The HuckPAC, A New Book, What's Next for the Huck?

Mike Huckabee has been busy since his stint as a the runner up for the Republican Presidential Nomination from giving speeches to Christian evangelicals to working on a new book scheduled to come out just after the general election. Currently untitled, the book is being published by Penguin publishers and is said to address “how the conservative movement can return to its principles, unify its factions and take back America.” An interesting prospect seeing as it would seem that the strategy of the Christian Right would be heavily influenced by the outcome of the 2008 General Election—especially with the elderly contingency of the Supreme Court Justices.

While campaigning in Arkansas, McCain lunched with Huckabee Friday at a barbeque restaurant and dodged reporters’ inquiries as to whether they would join forces next fall in hopes of obtaining the Oval Office. However, McCain asserted that “Huckabee could help him carry some of the Southern states and be a great asset to his campaign;” a scary thought for anyone left of the Bible belt…or really anyone slightly liberal at all. In his home state, Huckabee seems to be embracing and literally following the old proverb—the enemy of my enemy is my friend—as he is now supporting Davy Carter in a race for a seat in the House. Although Huckabee and his newly created Political Action Committee (the HuckPAC) are formally endorsing Carter because he is “a young, energetic, very passionate lawyer and strong family man who favors lower taxes and more government accountability,” many suspect it is pay back for the negative comments made by Milton, Carter’s major opponent, during the winter when all anyone could say was “Holy Huckabee"(Times Magazine Cover).

What's Going on With Huckabee? A Lot of Different Things...

In the past week Huckabee spoke at Union College and Cornell University, where he received a standing ovation from the audience. In addition, speaking at the "Engage 2008" a conference for clients of HealthMedia, Huckabee urged Clinton to stay in the race for president, if Obama does not receive the necessary delegates before the convention. Moreover, in regards to the presidential election, well that of 2012, this week it is evident that Huckabee may seek the Republican nomination again. As of now however, Huckabee has recently launced the Huck PAC (www.huckabee.com or www.huckpac.com ), the anticipated April 15th change on his website. This PAC will support conservative candidates, including John McCain. The PAC "is founded on the principles that make America great: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Our Republican Party embodies these ideas and is best suited to lead America forward.Huck PAC is committed to helping Republicans regain control of the House and Senate, regain a majority of governorships and elect John McCain as the 44th President of the United States. Huck PAC will support Republican candidates who are passionate advocates for tax reform, a strong national defense, real border security, life, the family, less government and individual liberty. Huck PAC will identify candidates who hold firm to these principles, promote their campaigns and financially support their efforts."

In other non-political news, Huckabee has signed with one of the Hollywood's biggest talent agencies, Creative Artists Agencies…

Huckabee Remains a Strong Supporter of Pro-life Groups Even After He Renounced His Bid for the White House in 2008

When Huckabee dropped out of the race for the Presidency when John McCain finally achieved the necessary number of delegates and ascertained the Republican Nomination, many wondered what would become of the likeable runner-up. Only a month later and he has already begun to adopt a role as a conservative spokesman and plans to give a speech at an upcoming St. Louis pro-life dinner and has recently spent time getting publicity in Michigan and New York. Since John McCain is not a traditional appeal to the Religious Right on social issues, Huckabee has assumed the role of spokesman for social conservatives claiming that McCain, “understands he has to have the strong, conservative values voters. The fabric of a nation is like that of the fabric of a family.” The former Governor of Arkansas has been very committed to promoting the issues that concerned his white house bid supporters such as abortion. In addition to his St. Louis appearance next month, he has already spoken at several parochial schools to emphasize the importance of pro-life sentiment in the Republican Campaign.
Also, interestingly he recently attacked Obama’s expensive plans showing his loyalty in to the party and acknowledging that Presidential candidates are supposed to be above blunt attacks—filling in for the Vice Presidential Nominee who has yet to be determined. What makes his comment surprising is that just a week or two ago with regard to Obama's minister he told America that “I grew up in a very segregated South, and I think that you have to cut some slack.” In his appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe he explained that he did not defend the extremist content of the statements but he understood what it is like to get “caught up in the emotion of the moment” due to his time as a pastor. Moreover, Huckabee has used his new status as a household name as an opportunity for publicity for the several books he has written and has incorporated them into political addresses at places like colleges in upstate New York.

Huckabee Hears (from God) Its Time to Drop Out of the Race

After “Critical Tuesday,” McCain finally surpassed the 1,191 delegates necessary to win the Republican nomination; leaving Former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, little choice but to withdraw from the race. His announcement came Tuesday night from Irving, Texas where he publicly congratulated Senator John McCain and said it is not the time to ponder what could have been but what will be and how important it is to him that the Republican Party unites to fight for the White House for the next four years. Now that his at the Presidency is over, people have begun to hypothesize his future in politics. It seems he is not interested (nor would he be offered) as spot on this year’s Republican ticket, but analysts expect he will stay in the “public eye. Mike Huckabee leaves this campaign in a much stronger position nationally than when he entered it. I believe that his future is now national.” This quote by the Dean of University of Arkansas’ Clinton School of Public Service pretty much sums up why people are predicting Huckabee to become the major spokesman for Evangelical Christians, wait around for the 2012 or 2016 Republican Nomination or even get his own Tv show. People were even wondering if he would jump into the Arkansas Senate race because the week for candidates to file happened to coincide with his renunciation of his bid for the Presidency. However, Huckabee has stuck behind his February statement that “There's a greater chance that I would dye my hair green, cover my body with tattoos and go on a rock tour with Amy Winehouse” than join the Senate.

Huckabee and Hope?

This past week Huckabee visited Rhode Island to campaign for their upcoming primary. Calling himself the “conservative alternative,” Huckabee seeks Conservative voters to help him beat McCain in the state. As the important Texas primary (for the Democrats) approaches, the American Research group this week claimed a tie between Huckabee and McCain in Texas! However, a CNN poll asserts that Huckabee is behind McCain by 25%. Another significant primary (for the Democrats) is approaching next week: Ohio. Huckabee also visited Ohio this past week.

In other news, Huckabee would normally practices a “positive campaign,” has joined McCain in attacking Obama. Huckabee, commenting on Obama’s plans as President affirmed and laughed, “I hear Barack Obama say that he's going to provide everybody with health care and college tuition and pave the streets with gold. The proposals he's put on the table so far, already are going to cost about $287 billion dollars, so far. Now that's a lot of money.” This statement shows Huckabee’s strong desire to help the Republican party win the presidency. Lastly, Huckabee expressed the desire for another debate with McCain. Maybe Huckabee will finally drop out after next week’s results (even if he wins a state or two)…

Huckabee on Saturday Night Live

Although there have been calls for Mike Huckabee to pull out of the Republican race now that john McCain clearly has the party’s endorsement and it is mathematically improbable that Huckabee’s 217 delegates could catch up to McCain’s 918, he has remained steadfast in his run for the Presidency. Huckabee made an appearance on the weekend update of Saturday Night Live and used the opportunity to explain why he is ignoring his party-men’s pleas to relinquish his bid for the Presidency. Playing his usual comical self, after being told about the “mathematical impossibility” of winning Huckabee ascertained that “When it’s time to go, I’ll know. And I’ll exit out with class and grace.” In true Saturday Night Live fashion, Huckabee sat through two sets of applause ignoring hints to get off the stage. The question on everyone’s mind is, why hasn’t Huckabee dropped out of the race? There are several possible reasons and the most likely is that the former Governor of Arkansas wants to accumulate as much attention as possible to build a base for running in the future. Virtually unknown outside the state of Arkansas until he attracted national press around Thanksgiving which continued through Super Tuesday, his heyday for this election is winding down but now he has foundations to build upon if he chooses to run for a national position again. While there was initially speculation about him receiving the Vice Presidential nomination, it now seems unlikely and “The longer Huckabee stays in, the more likely he won't be vice president." Ironically, in a list of things everyone must know about Mike Huckabee, published in the Dallas Morning News, his wife’s maiden name is McCain—who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t married his competition? In addition, the reporter explained “in college, Mr. Huckabee and his friends used to fry squirrel in a popcorn popper in their dorm room. I should say it tastes a lot like chicken, but it doesn't, [Huckabee] told NBC's Tim Russert recently.” Despite his odd college pass time, who knows when Huckabee will stop praying for a miracle and begin preparing for his next run for the Republican Party’s Nomination?

When will Huckabee drop out?

After news reporters called McCain the winner of the Washington Republican caucus with only 87% of the precincts reported, Huckabee disputed the results. He noted that the state had not counted 1,500 delegates and there were “obvious irregularities” in the Republican caucuses. This prompted the state to count more votes (93% of the precincts reported), but ultimately the state still declared McCain the winner with 25% vs. Huckabee’s 24%. However, the Huckabee campaign remains optimistic. Looking ahead to the important Texas primary, the campaign expects great results and perhaps the ability to stop McCain’s great momentum. Huckabee told reporters “we have a real shot in Texas because Texas is a very conservative state”. However, it is very unlikely that Huckabee who has only 217 delegates (McCain has 830) will become the Republican nomination. Huckabee needs 974 more delegates, while McCain only needs 361 more.

Moreover, this weekend Huckabee spoke at a young leadership award banquet in the Cayman Islands for money. This trip had nothing to do with Huckabee’s quest for the Republican presidential nomination. However, Huckabee defended this trip affirming, “The taxpayers aren't paying a dime for me to campaign and I don't take anything from my campaign so I have to make a living.” In addition, Huckabee claims that he is paying for Senator Clinton, Obama, and McCain’s campaigns asserting an interesting argument, “I’m a taxpayer and I have to pay for their Senate salaries even if they’re not on duty”.


The following question remains constantly on my mind. When will Huckabee drop out of the race for president? Huckabee recently affirmed, “I am still in this race. As I have said all along, I am in this race until someone gets to 1,191 delegates. That has not happened yet, and so I will keep campaigning for the Republican nomination. Period. That’s my ironclad commitment to my supporters.” Will Huckabee honor this commitment, or will he drop out soon, realizing the inevitability of receiving the Republican nomination? We just have to wait and see…

Huckabee wins 6 states in 1 week

In this past week’s Super Tuesday, that boasted twenty-two states up for grabs, Huckabee won a large portion of the South and now holds 217 delegates, 214 of which are pledged to support him in the Republican National Convention. The states he won on February 5th include Arkansas, West Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. Furthermore, he is currently trailing Republican frontrunner, John McCain, who has 714 delegate votes,697 of which are confirmed that they will support him in the party’s convention. Following Hucakbee’s impressive showing in the South, the other major republican candidate, Mitt Romney, dropped out of the race after only a few disappointing wins this week. The loss of Romney will greatly change the dynamics of the race since McCain and Huckabee had previously avoided attacking each other and instead teamed up against Romney, now the question is will the top two candidates continue to play nice?
In yesterday’s primary elections, Huckabee won in the state of Kansas, Louisiana and lost in a very close race in Washington State. According to the party’s rules, receiving delegates for the win in Louisiana is in jeopardy because Huckabee did not receive the majority of the votes, only the plurality. However, Huckabee vows to continue his campaign after winning six states in less than a one week and commented, “Earlier this morning, I said I didn't major in math, I majored in miracles. It looks like my victory in Kansas is one of them. Clearly I am pleased by these results, but it is onward and upward to Virginia and Maryland."
Outside the Huckabee campaign excitement it seems President George W. Bush has endorsed “a true conservative,” John McCain. Although Bush has extremely low popularity ratings, the endorsement will probably still hurt Huckabee seeing as he still holds access to many key fundraising techniques as the current President of the United States. In addition to holding six rallies in Kansas this week, Huckabee found the time to attend a taping of the Tyra Banks Show this past week, which is supposed to be shown on the air on February 29th. Apparently, his expertise fro his band Capitol Offense entitled him to give Tyra guitar lessons and they also discussed how he lost 112lbs. once informed of his diagnosis of Type II diabetes.

Huckabee Remains Optimistic

After Huckabee’s loss in South Carolina, Huckabee had to minimize his campaigning in Florida due to a lack of funds. For instance, Huckabee only advertised on cable television stations; in addition, Huckabee reduced his traveling throughout Florida. However, when he did visit local Floridians, he emphasized his conservative stance on economic issues, rather than his religious views. Because of Huckabee’s lack of funds, which only gave him minimal correspondence with the Florida’s voters, Huckabee probably realized he would inevitably loose the primary. Indeed, Huckabee was correct that he would not win the primary; Huckabee came in 4th place in the state with 14% of the votes (Giuliani came in 3rd with 15th).


However, Huckabee, focusing (right after Florida) on the Super Tuesday primaries, remains optimistic. “We have a long way to go in this nominating process. When you look at what we have done, with what we have, it's a remarkable story that is not even close to being over. […] I'm convinced that my optimistic message of hope and change will continue to resonate with voters as we head into Super Tuesday.” The Huckabee campaign envisions many successes on this date, when many Southern and conservative states will vote for their Republican nominee. Reinforcements of this optimsitc prediction include Huckabbe’s recent endorsements from the Tennessee and Aranksas Right to Life PACS, as well as Huckabee’s stellar performance at the Republican CNN presidential debate in Los Angeles.

Huckabee Preparing for Super Duper Tuesday

After dropping out of the race for the Republican Nomination, Duncan Hunter endorsed Mike Huckabee as “a man of outstanding character and integrity… [and his] personal choice.”
While it helps to have ex-competition praising his campaigning skills and moral values, Duncan Hunter’s support will have little effect on the overall campaign because an average of national polls conducted in January showed his followers only made up 1-2% of republicans. Placing second in South Carolina, may have hurt Huckabee more than expected because he now lacks momentum to coast in Florida, a state he has never expected to do well in. His lack of campaigning in Florida is probably due to the combination of Giuliani’s extended stint there as well as the general demographics—however, Florida is a key state for the general election and a Republican with only 13% support there may be less attractive in the eyes of the Republican convention. Regarding the Republican Primary in South Carolina, it seems that Fred Thompson pulled just enough votes away from Huckabee to hinder a win. Ironically, Huckabee’s popularity with the evangelical Christians significantly hindered Thompson’s projected base, and here Thompson launched one last attack on Huckabee before dropping out of the race. Today Huckabee appeared on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace and began the segment responding to a Romney’s most recent accusations that McCain once a backed a timetable to get out of Iraq. Interestingly, Huckabee defended McCain saying, “I’ve never known [him] to be dishonest.” His backing of John McCain serves as a way to differentiate himself from Romney, the other religiously controversial candidate, looks good for his moral integrity to defend one of his competitors and another step towards making it a race between him and McCain. To that end, later on in the interview, Huckabee asserted, “I don't have to slam John McCain. I think that presidential politics can be civil. I think people can have mutual respect for each other.” He also later addressed a proposition of a ticket between he and McCain saying, “[we] have entered into this race both looking for the same job. I'm not looking to be on his ticket. I don't think he's looking to be on mine.” In addition, angered families have publicized stories of Huckabee’s personal profit in a school shooting that took place in March of 1998. Apparently, Huckabee was offered $25,000 to write a book on youth violence using the event as a primary example and “demand[s] [that] the money go to the school, the victims' families or for scholarships for the wounded, not to the writer's bank account…he said no.” Numerous discrepancies over Huckabee’s ethics while governor of Arkansas continue to surface leaving constituents left pondering the validity of such claims and the repercussions of poor values for a candidate running on authenticity and a Christian world view.

A Disappointing Week and Weekend for Huckabee

As the many primaries occur, Huckabee, according to a recent Rasmussen poll, is 3rd place nationally among his fellow Republican contenders. However, Huckabee only maintains a 1% lead over McCain (23% vs. 22%). With only this slight lead, Huckabee has been working very hard, in order to win the Republican primaries. This week, Huckabee participated in the Michigan primary. Although Huckabee had no campaign office and only volunteers in Michigan, he campaigned fiercely with a new strategy. Huckabee visited many conservative areas of Michigan that contain big evangelical communities. Here, with a similar and successful strategy that he used in Iowa (and received a great victory), Huckabee campaigned to informal religious networks. However, he maintained a conflicting strategy, in which he abandoned his emphasis on conservative social issues and instead focused on economic issues (very important to Michigan voters). As the Michigan primary approached, These conflicting strategies may have led to Huckabee’s loss in Michigan (a state with much less evangelical Christians). Huckabee came in 3rd place among the Republican candidates.


Even before the networks released the results of the Michigan primary, Huckabee was campaigning in South Carolina claiming: “we’re going to win South Carolina”. Perhaps Huckabee new that he would not win Michigan; thus, he decided to focus his efforts on South Carolina, a Southern state where he could a greater number of votes (due to the presence of more conservative evangelical Christians). On Friday night, just before the South Carolina primary, it was predicted that Huckabee and McCain would come in a close first place in South Carolina. In fact, the McClatchy-MSNB poll showed Huckabee with 25% of Republicans, just 2% points behind McCain. On the day of the South Carolina primary, this poll proved true; McCain maintained his small advantage. Huckabee came in 2nd place with 30% of the Republican voters, only 3% below McCain.


In other news, Huckabee signed a “No Amnesty” Pledge while he was in South Carolina, which details that if he became President he would “oppose amnesty or any other special path to citizenship for the millions of foreign nationals unlawfully present in the United States.” This may help Huckabee receive more votes from non-evangelical Christian Conservatives. In addition, Huckabee shared his desire to amend the Constitution to include G-d’s name. Huckabee affirmed, “and that's what we need to do -- to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view." This statement may further alienate non-evangelical Christian conservatives. However, it may help him gain the support of more evangelical Christians (whose support is necessary for Huckabee to win the Republican nomination, especially in Southern states).

Huckabee Third in New Hampshire

In the Republican debate leading up to the first primary in the nation, Huckabee got into a debate with his major Iowa competitor, Romney, with each making accusations of the other increasing taxes in his state during his governorships. In the New Hampshire Primary Election, Huckabee placed third in New Hampshire with 11% percent of the vote. Although Huckabee’s campaign did not expect a large showing in New Hampshire, it leads one to wonder whether Huckabee can be a viable national candidate with support from pure conservatives as well as the plains-based religious right. As such, it is not surprising that Huckabee poured more efforts into the upcoming South Carolina primary that boasts “conservative Christians” as a larger portion of the constituency. In addition, Huckabee and McCain are both awaiting the Michigan primary because if Romney cannot win the state, which his father was governor and he spent part of his childhood, he may abandon his run for president. If that is the case, Huckabee will have a much better chance at the Republican Nomination because the religious right will not be split between the candidates. However, this does not account for Giuliani’s campaign strategy, which will probably make him a major competitor in the coming months. It seems Huckabee is still struggling with the religious aspect of his campaign; while sometimes it provides a lot of support, he also receives a lot of criticism from more traditionally conservative Republicans. The debate and is shown by his comment, "Many of us who have been Republicans out of conviction . . . the social conservatives," he told reporters, "were welcomed in the party as long as we sort of kept our place, but Lord help us if we ever stood forward and said we would actually like to lead the party." This weekend Huckabee campaigned in Michigan and tried to convey a message that he “understands what struggling to make a living really means… I understand the workers in this state. I can see the fear in their eyes. They know that any day could be the day when they are told their jobs are headed to Mexico or the Middle East, and when that happens they'll wonder how they're going to put food on the table.”Since McCain and Huckabee have each won a primary/caucus, it will be interesting to see who comes out victorious in Michigan and how it influences the Republican race for the Presidential Nomination.

A Strong Start, but a Long Road Ahead

On the night of the Iowa Caucuses, Huckabee received 34% of the Republican vote, making him the winning of the Republican Caucus. This win affirmed previous pools that predicted Huckabee to be the frontrunner of the Republican party in Iowa. Huckabee defeated his fellow Republican candidates due to his strong Christian beliefs and values. In addition, Huckabee received great support from evangelical Christians who attended the caucus. In fact, according to entrance polls, 60% of the attendees were evangelical Christians and Huckabee received 46% of their votes. In addition, 45% of individuals who attended the caucus identified themselves as “very conservative,” and 35% of them supported Huckabee. Huckabee also received great support from women, as well as Republican voters under 45. Ecstatic at winning Iowa, Huckabee greatly thanked his supporters asserting, "I wasn't sure I would ever be able to love a state as much as I love my home state of Arkansas, but tonight, I love Iowa."

After winning in Iowa, Huckabee flew to New Hampshire Friday to focus on the January 8th New Hampshire primary. It is predicted that Huckabee will have a difficult time receiving Republican votes in New Hampshire. In fact, Romney is favored in New Hampshire and some recent polls have named McCain (won NH in 2000) the New Hampshire frontrunner. In addition, New Hampshire is comprised of less evangelical Christians and has a great(er) amount of Republicans identifying themselves as libertarians (most are pro-choice). Commenting on the absence of a great number of evangelical Christians, Huckabee joked "We're going to have to go convert a lot of people in New Hampshire in the next five days,” "A big tent revival out on the grounds of the Concord State Capitol. We'll get 'em all converted to the evangelical faith and then we'll win.” However, Huckabee acknowledged his win in Iowa was due to many voters who were not evangelicals. Although Huckabee will be in New Hampshire for the following 4 days with Chuck Norris right by his side, Huckabee’s campaign is focusing greatly on the January 19th South Carolina primary. The majority of Huckabee’s staff plans to set up in South Carolina soon, where he has a much greater chance to win the primary. In addition, Huckabee has made recent appearances on “Good Morning America,” “The Early Show,” “Today Show,” “Fox and Friends,” and the “International Report” (to name a few). The extra press Huckabee has gained after his win in Iowa while probably increase his support among voters.