Patterico's Pontifications

2/4/2011

Where Are the Huckabee Supporters?

Filed under: 2012 Election,General — Patterico @ 7:29 am



They aren’t on blogs, as far as I can tell. So where are they?

I feel like a conservative version of Pauline Kael. who famously said: “I live in a rather special world. I only know one person who voted for Nixon.”

Well, I don’t know anyone who supports Mike Huckabee.

Anyone.

I see that he consistently pulls numbers in the same ballpark as Romney and Palin. But I do not personally know anyone who supports him. I have never in my life spoken to a single person who supports him. What’s more, I read conservative blogs like Hot Air and Ace of Spades, and sometimes dip into the comment sections. I have never seen a commenter, on my blog, those blogs, or anywhere else for that matter, who says they support Mike Huckabee.

Not one.

Personally, I find him creepy and oily. He personally bugs me so much, I would be faced with a difficult decision whether to bother voting if he were the candidate. (Ultimately I would probably travel to the polls to vote for anyone, including our pet guinea pig, over Obama. But with Huckabee I would have to think about it.)

So. Is there anyone here — even one person — who wants to own up to being a supporter of Mike Huckabee?

207 Responses to “Where Are the Huckabee Supporters?”

  1. Another poll this morning puts Huckabee as the frontrunner in Nebraska (ahead of Palin and Gingrich).

    But I’m in the conservative south, and I share Patterico’s confusion; i.e., if there ARE Huckabee supporters around, they sure aren’t fessing up to it.

    A silent plurality?

    Kman (d30fc3)

  2. I’m in South Dakota and I’ve never met a Huckabee supporter.

    I would vote for him over Obama or Clinton in a heartbeat. Wouldn’t even need to think about it.

    I would much rather see Chris Christie, T-Paw, or John Thune as the nominee though.

    Ty (ab31d1)

  3. Oddly, now that you mention it, I can’t name one either.

    I’d have thought that he’d be big among “evangelicals” – or in the south – or among Baptists – but I don’t really see it. Does he still have a TV show? If so, who watches it?

    Huckabee smacks too much of “compassionate conservatism” to me. That is, he seems like a guy who would espouse conservative themes, but then turn around and violate them whenever something tugged at his heart strings – like how important it is to combat obesity (his personal battle), or letting some sad sack out of prison.

    Gesundheit (cfa313)

  4. I like Huckabee a bit. I particularly like his socially conservative views and his willingness to express his faith in public. I recognize that these are the same qualities that make others dislike him, but there you have it. I don’t like his Bush-rerun qualities of seeming to have no fiscal discipline at all, and for that reason, I would vote for a different candidate in the primary. But I don’t find him oily and disingenuous.

    Mike (611689)

  5. Hey! Is this a Reverse Operation Chaos??

    Gesundheit (cfa313)

  6. I tend to believe that many of Huckster’s supporters are both evangelical and also liberal. Don’t laugh, it’s actually not an oxymoron in some circles these days. Personally, voting for that guy would be no different to me than re – electing Obama. Both are over the top narcissists who say one thing and then immediately do another once in office.

    Dmac (498ece)

  7. Huckabee supporters were all over the HotAir comments section in early 2008. They were quite fervent in their insistence that only Huckabee could win; it almost struck me as a concerted campaign. Those people have disappeared since then.

    Alex (ac8909)

  8. I think the WA copkillers commuted by Huckster and the Miller debacle have muzzled him; that his support resides off-line with those ill-at-ease with popular culture; and that support is soft.

    Evidence? None.

    gary gulrud (790d43)

  9. Huckabee or Obama? Tough choice. With Obama, you at least know you’re getting a certified asshole. Huckabee hasn’t quite been certified yet. But almost.

    John425 (eae6ea)

  10. I only know one Huckabee supporter – my evangelical aunt. It surprises me because she’s more conservative than that choice indicates. It has to be that they are fellow travelers in religion.

    anne (a345b4)

  11. Huckabee appeals to the authoritarian Christian right types. Remember he had lots of southern support.

    SGT Ted (5d10ae)

  12. I support the anti-Huckabee, Mitch Daniels.

    I’d have no issue in a Huckabee-Obama election. I’d vote for Barack Obama. I think Obama’s clearly a more competent administrator. (Yes. It’s true.)

    Huckabee’s a big spender, very soft on crime, corrupt generally, corrupt personally…. No. Just no. He’d be fun to have at dinner – he is charming – but he’d be an awful president. There’s got to be a 25% chance he’d do something catastrophic during his term.

    –JRM

    JRM (cd0a37)

  13. He also appears to be weak on foreign policy.

    Arizona Bob (e8af2b)

  14. No.

    carlitos (09dd72)

  15. I know two Huck supporters. They live in Ft Worth and are in-laws. Both are very involved in their church (baptist). Neither are particularly political, even though they both have a strong support for Huckabee. Interestingly, they don’t like Sarah Palin (and don’t seem to hate her either… but just don’t seem interested in her).

    BTW, they are both hard working and honorable people, but I would put them squarely in the low-info voter category.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  16. I’ll take a snap poll at my next snake talking gathering.

    daleyrocks (479a30)

  17. And I hate hate hate to say this, but JRM is right. Obama’s bowing routine and foreign policy will be leaving America many problems for generations, but he’s not as bad as I thought he was going to be. I think Huckabee would be worse. On domestic policy, he’s be worse.

    That purist complaint I often hear about pushing the GOP to the left is, in this case, completely valid.

    But there are folks out there who don’t like Obama because of his social liberalism. They want their government goodies like Social Security, and don’t really seem to understand that we need to drastically cut them.

    Huckabee is the pro-life version of Obama, and that’s why he appeals to church going folks who find social programs appealing.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  18. Huckabee’s base is almost exclusively evangelicals who don’t pay much attention to other issues.

    Tully (62151d)

  19. Huckabee strikes me as the grand nephew of Elmer Gantry.

    Al from Chgo (8fa053)

  20. You have spot lighted one of the real problems. If polls are to be believed and that is asking a helluva lot,then we have a large part of our electorate that are uninformed or unable to excercise discretion.I look at most polls as an inventory of idiots because there are always 5 to 10% that have no opinion no matter what the question

    dunce (b89258)

  21. I know just one Huckabee supporter. He’s a smart, conservative, Catholic lawyer who works for the fed gov’t. He thinks Romney is the devil, which I agree with. I have not been able to persuade him that Huckabee is the evangelical Romney.

    Scrutineer (b496e6)

  22. I look at most polls as an inventory of idiots because there are always 5 to 10% that have no opinion no matter what the question

    And those are the honest ones. What about the masses who had no opinion, but won’t admit it?

    This is why I’m a fan of low voter turnout in an apathetic country. If you don’t really understand the difference between Obama and Mccain, please eat pancakes on election day and stay away from the polls. There’s far less shame in not voting than in voting stupidly.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  23. Same issue…. has anyone ever seen a “live” Cornish game hen?

    Huey (339a76)

  24. I live in rural baptist GA and their is decent support for him here. He won the primary in out county in ’08. However, I think that Palin has taken a lot of his supporters.

    Dr T (411873)

  25. but he’s not as bad as I thought he was going to be. – Dustin

    Are you feeling OK? You must have expected him to have us wearing Che Guevera shirts by now.

    Would we be counting how many times a Huckabee administration was in contempt of court? I don’t think so.

    I think P is right, his pet guinea pig is better then O. If it was between the guinea pig and Huckabee, maybe some of you would vote for the g.pig., and that’s fine. To get worse than O you would have to elect Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, or Al Gore.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  26. I’m starting to think our best hope is drafting DeMint.

    Patterico (11ac24)

  27. Huckabee is the Left’s preferred sacrifice on Obama’s 2012 alter. Harry Reid won the impossible race in Nevada by arranging to run against Sharon Angle, Obama’s enablers are looking to pull the same rabbit out of the hat.

    ropelight (9cd82d)

  28. Perhaps one cannot both support Huckabee and navigate the internet.

    Kevin M (298030)

  29. “Same issue…. has anyone ever seen a “live” Cornish game hen?”

    Huey – The snipe displaced them in my area.

    daleyrocks (479a30)

  30. Don’t care a whit for Mike Huckabee, but always enjoyed and always learned a lot from reading Pauline Kael.

    Angeleno (91c113)

  31. Since I am a fiscal conservative who doesn’t give a rat’s ass about social conservatism, I’d vote Libertarian in a Huckabee-Obama matchup. Or maybe Tea Party, as they’d probably go third party too in that case.

    Say, how about Rand Paul?

    Kevin M (298030)

  32. As governor of Arkansas, Huckabee was a big supporter of illegal aliens, which accounts for some of his funding. As mentioned above, Huckabee eagerly commuted the sentences of murderers who claimed to have found religion. One of them killed 4 police officers late in 2009. Huckabee isn’t the least bit embarassed about it (not his fault).

    His support comes from the evangelicals, who become more liberal every year. That a joke (not a funny one) like Huckabee can be seriously considered for the presidency is a sign of the times.

    DN (7fc565)

  33. Are you feeling OK? You must have expected him to have us wearing Che Guevera shirts by now.

    Heh. I was really worried he wouldn’t seriously follow through in Iraq and Afghanistan. For the most part, he has done much better than I thought he would.

    I admit, his bowing to China or whomever, and his behavior with Honduras and Iran has been atrocious, but that’s mainly Carter style cluelessness.

    It’s not like he’s great. I don’t think huckabee would do as well.

    On domestic policy, Obama has been much worse than anything I ever thought possible. Obamacare is the ultimate extension of commerce clause power. Spending is comic book level. Both Huck and Obama would find it difficult to keep that up with conservatives advancing on Congress, but I don’t know which one is worse.

    I really can’t see the argument for voting for Huck over Obama. But anyway, I’m not giving Obama much credit… it just turns out he was lying about his plans with Gitmo and Iraq and Afghanistan.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  34. Say, how about Rand Paul?

    Comment by Kevin M

    For President?

    He’s less electable than Palin, IMO. And he’d be a worse President than her, too. I think it’s either going to be Palin (for nominee) or someone who can convince a whole lot of people they have a much better shot at winning, without sacrificing being conservative.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  35. I know the 3 all-time worst POTUS potted plants were outsiders(Tyler, Carter, O’Mamba, elected during waves of anti-DC sentiment but that sentiment has yet to peak this time ’round.

    While a million state and local government worker’s are losing their jobs as we cut services sheeple are noticing administrations are simply not hiring, reducing their bonuses, eschewing desserts, etc.

    Government regulation will not be touched this biennium.

    COO-types, competent at administration, trained in the received system, are a non-starter. We are looking for Vlad-the-Impaler candidates this time out.

    gary gulrud (790d43)

  36. I think it is name recognition… Huckabee is trying what Reagan did through hiw 5 minute radio broadcasts (pale imitation at best).

    I don’t remember what it was in detail (or series of events), but when I read about Huckabee a few years ago–I swore off of ever voting for him (except if Obama or H. Clinton is running on the other ticket).

    My impression too is of a slimy leftest Christan.

    I do have to be careful–I have not trusted media since Huntley/Brinkley went off the air in 1970 (I was still a kid in grade school). I have since learned not to trust any media without out lots of multi-sourced confirmation. So–I still try and not to let MSM background noise leak in and form general impressions of political actors.

    BfC (ffa9b4)

  37. To get worse than O you would have to elect Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, or Al Gore.

    Comment by MD in Philly

    OK, i grant MD’s got me here.

    Huckabee does not appear to hate a long standing problem with America itself. Perhaps his results would suck the same as Obama’s, but Huckabee wouldn’t let Rev Wright baptize his babies, and he wouldn’t pal around with Bill Ayers. Anyway, this is part of why I am surprised that Obama’s poor performance wasn’t worse.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  38. F@ckabee is guaranteed to make me vote for Obumblef@ck.

    Happyfeet – what do you think of the snake oil salesman guitar strumming preacher? Guitar and lute players are of questionable character.

    JD (d48c3b)

  39. Zerohedge has been detailing the very recent loss of the narrative by the Bernank and Co.

    Todays precipitous drop in unemployment to 9% with jobs added at 36K short of ‘expected’ 145K will get everyones attention. 500K left the workforce.

    While Fed has been buying up 80% of 10-year TBills sold by the Treasury to depress mortgage rates stagflation has bolted from the gate, yet 30-year rate has broken out.

    Commodity futures over last month indicate our inflation rate will be over 6% at year’s end with $4 gasoline.

    A dollar spent in stimulus is generating 40 cents of economic activity.

    Any of 10 million Amerikkkans will be able to beat Magic, just not a sharp-dressed RINO.

    gary gulrud (790d43)

  40. I’m by no means a Huckabee supporter. In fact, I absolutely despise some of the positions he holds — nation-wide smoking ban, for example. I don’t think he could ever be nominated, but I do believe that, even more than in the case of Palin, any candidate who wants to be the nominee had better stay on his good side.

    Huck’s a different sort of political animal in that his supporters are utterly immune to the sort of attacks that take down other politicians. And, I think that’s a function and a feature of the fact that you don’t see a whole lot of his supporters lurking around in the comments sections of blogs like this.

    You see, they don’t care what you and I have to say, so why would they bother? They know who their man is, and they’re by-God going to supporter him, hell or high water. And, much like Palin’s core of supporters, any attack on their guy only strengthens their resolve.

    The difference between Huck and Palin is that Huck’s core of support is a little bigger, and vastly more long-established. And, he’s just likable and glib enough to blunt most of the attacks against him in the eyes of non-ideological voters.

    I’m not silly enough to say I wouldn’t vote for him against Obama. That’s just crazy-talk. Huckabee may leave a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to his nanny-state leanings, but he’s not even in the same galaxy as Obama — the guy who nationalized (for now) the healthcare industry and all-but-nationalized the auto industry, to name just a couple of egregious offenses.

    Seriously — take a step back and look at things as they are before making as sweeping a pronouncement as that.

    Walt Gilbert (9f130b)

  41. Seriously — take a step back and look at things as they are before making as sweeping a pronouncement as that.

    Comment by Walt Gilbert — 2/4/2011 @ 9:01 am

    He let killers go free. He was nakedly corrupt. The only reason Arkansas didn’t nationalize its auto industry is that it wasn’t possible.

    Maybe I’m wrong, but my impression is that Huckabee’s nanny state would look a lot like Obama’s.

    Doesn’t it sound like Huck just wants Obamacare to cover more stuff?

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  42. Anyway, if Huckabee is the winner in a Palin free primary, I’ll send Sarah a check right now. I think he’s got no chance should she run.

    Mccain kicked his ass, and I think that logic applies to Rudy and Romney too. He’s got to have some amazing reason why he’s more viable now than he was in 2008, and I don’t see it.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  43. Breaking: John McCain will NOT run in 2012.

    And for those of you scoring at home (or even if you’re by yourself) that’s: Icy Texan= 1, stashiu = ZIPPO.

    Icy Texan (757364)

  44. I’m looking for a social and fiscal conservative with proven executive ability, preferably someone who has been elected in a blueish area of the country. Someone who I could feel comfortable with on the world stage.

    So no, I do not support Huckabee. I think he is the candidate the media has chosen for us.

    Pawlenty, on the other hand…

    Amphipolis (b120ce)

  45. Palin is great as a symbol and a spokesperson. She draws fire and makes the left make fools of themselves. But she would be a disaster as president.

    Palin resigned as governor. Fatal flaw. Could you imagine Reagan doing that?

    Amphipolis (b120ce)

  46. He let killers go free. He was nakedly corrupt. The only reason Arkansas didn’t nationalize its auto industry is that it wasn’t possible.

    That seems to assume that Obama wouldn’t let a killer go free, or that he isn’t nakedly corrupt. And that, as I said, is crazy talk.

    As I said, I’m not a supporter, and I don’t think he’ll win the nomination. It’s just that I don’t allow all sense of proportion to fly out the window when Huckabee’s name comes up. I’m just not that emotional about the guy.

    Walt Gilbert (9f130b)

  47. So. Is there anyone here — even one person — who wants to own up to being a supporter of Mike Huckabee?

    Not I, in the sense you mean, of enthusiastic, pre-primaries support. If he’s the GOP nominee against Obama, though, you probably won’t know the difference (meaning, I’ll be very enthusiastically for him in THAT context).

    Mitch (890cbf)

  48. The ‘media’ has chosen Huckabee?
    Huh?
    What media is that?

    Icy Texan (757364)

  49. That seems to assume that Obama wouldn’t let a killer go free, or that he isn’t nakedly corrupt. And that, as I said, is crazy talk.

    As I said, I’m not a supporter, and I don’t think he’ll win the nomination. It’s just that I don’t allow all sense of proportion to fly out the window when Huckabee’s name comes up. I’m just not that emotional about the guy.

    Comment by Walt Gilbert — 2/4/2011 @ 9:17 am

    I grant you’re certainly right that Obama doesn’t appear to be much better than Huckabee.

    However, that oft repeated purist argument makes a lot of sense to me in this case. Defining the GOP as Huckabee would have lasting damage to the country, pushing us sharply to the left on domestic policies. I don’t think Huckabee is viable, for this very reason.

    We’d simply see a third party, and Obama would win.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  50. Me! Me! Me! Me! Me! Me!

    I thinks that Mike Huckabee was a greatest governor.

    Maurice Clemmons (3e4784)

  51. Pawlenty, on the other hand…hermaphrodite, Amphi. I’ve had eight with Tim, no more fingers in the wind please, a step to the right of Romney without the negatives.

    Yawn. Courage to–appear on ‘The View’.

    The Libertarians hope if they just get someone with an East Coast education, executive experience in a bluish state they’ll get mr. feets to vote with them.

    Yobs.

    gary gulrud (790d43)

  52. However, no, Obama won’t free killers with a pardon or commutation, the way Huck would. The big different between them is that Huck doesn’t always vote present. Obama will let pardons pile up, because there’s a political risk in granting one. Obama won’t stand up for justice if that means political risk.

    But secret pardons that don’t leave fingerprints (IE the Lockerbie Bomber)? Sure, Obama’s not much different than Huck.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  53. One of my friends in Iowa used to run a conservative blog, and his big story was when he got a one-on-one interview with Mr Huckabee in the run-up to the 2008 Iowa caucuses. Brian was undecided at the time, though he kind of liked Fred Thompson, but Mr Huckabee could have won him over. At the end of the interview, Brian still didn’t support him.

    The blogger Dana (3e4784)

  54. I might know somebody who supports Huck, but I disremember the name. If it came down to the only choice being between Obama and Huck: I think I would support a military coup.

    Bar Sinister (3cf6aa)

  55. However, that oft repeated purist argument makes a lot of sense to me in this case. Defining the GOP as Huckabee would have lasting damage to the country, pushing us sharply to the left on domestic policies. I don’t think Huckabee is viable, for this very reason.

    We’d simply see a third party, and Obama would win.

    Something either makes sense or it doesn’t, context notwithstanding. Stupid arguments are stupid irrespective of the circumstances under which they’re made. That doesn’t mean they can’t be more persuasive, though. I’ll agree that the sun resolves around the earth if someone puts a gun to my head.

    In any event, I still say it’s a 2:1 bet that Obama wins, anyway. That purist argument is just persuasive enough to enough people to damn near ensure it.

    Walt Gilbert (9f130b)

  56. i know someone who does. my brother-in-law and sister do. i think for them its about two things 1) personality, and 2) they are very faithful. as in my sister was convinced obama was the anti-christ for a while there. and i kept trying to show her why she was wrong, but i didn’t have any really good arguments i admit.

    Aaron Worthing (e7d72e)

  57. I like Huckabee. Except for his name. He’s got a few qualities that I really like, especially his position regarding the FairTax. I wouldn’t exactly say that I’m a supporter of his though.

    G (e0676f)

  58. Huckabee was the one GOP primary candidate that I would have caused me to vote for Hillary in the general. Huckabee vs. Obama I am uncertain. He seems to be a Christian Socialist, a party which is common across Europe.

    Hal Duston (a4e79b)

  59. If Walt’s right about the strength of Huckster’s support then it’ll be an interesting convention.

    The Respectables will all throw in together to save the Republic but, even with shenanigans, won’t possess 50%.

    Does Huckster parlay with those he hates most? A Solomon moment.

    gary gulrud (790d43)

  60. Something either makes sense or it doesn’t, context notwithstanding.

    I think the idea of not tolerating a polician’s policies makes sense if their policies are far enough from the party’s platform, and if the position they seek is important enough.

    So I guess we just disagree on that. It’s called 80% friend because 75% is too far and 95% isn’t.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  61. Don’t hold your breath waiting for anyone here to admit being a Huck supporter. Huckabee supporters probably don’t have electricity in their doublewide down by the river. And they’re probably too busy trying to catch rattlesnakes and copperheads for their church service or are f*cking their twelve year old sisters or pet goats.

    Jim (ad29d8)

  62. If you think I’m tough on Palin, I’m worse on Huckabee – first he lies – alot – little things like the squirrel in the hot air popper story – just not true – his education took several evolutions, his constantly raising taxes and saying he passed all these tax cuts (minor ones like vending machines on college campus and hot dog sales at county fairs)

    Guys an oily, opportunist

    EricPWJohnson (fe060b)

  63. I think the idea of not tolerating a polician’s policies makes sense if their policies are far enough from the party’s platform, and if the position they seek is important enough.

    Well, if you think giving tacit approval to a 0% status quo is a good way to register discontent with 75%, I suppose that does make sense.

    Walt Gilbert (9f130b)

  64. No, Obama sit with them on foundation boards, adistinction without a difference, lets them designhealth care policy (Jeff Jones). He was the No.1
    beneficiary of Goldman and BP (because of the climate trade scam) AIG, Countrywide, Fannie & Freddie kept him on their Christmas list, along with Biden,

    narciso (e888ae)

  65. If we believe that the Tea Party not only represents most Republicans but also more than a few independents, then Huckster’s toast.

    Dmac (498ece)

  66. Well, if you think giving tacit approval to a 0% status quo is a good way to register discontent with 75%, I suppose that does make sense.

    Comment by Walt Gilbert — 2/4/2011 @ 9:46 am

    I’m having a hard time following you.

    You said that the purist argument either is right all the time, or never right, and context means nothing.

    that’s absurd, of course. An argument for purity is one of degrees. People differ as to how impure the GOP can be, and this obviously pertains to context. Lindsey Graham is hard to stomach, partly because his state ought to be able to produce someone much more conservative. Context means a lot. In California, or Maine, or Delaware I’d be much more tolerant.

    I think Huckabee is practically a democrat on domestic spending. this country is in a spending crisis, and I find Huckabee completely intolerable because of his lack of ethics and experience successfully dealing with the issues I care about.

    I don’t really understand your reaction to this.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  67. If the choice is Obama or Huckabee, I’m going back to voting Libertarian. They are both big government types, can’t stand either.

    rbj (9f3937)

  68. I wrote a series of posts on Huckabee’s suppporters in 2008. (And about his oily flip-flops, but that’s not my focus here)

    It’s true that he draws heavily from Evangelicals, but he doesn’t even attract all of them, and he doesn’t do all that well with Catholics (one might theorize the pro-life social con thing would work for them, but no).

    Someone upthread referred to them as “authoritarian,” but that’s not quite apt. There are two factors that tend to show up with Huck fans.

    First — and this is the closest to authoritarian — they tend to see things as issues of moral failing. Thus, complaining about the deficit or debt is to them superficial. To them, we have debt because we are morally weak. That can sound authoritarian, but there is a nugget of truth there, isn’t there? If we merely said that the problem is that we 9or a certain generation of we) want to have our cake and eat it too, it sounds much less controversial, but cast in harder, moralistic language, coming from an Evangelical, is sounds so judgmental.

    The other factor is populism, and a moment’s reflection of Huck’s cornpone stylings will verify that observation. This is why he’s so big with the homeschoolers who put him 1st in IA. They not only tend to be religious, but also highly distrustful of institutions. In the case of public schools, it’s hard to blame them, but the schools in IA likely are better than many other places.

    After all, Huck strikes many as Jimmy Carter with a GOP registration, and these factors are why. Carter got in as a fairly moralistic (tho the content was debtable) and populist southern Dem. He lost 4 years later in part because he lost so many people who were attracted to that stuff as social cons moved to the GOP.

    But when the GOP is weak, esp in those areas, the party can lose those sorts of voters to the Dems. That’s sorta what happened with Clinton. Obviously, he couldn’t pretend to be a moral paragon. But the notion of ending welfare as we know it plays to this bloc, and it’s why he had to make good on that pledge before ’96.

    Given the current populist tone of our politics, it’s not surprising to find a fair amount of support for Huckabee. However, even if Palin doesn’t run, I have serious doubts that he could break much above his 2008 ceiling to get the GOP nomination, so long as there is some safety valve candidate for social cons not inclined to vote Huck.

    Karl (f07e38)

  69. I don’t really understand your reaction to this.

    Say there’s a guy on your street corner with a porn shop who’s selling meth, stealing cars, and pimping whores on the side. And there’s another guy who wants to open a porn shop in the same place who otherwise is a straight-ahead business guy. But, you hate porn.

    Which guy would you rather have running the porn shop?

    Walt Gilbert (9f130b)

  70. You find him creepy and oily because he’s creepy and oily. His saving grace is that he doesn’t quite look the part of the greasy Politician he is.

    The only time I’ve watched his show was when he had Ann Coulter on and quite foolishly attempted to take her on over critical Articles she’s written about him. Everything she’d written was true and his attempts to shame/charm her into taking back her own opinion was pathetic.

    kas (e349aa)

  71. As a postscript, I would add that the above profile is why you’re not likely to see Huck supporters turning up regularly on political blogs (at least not when there’s not n active campaign). They see the sort of discussion that goes on here as missing the (moral) point. Huck’s base is on the Internet, but they’re more active on sites involving church, homeschooling, etc. They’re doing their own thing, untainted by the icky day-to-day politics of the establishment.

    Karl (f07e38)

  72. Which guy would you rather have running the porn shop?

    Comment by Walt Gilbert —

    Which one did Huckabee pardon?

    btw, this doesn’t help me understand your point that context doesn’t matter on supporting various impure candidates, so I have no idea why you quoted that.

    I get that you think Obama is more evil, or a worse leader, than Huckabee. That’s a legitimate POV, but I don’t think it’s helpful in the issue you seem to be responding to.

    If it really were Obama vs Huckabee, I’d note that the entire political spectrum was shifting to the left if Huckabee won. That’s the point of the purity notion. I know Huckabee is unethical (I’d say less ethical than Obama, easily), and hardcore liberal on domestic policy, crime, spending, etc if you look at his actions, and not his flip flop words on TV. I am particularly worried about him with foreign policy.

    America deserves a better choice than two liberals. If it comes to that, I acknowledge that many reasonable people will take whatever marginal improvement they see in Huckabee. They aren’t being irrational or stupid to do so. I just note an additional meta-issue.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  73. Personally, I find him creepy and oily

    Personally, I like to describe him as smarmy (it also works for Newt)

    SaintGeorgeGentile (8cd677)

  74. btw, this doesn’t help me understand your point that context doesn’t matter on supporting various impure candidates, so I have no idea why you quoted that.

    In which case, I can only surmise that you’re being intentionally dense, and therefor not worth the effort it’ll take to recite another parable.

    Walt Gilbert (9f130b)

  75. Home school folks tend to be fairly politically connected… Given that the “state” is usually trying to kill home schooling in favor of teacher’s unions, they have to be pretty active to not lose the rights they (actually including me) have to home school our kids.

    Frankly, the “zero tolerance” school policies scare the heck out of me–There are too many ways for young kids (who regularly mess up anyway) to be tossed into expulsions through felonies via these policies.

    A Spotsylvania County high school freshman was expelled and charged with assault after hitting classmates with plastic pellets blown from a plastic tube.

    A School Board disciplinary committee upheld the expulsion of Spotsylvania High School student ***** for possessing and using a weapon after his father appealed.

    The student’s father, *****, said his son will be cleared of misdemeanor assault charges if he completes a diversion program, which includes 24 hours of community service.

    This kid will have to change his name to prevent this event from coloring his life for evermore (the Internet Era)

    BfC (ffa9b4)

  76. F@ckabee is of the devil.

    JD (fc6858)

  77. Smarmy?

    Yeah. Sort of an evil twin to Gomer Pyle.

    Gesundheit (cfa313)

  78. Ryan’s “we are very near the tipping point” in his SOTU response was mildly amusing. The House’s opening volley, $74 billion in cuts for 2011 OTH, was downright infuriating.

    We are on the wrong side of the tipping point, Pilgrim. WTFU.

    gary gulrud (790d43)

  79. My dad supports Huck … but that’s it afaik

    Lord Nazh (693977)

  80. I for one do not want to have to deal with the “F#%k Huck” buttons and bumper stickers. (By many voters in TeamR during the primaries, and by TeamD for the general election should Huck be the R nominee.) I do not know a single person who admits to being a Huckabee supporter and I hope not to encounter any.

    elissa (bd6524)

  81. Agreed, Gary. It’s an emergency, and we need to drastically cut spending. There’s not much middle ground left. And Huckabee is downright full speed backwards.

    That’s why Palin appeals to me. I do appreciate someone who can stand up for something just because it’s correct, instead of flip flopping around the issues as though the most important thing is their popularity (IE, Huckabee and Romney).

    Sadly, Palin lacks experience and has tremendous baggage (fair or not). Any nominee we pick will get torn to shreds, but still… I hope for someone I see electable, but able to govern. Huckabee has proven he is unable to govern.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  82. 75.F@ckabee is of the devil.

    The gift of discernment between spirits, much to be coveted.

    gary gulrud (790d43)

  83. I think Huckabee would be a great Republican candidate for 2012.

    Barack Obama (fb8750)

  84. There are plenty of Huckabee supporters out in the blogosphere. Perhaps you are only seeing what you wish to see.

    Check out I Like Mike Huckabee 2012 and learn more about Gov. Huckabee’s record.

    Just in case you missed it:

    Fast Facts on Gov. Mike Huckabee
    Mike Huckabee has the most governing experience out of any of the potential 2012 candidates. Gov Huckabee served Arkansas as governor from July 1996 through December 2006. He was voted one of the five best governors in 2005.

    While Governor of the state of Arkansas, Huckabee:

    – Doubled the child care tax credit in 1997.
    – Eliminated the capital gains tax on the sale of a home.
    – Indexed Arkansas’ state income tax to inflation, keeping people from being pushed into higher tax brackets.
    – Cut taxes nearly 100 times in his state.
    – Eliminated the state income tax for families below the poverty level.
    – Left his state with almost $1 billion surplus, a state record.
    – Cut welfare rolls by 50 %.
    – Balanced the state budget of Arkansas every year he was governor in Arkansas.
    – Led efforts to establish the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights and a Property Taxpayer Bill of Rights for uniform notice and due process.
    – Plus he made the interstate road system in Arkansas one of the best in the nation, where it had been among the worst, bringing in more trucking and trade. And the small tax the voters raised was repealed once the roads were complete.
    -Carried out 16 executions in his time as governor of Arkansas which refutes his opponents’ claims that he’s soft on crime.
    – Signed a ban on partial birth abortion.
    – Worked to grant school administrators more flexibility in hiring and firing poor teachers.
    – Moved Arkansas from grade “F” to a “C” in Charitable Choice compliance so Arkansas was only one of twelve states to pass.

    All this was accomplished by Governor Huckabee while facing a legislature with 89 Democrats out of 100 legislators in the House and only four Republicans in the 35-seat Senate.

    Huckabee served as governor for 10 1/2 years and left office only due to term limits. His approval rating was in the 60’s.

    Since then, Mike Huckabee has done a great job talking about the fiscal/economic issues that our country is facing. Fox Business Network has posted these on Youtube.

    Texas Conservative (b264af)

  85. Also, let’s give Paul Ryan some credit. He’s one of the few who has a realistic solution that actually deals with looming entitlement spending.

    Sure, he plays politics with the issue, but I think that’s because he’s actually trying to get something done in a political world. There just aren’t that many who seem to seriously be leading us in that direction.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  86. enough with the “Palin resigned, she’s a quitter” meme… Sarah was under a deliberate partisan attack, using the legal system and Alaskan law, that was designed to personally bankrupt her and hamstring her administration.

    the proof that the lawsuits were baseless and partisan is that they stopped being filed when she left office.

    redc1c4 (fb8750)

  87. $74 billion in cuts are draconian. That is less than 10% of what we wasted on “stimulus”‘ and around 2% of the overall budget. Draconian. In a $3,500,000,000,000+ budget, we cannot find 2% to cut.

    JD (fc6858)

  88. -Carried out 16 executions in his time as governor of Arkansas which refutes his opponents’ claims that he’s soft on crime.

    I’ll ignore the rest of your claims, since they are typical political speak for a flip flopper. Huck’s youtube videos don’t change his record.

    I just want to note that your refutation of his soft on crime record is offensive to the memory of victims of Huckabee’s religious pardon process. You simply ignore such a huge issue, with that lazy point.

    Huckabee didn’t execute those people. Arkansas jurors did. And when Huckabee commuted sentences, he was taking power from jurors because of religion. And now the results are 6 feet underground.

    I think that’s a very serious issue you’re dismissing.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  89. Actually, an awful of of T.C.’s arguments say “huckabee did X” when it’s something the federal government or local government did.

    I hate politicians who take credit for things the didn’t do in order to deny the things they did do.

    It’s as slimy as ‘asking’ if Romney thinks Satan and Jesus are brothers. America can do better than Huckabee, and in some ways, we already are with Obama (an awful president, I realize).

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  90. Well… it took 82 comments, but a true Huckabee supporter finally surfaced. Who says the internet isn’t good for anything?

    And, as a service to my fellow Pattericans, here is a little app you can add to your browser bar that allows you to blow up photos and html elements on a web page. It’s nice for when you fall to the temptation to visit a lib site and get your blood pressure up. http://erkie.github.com/

    Gesundheit (cfa313)

  91. Speaking of Pattericans, has there ever been a movement to declare Patterico a state?

    Gesundheit (cfa313)

  92. AWESOME, Gesundheit.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  93. 84. Our Obot ‘minders’ are subcommandantes, untermenshen, all very predicatble.

    gary gulrud (790d43)

  94. In which case, I can only surmise that you’re being intentionally dense, and therefor not worth the effort it’ll take to recite another parable.

    Comment by Walt Gilbert — 2/4/2011 @ 10:12 am

    No, I understand what you’re saying, and even restating it to make clear that I understand. I even say it’s reasonable.

    Then I note that it doesn’t relate to your claim that context doesn’t matter. If I want a GOP that balks at Huckabee, that doesn’t mean I have to always be a purist. Context means a lot in this case.

    I’m arguing in good faith, and maybe you’re being too defensive about this.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  95. Btw, there are even more Live Action videos, on Hot Air, so much for ‘one or two bad apples’

    narciso (e888ae)

  96. After all, Huck strikes many as Jimmy Carter with a GOP registration, and these factors are why.

    Bingo! I was 20 when I voted for Carter and have regretted it ever since. I thought, hey he’s a Christian, the other guy isn’t. I’ll vote for him. I was young and very wrong. If you really want to know why not to vote for Huckabee, read Ann Coulter’s article, “LIBERALS SING ‘HUCKELUJAH’“. Here’s a quote from the article on school choice and illegal immigration.

    Huckabee opposes school choice, earning him the coveted endorsement of the National Education Association of New Hampshire, which is like the sheriff being endorsed by the local whorehouse.

    He is, however, in favor of school choice for kids in Mexico: They have the choice of going to school there or here. Huckabee promoted giving in-state tuition in Arkansas to illegal immigrants from Mexico — but not to U.S. citizens from Ohio. “I don’t believe you punish the children,” he said, “for the crime and sins of the parents.”

    Since when is not offering someone lavish taxpayer-funded benefits a form of punishment? That’s almost as crazy as a governor pardoning a known sex offender so he can go out and rape and kill.

    Huckabee claims he’s against punishing children for the crimes of their fathers in the case of illegal immigrants. But in the case of slavery, he believes the children of the children’s children should be routinely punished for the crimes of their fathers.

    Huckabee has said illegal immigration gives Americans a chance to make up for slavery. (I thought letting O.J. walk for murdering two people was payback for slavery.)

    If it came down to a vote between Obama and Huckabee (I hope to God not), I would do just as I did with McCain, hold my nose and vote Republican. I don’t think a third party has a chance and I’m very interested in the makeup of the supreme court.

    Tanny O'Haley (12193c)

  97. Then I note that it doesn’t relate to your claim that context doesn’t matter. If I want a GOP that balks at Huckabee, that doesn’t mean I have to always be a purist.

    Then it seems to me that you’re making an argument that you’re not even aware that you’re making. And that would be the best face to put on it. A less charitable person would call it naked cynicism.

    You’re either a purist, or you’re not a purist. If you’re arguing that it’s OK to be a purist in some cases, but not in others, then that just makes you a cynic, as you would be using an argument that you don’t truly believe it because it suits your needs at the moment.

    Appropriately enough, that’s the very thing that makes Huckabee’s supporters all but immune to the entreaties of purists.

    Walt Gilbert (9f130b)

  98. EPWJ says that Huckabee is a liar.

    And he should know.

    Icy Texan (757364)

  99. I vote based on fiscal issues rather than social issues so Huckabee isn’t my favorite or even in my top 10. In addition, while I understand the desire to protest by voting for the libertarian candidate, I would gladly give Huckabee my vote and support if he’s the GOP nominee running against Obama because giving Obama a 2nd term would be disastrous.

    Having said that, I wouldn’t criticize people who decide otherwise because I know how they feel. I voted for Perot in 1992 and I would do so again — even knowing what I know now — because I wanted to send a message to the GOP. If the Republicans nominate Huckabee then maybe they need a similar message, but IMO Obama poses a much greater threat than Clinton ever did.

    DRJ (fdd243)

  100. To answer your question, I know Huckabee supporters and they are good people. In general, I’d say most of them put social values first when they vote. I suspect you know a lot of people like them, Patterico — that is, people who put values first when they vote, but the people you know probably vote for liberals. They may have different values but it’s really the same thing.

    DRJ (fdd243)

  101. With all due respect, DRJ, the Perot vote allowed eight years of Clinton.

    I don’t know. Maybe GHWB would have been worse than Clinton for the nation.

    But I admire you how you own. There are lots of people who vote 3rd Party, and then they complain about the winner…which they helped elect. For people like you (I think), the message was the point, because you didn’t see a difference between Clinton and Bush the Elder.

    My parents voted as you did. And they were very, very sorry under Clinton.

    No disrespect meant, as I hope you know.

    I don’t know how to send a message—because I don’t think the RNC “got” the Perot Message. So what to do?

    I sure don’t know.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  102. Simon Jester,

    In my view, George H.W. Bush wouldn’t have been much different than Clinton from a fiscal standpoint. Bush would have nominated more conservatives Supreme Court Justices (or at least he would have tried to) but if the future of America comes down to a few Supreme Court justices, we’ve already lost. Don’t get me wrong, I’m in favor of electing conservative Presidents who nominate conservative justices, but that won’t save conservatism unless we clean up our biased educational system and stop attacking capitalism — things that started long before Bush 41 or Clinton and are only getting worse because of Obama and the entrenched bureaucracy.

    IMO it will take Americans standing up for fiscal responsibility to change things, because that’s the only way to starve the bureaucracy of its endless supply of funding.

    DRJ (fdd243)

  103. And I agree political parties don’t generally get messages, but people do. More fiscal conservatives got involved in state and local politics after Perot, which is one reason Texas turned more conservative.

    DRJ (fdd243)

  104. IMO it will take Americans standing up for fiscal responsibility to change things, because that’s the only way to starve the bureaucracy of its endless supply of funding.

    Yeah, like not giving out so much corporate welfare to super rich industries like oil and gas. And having better regulations to keep the free economy from imploding due to inherent greediness leading to lawlessness and moral depravity. (what most people want)

    Most of you think you are conservatives, but you don’t represent most of the core values of conservatism, you are just anti-liberal right-wing echo chambers.

    Chris Hooten (24973f)

  105. Okay, DRJ. I guess I just don’t see how re-electing BHO sends any other message than “Yay Progressivism.”

    And a third party vote will do that.

    So it all comes down, again, to “bad” versus “worse.” And that calculus may differ from person to person.

    Overall, I understand your point. I am curious when that approach has worked. You say it has helped in Texas, and I am glad to hear that.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  106. Simon,

    I agree it’s important to support the GOP Presidential candidate in the next election (and I plan to), and I understand why voters felt that way in 1992. All I’m saying is I also understand why some voters don’t feel that way.

    PS — Technically, Perot voters allowed 4 years of Clinton. The GOP and Bob Dole gave us 4 more years. But I wouldn’t have considered a protest vote at Clinton’s 2nd term, either, just as I won’t register a protest vote that might give Obama a 2nd term.

    DRJ (fdd243)

  107. The problem with Huckabee is that when you look at the details of his tenure as Governor, there is a lot of fail.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  108. True on both counts, DRJ. And especially so, SPQR. I just wish that candidates weren’t about “narratives” and were instead about record.

    Crazy, huh?

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  109. SPQR,

    I agree with you about Huckabee but is he worse than Romney? He probably is for me but it a close call. IMO Huckabee will be a nanny-state big spender and regulator and I don’t care for his focus on social issues. Meanwhile, Romney is a much better businessman, so that gives him a decided edge. But RomneyCare makes Romney a compromised conservative to me.

    DRJ (fdd243)

  110. I think it comes down to how one views the role of politicians. Should Team R and its candidates answer to its members, or should the members just line up behind whoever Team R chooses?

    JD (2da347)

  111. DRJ, I’m not voting for Romney or Huckabee, but of the two, Huckabee comes in last.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  112. have you checked Dairy Queen?

    happyfeet (a55ba0)

  113. JD,

    It’s a two way street. Team R has to answer to its members in primaries, but (usually) ends up lining up behind the eventual winner of the nomination. Of course, the latter is harder when the field is as weak as this one seems to be.

    Karl (f07e38)

  114. Well, this is depressing.

    DRJ (fdd243)

  115. I’m curious if where we live affects our willingness to consider a protest vote. The reason I say this is I know several commenters and readers live in California while I’m in Texas. Republicans have an edge in Texas voters but it’s not a big enough edge that the GOP can afford to lose a big swath of voters.

    But if you live in a place where virtually every conservative vote is a protest vote (as I understand it is in most state-wide California races), does it make you more or less willing to “send a message” to the GOP? I would think it makes you less willing to send a message in national races because at least your vote somewhat counts in those races, but I can see that the reverse might be true, too.

    DRJ (fdd243)

  116. It all comes down to Things that Make Soros Smile™.

    Sure, many conservatives/libertarians seem to be all about really putting people under a microscope…sometimes to the point of silly claims, such as “The Republican nominee is no different from the Democratic nominee.”

    I would observe that the Left is not doing that. Not at all. Something to keep in mind.

    Anyway, think about the Democratic field in 2008. That was supposed to be HRC’s election. Whoops.

    Now, people can claim that was special in many ways, but I would instead advance the proposition that enthusiasm can push even a seemingly minor candidate forward….even to the Oval Office.

    So the choices are simple. We can be negative and find fault with every single candidate under the R tent…or we can get behind something positive, and push that “narrative.”

    Keep in mind how often we heard a certain candidate now sitting in the Oval Office was a superb orator, made no gaffes, was intelligent, and inevitable. None of those things were true. It became the narrative.

    So you can let the MSM—which has an agenda, of course—push a narrative.

    Or folks on the Right can create their own. Time will tell.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  117. I agree you on Huckabee, but I do know at least one source for his support: orthodox Jews. His strong support for Israel, not because it’s useful but because it’s the right thing, makes him popular in the sort of circles I run in. So do his uncompromising SoCon positions on other issues. Sam Brownback had similar support. Now that you mention it, however, I don’t recall ever personally meeting a Huckabee supporter; but I do see support for him on web sites I frequent. For instance, his recent visit to Israel was reported favorably, and one site referred to him as “the Republican candidate for the presidency”, which is technically true but misleading.

    Palin has a similar position on Israel; she had an Israeli flag in her office even when she had no need for the votes or donations of Alaska’s few hundred Jews. That should score her points in the orthodox electorate. And of course Lt Col Allen West’s video does the rounds regularly.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  118. I tried to “send a message” once.

    * I wrote my congressman and Senators. I got form letters back thanking me for my opinions and telling my why they were going to do just as they pleased and how I should be thankful for it.

    * I donated some money to the Republicans. I got so much mail back asking for more money that it had to have used up half of the $20 I sent.

    * I wrote a letter to the editor back in the day of dead print. And I emailed and wrote comments on candidate websites today. It fell into the memory hole. “Thank you for your comments. The donation button is…”

    * I went to a Tea Party rally. “Conservative” Republicans appeared to be embarrassed by the yokel flavor of it all.

    * I voted. I voted again and again and again since the 1970s. Whether Republican or Democrat got elected, I got the same thing. Deeper deficit, more regulation, less freedom, higher costs, more government in every single aspect of my life.

    I’m wondering about this whole “send a message” thing. It’s making me look more approvingly at the most radical options – Palin, Ryan, Paul, and anyone who says “let’s start this next budget process with a machete.”

    Instead, headline on HotAir, “GOP Scales Back Budget Cuts to 32Billion.” Ah yes… the courage of our convictions.

    Gesundheit (cfa313)

  119. I agree, Gesundheit, and I’d like to see a no-holds-barred primary.

    DRJ (fdd243)

  120. I suspect a lot of soft Palin supporters say they want Huckabee when they would prefer Palin but don’t want to be put down for it. Polls are bogus until the campaign starts. I see Palin filling large venues and raising money from a flood of small contributions. Then the bandwagon effect brings out her more timid supporters. The media will carp with complete impotence and some heads will explode. Pass the popcorn.

    Gary Ogletree (788a4b)

  121. I see Palin filling large venues and raising money from a flood of small contributions. Then the bandwagon effect brings out her more timid supporters. The media will carp with complete impotence and some heads will explode.

    I see none of those things happening, much to the chagrin of a small army of rabid Palin supporters.

    Pass the popcorn indeed.

    Kman (d30fc3)

  122. Kmart – when we want your opinion …. Well … Never mind. We won’t.

    JD (d4bbf1)

  123. I’m betting that Palin won’t run in 2012, but will work to elect a candidate that she can feel confident in. Question is: who could that be?

    Gesundheit (cfa313)

  124. Happyfeet – what do you think of the snake oil salesman guitar strumming preacher? Guitar and lute players are of questionable character–JD

    .

    As a guitar player I second that characterization. FTR, Huckabee is a bass player.

    BT (74cbec)

  125. If you’re right, Gesundheit, that’s very impressive of her. Given how much flack she’s taken for the cause.

    Maybe Demint would be her call, but people are well advised to remember Palin is much more moderate than the MSM pretends she is. She’s not this fire breathing death threatening blowhard.

    Among the people she’s lauded are Michael freaking Steele.

    So if she were to endorse someone, it might turn out to be someone more mainstream. Or it could be someone like O’Donnell.

    My guess is that she is going to run, and she’s going to be unstoppable in the primaries.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  126. Oh ya, I don’t want Huckabee as president either, although I think that he would have been a great replacement for Paul Harvey. Huckabee is very good on the radio and with his homespun nature would be a natural in that role. As for Palin, FWIW, I think should would be a terrific senator, president not so much. I would like to see her run for senate but her ego may not allow that.

    BT (74cbec)

  127. Serious question: has anyone heard from Brad Fikes? I haven’t seen a post by him for some time. I know he has had some health issues, I hope all is ok.

    BT (74cbec)

  128. BT, I think that’s a very insightful point. Being a great Senator requires clarity on the issues, and in some cases, dogged oversight capabilities. Palin’s got that.

    If only she had run against Murkowski.

    But it’s a free country, and Palin in office brings out the Kman types who will lie and sue and deny even the most basic token of loyal disagreement. It’s amusing seeing this idiot deny Palin would have a huge number of supporters. You’d have to be living in a cave not to see how she’s got a large number of very loyal supporters who intend to fight hard in the primary.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  129. Yeah, it’s been a while since we heard from Brother Bradley.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  130. The only point of running for Senator in Alaska is to bring home the pork. there are exceptions like Gravel who was fairly to the left, but Begich and Murkowski make this quite plain. And those in charge will do practically anything to hold on to it. We saw that this fall. I don’t understand the Delaware GOP by contrast, because they’ve been shut out for quite a while, yet they like that circumstance. I can’t even endeavor to explain the attachment of Harry Reid, to Nevada.
    He gives off the same vibe, right out of ‘There
    will be Blood’ as the Huck.

    arnold schwartznegger (e888ae)

  131. I think Palin in the Senate would do quite a lot of good, actually. Yes (narciso?) it would be difficult for her to win. But someone has to run in these places. I’m still pretty miffed that Miller lost.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  132. Actually there are a lot of Huckabee supporters, he has in fact won some races. They are not here, because a lot of those folks do not hang out on the internet…and the truth is that a lot of the people who do hang out at political sites are not very indicative of rank and file voters with lives and children and jobs and all sorts of things going on. They just don’t choose to spend their time that way. The truth is there is a sort of echo chamber on a lot political blogs and that makes people think they are more representative of voters than they really are. So don’t underestimate Huckabee, a lot of people like the man.

    Terrye (84455a)

  133. Terry, granted, a lot of people do like that jackass Huckabee, but few of them are willing to argue in his favor.

    We got a hit and run list of BS, and vague ‘someone out there likes him’. I just never seem to see Huckabee supporters carry on a conversation about him on political blogs.

    I know people here who like Demint, Palin, Daniels, Christie, Ryan, Tpaw, Jindal, but very few Huck or Romney supporters speak up.

    Would you select Huck as the nominee? If so, why? You’re surely right that a lot of people would, but maybe if we had more discussion of why, they would wake up.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  134. Dustin (way back at #34):

    The idea was if the election was Huckabee versus Obama, a Tea Party candidate like Rand Paul would be viable.

    Kevin M (73dcc9)

  135. enough with the “Palin resigned, she’s a quitter” meme… Sarah was under a deliberate partisan attack, using the legal system and Alaskan law, that was designed to personally bankrupt her and hamstring her administration.

    the proof that the lawsuits were baseless and partisan is that they stopped being filed when she left office.

    Exactly. The KelptoRepublicans (see Murkowski, Lisa) and the Left were allied in trampling Governor Palin. Remember that Palin primaried the sitting Republican governor (Lisa’s dad) on an anti-corruption platform. And won. The Old Boys then allowed endless baseless “ethics” suits to proceed and the result was that she was forced to quit or go broke.

    Kevin M (73dcc9)

  136. The idea was if the election was Huckabee versus Obama, a Tea Party candidate like Rand Paul would be viable.

    Comment by Kevin M — 2/4/2011 @ 3:05 pm

    AHHHH

    Well, yeah, that makes a lot of sense to me. Be it Paul or some other major third party attempt, I would seriously consider it.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  137. I voted for Mike. But I’m from Arizona. It was a protest vote.

    Screw you, McCain!

    Dawn (db7f29)

  138. Given a choice between President Obama and President Huckabee, I’d proudly cast my vote for President Cavy.

    Murgatroyd (fd5fcd)

  139. Huckabee was the “compromise” second choice for those who despised both Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney for being successful executives of overwhelmingly blue jurisdictions; those who despised John McCain and Mitt Romney for enacting bipartisan legislation; those who despised Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani for thinking that they did not even have to try to win the nomination; those who despised John McCain and Fred Thompson for perpetually caving to their Democrat counterparts in the US Senate; those that despise Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani for their percieved religion, or lack thereof.

    Yes, Mike Huckabee, in terms of national politics, has always been a “second” choice. Not a real choice, just what is thought to be an innocuous compromise – one which has delighted the left, and used by manipulative inside-the-beltway righties.

    For example, Michael Medved on his nationally syndicated radio show, constantly pumped Huckabee in the early stages of the 08 primaries. Not because he wanted Huckabee as the nominee IMO, but because he feared that Romney was doing too well against his favored candidate – John McCain. And yes, lefties (the media) have picked up on this, and are running their own ‘operation chaos’, abet much more covert, and much more insidious.

    bains (152e9d)

  140. Well, yeah, that makes a lot of sense to me. Be it Paul or some other major third party attempt, I would seriously consider it.

    Which is why Huckabee will not get the nomination; the Tea Party is going to have to accept the ticket and Huckabee is the devil to them.

    My current prediction is Romney and a Tea Party senator or governor as Veep.

    Kevin M (73dcc9)

  141. Bro. bradley made a comment/ref to one of my posts not too many days ago…

    Dustin- you’re right, in our worst scenarios he would have already let Iraq and Afghanistan descend into chaos, which he hasn’t.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  142. I always wondered how much of Huck’s success was due to effort and organization in Iowa, that he got the approval of homeschooler’s or church-goers or some other network of like-minded people under the radar and just took every one else by surprise. I don’t think he could do that well in Iowa again, others would not underestimate him.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  143. The only satisfaction I’d get from a Romney nomination would be the wailing from the anti-mormon jerks.

    That said, Romney is clearly some kind of executive. He’s better than Obama in many respects. I simply don’t trust the guy not to waffle in tough times. Even though I strongly oppose him for nomination, in all honesty, I would vote for him in the general vs Obama with great enthusiasm.

    Please don’t make me do that, though.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  144. The view of many of us, is seen here:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDOykmey7-I

    arnold schwartznegger (e888ae)

  145. hey Arnie: could you see your way to getting me another glass of wine?

    Valerie Jarrett (fb8750)

  146. Given a choice between President Obama and President Huckabee, I’d proudly cast my vote for President Cavy General Revolt.

    FTFY!

    Box Number Three (fb8750)

  147. I’ve changed my mind. The only thing these bastards care about is how far can one go and remain electorally viable.

    If Obama is reelected, it sends a terrible message about how far one may go. I’ll vote for Huckabee in a general election. I’ll vote for someone exactly like Obama, but not Obama, just to make sure the message that America is OK with this administration is not delivered to anyone.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  148. I don’t support Gov. Huckabee’s presidential ambitions. I have a hard time imagining myself ever voting for him in a GOP primary. And I very much fear that the GOP’s current primary system — massively front-end loaded with winner-take-all primaries in frankly unrepresentative states like Iowa and New Hampshire — gives him a far better chance than he’d have in a better, fairer primary system.

    But I don’t rule out the possibility that he has a useful role to play in the national political discussion.

    Beldar (e2dd38)

  149. One person: Michael Medved. He has consistently supported Huckabee.

    I agree with Patterico on this one. The guy is oily. I could not have said it better.

    Clavius (4a0f51)

  150. Really, I would have guessed he was more a Romney person, Meanwhile the Sorosphere is at it, again;

    http://bigjournalism.com/sright/2011/02/04/media-matters-offers-pitiful-gotcha-on-planned-parenthood-video-unwittingly-destroys-their-own-spin/

    arnold schwartznegger (e888ae)

  151. It’s been a long time since I listened to Medved, but I have a high opinion of the guy. It’s surprising to me that huckabee’s ship didn’t sink with the anti-mormon comments, or the commutation scandals. But I don’t get to tell people who they can’t like. I promise if you all let me do that, the world would be a lot better.

    Preach on, Beldar. Our primaries are not working. Some of the GOP’s most stalwart states have no say.

    Nobody is on board with my idea to reorder the primaries to generally rank swing states as far forward, with a few common sense accommodations for geography. Delegates based strictly on percentage of votes received.

    I do feel that we need some kind of early Super Tuesday style contest, once the field is narrowed down, to see which candidates can handle a national contest.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  152. Sorry, sock off, by the way, who attempted to sock me, and missed the point entirely. One wonders why PPP keeps him up, considering his significant flaws,
    in judgement, re the criminal justice system, so cite one example.

    narciso (e888ae)

  153. Dustin:

    I don’t think it is just that they don’t want to argue for Huckabee, I think a lot of Huckabee people are not online to do any arguing. They just don’t come to these places.

    Terrye (2e6779)

  154. I’m sure most of them don’t, but that could be said for almost all the Palin fans I know, too. Though Palin fans seem to be far more vocal online.

    Look, if the polls are correct, there are millions of Huck supporters. If 1 out of 100,000 of them reads this blog or the others I comment on, we should have plenty to have a good conversation.

    Perhaps I’m being unreasonable.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  155. You see some of them, at sites like GOP 12, like Tex Conservative, they was a small passel at them at Rinosphere, but they were forced out. The press
    doesn’t really call him out for his poor judgement, like what he was partially responsible for in Washington, last year (although Gregoire has the lion’s share) PPP pumps him up, Behar stirs up the muddle, (as much as a test pattern can do). I’m sure if he actually had a chance, the press would suddenly remember he was a Baptist, and go with the complete Elmer Gantry treatment.

    narciso (e888ae)

  156. Dustin,

    I dont know where there are any “definitive” studies but evangelicals are less web active than other groups

    but its argumentative – no one really knows, my only source is a crumpled church bulletin

    EricPWJohnson (523f48)

  157. I think it’s true Huckabee fans aren’t at websites like this one but this is a California-based blog and how many California Huckabee fans are there? It may also be true that they don’t frequent the more popular politically-based blogs, but the ones I know tend to focus on blogs/websites that deal with specific issues like abortion and other social issues.

    DRJ (fdd243)

  158. This is blatant thread-jacking but have you seen the Telegraph article that claims a Wikileaks cable says the Obama Administration secretly agreed to give Russia information about Britain’s Trident missiles in exchange for agreeing to the START treaty? I hope this isn’t true.

    DRJ (fdd243)

  159. And for those of you scoring at home (or even if you’re by yourself) that’s: Icy Texan= 1, stashiu = ZIPPO.
    Comment by Icy Texan — 2/4/2011 @ 9:08 am

    Huh?

    Stashiu3 (44da70)

  160. STASHIU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    JD (d4bbf1)

  161. I hope yu are right, DRJ, but fear you are wrong.

    JD (d4bbf1)

  162. Stashiu, long time no pixels dude.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  163. Hey, Staashiu!

    EPWJ, I grant that. I still think the sheer number of Huck supporters, according to polls, means we should see some Huck fans here. I think there’s something more than just a demographic that isn’t hip to the blogs. I think, to be pointed, that people exposed to information and facing the rigorous test of POVs in good discussion threads can’t be Huck supporters for long.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  164. If DRJ’s link right (and there’s no excellent explanation), than damn was MD right and I wrong about Obama exceeding expectations on foreign policy.

    Why was START even worth that? That kind of thing just elevates a country with an economy smaller than Italy’s, to US Stature. Why cheat our allies over that?

    Because it’s a secret, and our leader doesn’t really care, so long as no one finds out?

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  165. Good to see you, Stash. You’ve been missed, a lot.

    DRJ (fdd243)

  166. I like Huckabee. Most people in AL do.

    Kate (79975e)

  167. Stick around, Kate. I’m sure several folks would like to talk about the subject.

    DRJ (fdd243)

  168. Haven’t felt like commenting much for a long time, although I try to lurk here most days for a while at least. Got tired of getting into the same old hassles with the same folks. Anyone have an idea why I’m “zippo”? That stumped me enough to de-lurk.

    Stashiu3 (44da70)

  169. Dustin,

    Obama’s mindset is that of a Cold War-era peacenik who wants a nuclear-free world and everyone to agree to nuclear disarmament, especially Western nations. Like many idealists, his mindset apparently never matured past that point.

    DRJ (fdd243)

  170. It wasn’t, and the Russian counterpart to Richard Lugar, (name escapes me) knew it. Yet another area
    where she happened to be right, all along.

    narciso (e888ae)

  171. I have no idea why Icy said that, Stash. Maybe he’s remembering some 2008 election discussion and has you confused with someone else or some discussion you had confused with something else.

    DRJ (fdd243)

  172. Well, I sure don’t recall predicting another McCain run (or ruling it out for that matter.) No worries. 🙂

    Stashiu3 (44da70)

  173. Stashiu!!!

    Show me the same old people and I’ll torpedo them!

    Good to hear from you.

    Patterico (11ac24)

  174. President Obama is compelled to keep reminding Great Britain that the special relationship no longer exists and will not be honored or acknowledged during his occupancy in the WH, which is bad enough. But far worse, is his now proving to our greatest ally that we not trustworthy.

    It is nothing less than stunning to see our president take this course of action.

    Dana (8ba2fb)

  175. Show me the same old people and I’ll torpedo them!
    Comment by Patterico — 2/4/2011 @ 7:43 pm

    Gotta be careful with that violent rhetoric you know. 😉

    Stashiu3 (44da70)

  176. Maybe it wasn’t anything negative, but instead something lighthearted between you and Icy he was referring to, Stashiu?

    Dana (8ba2fb)

  177. DRJ, I’m extremely disturbed by this story. This kind of action is downright dangerous. We aren’t going to have a nuke free world, and Obama has to realize that. Surely he can’t be that much a dumb hippie.

    Right?

    Britain has been slapped diplomatically, and pointlessly, far too many times. This is a country that is shedding blood in the war on terror, and deserves tremendous respect compared with Russia, which supplies some of the weapons our enemies are using.

    Kate, stick around. And my apologies RE generalizing Huckabee supporters. Don’t let my loud mouth bug you, if you’d like to show some support for Huckabee. As I said way earlier, the only Huck supporters I know personally are very good people.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  178. Oh, I didn’t take it as a negative Dana. I don’t think I’ve ever had a problem with IT. The reference completely escapes me though. Again, no worries.

    FWIW, I don’t really know any Huckabee fans. Mostly because of the commutation issue, but I’m not around a lot of evangelical types either.

    Stashiu3 (44da70)

  179. Dustin,

    President Obama and his party decided over two years ago that the people have short memories and they could implement their agenda with few consequences. The way TARP was distributed (every liberal wish-list item for the past 40 years), disregard for constitutional limits (czars, DOJ firing, New Panther scandal, need I go on?), poor treatment of allies and preferential treatment for tyrants, I could go on and on. So far, the only problem was the midterm elections and they still retain enough control to avoid having any of their “gains” undone.

    The president and his party believe America to be exceptional… exceptionally bad. They intend to fix it.

    Stashiu3 (44da70)

  180. I’m concerned, too, Dustin. Obama is the idealistic child of a hippie and he doesn’t seem to like Britain, which makes me worry this story could be true.

    Stashiu: As I’m sure you recall, Icy is originally from Arizona and supported McCain when a lot of us were leery about supporting him. That’s all I can think of but that would apply to most of us, so I’m guessing Icy has something specific in mind. But if it was part of a plan to get you to come back: Good Job, Icy Texan!

    DRJ (fdd243)

  181. Aside from the treaty itself, should we assume the U.S. media outlets are not reporting on this surprising revelation as they are still shaping the narrative so that when it does play here, it will very convincingly appear as if President Obama had our best interest at heart? I’ve looked high and low and can’t find anything about it in the major media outlets.

    Dana (8ba2fb)

  182. Hi Stash–perhaps that was just IT’s way of “summoning” you– like psychics summon the spirits. And it worked!!! You showed up. Stick around and play why don’t you?

    elissa (bd6524)

  183. He seems to replicating all of Jimmy’s ‘greatest hits’ from SALT 2, to “Tehran on the Nile”, maybe we can get an invasion of Georgia, before we’re through;

    narciso (e888ae)

  184. Since we’ve strayed from the subject anyway, Fox News reports there was an assassination attempt on the new Egyptian VP Omar Suleiman. I’m betting the MB is behind it since Suleiman is an ally of the Egyptian Army and the military is the main group stopping Islamists from getting control now.

    DRJ (fdd243)

  185. That would be a fair bet, DRJ, only Gen. Allam, who interrogated both Qutb, Zawahiri and probably Sheikh
    Abdel Rahman, was a stronger foe of the Islamists

    narciso (e888ae)

  186. I always have a Patterico’s tab open. I just put the white horse in the stable and mostly lurk these days. I appreciate the kind comments, but I never left so I really didn’t “come back”. Y’all have a good night now, time for me to turn in.

    Stashiu3 (44da70)

  187. Stashiu3 – Great to see you!

    daleyrocks (479a30)

  188. He’s a hybrid of a snake oil salesman and Southern preacher who works hard to maintain plausible deniability for his hatred for Mormons.

    I despise the man to the point I am not sure I could stand to vote for him even against Obama.

    “Sucks dead bunnies through garden hoses,” approaches my sentiments.

    {o.o}

    jdow (98e9d7)

  189. Personally, I find him creepy and oily.

    My main concern about him is on some crucial issues he becomes too squishy, meaning he leans too much to the left. However, Obama is intrinsically, innately a leftist — if not an ultra-liberal — while Huckabee seems like the sort who is too easily hoodwinked by nonsensical do-gooder sentiments (his own and others) on various occasions.

    Mark (3e3a7c)

  190. I really care about who could run the country, and Huckabee can’t. Heck, look at what the Repubs want to do to the epa’s ability to regulate air quality. There aren’t any Repubs who could run this country well. No wonder they hate government.

    Chris Hooten (24973f)

  191. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again–Huckabee is a present day, third-rate version of William Jennings Bryan. If Republicans are that desperate for that sort of thing, they should grab a shovel and “recruit” the original. For my part, unless Obama reaches unforeseeable heights of incompetence and dishonesty (which would be saying a lot at this point), I will not be voting for Mr. Huckabee in the general election in 2012.

    M. Scott Eiland (27aed4)

  192. Well, he shares his most prominent characteristic with the last Republican presidential candidate: He fights those to his right a lot harder than he does those to his left.

    Cooter (f1ab34)

  193. Put me down as solidly anti-Huckabee

    Jones (72b0ed)

  194. One thing for sure, there are 4 families of dead cops in Washington State who are NOT Huckabee supporters.

    TR (f4c126)

  195. media supports huckabee, people know who the huckster really is.

    10ksnooker (0d210f)

  196. Save us Sarah!

    gary gulrud (790d43)

  197. England, getting b*tch slapped again by the child tyrant. Am at a total loss as to why no one mentions the I word. DOJ, Walper, Panthers, illegal moratorium on drilling… Ft. Hood, etc etc etc.

    Only know one Huck supporter.. works in a liberal field in a blue state. Really likes Reagan. Likes Newt too. Doesn’t seem to follow specific issues beyond a broad opinion. Very concerned w/ Mitt’s faith, doesn’t like the Catholic church either. Mentioned Mitt’s ‘presidential’ look. Am concerned he could fall for a Huntsman type of run (media-left).

    Vermont Neighbor (7c90f3)

  198. Comment by 10ksnooker — 2/5/2011 @ 7:32 am

    And the media was the great supporter of “The Maverick” as long as he wasn’t the actual nominee – there’s a lesson there for “The Huckster” if his narcissism doesn’t get in the way.

    AD-RtR/OS! (a13181)

  199. I’m anxious for the primaries. Right now it’s PFTW.

    Vermont Neighbor (17012e)

  200. Anyone born with a name like “Huckabee” who doesn’t change it the moment he can legally do so is obviously an irredeemable hickaboy.

    Mork (98eed5)

  201. I even turn off Fox when I find out Huckster or Rivers is on.

    tim watson (242179)

  202. That is, he seems like a guy who would espouse conservative themes, but then turn around and violate them whenever something tugged at his heart strings – like how important it is to combat obesity (his personal battle), or letting some sad sack out of prison

    I like how to a modern “conservative,” caring about your fellow citizens is considered a weak thing

    timb (449046)

  203. I love how in the creepy stalkerish thingie’s world, caring is shown by having the government intervene. You are truly pathetic.

    JD (d56362)

  204. also, people in prison find religion all the time. Which kind of makes him look like a poor leader (and one who’s easily conned). Didn’t these 4 end up in WA, killing some cops or something. No to the huck.

    Vermont Neighbor (6d8a47)

  205. Haha…I have to laugh at these posts. I’ll tell you why you don’t see Huck’s supporters at places like Hot Air and Red State and the like…. because we recognize a lost cause when we see it. Those blogs are frequented by hateful, contentious individuals who have zero interest in debate or listening to another point of view. I’ve tried it and it is a total waste of time. I actually think those who frequent those types of sites are incapable of independent thought and research. You hear the same old labels: RINO, big gov liberal, tax hike mike…

    Huck’s supporters are here and we are working the internet…we’re just too smart to spend our time on fruitless endeavors. Perhaps you should take us (and the Gov) a bit more serious…he is at the top of almost every poll lately and unless you want a real RINO like Romney, you will take note.

    Lynn (8e5f2c)

  206. Lynn, Huckabee polls well because he’s on TV with a regular program. Not because of anyone paying any attention to his actual policy positions and past actions.

    SPQR (26be8b)


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