Mike Huckabee 2012?

[Daniel Miller]

I believe Mike Huckabee has the best chance to win in 2012 for three main reasons - his base is engaged, Romney supporters are switching, and he's kept his visibility strong.

1. He already has a huge base of support. He has founded Huck PAC and the Vertical Politics Institute. Hucks Army is still going strong, active and engaged, and the F3 Coalition formed out of the 2008 campaign and is active and growing. Huck PAC has kept us bloggers engaged (see, here I am writing about Huckabee) with their "Bloggers for Huck PAC," Vertical Day, and bloggers-only conference calls.

2. Romney supporters are admitting that they were wrong. Mitt Romney was the reason we did not win in 2008. Paul Weyrich, the founder of the Heritage Foundation and the Council on National Policy, renounced his endorsement of Romney and said "Friends, before you, and before Almighty God...I was wrong." He then told the assembly that he should have backed Huckabee. Many Romney supporters I've spoken to admit that Huckabee was unfairly lampooned by El Rushbo, Sean Hannity, and other conservative hosts. Others now agree that he is the more conservative of the two. (One exception is Michael Medved, who backed McCain but liked Huckabee as well.) Dr. James Dobson endorsed Mike Huckabee in late February. Perhaps his endorsement will come earlier next time.

3. His visibility is strong. While I haven't heard of Mitt Romney for quite sometime, Mike Huckabee's name constantly is popping up in the news. He is now a FOX News contributor and a 'friend' of Sean Hannity (not sure how long this relationship will last), appearing on Hannity's radio and television shows nearly every week. He hosts "Huckabee" on weekends and "The Huckabee Report" will begin airing daily in January on ABC Radio stations.
Who will be his opponents? I believe that Sarah Palin will be running, as well as Bobby Jindal and Mitt Romney. I think Palin and Jindal offer the same pro-family, no-nonsense conservatism that Huckabee offers, however Huckabee is more experienced and is probably more popular. I'm not sure how they'll compete.

Mitt Romney will likely run, but he's yesterday's news. He is now known as the guy who spent $105 million and dropped out right after Super Tuesday. I don't think he'll go far, and, again, I don't think he'll have the kind of support he had this time. Many of his supporters have now realized what a political oppurtunist he is. I think evangelicals will go strong for Huckabee next time.

I received a comment last month that said, in part, "I don't think it's smart to get right back into it until at least after the midterm elections in 2010... let alone a week-and-a-half after the election."

But I still like Mike.

What do you think?

[Kevin Shafer]

Just curious... did you happen to pick up and read through Mike Huckabee's latest book Do The Right Thing? It was a pretty good read. I see him as not as radical as the Left paints him, but also not as "liberal" as many in the Club for Growth, Limbaugh, Hannity, and the conservative punditry (except for Medved) made him out to be. I understand that he raised some taxes and some spending as the Governor of a state in which the legislature that passes these revenues was about 75-80% Democratic... not to mention his great communication skills he used to convince them to pass 94 tax cuts and streamlining of govt spending and programs during his tenure. He's a pragmatic, yet visionary conservative which is what we need. Though I am unsure of whther we should all jump on the bandwagon of any of the likely GOP 2012 candidates yet. want to see how Huck handles the primary. From the very beginning, he should set his record straight bout taxes, spending in AR before his opponents, esp. in the conservativde media, define him as some "tax and spend" liberal. He needs to expand his appeal beyond evangelical Christians though. If he doesn't, he wont win the GOP primary and definitely won't win in the general. Too many people have a stereotypical image of Huckabee as a Southern religious zealot who can't relate to those who dont hold his views in the Midwest, West, and esp. the Northeast. Too many people see him as a pastor, rather than as the successful governor who initated tax cuts, less spending, but also critical health care and education reform. Talking about vertical politics is WHAT WE NEED SO BADLY as a party. We must hold to our conservative principles, but we must carry them out well and apply them to policies that will lift everyone up economically and socially. I think Huckabee can exemplify that if he broadens his appeal beyond the Christian Right (of which I consider myself a part of, but also realize that true social conservatism speaks to us all regardless of our religious bent--- I prefer thr term "values voter" rather than "evangelical voter")..

[Daniel Miller]

Yes, I did read his book. A very good read, for sure.

Huckabee didn't only sell himself to evangelicals. The Conservative talk radio hosts painted him as such. He won in Iowa and Kansas and did very well throughout the Midwest.

I just think those who spread lies about him during the primary need to admit they were wrong. Ahem... Mark Levin?

[Kevin Shafer]

I agree that he didn't just sell himself to Evangelicals only. I think he was speaking to a broader middle class voting bloc that was hurting economically and wanting someone that cared about their concerns. Huckabee got a lot of support from African-Americans in his election victories in AR. He inspired a lot of young ppl i know... some switched to Obama that I know mostly due to the connection both Obama and Huckabee regrdless of their vast differences on the issues had with ppl based on a discussion of VERTICAL POLITICS.

But we must admit that most of his base of supporters were Evangelicals (look at where he won-- Iowa, Kansas, Georgia, Alabama)... he didn't fare so well in VA, OH, FL, NH... where we need to win next time. Time will tell. He'll have 2-4 years to better define himself as a pragmatic conservative who cares about the concerns of middle America. He needs to rally around the Fair Tax, his health care plan based on prevention and better health, making govt not just smaller but more effective, all with an appeal that goes beyond just being the Evangelical President, but the President of all Americans. Thats what VERTICAL POLITICS is all about.

[Daniel Miller]

Well, in Ohio and Virginia, the momentum was with McCain. Also, VA has a strong military presence, a bloc that went heavily for McCain. In Florida, McCain's South Carolina victory (brought about by Fred Thompson) gave him heavy momentum going into Florida. My personal feeling is that had someone else won SC, that victor would have won FL.

[Zbigniew Mazurak]

Yeah, you're right. Thompson - who was never a serious candidate - divided the tranche of conservative votes and gave SC and FL to McLame.

Hadn't Romney and Thompson ran for the nomination, Huckabee would've united all conservative Republicans, and then he would've pummelled McLame and Obama.

[Daniel Miller]

Ron Paul? Nice plug for your site. No thanks. Good one, though. Check out this video: http://huckabeebloggers.ning.com/video/mike-huckabee-vs-ron-paul-on

[Michael Brennan]

The Ron Paul nuts on this site have one adgenda....Ron Paul for President at all costs. They really have no interest in rebuilding the GOP because they keep leaving it when the kook fringe candidate is not nominated. Becareful, there are about 25 of them now active on this site trying hard to get the site listed as one of the junior sites for C4L and Ron Paul 2012.
"I like Mike" used to be a slogan for Mike Barnacle in Boston but it does fit Huckabee much better. I would love to see a Palin/Huckabee or Huckabee/Palin ticket. That would win in 2012. Romney would be a good cabnet position person.

[Daniel Miller]

No doubt about it: we need Ron Paul. But we need him right where he is, not in the White House. We need a conscience in the US Congress, and Paul is that.

I don't like his supporters though. Honestly, they get on my nerves like crazy, trying to infiltrate our sites with no actual interest in rebuilding the GOP, unless we use their bricks.

I'm rambling, so I'll stop.

[Daniel Miller]

Never heard of it.

[Culture Warrior]

People don't like Hucks because he's a man of the people. The GOP establishment hate populism. The base can get behind him, but not the north east country clubbers and the north west liberal libertarians. I would love to see Mr Huckabee as our next president, but I don't know if we can convince the above. I would like to see Hucks at the top of ticket, and at this point either Palin/Jindal/Sanford/Pawlenty on the bottom half. Ron Paul has some good ideas, but hes emotionally unstable and his supporters are a cult. Ron Paul lives in a fantasy world. Sometimes you need to be realistic and play the cards you are dealt (For example the income tax and the war etc) Paul and his supporters say that Bush had the chance to overturn Roe V Wade but he didn't. What are they stupid? Don't they understand how this government works??? Bush brought us one step closer with the partial birth abortion ban, and God bless him for that. Good article Daniel, thank you.

[Daniel Miller]

I agree we need to applaud President Bush for his pro-life advancements. And I think that we can get enough liberals and independents to outweigh the idiots in our party who won't vote for Governor Huckabee.

[Daniel Miller]

Absolutely, faux conservatives have no place in the GOP -- at least they shouldn't have.