One of Saturday's three Republican presidential caucuses stirred up some controversy, an unfortunate occurrence that needlessly poured fuel onto the Huckabee campaign's conspiratorial fire, with his chairman reviving memories of Al Gore in Florida 2000:Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is crying foul after John McCain's apparent victory in the Washington caucuses on Saturday. Huckabee's campaign released a statement Sunday saying it will be exploring all available legal options regarding the ''dubious final results.'' Arizona Sen. McCain was announced as the victor in the caucuses with 26 percent of the vote to Huckabee's 24 percent. But Huckabee's campaign chairman, Ed Rollins, said Luke Esser, Washington's Republican … [Read more...]
Why Not Huckabee? The Slime
Why as a conservative don't I support the presidential candidacy of Mike Huckabee? Another great example is highlighted this morning by Jim Geraghty at NRO's Campaign Spot:The Thompson campaign has video of one of those pro-Huckabee push polls. More than a few South Carolina readers have reported the same calls, as well as Campaign Spot Senior South Carolina Correspondent. I'm neither impressed by the Huckabee campaign, nor from Common Sense Issues, the group behind the calls. Sure, the Huckabee campaign says they don't support this, and they're calling on it to stop. But let's see some anger. Let's have Huckabee call up Davis, the guy who's doing this and say, "stop it, you're hurting my campaign." Come on out and denounce Davis … [Read more...]
South Carolina Predictions
If Michael (picking McCain) and Steven (picking Huckabee) can do it, let me venture a stab-in-the-dark prediction at today's South Carolina Republican primary results. Because, with Rasmussen seeing an extraordinary amount of uncertainty and the unusual weather apparently driving down turnout, this one is up in the air. So without further ado, here is my prognostication: Huckabee ... 28 Thompson ... 24 McCain ... 22 Romney ... 13 Paul ... 7 Giuliani ... 6 Such a finish would knock McCain down a couple notches and give Thompson the boost he needs heading into Super Tuesday as a viable competitor with Huckabee in the Southern states and with Giuliani & Romney in some of the other states (provided Rudy can win Florida, of course … [Read more...]
Huckabee Surge is Bad News for Serious, Coherent Conservatives
I have written little here about the Presidential campaign. While I have no horse in the race, I do have some clear opinions and preferences. For the most part I've been sitting back and watching things unfold as the frontrunners vie for my support. However, the recent overpublicized "Huckabee Surge" has stirred me from my silence. That's because the thought that the former Arkansas governor and would-be Preacher-in-Chief could actually secure the Republican nomination is quite disturbing. Largely well known has been Huckabee's very apparent fiscal liberalism and economic populism. The problem is about more than taxes and spending - his positions on trade, regulation, and school choice leave a lot wanting, as well. (Not to mention … [Read more...]