was a smart move because it might win him more conservative votes:
Mike Huckabee once advocated isolating AIDS patients from the general public, opposedincreased federal funding in the search for a cure and saidhomosexuality could "pose a dangerous public health risk."
As a candidate for a U.S. Senateseat in 1992, Huckabee answered 229 questions submitted to him by TheAssociated Press. Besides a quarantine, Huckabee suggested thatHollywood celebrities fund AIDS research from their own pockets, ratherthan federal health agencies.
Huckabee said Saturday that his comments came at a time when thepublic was still learning about HIV and AIDS and promised to do"everything possible to transform the promise of a vaccine and a cureinto reality."
So when you're learning, are you supposed to jump to conclusions like that?
After six years of closed government, after more than two decades of have two families run our government, it comes as no surprise that on both sides favor populist candidates.
Obama is out in front for the Democrats:
Likely Democratic Iowa Caucus-goers Barack Obama - 35% Hillary Clinton - 29% John Edwards - 18%
Now for the Republicans:
Likely Republican Iowa Caucus-goers Mike Huckabee - 39% Mitt Romney - 17% Fred Thompson - 10% Rudolph Giuliani - 9% John McCain - 6%
And it's no surprise, either, especially after 27 years of leadership that gave us an inflated national debt, high gas prices, increased health care costs, NAFTA, and increased military involvement in the Middle East. It's time for a , and voters on both sides recognize that the blame rests on the Washington establishment:
The race for president on the Democratic and Republican sides hasmade a dramatic turn in Iowa with longtime frontrunners Hillary Clintonand Mitt Romney being outflanked by Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee, anew poll showed Saturday.
The Des Moines Register's ,one of the most respected measures of the nation's first caucus state,showed Obama, the Illinois Democrat, with the backing of 28 percent oflikely Democratic caucusgoers, compared to 25 percent for Clinton, 23percent for John Edwards and 9 percent for Bill Richardson.
On the Republican side, Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, hadsupport from 29 percent of likely GOP caucusgoers to 24 percent forMitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who has poured millionsof dollars into the Iowa campaign. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giulianiwas third with 13 percent while former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson wasfourth with 9 percent, the survey showed.
The poll, which has an error margin of 4.4 percentage points, wasconducted Nov. 25-28. It showed a significant shift during the last twomonths among those who say they plan to attend the nation's leadoffpresidential deliberations on Jan. 3.
The tide is turning. Change is in the air. The next president of the United States will be a populist.
It's not just the Mormon issue that is hurting Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts Governor is running into the same problem in Iowa as Hillary Clinton. It's experience versus judgment. You can cite all the experience you want. In the end, voters in both parties want a candidate that stands by what they believe. A track record of good judgment, as far as Iowa is concerned, always beats a track record of good experience. Huckabee has consistently been a cultural conservative, Mitt Romney has not.
It's ads like this one, which was released just this week, that only help Huckabee's cause:
Imagine a version of John Edwards that believes we didn't evolve from primates. That's Mike Huckabee. put it into context:
But all the attention on his salesmanship skills obscures the realsignificance of his rise within the Republican Party. Mike Huckabeerepresents something that is either tremendously encouraging or deeplydisturbing, depending on your point of view: a marriage of Christianfundamentalism with economic populism. Rather than employing thepatented Bush-Rove tactic of using abortion and gay rights to hoodwinklow-income Christians into supporting patrician, pro-corporatepolicies, Huckabee is a bigger-government Republican who emphasizesprison reform and poverty relief. In the world of GOP politics, herepresents something entirely new -- a cross between John Edwards andJerry Falwell, an ordained Southern Baptist preacher who actually seemsto give a shit about the working poor.
But Huckabee is alsosomething else: full-blown nuts, a Christian goofball of the highestorder. He believes the Earth may be only 6,000 years old, angrilyrejects the evidence that human beings evolved from "primates" andthinks America wouldn't need so much Mexican labor if we allowed everyaborted fetus to grow up and enter the workforce. To top it off,Huckabee also left behind a record of ethical missteps in the swamp ofArkansas politics that make Whitewater seem like a jaywalking ticket.
If it's Huckabee versus Clinton in the general election, you will see both Democratic and Republican voters switch parties based on their educational background.
Late this week, in an , Mitt Romney attempted to educate Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson what this presidential race is all about, and how to get votes. To Romney, it's all about money:
"I think you're going to have to see what level of ground supportthat they have and what level of fundraising they have," Romney said inan interview with The Associated Press. "If Huckabee raises $20 millionthis quarter, like we did in the (first) quarter, then he'll become afront-tier candidate."
"And I think from Thompson's standpoint, Ithink he certainly has to look at $20 million as sort of the — this is,if you will, the low hanging-fruit quarter for him," Romney said,adding that it's easier to raise money in the first weeks of a racewhen friends, family and allies are tapped.
And Romney should know. After all, he to help him win the Iowa straw poll last month. Money, money, money.
In addition to the media attention following his superb showing at yesterday's Iowa straw poll, Mike Huckabee barely burned any money in the process. Mitt Romney and Sam Brownback could not say the same -- both of which invested a great deal of resources in the contest. More than anything, Huckabee voters were drawn to his brand of conservatism, not his money. This was a for Huckabee, while some other candidates now ponder whether to drop out of the race:
The former Arkansas governor captured 2,587 votes (18% of the total)to Romney's 4,516 (32%), and said after the results were announced thathe had spent less than $150,000 on the effort. Unlike rival campaigns,the Huckabee operation rented no buses for the event, relying onsupporters to transport themselves to Ames. And more remarkably,Huckabee's vote total was higher than the number of tickets hiscampaign had purchased. That means either some of his supporters paidthe $35 cost on their own instead of — as most voters do — obtainingtheir tickets through the campaign or Huckabee won the support ofvoters who attended the straw-poll on other campaigns' dimes.
Huckabee, with his engaging manner, gubernatorialexperience, and credential as a Baptist minister, may now be able toforce his way into the first tier. He appeared, beaming, in the mediaarea at the end of the evening and for the first time in the campaign,he was mobbed by journalists. He now plans to present himself as theleading conservative alternative to the frontrunners and may well gainsupport from frustrated social conservatives who have been displeasedwith their options among frontrunners.
Sam Brownback and Tom Tancredo just blew a huge opportunity. Tommy Thompson is expected to leave the race. Duncan Hunter had a terribly poor showing, and may decide to leave as well.
Among Mitt Romney, Rudolph Giuliani, Fred Thompson and John McCain, Huckabee might be the only true conservative. I really think one of these five candidates will win the nomination. Brownback and Tancredo had to do well yesterday, and instead were big disappointments.
Saturday marked a turning point in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Mike Huckabee is about to receive a huge bounce in the polls after finishing second in the Ames Iowa Straw Poll, which was taken at Iowa State University.
We all knew Mitt Romney was going to win -- so that is not news. With Giuliani, Thompson and McCain not competing in the poll, this event presented an opportunity for Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, Tom Tancredo, Ron Paul, Tommy Thompson, or Duncan Hunter to win second, receive instant media attention, and perhaps vault ahead into the top-tier.
But after a day-long, carnival-like atmosphere filled with crazy voting irregularities, we have the :
Mitt Romney -- 4516 (31.5%) Mike Huckabee -- 2587 (18.1%) Sam Brownback -- 2192 (15.3%) Tom Tancredo -- 1961 (13.7%) Ron Paul -- 1305 (9.1%) Tommy Thompson -- 1039 (7.3%) Fred Thompson -- 203 (1.4%) Rudy Giuliani -- 183 (1.3%) Duncan Hunter -- 174 (1.2%) John McCain -- 101 (1%) John Cox -- 41 (0.1%)
So again, the big winner was Mike Huckabee, who got second place. The biggest loser was Tommy Thompson, who warned earlier this week that a poor showing in the poll would lead him to drop out of the race. Duncan Hunter, who finished near the very bottom, might consider the same decision. Decisions about potential drop-outs could be made as soon as tomorrow.
A few side items worthy of mention:
this morning with an irregular heartbeat. "Her heart rate dropped to a dangerously low rate, and she was taken to the hospital," a Ron Paul's spokesman said. Our prayers and well-wishes are with the Paul family.
About for this poll. GOP officials had expected 30,000.
I'd like to welcome visitors from the web page. They linked to one of our stories earlier today. I am quite surprised, since this is a progressive-leaning site. But still, welcome everyone!
Imagine running for student body president, and being able to prevent your opponent's friends from entering the gym to vote. Better yet, imagine giving your friends money just to make sure they show up that day. If you like what you hear, chances are you are either a candidate or participant in the .
This Saturday, GOP activists will converge on Iowa State University, pay a poll tax, and then vote for their favorite GOP candidate. Even though this is not a legitimate poll, two campaigns have already indicated that their candidates might drop out if they have a poor showing.
Now to the strangest part. Mitt Romney is likely to win the straw poll because he is paying to bus his supporters in there. In all, the former Massachusetts Governor has to help him win on Saturday. Another tactic he and some other contenders are using is to take as many buses as possible, therefore limiting the available for other candidates, such as Mike Huckabee:
Mike Huckabee does not have buses.
Huckabee needs to get people to the straw poll in Ames this Saturdayand even if he had the money for buses — which he doesn’t — there areno buses left to rent.
Everything that moves in Iowa — buses, vans, tractors, combines,horses, mules, and hogs large enough to be saddled — have all beensnapped up by the other campaigns.
Mitt Romney has buses, Sam Brownback has buses, Tom Tancredo has buses and Tommy Thompson has buses.
But Mike Huckabee does not have buses.
Bottom line: the straw vote comes down to money and transportation. May the most elite candidate win.
Immediately after New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg officially announced his defection from the GOP ranks, political analysts quickly began a possible general election match-up between three New Yorkers: Giuliani, Clinton and Bloomberg. Already, the media is in love with the idea of a three-candidate New York showdown in '08.
Prematurely though, these pundits are assuming that Clinton and Giuliani will win their party's nominations. We are six long months away from the first vote. Anything can happen on both the Democratic and GOP ends. Giuliani's pro-choice stances could be his undoing. Hillary's Washington establishment label could cause a massive voter revolt in January. We cannot presume anything at this point.
So while other blogs, news sites and so-called 'pundits' salivate over a possible showdown, Newsweek's thought outside the box about Bloomberg's possible impact on all the other candidates:
Other candidates could also feel the Bloomberg effect in a generalelection fight. John Edwards has made a strong pitch for his party'spopulist wing. Should he win the Democratic nomination, pro-businessvoters in the middle might view a Bloomberg vote as a protest againstboth Bush-backing Republicans and Labor-pandering Dems. Barack Obama'scampaign is centered around the idea he would introduce a new,different kind of politics. Whatever you may think of it, Bloomberg'scandidacy would certainly be new and different. On the right, MittRomney has taken conservative positions on every major social issue inthe hopes he will emerge as the choice of Christian conservatives inthe primary. Should he win the nomination, he's counting on moderatevoters remembering he was the governor of liberal Massachusetts forfour years. But that pivot could prove harder with a viable, sociallymoderate Independent candidate in the race. John McCain and FredThompson's aides talk up their candidates' appeal to a broad swath ofvoters as evidence they can lead the GOP out of troubled times. Butthat appeal may well be limited as long as McCain and Thompson refuseto break with Bush on the unpopular war in Iraq.
This is a pretty decent analysis. Mitt Romney is expected to perform yet another political makeover if he becomes the GOP nominee -- transforming himself back into the moderate candidate he was as Massachusetts Governor. Many of Romney's moderate positions on social issues will be canceled out by Michael Bloomberg. There would be too much overlap. For that reason, if Romney and Bloomberg were two of the three candidates in the general election, almost any Democrat would win.
But I don't think it will come to that. The Karl Rove's strategy of pandering to the far-right works well. That is why someone like Fred Thompson or Mike Huckabee, two conservative southerners that are good at reaching out to Evangelical conservatives, would be affected the least if Bloomberg got into the race.
Obviously, these hypotheticals are nothing more than late-night thought unless Bloomberg actually does run. But if he chooses to, Bloomberg would be much more electable than Ross Perot. It would be unlike any other election in American history.
Recent Comments