking at the polls and listening to what some of the pundits have to say you would see that Governor Huckabee's prospects have been improving. Below is the standard information. Please send it to your respective lists.

Date: Wednesday October 24th, 2007
Time: 7pm
Location: Father O'Neil Knights of Columbus Hall 616 W. Seminary Avenue Lutherville, MD 21093

posted by Justin Ready @ 11:29 AM 0 comments

Newest Huckabee endorsement: Chuck Freakin Norris

From MikeHuckabee.com:

October 22, 2007 - 11:06 AM
Chuck Norris Endorsement

My choice for president
Posted: October 21, 20078:20 p.m. Eastern
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee
A short time ago, I wrote in jest about what I would do if I am elected president. Of course, that was written all in good fun.
Like most of you, over the summer and into the fall, I've been watching, listening, studying and praying about who could lead this country as our next president.
I won't leave you in suspense. Though Giuliani might be savvy enough to lead people, Fred Thompson wise enough to wade through the tides of politics, McCain tough enough to fight terrorism and Romney business-minded enough to grow our economy, I believe the only one who has all of the characteristics to lead America forward into the future is ex-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Newt Gingrich called Mike "very effective ? if Huckabee can find money, he will be dramatically competitive almost overnight." Bill Clinton called Huckabee the "only dark horse that's got any kind of chance ? He's the best speaker they've got." There is even a pro-Huckabee swell rising among the younger generation.
Who he is (before what he can do)
More than anything he has done or can do, however, it is first who Mike is that impresses me most.
Part of our backward culture is reflected in the fact that we measure and value people by what they do, instead of first who they are. As a result, we nominate charisma, cast votes for articulation and repeatedly elect too many paper-thin corrupt politicians. Of course, I want a president who gets things done, but I first want one who has lived a life of integrity, commitment, truthfulness and respect. Mike is that man.
Mike hasn't lived an isolated, out-of-touch life like so many politicians. He was raised in Hope, Ark., with a dad who was a firefighter and always had a second job. Mike and his sister grew up poor, not privileged. He was the first person in his family to graduate from high school. And he worked two jobs in college and graduated in two-and-a-half years. He is an outdoorsman too – an avid fisherman, hunter and a long-term member of the NRA.
Mike is a committed husband and father. He has always prioritized his family before politics. His wife, two sons and daughter speak his highest praise.
Mike has also faced unique adversity, from helping a young wife endure the trials of spinal cancer to aiding the victims of hurricane Katrina as the governor of Arkansas. He has a heart for helping and will fight for the causes of average citizens. He is known for having a compassionate heart, genuinely caring for all people.
Mike is also a respected and fearless leader, and he does not cower to the cries of any majority or minority. He doesn't abandon his values for what's expedient. Like our Founding Fathers, he's not afraid to stand up for a Creator and against secularist beliefs. At the same time, he doesn't fear offending Christian leaders who give up their values in pursuit of electing their "team leader" just like everyone else.

JR:
Chuck Norris!?! That means we will definitely win. Have you ever seen a Chuck Norris movie or "Walker-Texas Ranger"? He always comes out on top. In all seriousness, hopefully this will get some mainstream media attention and help with fundraising. I hope Chuck maxes out to Huck. Read the rest of the statement by Norris at the Huckabee blog, and maybe donate a few bucks to help celebrate the good news!

posted by Justin Ready @ 11:22 AM 1 comments

The GOP debate in Baltimore (Updated with Pictures)

JR:
I was at last night's GOP debate at Morgan State University in Baltimore. Below I have pictures from the event. The best thing is that I finally got a chance to meet Governor Huckabee in person, although it felt like I already knew him, as well as Mrs. Huckabee, and Chip Saltsman. That's me with the big, goofy smile.

Governor Huckabee, as usual, was the best in the debate and really connected with his audience. Although the questions were slanted toward a liberal perspective and biased toward the need for more government, Governor Huckabee, and several of the candidates for that matter, did a good job of talking about how free market principles, renewing the family, and educational choice provided answers to many of the problems facing African-Americans today.

He had a particularly good answer when a young woman asserted in her question that no Republican presidents since Abraham Lincoln had done anything for black people. The ignorance of that statement was incredible to me, but a lot of black voters probably believe that. It shows, in my opinion, the failure to truly educate children about what really happened over the last fifty years in this country. President Reagan standing up to the Soviet Union and winning the Cold War, and presiding over a huge economic expansion did nothing for black Americans? Governor Huckabee did not respond indignantly. Instead he eloquently pointed out that it was President Eisenhower that desegregated the public schools in Arkansas and across the South. In fact, two members of the "Little Rock Nine" where in the audience. Unlike some in our party, Governor Huckabee recognizes that there have been some ways that our party has alienated African-Americans and there are some things that we need to do to gain more trust and support. That INCLUDES actually showing up for the debate...you know who they are...

On health care, Governor Huckabee has no match when he discusses the need for preventative health, and a focus on letting consumers control their care. The African-American community has a much shorter life expectancy, even in cases where the person has lived an extremely healthy life. In the spin room, it was all Huckabee.

He was swarmed by the media, and declared the winner of the debate by people like former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele, and Dr. Cornel West.

Hilarious (at least to me) moment of the night..In the top picture, PBS moderater Tavis Smiley is being referred to as "incomparable" by the PBS producer addressing the crowd before the event. A little over the top. He's a talk show host guys...

Labels: debate, Huckabee

posted by Justin Ready @ 11:41 AM 0 comments

Mike Huckabee's Vertical Day...Come see what you've been missing!

JR:

The Huckabee for President campaign has launched Vertical Day, our way of sharing with voters our ideas, our hopes for America and the challenges facing us. Governor Huckabee and his team will answer questions, promote the Governor's positions on the issues through video and personal blogs and try some fun things online.

As one of Governor Huckabee's biggest Maryland supporters, let me personally encourage you to visit www.mikehuckabee.com and click on my Vertical page and/or the blog to get caught up on what has been happening in the presidential race. Governor Huckabee has been surging, picking up key endorsements in early primary states, gaining tremendous name identification, raising money, and impressing audiences everywhere he goes. This is your chance to break from following the crowd (I'm talking to you, FredHeads! haha) and get involved with a candidate that embodies what we conservatives want and need in a President.

The Huckabee campaign's goal is to reach as many voters as possible over the next 24 hours. My personal hope, and I believe it is a hope that they have, is to reintroduce casual observers and marginal supporters to Mike Huckabee, and get the word out in the online community to bring in more new volunteers, donors, and supporters than ever before. With the September 30th fundraising deadline for the end of the 3rd Quarter, Governor Huckabee is well positioned to show extremely positive results for his fundraising following the Ames Straw Poll, and the most recent GOP debate in New Hampshire. Let me urge you, if you haven't made a contribution to the campaign but have considered it, NOW is the time. If you have been keeping your powder dry and not selected a candidate to get behind, NOW is the time. Sign up to volunteer and, if you can, make a donation; large or small, to the campaign.

Don't take my word for it, go to the website and see where Governor Huckabee stands on the issues, and clips from his speeches. I think you'll agree, he is the best communicator on the GOP side, and matches the issues that Republicans and swing voters care about.

Even if you are not sure, please click here to visit my Huckabee Vertical page. I can get some cool prizes for the number of hits that come from my blog.

posted by Justin Ready @ 11:46 AM 0 comments

Great article on Mike Huckabee by The Fix

From The Fix:

Memo to Huckabee: It's Time to Take Some Risks

If you've been paying any attention to the political world over the last few days, you know that Mike Huckabee is reaping political rewards from his surprising second place finish at the Ames Straw Poll over the weekend.
No time to smile, Gov. Huckabee! It's time to capitalize on that strong showing in the Iowa GOP straw poll. (AP)
In the last few days, Huckabee has appeared on "Hardball with Chris Matthews," "Kudlow & Company," "Hannity & Colmes," CBS's "Early Show," "Your World with Neil Cavuto" and the Laura Ingraham radio show. That's more television time than Huckabee received in the first six months of the year.
All of that media exposure is the short-term benefit of Huckabee's second-place finish. Most voters -- even Republicans in the early states -- probably hadn't heard of Huckabee until this past weekend. The former Arkansas governor has not run any paid media (radio or television advertising) because, frankly, he didn't have the spare cash. Thus, exposure via a series of interviews on cable and broadcast television is invaluable.
But if all Huckabee gets out of Ames is a bunch of television interviews, he will have squandered the opportunity that his runner-up status affords him.
What Huckabee needs -- and needs badly -- is money and organization. The good news for him is that his campaign is already taking steps to build both.
Since Saturday night, Huckabee has split his time between media appearances and calling major donors who were on the fence about making a contribution or raising money through their own networks. The campaign said it has added roughly 1,000 new donors since Saturday night.
The message? "We need help to continue the momentum," said Huckabee campaign manager Chip Saltsman. The result? "Nobody has told him 'no' yet."
Saltsman is also working the phones, having made more than 100 calls to donors over the past few days. Saltsman, a former chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party and a Bush Pioneer, has been working to line up some of his fellow Pioneers and Rangers ("whales" in Fix parlance) behind Huckabee's candidacy. Many of these people view backing a candidate as an investment, and up until Ames there was little evidence that Huckabee was the sort of investment that had the potential to pay off. Now Saltsman can make the case that Huckabee is the hot stock, urging donors to get in on the ground floor when it's still cheap.
The campaign also took a calculated gamble that now seems destined to pay off -- sending a large amount of donor prospecting direct mail last week in advance of the straw poll. The campaign was betting that by the time potential contributors were opening the mail, Huckabee would be riding high off his surprising showing at Ames.
Huckabee -- and Saltsman -- MUST find a way to convince more donors to sign on if the former governor hopes to be a serious contender next year. While his shoestring budget paid dividends at Ames, the universe of voters was tiny (14,000 or so). In a broader electorate, money equals television advertising and a skilled get-out-the-vote operation.
At the end of June, Huckabee had raised a paltry $1.3 million for the race (a sum several of his opponents can collect in a good week), and he had just $437,000 to spend. It's unreasonable to think that Huckabee will ever match Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney in the money chase, but he cannot be out spent by tens of millions of dollars and expect to stay competitive.
The other major area in which Huckabee must find a way to translate his Ames momentum into real results is in staffing and organization. Saltsman all but ordered all hands on deck for Ames, moving people from the Little Rock campaign headquarters to Iowa while he himself spent weeks on end preparing for the straw poll. Huckabee won't be able to do that in the compressed primary schedule that faces all the candidates next year. He must figure out ways to broaden his staff (that means raising more money) and recruit influential endorsers in places like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
As for those who have already endorsed Huckabee, it's likely that they will get much more actively involved in the coming weeks and months. Many endorsed out of a sense of loyalty or friendship to the governor but now see a real opportunity to be major players in what is now a hot campaign. Expect people like former Gov. David Beasley (S.C.), who traveled with Huckabee in Iowa last week, and Gov. Mike Rounds (S.D.), who can be an influential voice in the heavily Republican western half of Iowa, to step up their level of activity on behalf of Huckabee.
While Huckabee and his campaign appear to be following the traditional routes to viability following his strong straw poll finish, it might also behoove him to take advantage of some less traditional methods of getting better known nationally.
Neil Newhouse, one of the most respected Republican pollsters in the business, suggested that Huckabee really think outside the box by appearing on "The Colbert Report" -- the wildly popular show on Comedy Central starring Stephen Colbert. It would expose Huckabee to an entirely new group of potential voters, drive media buzz and allow him to show off his sense of humor -- a trait that the New York Times's Adam Nagourney largely credited with Huckabee's straw poll success.
We tend to agree. Huckabee is unlikely to win by running a traditional campaign. His Ames performance has given him a moment in the limelight; he now needs to professionalize his campaign and take some risks to ensure he's not quickly forgotten

By Chris Cillizza August 15, 2007; 2:49 PM ET Category: Eye on 2008 Previous: Fixin' For a Break Next: Analysis: Can Dems Pick Up Hastert and Pryce Seats?

JR:
It's great to hear that the campaign is prospecting for donors through the mail and calling up the heavy hitters. As a Huckabee donor, I am excited about giving another small amount (all I can afford unfortunately) very soon. I would encourage all Huckabee supporters to put their money, no matter how little, where their keyboards are and donate!

P.S.
I will actually be doing a complete, sort of non-partial, ranking of the Presidential fields on both sides, but I wanted to wait and see the Ames fall-out before determining the Republican rankings.

posted by Justin Ready @ 11:58 AM 9 comments