Actually, this election reminds me more of 1976. Jimmy Carter, a southern governor, came out of nowhere to win his party's nomination and then defeat an incumbent President.
Fast foward to 2008: Mike Huckabee, a southern governor, comes out of nowhere to win his party's nomination.
The only difference being that Huckabee will be a much better President than Jimmy Carter.
(btw...Reagan also was considered to be the Dems favorite candidate in 1980, because they believed he was very beatable as well.) |
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The problem is that Hugh has already sold away his credibility. Any anti Huck article he writes just strengthens their pro Huck resolve. For some they see Hugh blind allegiance to Romney. For others they see Hugh as aligning with an Anti Christian and thus an instrument of the devil. And for others, who include the previous two groups, they have burned books for years that they don't agree with, they like to shut away other viewpoints instead of engage them, and now they shut away news articles and columns without addressing them because it is in their DNA. So for all or a combination of these reasons they will see the hugh sequoiah size log sticking out of Hugh's eye when he shills for his Massachusetts Liberal and not recognize the Arkasas Liberal that they are supporting. All Bill needed was to keep up his pants and have a theology degree and he could have taken over the world. |
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Romney started running for president when he changed all of his positions. That's about three or four years. Is there any doubt the DNC would be talking about him the most? He's the one who has been out there the longest. Duh! |
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Frankly, I highly doubt this story came from the Romney camp.
BUT
Even if it did, do you doubt it's point? Huckabee is just a gimme in the general. He will absolutely tank amongst urban professionals. He's a bible-thumper. Being religious is great. Planning for the Rapture as our President on the other hand....
I think of Rudy, Mitt, Fred and Huck, Huck is by far the lightest-weight cantidate. He's got some cockamaymie idea about deporting 12 million illegals in a 120 day period.
That makes about as much sense, and is about as likely of implimentation as say...the Fair Tax.
He's a quack. |
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I remember covering the 1980 primaries for a New England radio station. Every democrat I interviewed was positively giddy at the prospect of running against Ronald Reagan. "But we'll never get the chance," Ted Kennedy's chief strategist rued. "The Republicans aren't that stupid to nominate him." |
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and Iowa was a race
Huck would be about 7 lengths ahead going around the final bend. I suppose it is possible Romney could surpise us and sprint to win, but it is not appearing likely right now.
I am not thrilled about Huckabee being the GOP nominee (and ultimately I doubt that will happen) but Huck is doing really really well in Iowa and South Carolina.
Give credit where credit is due. |
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The reference is to his glass jaw in relation to the general election running against a dem. There is no doubt Huck is doing well in Iowa and nationally for the primary. |
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He is a GOP Dukakis - he may be even worse with a number of Willie Hortons in his past.
MSM is driving Huckmania as it suits their agenda to get HRC or Obama elected.
Iowans are smarter - MSM will be wrong - again - just like they were with Dean.
The endless Harriet Miers references are not sticking - Hugh and the White House were the only two entities supporting her nomination - Ingraham, Rush and all other conservatives knocked it. While Hugh is in the tank for Romney, he is not being ridiculed or dismissed by conservatives like Miers was.
Huck is a nice guy and a slick, folksy talker, but he will get creamed in a national election - that is why he is being promoted by the MSM |
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...Huckabee, let them. I've said it before. I can bury my guns and porn easier than you can bury your churches and TV stations... |
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Yeah...a man who appeals to independents and also can strongly bring in conservative christians...is a candidate that has no chance in the general elction? A Republican who won elections in a strong Democratic state WHILE attracting many African Americans has no chance?That makes a lot of sense.
Funny....first, the media says no way Mike Huckabee would last past August. Next, they said no way Mike Huckabee could get over 10% support. Next, they said no way Mike Huckabee could actually win Iowa. Next, they said no way Mike Huckabee could get the nomination.
NOW...they are saying that he is the Democrat's favorite candidate and no way he can win in November. LOL...and we are suppose to believe them now?
WAKE UP! Huckabee is the "people's candidate". The elites have and will continue to be wrong about Huckabee. |
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Ouch #1: New Rasmussen poll shows Huck ahead by 16 in Iowa. Guess that Newsweek poll wasn't just an "outlier".
Ouch #2: Jim Gilchrest, founder of the Minutemen, endorses Huck! This own is a little crazy. But coming the same day Mitt went negative with an attack ad on immigration (sorry, Romneybots, a "comparison" ad), it is a nice counter punch...
I hope Mitt keeps pouring the money into Iowa. Good for the local economy! |
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In a change election, that will tank Huckabee. He's George Bush on steroids with the Aww shucks, I'm just a goober routine. This is how they see conservatives and Mitt Romney is the exact opposite. It's sad some in the G.O.P. can't see past the argument my religion is the same as yours. |
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Theological questions would only occur in the fever swamps of religious bigotry? Hardly.
Creationists have a basic disagreement with carbon dating. Intelligent design gets away from this, but has other problems. Mormonism has basic disagreements with archaeology and genetics. That's a big deal unless you consider archaeologists and geneticists to be religous bigots. Have fun trying that line of argument.
If you don't think the news media would play these conflicts up as much as they could, you are sadly mistaken. It's conflict and it's compelling and that drives ratings. Hillary or Obama would have no such problems. They wouldn't have to lift a finger and Mitt would be getting smacked around pretty badly.
Can you imagine what David Letterman would do with this?
And here we are again, talking theology after Mitt's Great Speech. I never looked into any of this until he made The Speech. It's going to continue to be a big problem for Mitt and it will only get worse as more people dig into this. Like I said in a previous comment, I didn't see anything about this from the religious blogs I read until after The Speech and people got into it in various comment threads. |
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The DNC wants Huckabee and a blind man can see it. Every liberal loves Huckabee and when Shrum, Peter Fenn, Begala, Carville and more heap praise on Huckabee.
Just look at the negative press releases coming from the DNC:
Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) – 37% (99 press releases)
Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-NY) – 28% (74)
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) – 24% (64)
Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) – 8% (20)
Governor Mike Huckabee – 2% (4)]
If Romney is tanking so badly, why are they attacking him the most? |
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But plenty of people do seem to have a problem with the mere fact that Huck is a minister.
As for his running AS a Christian leader & clergyman as if those were political qualifications, has he really? I haven’t seen that. |
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I haven't suggested that there's anything wrong with a former or currently serving pastor running for the presidency.
What I DO have a problem with is somebody running AS a pastor, or a "Christian leader," and wearing his religion on his sleeve during his campaign.
That is troubling, and, as things now stand, I would have a very difficult time pulling the lever for Governor Huckabee -- for that reason and for a number of others. |
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Huck is good news for the Dems. I don't agree with all the criticism of him (only part of it). He is probably my 3rd pick of the republican nominees. I certainly can imagine worse, but only Rudy and Mitt have a realistic chance in the general election. Huckabee's org and finances won't carry him that far. |
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Mitt is the one with a glass jaw. After spending millions in Iowa, a no name penniless Baptist preacher with no establishment support comes out of nowhere and knocks him out of first place. Mitt is the one who looks weak here.
And that's the narrative today, the speech is forgotten, Huck is all the talk, both positive and negative; this shows most of all the thin support of the former front runners. |
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Hugh tried to sneak a real whopper by. Glad nobody was fooled. Nobody runs significantly worse against the Dems than Romney does, though Huck and Fred are about as bad.
Maybe Romney does go by “brother” these days, though he is often addressed by questioners as “Bishop Romney.” There’s certainly nothing wrong with a former (or even current) Mormon bishop running for the presidency; no more than there’s anything wrong with a former (or even current) Baptist minister running.
Romney’s “negative” ad seems pretty straightforward to me and not at all ad hominem. All he’s doing is telling the truth about Huckabee’s little-known record. If that comes off as insulting, maybe that’s because the way Huck governed was insulting, especially to conservatives. Don’t shoot the messenger. Romney’s and Rudy’s own poor records on immigration are relatively well-known. Huckabee’s record should be out there as well. I suspect (and the Romney camp obviously agrees) that when people actually find out more about Huck other than just the fact that he’s a “conservative alternative” to Rudy McRomney, that his campaign will have the same collision with reality that Thompson’s did. |
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to understand the REAL Fred, we need to look at what he did in is personal life.
He gave legal advice to terrorists.
He lobbied against the victims of asbestos poisoning.
He funneled campaign money to his son.
He lobbied for a dictator who dealt with his opposition by putting a burning tire around their necks.
He lied about being pro-choice.
He lied about lobbying for an abortion group.
He whored around DC for many years.
Conservative? Not by a long shot. |
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Look at the photo at the head of this post and tell me that Huckster-Bee doesnt look like a young Richard Nixon? |
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Uncontrolled spinning
Round the clock negative thoughts
Obsessed with politics (I should talk!)
Out of touch with reality (like saying the speech would have a huge impact)
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condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" Romans 8:1. I could keep going on for hours, but thats not what you want to hear is it, Buggsy!! |
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Huck is a RINO!
Mitt is a RINO!
Rudy is a RINO!
John is a RINO!
Tom is not a RINO,
but he's a one issue candidate.
Duncan is not a RINO,
but he has no money, and no organization.
Fred is not a RINO,
and he has $, good organization, and has the Conservative ideas to save us from Socialism.
I'm voting for Fred cause he ain't no RINO! |
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Cdubber Yes, negative campaigning is called 'mudslinging.'
Hugh has been posting nonstop dirt on Huck since the Speech last week and Huck moved up in the polls. Its so funny to see what Hugh will come up with next because its so over the top. Smells like panic in the Romney campaign to me.
And because it is so over the top, it may actually be helping Huck. He is the name in the news, nobody today is talking about the Speech, and no one has a good explanation for Mitt falling in the Iowa polls. |
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No Reagan's 11th Commandment it appears. The real fear for me as a Party loyalist and a conservative, is that no unity will occur after the mud has been splattered. The Dems, will as we know, support the Anti-Christ as their candidate. So, what about unity after all of this? The Huck seems to be a populist and a Pastor in Chief. But, that will not unify the Party. Odd that we have 5 guys better than the Dems but we cannot get one of them to win anything!! That should make the GOP worried. |
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"No pastor in chief ...kind of whacks Romney, too. What's his title in the LDS?"
Probably "Brother." He's not a professional clergyman and never HAS been one. His degrees are in English, business management, and law. His extremely successful professional life was spent in the business world, in not-for-profit management, and in government, not behind a pulpit, and, to the best of my knowledge, he currently holds no position of leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"Theological questions will come in the general if Mitt is the nominee."
That's probably true. But, on the whole, only in the fever swamps of religious bigotry. Americans at large will care to know about his faith only to the extent that it will affect his governance and his policy decisions. Which won't be much.
"Mitt would never even get to talk about tax codes, health care or Iraq, he'd be dragged down by this stuff."
If that proves to be true, which I doubt it will, it will say a great deal about the population of America that will not be flattering. |
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"The DNC doesn't know whether it fears Giuliani or Romney more, as they don't know who there own nominee is, and Romney runs better against Hillary and Rudy better against Obama."
Romney runs better against Hillary than Rudy does? You are either joking or you have completely misread every poll on the subject.
The polls are pretty consistent. McCain runs the best against any Dem, followed closely by Rudy, who is also competitive.
Then way back are Thompson, Romney, and Huckabee.
There's no real difference between Huck and Mitt, unless you think losing to Hillary by 10 instead of 11 is a moral victory, in which case you'd prefer Huck over Mitt, by a shade. Or maybe you prefer the GOP lose to Obama by only 13 instead of 15, in which case you slightly prefer Mitt to Huck.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/nati onal.html |
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"Jonathan Martin of the Politico is saying the Drudge headline is not from the Democratic party, but from the Romney campaign"
I see. For anti-Romney attacks (push polls), blame the Romney campaign. For anti-Huckabee attacks, blame the Romney campaign.
Convenient.
And Jonathan Martin of Politico became credible when? |
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Blue light special for all drive-by's over at Hugh's blog!! Slur and sling to your heart's content before the pollsters so irritate their "random" phone base that someone rats out their statistical reliability!
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...wrong as Hugh? From Harriet Meirs to Dubai Ports to Republicans holding both houses of Congress in 2006, to McCain's candidacy being dead, to this being a 2 man race, to the impact of Romney's faith speech to the YouTube debate?
Clearly Romney's performance on the YouTube debate, which Hugh praised as the greatest thing since the creation of the internets, sealed Romney's fate and jettisoned Huckabee into a commanding lead in Iowa. Moreoever, I am just shocked that Hugh has not provided any critical analysis of the decision by Team Romney to go negative in Iowa given the historical speech of last week. One would think that Team Romney would have instead used clips of that speech in ads given how it "reshaped" the race and elevated Mitt above his competitors.
Instead, we have the Regurgitator vomit up some Drudge sleeze without any analysis at all. It is going to be fascinating to see what you will say next year if it ends up being Huckabee v. Obama or Hillary. |
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foir the dems would be if Huck was running as a dem. It'd be a first since Cater that the evangelical right would vote for a dem. |
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report shows that the 2 "bulldogs" in the race are Mitt and Rudy. Clearly, the "poodle" is Huckleberry. For crying out loud, wake up. 65% of all attack press releases are directed at the "bulldogs", 2% directed at the "poodle". Plus, as if this "poodle" wasn't bad enough, yesterday, received an endorsement from some union thugs. "Poodles" need not apply. Not in this life, Huckleberry. |
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So attacking someone's policies and political viability is "mudslinging" now?
What are political candidates supposed to talk about exactly? Regarding "mudslinging," I haven't seen anyone bring up questionable policies in history past of the Baptist faith, and I haven't heard of any newspapers camping out in restaurants to see if Huckabee's lunch gets cooked by an illegal immigrant.
The double-standard is alive and well here in the Hugh Hewitt blog comments board.
And "Christian ministers" are somehow immune to *political* analysis?
The "Dems are laughing about it" all right - because they want Huckabee, and Huckabee is sitting on top. The joke is on the GOP. We were once laughing about Howard Dean in the same way. Unfortunately, the DNC saw through the charade in time to stop the train wreck. I hope the GOP has the same amount of intelligence in this election cycle.
Think I'll call Rush and claim that this was actually planted by the Huckabee campaign - since radio callers apparently have great credibility with rich_223, and blaming a campaign for negative spin against itself is en vogue now (see Romney push-poll conspiracy theories).
You (rich_223 and the Usual Suspects) are truly unhinged. |
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...kind of whacks Romney, too. What's his title in the LDS?
Theological questions will come in the general if Mitt is the nominee. Anyone want to take a crack at locating Zarahemla on a map? Good luck with that. I'd rather try and defend Intelligent Design, thank you very much.
If you want to talk about an easy take down, that's it. Mitt would never even get to talk about tax codes, health care or Iraq, he'd be dragged down by this stuff. |
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"A close friend to Huckabee explains: "Look, Mike is Hillary Clinton's worst nightmare. They should be squirming."
Developing..."
I guess denial starts at the top and right down through his supporters. |
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Jonathan Martin of the Politico is saying the Drudge headline is not from the Democratic party, but from the Romney campaign.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/1207/The_onsla ught_continues.html
"It smacks of Mitt desperation to the political class who know where Drudge is getting his dirt, but the other 99 percent of Americans who click on the site are only reading negative information about Huck. And it's now happening on a near-daily basis. "
Really, just stop. I don't get your radio show where I live and have podcasted it for over a year on my daily runs. I no longer do that because of this boosterism. Just stop. |
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Of course, Hugh is entitled to his opinion, even if he occasionally gets confused and anoints himself "the Decider!" about what is OBJECTIVE and who is NOT TO BE TRUSTED. But he is NOT entitled to make up facts. And in this post, he makes up the fact that Romney runs better against Clinton than Rudy. Not true, not in any poll published (I can't speak for the polls taken in Hugh's brain). In fact, the candidate who polls best against Clinton is McCain, the only Repub to beat her in the latest head-to-heads. Rudy, McCain, Thompson and Huckabee ALL poll better vs. Ms. Clinton than Romney, in that poll and others. And they al do better against Obama than Romney, too, with the exception of Huckabee, who does worse.
Don't believe me? Read the whole thing:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/nati onal.html
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Rush has a caller saying this was planted by the Romney campaign and the Dems are all laughing about it. Rush is saying who is being talked about - its Huckabee.
Poor Hugh, condemned to spend the Christmas digging up and slinging mud at a Christian Minister. |
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I'm still undecided on who to vote for in the Primary. I disagree with Rudy on abortion, Huckabee on his economic record, McCain on the campaign finance reform proposals, and Mitt seems too much of a flip flopper. But then I'd vote for any of them in a New York second over Hillary.
But I am a bit dismayed at the negative comments that the Republican candidates are hashing out against each other. In this age of Google and other permanent comments, whoever does win the Republican nomination will have a whole campaign against them by their own brethren ready for use by the DNC in the Fall of 2008. The last thing Republicans should be doing is giving the Democrats all they can use against their own nominee. |
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From the Politico
Responded Communications Director Karen Finney:
"We always appreciate having our hard work noticed, and we know Mitt Romney likes to feel special, but the truth is we've been tracking Huckabee for over a year. The Romney campaign should take heart in the fact that the Drudge Report is buying their spin hook, line and sinker because nothing in that story came from us."
Mmmmm...Hmmmm....
Do Not Doubt Me! |
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This is not 1980. This country is far more secular now than 30 years ago. It will not elect a Pastor in Chief.
If you read Huck's own words He believes that Church (his Church) should be the State. State is an extension of his Religion.
Huckabee has stated, "Politics are totally directed by worldview. That's why when people say, 'We ought to separate politics from religion,' I say to separate the two is absolutely impossible".[Huckabee] Huckabee believes in Biblical inerrancy.[Parks]
Parks, Scott. "Huckabee's not preaching to choir;Arkansas governor leads largely Democratic state", Dallas Morning News, 1997-03-09.
Huckabee, Mike (1997). Character Is The Issue. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 98. |
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"Hey Hugh, Why even bother talking about Huckabee if it is a 2 man race between Guliani and Romney."
The Republican race is a 2 man race. The Democrat race is a 4 "man" one - Huckabee, Obama, Hillary, Edwards. Unfortunately, one of the Democrats has crashed our primary and Hugh is helping expose him. |
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Huckabee is a Democrat favorite not only because he thinks like they do, but because they know they will steamroll him in a general election.
And apparently anything critical of Huckabee is part of a vast Romney-wing conspiracy, eh regtroll? Huckabee is on top now, so expect some *actual analysis* of his positions and history instead of softball questions and feel-good sound bites.
Yeah, being number one is rough. Deal with it.
This forum is infested with DNC shills, and they all love Huckabee. |
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Did you see the stats on Negative articles against the GOP candidates?
Romney has the most attacks, more by 10 points than Rudy.
With all that negative reporting, thank goodness Hugh reports a different take.
Hugh is one man, one pundit whose right it is to have an opinion. He can and does clearly state his opinion. That's what talk show hosts do.
Now you have to wonder why the DNC fears Mitt Romney so much that he is their favorite punching bag. |
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Huckabee winning over in strongly Democratic Arkansas 48% of the African American vote and winning already some union endorsements really shows that its Huckabee they want to go against.
Latest poll as of today from Rasmussen:
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/ele ction_20082/2008_presidential_election/daily_presidential_t racking_poll
"The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination can’t get much closer. Mike Huckabee attracts support from 22% of Likely Republican Primary voters nationwide and holds a statistically insignificant one-point lead over Rudy Giuliani. With 21% support, the former Mayor of New York is followed by Mitt Romney at 14%, Fred Thompson at 12% and John McCain at 9%"
There goes Hugh's "The Speech Will Change the Political Universe" meme
Hugh, many of us are just coming here for laughs daily to see you spin your man-crush on Mitt... but we won't be back again afterwords, knowing you've lost credibility in your triple-down bet on Mitt.
Strike One: Supporting Harriet Meiers to the bitter end when the rest of the conservative world was crying foul.
Strike Two: Supporting Arlen Spector in his close campaign as an establishment GOP-suckup when the conservative world wanted true conservative Toomey who narrowly lost due to propping up by those like you.
Strike 3: Ridiculously over-the-top campaign for lifelong liberal Mitt (until he got within a couple yrs of the election). You're being mocked around the blogosphere by conservatives on this one, as michelle malkin reports:
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/12/07/mitt-romneys-worst-ene my/ |
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Romney nemesis victim of Drudge hit piece! Regurgitated by the "Regurgitator" Hugh Hewitt! Talking points from Mitt's lips to Drudge's ears to Hugh fingertips!
Developing... Nausea. |
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here is what dan bartlett says about him in texas monthly.TM) Yeah, or what if [conservative blogger] Hugh Hewitt called?
DB) That’s when you start going, “Hmm . . .” Because they do reach people who are influential.
TM) Well, they reach the president’s base.
DB) That’s what I mean by influential. I mean, talk about a direct IV into the vein of your support. It’s a very efficient way to communicate. They regurgitate exactly and put up on their blogs what you said to them. It is something that we’ve cultivated and have really tried to put quite a bit of focus on.
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Why even bother talking about Huckabee if it is a 2 man race between Guliani and Romney. Also, care to tell us how you feel about your guy having to unlease the first negative ad in the race? Surprising given he has outspent Huckabee 20:1 and has fallen so far behind in the polls that he has to go negative. I thought negative ads didn't play well among the evangelicals.
You know, after he gave that Churchill/Washingtonian speech of last week, you would have thought he could have just run some ads showing the highlights of his transcendant and historical speech. Why isn't that Hugh? |
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Yeah Hugh this might mean something if not for:
1)it has already been pointed out on Townhall.com that Romney's Comm. guy is Matt Roades who is tight (see: paid for)with...wait for it...MATT DRUDGE!
2)Rush Limbaugh already on top of it pointing out that b/c Huck is a former SB pastor, the left thinks he's nuts and think that's why he's a easy kill
3)Dems are ALWAYS WRONG...except if it bolsters your guy, then you call it credible
You're a joke Hugh.
But hey, at your next teleconference with the Romney camp tell Drudge we said "Hi."
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I wonder why. Huck's record.
-Soft on crime; a criminal pardon every 4 days on average. Including 11 murderers.
-Illegal immigrant magnet programs including taxpayer dollars to illegals that don't pay taxes (he even supported drivers licenses to illegals - the same proposal Hillary had to run from)
-A tax-raiser
-Economic and religious populism and class-based politicking
-HIV-phobia and AIDS patient isolation desires even after it was shown to be incommunicable 5 years before.
If I were a DEM, I'd LOVE to run against that record.
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