Huck vs Stewart: Gay Marriage Edition

Jon Stewart and Mike Huckabee debating gay marriage on the The Daily Show. Well worth watching.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Mike Huckabee Pt. 2

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Huckabee Agrees With Me?

If only on the course the GOP should take during this presidential election.

From the AFP:

Former US presidential contender Mike Huckabee urged his fellow Republicans on Wednesday not to denigrate Democrat Barack Obama, saying they should celebrate the historic moment of a black candidate.

"Republicans will make a fundamental if not fatal mistake if they seek to win the election by demonizing " Huckabee told a news conference on a visit to Tokyo.

Its good to see that there is someone in the GOP establishment who can see the forest for the trees. I said it earlier this week but I'll say it again if the GOP uses the tactics of the past rather than battling Obama on the field of ideas they risk becoming a permanent minority party. All Obama has to do is give them just enough rope for them to hang themselves.

Thanks to Memeorandum for linking to this post.

Mike "Mitt-Killer" Huckabee?

Over at The Politico Jonathan Martin posits that Huckabee is running for VP and is in fact running interference for McCain by intentionally locking up the Social Conservative vote.

From The Politico:

COLUMBIA, S.C. — For people reading between the lines, Mike Huckabee’s concession speech here Saturday night dropped some enticing hints that his presidential campaign now has an agenda other than getting elected president.

Huckabee’s new role: Mitt killer.

The former Arkansas governor threw air kisses on primary night to winner John McCain, praising him for “running a civil and a good and a decent campaign.”

He also signaled clearly that he is staying in the race, despite losing three straight states. Exit polls in South Carolina indicated — as they had in the previous three contests — that Huckabee did virtually nil with voters beyond his base of conservative evangelicals, raising doubts that he has a plausible path to the GOP nomination.

But as long as Huckabee is campaigning vigorously, he is likely to draw a sizable bloc of social conservatives — and deny former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney the direct one-on-one contest he is hoping for against McCain.
...
Now that the race is headed to a critical showdown in Florida, Huckabee is well-positioned to play the same spoiler role that Thompson did in South Carolina. Only registered Republicans can participate in Florida — no independents, who gave McCain a boost in New Hampshire and South Carolina. These rules give more leverage to social conservatives, who are unlikely to back Rudy Giuliani under any circumstances but might be enticed into backing Romney if they had no Huckabee alternative.

It almost sounds like a wonk's conspiracy theory except for the fact that it does make a certain amount of sense. This is McCain's lat chance at the presidency and the GOP base isn't fond of him. But if he gets the nomination and Hillary wins the Dem nomination the base will rally to him just to keep her out of office. Huckabee in return gets either the VP slot or a cabinet post and is in a better position to run again in 2012 or 2016. Even if McCain loses the race Huckabee walks away with increased name recognition and at the very least an excellent shot at a senate seat in 2010 which in turn puts him in a position to run again once McCain is out of office. If this scenario proves to be true you have to give Huckabee major points for shrewdness.

Assuming Huckabee is running to be VP. McCain is the most logical choice. If he backs Rudy Giuliani he loses his authenticity with the base. Romney on the other hand is a Mormon and to many a flip flopper on social issues. Comparatively McCain is at least consistent on his issues and a "regular Christian". Hence by backing McCain Huckabee preserves his authenticity. What remains to be seen is whether or not what may be Huckabee's plan B proves true is whether or not he withdraws after losing Florida. If he continues after then he may prove to be enough of a spoiler on Super Tuesday to put McCain over the top on delegates. If that proves to be the case it'll show what level of politics Huckabee is capable of playing at and exactly just how desperate McCain is to be president.

Huckabee Shows His True Colors

Looks like he's shed his populist image for a more comfortable Christianist one.

From Raw Story:

The United States Constitution never uses the word "God" or makes mention of any religion, drawing its sole authority from "We the People." However, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee thinks it's time to put an end to that.

"I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution," Huckabee told a Michigan audience on Monday. "But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living god. And that's what we need to do -- to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view."

Of course the odds of him being elected POTUS and then getting such an agenda past a Democrat controlled House and Senate are infinitesimal.

Meanwhile over at Donklephant Justin Gardner declares Huckabee done for. I beg to differ. Given the possibility of Clinton being the GOP nominee there is a very real chance that Huckabee manages to cement a VP slot in order to garner the evangelical vote for Romney or McCain in a race against Clinton. McCain has no stock with evangelicals and many distrust Romney due to his Mormon faith. Additionally on the off chance that Giuliani's late primary strategy pays off he'll also need the evangelicals to have a chance of securing a win against Clinton. That means he'll need Huckabee too.

Love or hate Huckabee you have to appreciate him for being shrewd enough to come up with with an excellent plan B.

Fill in the blank and Huckabee in 08 anyone?

Huckabee Surges in Iowa

Apparently that Chuck Norris endorsement did the trick.

From the LA Times:

DES MOINES — With 34 days remaining, the Republican presidential race in Iowa has broken wide open, as Mike Huckabee surges into contention with the longtime front-runner, Mitt Romney.

Polls show the two former governors running nearly even in Iowa, which will cast the first votes of the 2008 campaign, despite Huckabee's meager resources and the large amounts of time and TV advertising that Romney has lavished on the state. Earlier this month, surveys had Huckabee trailing Romney by double digits.

Huckabee's strong showing, one of the biggest surprises of the presidential race, is threatening the foundation of Romney's candidacy and has shaken up the GOP contest across the country.

On Thursday, Huckabee savored strong reviews for his performance the previous night in the CNN-YouTube debate, at which the former Arkansas governor delivered one-liners, played up his humble roots and proposed abolishing the IRS in favor of a national sales tax.

Looks like the dark horse has finally caught his stride. He had a good debate performance and many considered him to be the winner. Romney on the other hand came off poorly particularly on the torture question where McCain took him to task for his calculated non-answer. Additionally Huckabee has been gaining momentum amongst evangelicals and social conservatives. The question is can Huckabee also pull in enough moderates and independents to have a real shot at getting the nod from the GOP? Frankly I think if he fails get the moderate vote a McCain/Huckabee ticket would be a good plan B since each candidate would bring to the table what the other lacks. That is of course provided we don't see a Huckabee/Norris ticket which is probably only slightly less likely.

Chuck Norris for Huckabee Ad

Probably the funniest campaign ad this election season so far.




h/t to Donklephant

Huckabee Rising In Polls

He's finally passed Romney at least.

From Rasmussen Polls:

Rudy Giuliani remains precariously atop the pack with support from 20% of Likely Republican Primary Voters nationwide. Fred Thompson is close behind at 19% while John McCain enjoys a second straight day in third place with 14% of the vote. Huckabee continues to gain ground and is just two points behind McCain at 12%. This is the first time all year that Huckabee has surpassed Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts Governor slipped another point and he is now at just 11% nationally. No other Republican attracts more than 3% support while 18% are undecided.

However with the increased numbers comes increased scrutiny. Can Huckabee hold up given some of his previous ethical scrapes?

From MSNBC

The state Ethics Commission has investigated 14 complaints against Huckabee and validated five. Two pertain to unreported gifts - a $500 canoe and a $200 stadium blanket - and three to cash the governor or his wife received but did not initially report:

• $43,150 from his 1994 lieutenant governor's campaign for use of his personal airplane,
• $14,000 Janet Huckabee received from his 1992 U.S. Senate campaign, and
• $23,500 from a tax-exempt organization he incorporated with others in 1994, but whose funding source isn't known. The Action America organization, Huckabee said, was set up to coordinate parts of his private-sector speaking schedule during his three years as lieutenant governor.

Huckabee appealed the stadium blanket sanction and a judge threw out the $250 fine.

Additionally his recent comments about "the holocaust of liberalized abortion" and the fact that he's a Baptist minister may get him high marks with the GOP base but may in turn hurt him in regards to independent voters. However should he gather enough support from the religious right I can easily see a VP slot for him should the front runner not be able to garner their support. Now all he needs is some serious dough to stay in the running.

Huckabee Receives "Major" Endorsement

from Chuck Norris posted at WorldNet Daily

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.

I give Chuck points for this part...

"It's time to quit choosing our leaders based solely upon charisma or one strong suite, and move back to being a culture which esteems and elects its leaders because of character and qualifications. It's substance, not pizzazz, we should want in a leader."

Sorry, Mrs. Clinton but with Huckabee receiving this endorsement its all over with but the crying.

Of Note

The Moderate Voice has an interview with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee today drop by and read it here.

You can also read TMV's interview with Ron Paul here

The difference between the two is interesting though. Paul's staffers pointed TMV to links on his site that answered their questions while Huckabee actually completed their interview himself.