Great column on Mike Huckabee from National Review

Mike has come through some of the toughest two weeks on TV someone could face. Everyone attacks, especially on FOX. But a column in National Review (a magazine not enamored of Mike) shines a new light on the Club for Greed. Read below:

The Other Attack on Huckabee [Byron York]
Back from Iowa.

Before criticism of Mike Huckabee ventured into what Ross Douthat calls "Go Back to Dogpatch, You Stupid Hillbilly!" territory, there was the critique, from the Club for Growth, of Huckabee's record in Arkansas on taxes and the economy. I've been meaning to make a note of the degree to which the prominence and the aggressiveness of that critique has come in some significant part from a single adversary of Huckabee's: Jackson "Steve" Stephens, Jr., of the famous Arkansas investment bank family.

It's not at all surprising that officials of the Club would object to parts of Huckabee's record; it would be surprising if they didn't. But the Club has seemed to go after Huckabee with particular relish. I first wondered what was going on in the late summer, a few days before the August 11 Ames, Iowa Straw Poll, when the Club spent about $100,000 to run anti-Huckabee ads in Iowa. At that time, the RealClearPolitics average of polls had Huckabee at three percent in Iowa – 24 points behind Mitt Romney. He was nowhere, with many observers speculating that he would be blown out of the race altogether if, as some expected, Sam Brownback finished ahead of him in the Straw Poll. Yet the Club launched a big, expensive attack on him.

Federal election records show that Stephens contributed $100,000 to Club for Growth.net – the organization that actually put out the ad – on August 1. Stephens is also on the governing board of Club for Growth.net. Stephens declined to comment, but I asked David Keating, who is executive director of the Club, whether Stephens' contribution was intended to finance the ad. He told me the Club "generally has a policy of not earmarking donations," but he also, in another conversation, told me that it would be "reasonable to conclude" that the Stephens donation was used for the Huckabee attack.

Last winter, when the Club began to publish assessments of the candidates, the first one it released was on…Mike Huckabee. At that point, Huckabee was truly nowhere in the polls, in Iowa or anywhere else. Given the relatively higher profiles of other candidates, it seemed odd that the Club would pick Huckabee right out of the box, yet that is what happened. Keating told me there was nothing unusual about it, that it was just the way the timing worked out. "We decided in the second half of January to even do these papers," he told me. "We had heard that Huckabee was going to announce at the end of the month…It was more trying to piggyback on a news event than anything else."

Although Stephens would not comment, he did speak to the Arkansas columnist David Sanders, who published a piece Monday here on NRO. Reading Sanders' account, Stephens appears to be unhappy with Huckabee's failure to implement a number of government-streamlining recommendations Stephens made in the late 1990s. Now, Stephens told Sanders, his "sole purpose is to educate people about Huckabee." And just this week, the Club is running another ad attacking Huckabee, which I saw in Iowa in the last couple of days.

All of this is perfectly legitimate. But as I looked at the intensity of the Club's attacks on Huckabee, and contrasted it with the relative quiet of one of the Club's natural allies, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform – who has his problems with Huckabee's record but told me Huckabee is OK with him as long as he abides by the ATR pledge — I wondered what was going on. It's worth knowing.


12/14 03:20 PM


This sure puts the Club's attacks in a new light.

Go Mike!

YouTube Debate

Just finished watching the debate. Once again, our man did extremely well. Every answer was clear and thoughtful. He allowed the others to beat each other up while he took the high road.

I thought his best answer concerned capital punishment. The question asked how Christian politicians felt about the death penalty and "What would Jesus do?" regarding this. Governor gave a thoughtful response, including his heavy responsibility as governor regarding this issue. When pressed about the WWJD part of the question, he joked, "Jesus was too smart to run for political office."

Each candidate was invited to submit a 30 second video to be shown during the show. Mike used the ad now playing in Iowa. Fred Thompson, surprising everyone, used an attack video. His submission showed Mitt Romney speaking out in favor of abortion and Mike Huckabee talking about raising taxes. It was the only attack video shown and illustrated the desperate state of the Thompson campaign. And the ad backfired. The two targets were given a chance to respond to the video, and each of them gave a very strong rebuttal. I don't believe the Fred08 campaign got what they wanted. It made Fred look small.

Mike connected with the hanging curve ball regarding the Bible and then drove home the winning run with his defense of the Fair Tax.

Once again, CNN seemed determined to show Republicans as gun-happy, homophobic, torture-using, immigrant-hating, religious zealots. There were 5000 videos submitted. In all of that, was there not one good question regarding education, health care, energy, or the environment?

After debate polls are showing Mike the clear winner.

Go Mike!

chuck norris video

I am trying to include the link for the ad from youtube. You can find it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDUQW8LUMs8. Hope this works.

meetup schedule

I have decided to change the meetup date to the second Tuesday in December, the 11th.

MOMENTUM IS BUILDING

I haven't written anything in quite a while, but the South Carolina primary is fast approaching. December will be the month Mike Huckabee takes the lead in South Carolina. He will be at the Clemson-South Carolina game this weekend and speaking in several areas that day and on Sunday. I may go to Spartanburg to meet him again. I have started a North Augusta For Huckabee Meetup group. We will meet the third Tuesday in December at my office in North Augusta. Anyone interested please let me know through meetup.com. I have had it set up for two months but have done nothing with it. I'm ready to get started.

Mike's poll numbers continue to rise and many media people are now giving him a shot. Some say he hasn't a chance because of lack of funds, but the money is coming in and he has certainly surprised everyone with his movement so far. His first TV ad did what he said it would, generate talk. If you haven't seen it, you should go to mikehuckabee.com or youtube.com. The ad is very funny and is the only humorous campaign ad I've seen in a presidential campaign. The campaign says the more substantiive ads will start this week.

Columbia Meeting

I just returned from Columbia, meeting Mike Huckabee. Probably 75-100 people met at a local restaurant to get some face time with the future president. He slowly made his way through the crowd, speaking at length with each supporter. I was able to talk with him about my two years in Arkansas as a child and shared common ideas. I am VERY happy to report that Mike is just as personable up close as I had hoped. If anyone is reading this blog (I don't have a clue if more than two people ever see it) please show your support for Mike by registering with his campaign and making a contribution. If you get a chance, go to the Palmetto Family Meeting in Columbia Thursday night.

Values Debate and Columbia

Last night I watched a debate for three hours. The Values debate from Florida involved the Republican candidates. The four "top-tier" candidates, Rudy McRomneyson, did not come. The questionners included Phyllis Schlafly, Don Wildmon. and other leaders of churches and conservative religious groups. The questions focused on topics near and dear to the hearts of religious conservatives. The candidates present (Huckabee, Brownback, Paul, Cox, Keyes, Hunter, Tancredo) agreed on almost all issues, except Ron Paul, who disagreed on issues involving more government. The AMAZING part is that Mike Huckabee changed the minds of so many that were there. The organizers had about 340 people in the audience vote their preference at the beginning and end of the debate. Mike Huckabee went from about 33% to 63% during the course of the debate. The only other candidate to increase his share was Duncan Hunter who was still well below Mike. See the story at
http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Blogs.View&Blog_id=413.
Mike has the ability to win hearts.
I will go to Columbia on Wednesday to meet the governor at The Congaree Grill. I'll fill you in when I return. I hope to pick up some bumper stickers or signs when I'm there. If anyone wants one, let me know when I return.

Mike with Wolf Blitzer

Just watched the governor's interview with Wolf Blitzer this morning. Mike once again had a great interview. I am amazed he can consistently express himself so well. If you have ever been in front of a camera you know how easy it is to get tongue-tied. When a candidate struggles to answer questions, it's because he doesn't know the answer or is trying to give a "careful" answer. Mike answers quickly and with confidence. This indicates his answers come from the heart. People may disagree with him but they can't say he evades questions.
His comments regarding Fred Thompson were on the money. Sen. Thompson advised a pro-abortion group several years ago in a business relationship. Governor Huckabee pointed out that if something, such as a firm belief in the sanctity of life, is part of your core beliefs, you don't compromise that for business. We all have to decide what our core beliefs are, and if we compromise them, those beliefs are not very important.
Mitt Romney has said the Huckabee campaign would have to raise $20 million to be viable. I hope our presidential election is not based solely on fundraising.
Mike will be in Columbia, SC on the 19th and 20th. I hope to go and hope many others will be there. I will post details when they are available.

Post New Hampshire Debate Comments

The NH Debate was a good one again for the Governor. He struggled with the initial part of his answer regarding immigration and racism. Otherwise, he once again was articulate and passionate. I wish some of the candidates would pull out, to allow more questions for the serious contenders. And, I wish the questioners would come up with different topics. They continue to ask about the war, immigration, abortion, get this, torture. Why do they not ask Democrats these questions and why don't they ask Republicans the domestic questions?
Mike's best answer regarded the Fair Tax. His best moment was the spirited interaction with Ron Paul.
I will be on the phone this a.m. with a blogger conference call. Mike talks to all bloggers and allows questions from several during the call. Maybe I'll get to talk to him personally.

PreDebate and Postweekend

The Governor again did very well on newscasts this weekend (Stephanopoulus & Fox). People seem to enjoy interviewing him and he handles all questions with sincerity and knowledge. He continues to get positive media coverage, but no one is really saying he has a chance. I believe they are sold on the idea that without greater name recognition or money, he hasn't got a shot. Almost every presidential campaign I recall the media has missed who would win. If there was not a sitting president or vice president running, they miss most of the time. Eight years ago, the media crowned John McCain. Four years ago it was Howard Dean. This year its "Rudy McRomneyson." (I didn't come up with that. I read it somewhere else.) Mike will prove them wrong.

The debate is very important. I expect Mike to receive more questions this time because of his increased visibility. Hopefully, the New Hampshire Republicans will be paying close attention. If they are we should see Mike's poll numbers rise again.

Poll Surge

The polls are rising. The media are calling. The first tiers are fading. I love it when a plan comes together. Our guy is coming up fast on the outside. (Conveniently, the outside is on the RIGHT in racing.) Go Mike!

Fred Thompson is planning to announce his candidacy the day after the debate. This is probably scheduled to overshadow the debate coverage, a debate he has cleverly avoided. I like Fred, but the qualifications of Gov. Huckabe exceed Fred's. Sen. Thompson hasn't the executive experience of Mike. The senator is a good actor, but I'm not sure he will be as cool under fire from someone like Chris Matthews.

One part of the presidential campaign will give trouble to almost all Republican candidates. The debate with Hillary Clinton. She appear to be the odds-on favorite. A man debating a woman will cause difficulties unseen in a presidential race. Will the man appear to beat up on the woman? Will he be seen as dismissive or condescending? Every voter will see it from a different perspective. I believe that Mike Huckabee has the personality, confidence, and humility to win that debate.

Has there ever been a more likable candidate?

Indianapolis Speech

After watching the speeches from Indianapolis, I am no longer concerned about Fred Thompson's candidacy. Anyone watching, other than a die-hard Thompson supporter, would have to admit Mike's speech was entertaining, informative, passionate, and inspiring. Fred's was slow, faltering, and uninspiring. Mitt Romney continues to say some good things but in a plastic sort of way.
Mike is well on his way to bursting the aura of inevitability of Rudy, Fred, John, and Mitt. A great plus would be for a candidate (Sam, Tom, or even Fred) to drop out and support Mike. That would certainly propel Mike to the top tier in everyone's minds. So many columnists and media people have talked about how good Mike is but how impossible it would be for him to win. They will be wrong.
Check out National Review for the fine article on this week's cover guy, Mike Huckabee.
Looking forward to the New Hampshire debate on Sept. 5.

wwww

Post-Debate Comments

Once again, Mike did well in the debate. Debates are so frustrating. The content is determined by the moderator and the format does not allow time for specific answers. Mike's responses were on point and he was not pulled into the conflicts between other candidates. His passion, knowledge, and wisdom always come through.
The Fair Tax received more attention than in the past (a good thing) but several candidates revealed a lack of understanding of how it would work (not a good thing).
In the great news category, Mike is now tied with McCain in an Iowa poll. A step at a time. A marathon, not a sprint. I believe Mike will pass Rudy and give Mitt a run. (Mitt has spent a fortune in Iowa).
In six days we will see.

Post-Debate Comments

Once again, Mike did well in the debate. Debates are so frustrating. The content is determined by the moderator and the format does not allow time for specific answers. Mike's responses were on point and he was not pulled into the conflicts between other candidates. His passion, knowledge, and wisdom always come through.
The Fair Tax received more attention than in the past (a good thing) but several candidates revealed a lack of understanding of how it would work (not a good thing).
In the great news category, Mike is now tied with McCain in an Iowa poll. A step at a time. A marathon, not a sprint. I believe Mike will pass Rudy and give Mitt a run. (Mitt has spent a fortune in Iowa).
In six days we will see.

First blog EVER! This is way cool!

Mike Huckabee has caught my attention like no candidate since Reagan. His passion and compassion are tremendous. His spiritual humility is refreshing. He has not attacked other candidates, always treating them with respect. Mike is articulate, knowledgeable, and not easily flustered.

I don't know if anyone will read my blog but, if you do, I suggest you watch Mike on youtube. There are many videos and the ones most impressive are the ones with major media types. At the end of each interview, the interviewer seems to be thinking, "I like this guy."