The media continues to treat the Republican nomination as a done deal. Maybe it’s their habit of “calling” an election based on exit interviews. Maybe because they’re too used to traditional politics, and Mike Huckabee is anything but traditional. He’s the first candidate in a long time to fully exercise the power of the internet to mobilize a dynamic grass-roots effort coupled with achievable ideals. He uses the web and social networking like a pro.
There’s an axiom in church planting that says if you don’t have money, you improvise, but if you have money you trust the money, and don’t really have much to show for it when the money’s gone. That’s certainly been true in this election. Other candidates have raised and spent significant amounts of money with nothing to show for it. Huckabee has never been about the money, so when it’s not there, he’s still able to press on.
Don’t give up, Ohio! The home of the inventors of powered flight and of elevators is not the home of people who will be kept down by old-timers who say it can’t be done. Stand strong Texas! The independence of a proud people should set an example of oppressive outsiders.
In earlier posts, I mentioned how Governor Huckabee is running a non-traditional campaign. Other candidates are letting their money talk. Huckabee’s “Web 2.0″ campaign uses thousands of volunteers, most of whom are computer savy.
Today, I got an email (web, remember?) from Mike Huckabee. He wrote that over 13,000 comments have been left on the campaign blog in just 16 hours today. The reason is clearly, as he himself declared, “Voters are clearly hungry for a healthy discussion of ideas.”
This year should not be business as usual. Huckabee’s campaign is breaking new ground. The problem is with the mainstream media and old guard party leadership.
If you want to be part of the movement, step on over to Huckabee’s blog and leave a comment.
And while you’re there, make a donation. While we run on ideas, there are still expenses of running a national campaign to finance.
I just read the Voter Guide from Texas League of Women Voters, and Mike Huckabee is excluded from the candidate list!
As I read through the voter’s guide, it seemed the only reason they excluded the second ranked Republican candidate was not the voter turnout, nor the national attention, not the imminent qualifications for the job. Rather, the only disqualification was that Governor Huckabee had not raised/spent enough money.
Ron Paul, who has raised a ton of money, is not much further ahead in the polls than when he started. I cannot understand how is he is a more viable candidate than Mr Huckabee.
Governor Huckabee is instead a true Web 2.0 candidate, who is able to leverage the power of grass-roots efforts without having to try to buy his way into office.
The League of Women Voters prides themselves as a nonpartisan political organization. They claim they have “fought since 1920 to improve our systems of government and impact public policies through citizen education and advocacy”
As it stands, the Texas guide is an aggregeous act of electioneering, an unconscionable interference with the political process, and is in direct violation to the spirit of non-partisanship the league has long been known for.
If the League of Women Voters is to retain credibility as a force for democractic action in this country, it is imperative that they retract the guide, and be exposed for this mistake of judgement.
I urge you to contact the Texas League of Women Voters at lwvtexas@lwvtexas.org to express your similar displeasure. (I also sent a similar email to the national LWV through their website contact form.)
When you’re done there, contact the Ohio League on their web contact form. Their voter guide lists a number of candidates that have withdrawn, and that Gov Romney did not respond to their requests for information, but Governor Huckabee is not mentioned anywhere. There is no indication that they even tried to contact him.
I was rumaging around the net and found this article from Washington Post about how Mick Huckabee would play as the Republican candidate. The article says, in part:
“Wooten Johnson, a Democratic strategist based in Louisiana, said that Huckabee ‘isn’t flawed in the eyes of the Republican base. But more importantly, he has a record of being a true compassionate conservative. He will be able to attract those suburban voters that don’t want to vote for [a] Democrat.’
“What lessons can Democrats learn from Huckabee’s past political career? First and foremost, painting him as an extremist just doesn’t work. While Huckabee is likely more conservative than the average voter, he doesn’t come across as a fire-breathing conservative, and Democrats seeking to paint him as such have come up short before.
“Should Huckabee wind up as the GOP nominee, the traditional Democratic playbook might well have to be rewritten to cope with his unorthodox approach”
That must be why the liberal media is working so hard to coronate John McCain as the Republican nominee.
It was a gutsy move. Gov Huckabee appeared on Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update, and made fun of himself. The segment mentioned his “when it’s time to go, I’ll leave gracefully.” And then he wouldn’t leave the set. At the end of the skit, Seth Myers remarked about his “great sense of humor.”
Yesterday, I was reading the Romney supporter’s blog (comMITTed to Romney), which has turned into a mix of tributes for GMR and political strategy. (I’m part of the latter.)
“… understand that if there is no war, McCain has no platform. His “paygo” approach says for the military to recover from Iraq we will have to boost taxes or print money. Health care? Mortgage mess? Energy? There is no platform there that at the moment that will catch anyone’s attention.” (comment #71)
“John McCain said Monday that to win the White House he must convince a war-weary country that U.S. policy in Iraq is succeeding. If he can’t, “then I lose. I lose,” the Republican said. … While most Republicans continue to back the war, many independents and Democrats don’t. That presents a significant challenge for McCain and an opportunity for either Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton. McCain acknowledged the war will be ‘a significant factor in how the American people judge my candidacy.’ “
Senator McCain continued:
“There could be other things that happen both domestically and politically,” he said, adding that the economy and subprime mortgages weren’t the issues three months ago that they are today. “We’ve got many months to go before the general election. But is Iraq an important part of the judgment that people will make of me, of course.”
And so they will. If the best the Republicans can do is to field a candidate with only one issue, and that being an issue that doesn’t resonate with, then we lose before we begin. Romney’s money was wasted. Huckabee’s passion was ignored. The party will have been sold down the river.
And so we pray again. And we do not give up. If Governor Huckabee does not prevail, we all lose.
The big news today is a smear against John McCain. It alleges ethical misconduct by the Senator 8 years ago. The influential Drudgereport.com says Senator McCain has personally pleaded with the publisher of the New York Times, which published the allegations just as McCain seems in striking distance of clinching the Republican nomination. But in case that doesn’t work, Drudge says the Senator has hired powerful DC attorney Bob Bennett to mount a legal defense against the accusation. The lobbyist in question denies any undue influence, and has also hired a lawyer to counter the accusations.
Drudgereport continued that “reporter Jim Rutenberg had hoped to break the story before the Christmas holiday, sources reveal, but editor Keller expressed serious reservations about journalism ethics and issuing a damaging story so close to an election.”
Remember this is all allegation and accusation. Even if it’s found to be true, we are a nation where people are considered innocent until proven guilty. This is something that happened 8 years ago, and it just looks odd that it never came up until just now.
You know I strive to honor Governor Huckabee’s instructions to run a positive campaign. The weekend before Iowa, he almost ran some negative ads, but pulled them from airing, “wasting” valuable campaign resources. And he has refused to go negative throughout the campaign. Senator McCain has complemented the Governor several times for the quality of his campaign, that he ran a hard but positive race. That’s a great reputation.
Now that Senator McCain is in trouble, we should do what we do best – pray for him. It’s a little out of context, but scripture says we should pray for leadership. Let’s pray for justice to be done, and quickly, that Senator McCain’s hardfought campaign can continue.
I want Mike Huckabee to win the nomination. Just not this way.
A guy named “Brad” from one of the meetup groups got my email, probably from one of the people I corresponded with from this blog. He forwarded me a really disturbing email telling me that campaign finance legislation was about to destroy free speech in America, and because of it – said the email – national Republican officials were legally barred from endorsing Gov Huckabee.
And although there are some serious issues behind what it said, most of this article is just plain false. This email is more like shouting “Theater” in a crowded firehouse: it sounds like something important on the surface, but it in reality of no effect because it operates from the wrong premise. That drove it to be wrong on so many counts. And the article in question was from 2001!
The worst part is that it distracts us from the real issues, that of delivering the positive messages Governor Huckabee is bringing to the political debate. I almost let it draw me into a “tit for tat” attack on the email, but decided to proceed with warning you simply to press forward to the high calling of supporting a righteous man who himself refuses to run a dirty campaign. If our beloved Presidential Candidate will not turn negative, we should honor him by not muddying the water on his behalf.
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And then Jack Cafferty asks “Will we be spared a negative campaign?”
CNN’s Jack Cafferty was hoping for a civil election, but it seems it’s not going to happen. He commented on McCain’s victory speech on Feb 20: “
Apparently if you’re John McCain, it’s never too early to start calling people names. Last night while celebrating his victory in Wisconsin, McCain could have chosen to use the free air time he was given on all three cable news networks for advancing some of his ideas of how he thinks he can make the country better. But instead, he chose to call Barack Obama names, referring to the Democrat’s call for change as ‘eloquent but empty.’”
Pretty tough stuff. The comments that made it ‘above the fold’ include mention that both McCain “and his spouse have dirt in their past that would be best left buried. Americans are tired of the negative and are looking for the upbeat and positive; that’s why there is an Obama tidal wave on the Democratic side.”
Not mentioned, unfortunately, is the consistently positive campaign of the other Republican candidate. He’s almost never mentioned at all.
So why is Mike Huckabee hanging around? In part, because he still has a sizeable base of support. And to show you really can run a political campaign without EVER going negative.
On Feb 19, CNN posted an article that pits Cindy McCain against Michelle Obama. Ms Obama had on the previous day (President’s Day) said says that not until this election did she feel pride in the USA.
CNN’s political blog picked up the story of Cindy McCain responding that she’s been proud of her country for a long time.
On one level, it’s two wives supporting their husbands in a future tough political race.But I have to agree with Ms McCain.It’s hard to believe that Ms Obama doesn’t have faith in the American people.
Our government liberated the nation of Panama.Our government has been the first on the scene to show up to countless disasters, from mudslides to hurricanes to wildfires to tsunamis.
It was not the US government that failed in New Orleans during Katrina.FEMA and the various sanctioned relief agencies were prepositioned at the storm’s edge and on-site within a day.Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and other parts of Louisiana are well on their way to recovery.But the inept management of local New Orleans politicians made sure the losses (both property and human life) were larger than need be.It was not the fault of the government, but rather those who failed to exercise personal responsibility.
Do I agree with everything my government does?Of course not.Am I proud of it?Most of the time.It is still the number one immigration destination in the world.
For Michelle Obama to be ashamed of her country means her husband has not been leading her sufficiently to value the nation he stands a chance of running.
And that scares me.
(for the record, CNN’s blog stopped accepting comments when the total reached 371.)
The anti-inclusionist rules of the Republican party, with “winner take all states” (even though the November election is “winner take all congressional districts“), mean that although Gov Huckabee consistently pulls a third of the vote despite overwhelming media pressure against him.
But even with tonite’s wins, McCain will not have the nomination until at least mid-March, or later. Even if he wins all the votes on “mini-Tuesday” (March 4), he will still be 17 votes short. But it’s unlikely McCain can take Texas.
In reality, the only way for Huckabee to NOT survive the next two weeks is to drop out. Unless McCain stays strong for the next 2 weeks, he begins to look vulnerable. No wonder the party leadership is trotting out all the old staples to try to prop him up.
Posted by OldGuy 
Posted by OldGuy 
Posted by OldGuy 