I have little use for the GOP field this year, but I gotta say the more I see Mike Huckabee, the more I like and admire him. An Obama-Huckabee race in 2008 would probably be as inspiring as a Clinton-Giuliani race would be depressing. I love the way Huckabee came into the Values Voter hootenanny this past weekend and won the audience over with nothing more powerful than his oratory. Marvelous.
Over on RedState, Erick Erickson, who was at the event, points out that Huckabee showed up the leadership of the Religious Right, which really wants to settle on a candidate. Erick makes some solid points about the fracturing of the conservative coalition; I think one of the biggest stories now underway is about how the Religious Right's traditional machers are losing their power. They can't control the direction of the GOP nationally, and now it looks like they can't even control their own rank-and-file.
Though I anticipate a Huckabee-Jindal ticket in 2012, let the reader understand: if Chuck Norris be for Huck, who can be agin' him?
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The fact that the GOP candidates are all distancing themselves from comprehensive immigration reform demonstrates the level at which immigration hysteria is a position of the conservative elites. The polling on immigration is a mixed-bag and its really hard to see whether there is a widespread populist groundswell over immigration. But you wouldn't know that watching FOX News, Lou Dobbs, listening to Rush Limbaugh, reading conservative blogs.
Beware of amiable-sounding Southern governors (see: Carter, James E.) I don't see Huckabee anywhere on the ticket either in 2008 or 2012. The current Huckabee boomlet has more to do with the flaws of the frontrunners, than with his strengths. In 2012, the GOP will be looking for new faces, such as Jindal.
Let me add this-we'vd had two presidents in Bush and CLinton who were nice guys, winners of the guy you'd most like to ahve a beer with contest. I'd concede Huckabee might very well win such a contest.Having been in the same barroom with Rudy Giuliani on 2 occasions in his mayoral campaigns, he isn't going to win that contest, and that to many of us is a positive.
I couldn't car less if Huckabee played with Grand Funk Railroad. So we would have another guy looking to hang with the stars(does GFRR so qualify anymore?). The fact that he was a preacher, to me, is a huge negative.Make a choice Mike-are you going to save souls or run the country? While I respect he lost 100 pounds, we need less nanny state nonsense and less government, not more. The governmment can barely deliver the mail; it's not raising your kids.
We don't need a nice guy; we need a bastard. We need a Bensonhurst Italian-American to stand up and tell the Saudi ambassador he's full of crap and to get out of his office; to tell the Iraqis to get their act together; to tell the Dems it's past time to drill everywhere we can; to hold someone accountable for the border; to veto Congress's appropriations bills.
Again, Giuliani is not a nice man. He's estranged for his kids. He will sometimes fill posts with loyal hacks. But above all he will get the big things right and make the right enemies, here and abroad.
We can no long afford that kind of go along, get along, "can't we all just get along?" nonsense that Huckabee personifies. I like Paul a great deal, but he cannot win. Thompson seems to be a smart guy, but he's not killing himself. It will be Giuliani.
mik:
You didn't examine the Census data enough. No surprise there.
I said Northwest Arkansas, not the rest of the state. In Rogers (near Wal-Mart in Bentonville), a city of 40,000 that is 20% Latino, there are Latino-oriented soccer leagues. A big culture shock in "Hog" country.
From commenter:
"you are aware that Wal-Mart is attracting A LOT of Latinos to northwestern Arkansas, right?
Even if you think he handled it wrongly, it was a legitimate constituent issue for then-Gov. Huckabee."
and then clarifies location where those Latinos are
"I said Northwest Arkansas, not the rest of the state. In Rogers (near Wal-Mart in Bentonville), a city of 40,000 that is 20% Latino"
I stand corrected. I mistakenly thought that Huck was Gov of AR where latinos are
It turns out Huck was Gov of Northwest Arkansas, whose capitol, Rogers, has 20% population latinos, unknown part are illegals.
Surely, Gov of Northwest Arkansas Huck should do bidding of these residents, even if illegal.
That's what Democracvy is for.
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