Tuesday, December 04, 2007

I Heart Huckabees

While there is certainly "polling overload" going on right now in the states, it's clear that Mike Huckabee's surge is having a bit more success than Bush's. From Rasmussen:


Giuliani 20%
Huckabee 17%
Thompson 14%
McCain 13%
Romney 11%


While other polls have Giuliani breathing a bit easier, the general trend seems consistent. It's amazing what a little Chuck Norris will do for ya, eh?

Oh, and Huckabee and Obama are both leading in Iowa - fun times ahead...

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posted by calgarygrit at 1:20 p.m.

17 Comments:

  • I guess your early statements that Huckabee wasn't a candidate worthy of attacking is false now?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:37 p.m.  

  • It wasn't any more true when he made it, either...

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:40 p.m.  

  • I didn't really mean Huckabee wasn't worthy of attack. It was more intended along the lines of a "can you imagine Fred Thompson, a month ago, having to attack Huckabee?"...as in, Thompson has fallen quite a bit from grace after his initial buzz.

    By Blogger calgarygrit, at 3:09 p.m.  

  • The theo-cons will coalesce around whichever candidate passes their various litmus tests and is most competitive after the early primaries. Problem is determining who passes the test. Romney, McCain and Thompson all have gaps in their so-con credentials. They know that if they don't all rally around a candidate Giuliani will win which they dont want to see.

    Having said that there is some question about Huckabee's record as a fiscal conservative. It'll be interesting to see what happens. If the Republican nominee is either Huckabee or Giuliani the question is whether the 'libertarian' types or the so-cons respectively will hold stay home or hold their noses toe the party line.

    By Blogger KC, at 3:21 p.m.  

  • Why does this surprise anyone? Mullah Dobson floated his trial balloon a little while back about a possible renegade third-party option and it fell flat as a pancake at a Iowa State Fair. Pat Robertson, essentially because he’s an insane kook and swoons over the lunatic rants of Norman Podhoretz, “endorsed” Rudy Giuliani (something most self respecting “values voters” found to be an utterly repellent notion because of all of Rudy’s gay-friendly, wickedly “moderate” shilly-shallying) and so they’re left with… MIKEY!

    Ah yes, Mike Huckabee. He’s got the Chuck Norris seal of approval, don’t you know? In American politics these days, it just doesn’t get any sweeter than that! Plus, he’s “affable” don’t you know? Did I tell you that he’s “affable”? Have you ever read a story in the mainstream press or heard a report on teevee that didn’t inextricably link his name with the word “affable”? Nice little meme he’s got going there. But he does seem to be quite a lovely man. Provided you don’t want an abortion, that is. Or believe that state-sponsored retribution for murder is unwarranted. Oh, but hey… he plays the guitar! Did we tell you he plays guitar? And he’s “affable”… don’t forget that! And lost a whole pile of weight too! Well, there you go... he's all over that healthcare thing right there.

    Vote Huckabee 08 — “Because this is as close as the GOP could get to a decent person not mired in scandal, corruption, gay sex, animal abuse, shameless pandering, or obdurate support for a war everyone hates.”

    By Blogger Red Tory, at 4:20 p.m.  

  • The Bush surge is hugely successful. Get with the times - trashing Iraq stuff is sooooo late 2006.

    By Blogger Tarkwell Robotico, at 4:33 p.m.  

  • The unfortunate thing about the state of the U.S. and the Republican Party especially is Red Tory's damn right.

    By Blogger The Fwanksta, at 4:37 p.m.  

  • Just can't get over the Bush surge success eh ?

    So Liberal of you. So pathetically Liberal.

    Even the NYT & the WAPO, both bastions of Liberal/Democratic Party moral correctness, have finally come to their senses and faced reality.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:40 p.m.  

  • Keep in mind that Romney remains ahead in New Hampshire and South Carolina. Moreover, Huckabee is about to undergo much more severe scrutiny.

    That scrutiny will include his adoption of a fair tax, his relative lack of foreign policy credentials (going into a foreign policy election), and his record as governor (which included tax hikes).

    Of the early states (other than Iowa), Huckabee is only distantly competitive in South Carolina, while his Iowa success is more a reflection of the decision of the other campaigns to focus on other states (except Romney). Moreover, Huckabee's campaign has no money, and thus no ability to strategically target the wave of support it is generating.

    I am not sure I see a Huckebee win unless he can somehow win South Carolina, prompting Thompson and Romney to drop out early enough that he can beat Giuliani. Huckabee's surge in the polls has come too early, as well, meaning that expectations going in will be that he will win Iowa - a loss (or even an unconvincing win by Romney) would be fatal for his campaign.

    Thus far though, I would say anything can happen... well anything except Not-Hillary winning the Democratic primaries.

    By Blogger french wedding cat, at 7:26 p.m.  

  • Huckabee could be be the Harriet Miers of the GOP: endorsed by social conservatives but a disaster in the eyes of the party pundits. e.g. Fred Barnes: "He's genial, funny, extremely likable, and not very substantive" Bob Novak: "he is a high-tax, protectionist advocate of big government"

    By Blogger Brian Dell, at 9:26 p.m.  

  • Huckabee's reaction? These attacks come from a wing of the party that is a "wholly owned subsidiary of Wall Street".

    In a Michigan debate Huckabee argued that a thriving stock market doesn't resonate with working-class voters, and went after his fellow Republicans for "read[ing] right off the Republican National Committee talking points" on the economy.

    The libertarian Cato Institute gave Governor Huckabee a "final term grade of F".

    I note that Phyllis Schlafly and Jonah Goldberg share Novak's view that Huckabee is a RINO on fiscal issues.

    By Blogger Brian Dell, at 10:43 p.m.  

  • Brian Dell: while the effect is the same, it seems like the exact opposite of Harriet Miers.

    The evangelicals played a role in sinking her candidacy: in her past she had voted in favour of removing abortion restriction, and this became a major point of contention.

    By Blogger saphorr, at 11:03 p.m.  

  • Ding ding ding, thank you saphorr. People that think the Bush administration's supreme court appointments are about abortion are completely out to lunch.

    The best example of this is that HE DIDN'T APPOINT STRICT CONSTRUCTIONISTS TO THE BENCH. Bush's primary aim was justices that have a liberal interpretation of presidential powers, that are willing to toe the party line on issues like Guantanamo or torture.

    Frankly I don't think the Republicans really want to overturn Roe v. Wade. If abortion is a matter for the states, why should poor rednecks from Arkansas vote Republican?

    By Blogger french wedding cat, at 3:38 a.m.  

  • I disagree re Miers. Miers taught at Sunday School. Dobson et al gave the green light on the conference call on the eve on the announcement and it was the likes of secular pundits like David Frum at NRO who led the charge to get her nomination pulled. Bush's judicial nominees are pretty much the ONLY thing that conservative intellectuals, particularly of the paleo- variety, like about him. It terms of conservatism generally, Bush is doing to it what McCarthy did to anti-communism: diminish its credibility.

    By Blogger Brian Dell, at 7:40 a.m.  

  • I'm a Ron Paul or Barack Obama man myself -- I'd like to see Paul as POTUS and Obama as VP, but I of course recognize it ain't going to happen.

    I think I'd be quite content with Huckabee - from what I see/hear so far. Haven't taken the in-depth time yet.

    In regards to Iraq/surge comments -- Bush's surge IS working, you bet. Too bad the worst President ever didn't have the brains to go with higher troop levels in the first place (like I said he should've all along) (although going after Bin Laden was the real no-brainer). Iraq is a disaster, and it didn't need to be.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:48 p.m.  

  • Thank you, Bo Green. there's quite a few of us who sighed with relief on that comment.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:35 p.m.  

  • No problem MVB - everyone knows you and Polk and Hoover got nothing on this guy.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:28 p.m.  

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