Goal: Met and Beat!

Thank you all!

Mike Huckabee’s online donations this month, as of this moment, are $1,039,070.84 … compared to a goal of $1,034,487.

To everyone who contributed, no matter how much, thank you — now, let’s get the word out about our man, Mike!

Thanks, Mike

An open letter to Gov. Mike Huckabee:

When I first became politically aware and active in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, I was a Republican. I was a conservative.

When I was saved in 1992, it began a crisis of faith, and I began to reconsider many of my positions based on my faith. In 1994, I worked on my first political campaign. As president of (5-member) my College Republicans group, I became active in the House campaign of Dr. David Funderburk. I enjoyed that campaign, and I believed in what we were doing. Most of all I believed in our slogan, the theme of Republican races in 1994, “character counts.”

In 1995, I became disenchanted. Appointments made by the Republican Party majority, and actions it took,  showed me that character didn’t count. It made a great issue at that time, but that was all.

Today is the Day

Let’s see how much I’ve learned from those NPR pledge drives …

Today is the last day of Mike Huckabee’s drive to raise $1 more than last quarter in campaign donations. We’re about $10,000 away from our goal of $1,034,487. At this moment, we’ve raised $1,024,476.04. Make no mistake, this is something wonderful. This helps show a great level of support for Mike Huckabee. As a practical matter, it also helps him get the message out to those who don’t know who he is.

Please, though, jump in. If you look at Mike Huckabee and think that he’s the kind of candidate you like, and the kind of man who would be the kind of President you like, please go to http://mikehuckabee.com and make your best contribution. It doesn’t have to be $1000 to be appreciated. It doesn’t even have to be $100. I personally have been named twice on Mike’s website, the first time before I’d given more than $50.

Every dollar helps. If your best contribution is “a buck for Huck,” then that is what they will appreciate. This campaign isn’t just about money, but money is a part of it.

Please, think about what you can afford, and how much this campaign — and this President — means to you.

On behalf of those who want to see Mike Huckabee as President, thank you for every buck you can contribute to the Huckabee campaign.

Of ethics and salary

A friend of mine … (digression: I love that lead-in, I can assert that I had this conversation with a friend of mine in real life, and you’ll never know, unless he comments. The friend with whom I had this conversation does, at times, read this blog) …

Anyway …

A friend of mine and I were discussing Mike Huckabee the other day, and he said that one of his concerns was that Mike Huckabee said some negative things about  CEO salaries.

Yes, he did:

Please give

Please give to the Huckabee campaign.
Mike Huckabee has raised much more than his original October goal, but it’s been kicked up … For my own part, Mike Huckabee is the first Presidential candidate to whom I’ve ever donated, and the first candidate since David Funerburk in 1994 (to whom I think I gave $20 … let’s just say I’ve given a lot more to Mike).

If what you want is a principled and honest conservative President, then Mike Huckabee is your guy. Please help him get the word out … his campaign isn’t all about money, but there is an extent to which they need money to get into certain places.

Thank you.

Two news stories about cultural decay

I usually listen to NPR for my news.

Before you tell me about how NPR is completely left-leaning, I’m going to ask — do you ever listen? If you answered “No,” then please don’t bother to comment about bias.

Anyway … I usually listen to NPR for my news.  One of the reasons is that I don’t have to put up with celebrity “news.” While most of the world was trying to figure out who fathered Anna Nicole Smith’s baby, I was listening to coverage of the Lewis “Scooter” Libby trial and Iraqi funding debates.

I Wish I’d Thought of This

A brief, concise, and brilliant response to Mike Huckabee’s critics has appeared at Encyclopedia Kevinannica.

Enjoy.

Tell Me Again to Settle for Giuliani

NARAL: Pro-Choice Republican President “Would Help” Movement

by Sam Stein, the Huffington Post

The religious right is threatening to rebel should Rudy Giuliani win the nomination for the White House. But while the former New York City mayor’s stance on abortion rights is making him a pariah within some conservative circles, it could win him favor among pro-choice advocates.

In a phone interview with the Huffington Post, NARAL’s political director Elizabeth Shipp acknowledged it “would help” the pro-choice movement if a Republican proved it was possible to win the presidency while still supporting abortion rights.

“The Republican Party used to be about the conservative principles of limited government intervention in private life,” Shipp said. “It seems to me if they went back to that and stood out from the rigid mainstream, anti-choice agenda, I think yeah, it would be good for the movement.”

Could Giuliani be the candidate to take the Republican Party down that road? And would NARAL support him?

“I don’t know yet,” said Shipp. “He has said some very concerning things since getting into this race. If you have to grade him compared to everyone else you have to give him an incomplete.”

NARAL has endorsed only one Republican presidential candidate in the history of its political action committee. The organization made a $5,000 donation to Rep. John Anderson in May 1980 roughly around the time he was leaving the Republican Party to start an Independent presidential bid against Ronald Reagan

As mayor of New York City, Giuliani had a pro-choice record, which has come under intense scrutiny since he entered the presidential race. In the GOP debates this past May, Giuliani said “it would be okay” to repeal Roe v. Wade, before adding, “But ultimately, since it is an issue of conscience, I would respect a woman’s right to make a different choice.” In recent weeks, a coalition of prominent Christian conservative figures has threatened to support a third-party candidate should Giuliani win the Republican nomination.

NARAL has yet to announce an endorsement in the 2008 race. But Shipp acknowledged that Giuliani is the lone Republican in the field who could potentially win the organization’s support.

#        #       #

He can promise strict constructionists all he wants, but it won’t change the fact that he speaks at NARAL events, donates to Planned Parenthood, and is all-but-endorsed by pro-abortion groups. To anyone considering Rudy Giuliani as a Republican candidate … this is the man you’re choosing.

Is that really the one you want?

A special word to Sam Brownback: Your credibility and your popularity was based on the belief that you are a true believer and that your pro-life credentials are matchless. Don’t throw it away by aligning yourself with him. Your supporters haven’t.

Of course, if you want a candidate who is and always has been pro-life, I suggest that you check out Mike Huckabee.

Upcoming Attack Ads

Having seen some of the attacks on Mike Huckabee this past week, I was thinking of some other attacks that might be launched for next week:

“In 1982, Mike Huckabee didn’t tell his neighbor that his shoe was untied, which put his neighbor’s life in danger. Imagine what might have happened if he’d tripped!”

“In 1996, Mike Huckabee rolled through a stop sign without coming to a complete stop, demonstrating his blatant disregard for traffic laws and public safety.”

“In 1998, Mike Huckabee removed one of those ‘Do not remove’ tags from his pillow.”

“In 2003, on at least three occasions, Mike Huckabee left the toilet seat up, demonstrating his disregard for his wife.”

… and, to tell the truth, this would be only slightly sillier than the nonsense that has been spewed this past week. He’s been attacked with ethics investigations (in reports that failed to mention that he was exonerated), a citizens’ referendum, and (my personal favorite) that he wouldn’t sign a piece of legislation that referred to natural disasters as “acts of God.”

If this is the best his detractors can do, then the rest of the primary season should be a cakewalk for the Huckabee camp.

Now the Fun Begins

Very few can deny that Mike Huckabee is now a “top-tier” candidate.

The scrap between Ron Paul supporters and Mike Huckabee supporters, to see which of us would get our guy into the top tier, is over.  Sam Brownback has withdrawn, it remains to be seen when Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo will do the same.

This week has had its share of excitement. Mike Huckabee broke into the double-digits in nationwide polls, topping Mitt Romney.  This will result in a sort-of snowball effect, as people take more and more notice of Gov. Huckabee, and realize that he is the social conservative that Gov. Romney isn’t, and that we don’t have to back the “inevitable” Romney.

Of course, now it’s time for the attack dogs to come out. Sure enough, the Club for Growth, Wall Street Journal, and American Spectator came out. Their attacks were pretty feeble, when it comes down to it, and easily answered by Gov. Huckabee here.

On the other hand, this is what happens from here. Until now, the big guys haven’t bothered with Huckabee because they didn’t think he was worth the effort. Now, he presents a problem.

No doubt, many Huckabee supporters are disappointed to see attacks against him, thinking that this might be something new. It’s not. It happens to every candidate, every race. Even the legendary candidates had their opponents — Ronald Reagan had his detractors within the Republican Party establishment.

Challenges are to be answered. Fights will be had, and there will always be someone unhappy with an outcome here and there. Still, this is part of the process.

I do counsel those who question whether Mike Huckabee is really a “real conservative” to look at the various records: Do your complaints about Huckabee supporting a gasoline tax increase really add up to the same kind of closet-dwelling skeletons as the other candidates have? How does it compare to McCain-Feingold, supported by McCain and Thompson, or Romney’s choices to appoint homosexual judges and reject conservative choices, or Giuliani’s … well, … anything Giuliani’s ever done? It’s time for the mud to start flying, I suppose. As a “Huckabeeliever,” though, I know that I’ll come through it all a lot cleaner than the press-ordained front-runners.

We’ll see how much power the big guns bring to bear on this situation.

To Mike Huckabee’s detractors: Do your worst. We know his record and the truth.

At the Values Voter Debate (the one that McCain, Thompson, Giuliani, and Romney couldn’t be bothered to attend), Huckabee was asked about these hard questions. When asked how he would answer these critics, Huckabee summarized his answer simply:

“With the truth.”