Why the Surge for Huckabee?

[SevenEyedJeff]

Does anyone know why Huckabee's numbers have risen so dramatically? Part of me says the media is trying to paint him as the "dark horse" to try and spin talk away from Ron Paul. And another part of me thinks conservatives just don't like those other clowns Giuliani and Romney, and are banding together behind Huckabee. Another possibility is that a high percentage of the people just love Chuck Norris so much they will pick his candidate. (Just kidding on that last one.)

Anyone else have any explanations?

[LiveFreeorDie]

The Republican base started to realize that Rudy, Mitt and McPain are RINOs

[moglesb1]

Does anyone know why Huckabee's numbers have risen so dramatically? Part of me says the media is trying to paint him as the "dark horse" to try and spin talk away from Ron Paul. And another part of me thinks conservatives just don't like those other clowns Giuliani and Romney, and are banding together behind Huckabee. Another possibility is that a high percentage of the people just love Chuck Norris so much they will pick his candidate. (Just kidding on that last one.)

Anyone else have any explanations?

And what about his "Ending the IRS" Speech he had at the youtube debate ... doesn't that seem like something we have heard from another candidate way before this... Huck is a copycat

[HalogenFlood]

Whatever has caused it, I don't think it's a bad thing for Paul. Have you noticed all the anti-Huckabee articles and attacks from the other candidates about Huck's tax and immigration record recently? As his not-so-conservative record get's out there and the other candidates spend there time attacking this newly perceived threat, Paul will continue to rise under the radar.

[Janet0116]

It's the evangelicals.

He's not a true conservative, never has been, but he's an awesome Baptist preacher! Seriously, I don't know why in the world we put up with preachers becoming politicians. Doesn't that just reek of hypocrisy?

[partypooper]

the media is not trying to do anything. it took them a while to even notice how quickly he was raising. yes, now they talk about him all the time, but 2 or 3 weeks ago when it was very clear that he had spectacular support they would still spend 3 or 4 times more time talking about obama's socks or bill clinton.

why is he raising? because people like him. why they like him? i am not sure - i guess he seems like the guy next door, he is a tireless do-gooder invoking morals all the time and they get distracted by his jokes. dr paul is probably too scary and too complicated for them.

i can't stand him (i abhor him more than any other candidate), so it is difficult for me to understand.

[azminuteman]

Huckabee rising is fun for the media.
Ron Paul rising is fun for the media but dangerous to the establishment.

Huckabee has no chance unless he can get Thompson's delegates to vote for him.

[TimSteeno]

I think part of Huckleberry's recent surge in campaign funding is because the lobbying interest groups that have already maxed out their payoffs to Rudy McRompson considered Huckleberry "second tier" and not a real contender until recently, especially after what was seen widely across the MSM as a win for him at the YouTube debate. He's apparently doing well in those "likely Republican voter" landline polls in a few states recently. I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of those defense contractor employers and other warmongering companies to be on his recent donors list. It doesn't surprise me he took his public counter down, either...

Of course, illegal immigrants can't vote, and so goes some of his biggest supporters.:D

[Paulitician]

The Republican base started to realize that Rudy, Mitt and McPain are RINOs
Now, if they only realized Huckabee is a RINO...

[Ilhaguru]

Now, if they only realized Huckabee is a RINO...

I don't think they really care. As long as the nominee is a RINO and a religious nut, they'll vote for him.

[JosephTheLibertarian]

the real reason is because some religious guy with millions of emails started supporting Hucklebee... yes, that's the REAL reason. It was posted last night

[Dequeant]

Huck is a copycat

RP first said end the IRS.
RP supporter videos commonly used the Ghandi quote "First they ignore you....."
He gets Chuck Norris to endorse him and make a youtube video

He is definently trying to steal support from Ron Paul....no way around that. Why he is doing it, whether it's coincidental, or a deliberate act to steal Ron Paul supporters........is debatable.

[Chester Copperpot]

Does anyone know why Huckabee's numbers have risen so dramatically? Part of me says the media is trying to paint him as the "dark horse" to try and spin talk away from Ron Paul. And another part of me thinks conservatives just don't like those other clowns Giuliani and Romney, and are banding together behind Huckabee. Another possibility is that a high percentage of the people just love Chuck Norris so much they will pick his candidate. (Just kidding on that last one.)

Anyone else have any explanations?

Yes, Because as of September Huckabee is now in the Council on Foreign Relations.

[ronpaulitician]

Now, if they only realized Huckabee is a RINO...
They will eventually, whether in the primary election or the general election.

[ronpaulitician]

Anyone noticed Huckabee bringing up the department of Homeland Security when asked which three programs he would cut? He didn't actually suggest to get rid of it, but definitely to give it a makeover. Not sure if that's the person Mike Huckabee talking or the presidential candidate.

[mathamagician]

Here's the link to the story about how Huckabee catapulted so quickly:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/01/AR2007120101569.html

[austin356]

Huckabee has no chance unless he can get Thompson's delegates to vote for him.



No, he will have most delegate positions filled.


People, stop making a bigger deal out delegates than it really is. In the VAST MAJORITY of states it is just finding a set number of people who will vote for Ron Paul and doing so before a certain date. For establishment candidates such as Huckabee delegates fall into place with little to no help from the national campaign.


To put this in perspective, there is 3 & 1/2 times the number of Ron Paul forum members than number of delegates needed nationally, excluding a few states that have more complex methods of nomination.

[Shaun]

Why is Huckabee surging..?
Let's take a wild guess should we...
Oh yeah, that's it, this is the GOP nomination and the GOP is full of extreme religious groups who love a guy like Huck who has basically promised a divine communication set up with God himself.
For Gods sake this guy is Karl Rove's dream candidate. He's likeable, thumps bibles, doesn't think too much ( most theologists are seriously not that smart.....you can add the rest..) and won't make too many waves.
It's a joke. The fact that so many people support him is seriously funny.
The good news? He splits Romneys nuts right down the middle.
There are now two emerging wings to the GOP.
Hucksters and th Ron Paul wing. The RP wing will draw from McCain, Gooley man and Tancredo as well as increasing the base by the Reagan Democrats and Inde's. That's the game now.
Amazing.

[InRonWeTrust]

It's simply all the religious nuts backing him. His freekin ads are plastered with religion from wall to wall. It's shameless. But there are only so many religious nuts out there, so Huck will hit the ceiling. In a general election, his religious preaching would get him slaughtered.

[JWallace]

It's good he's surging now...1 month to go, the media will be picking apart this guy for the next 4 weeks. Rudy's got the Trooper/Mistress/Expenses thing. Mitt's trying to convert US to his faith. Fred's flashed out. McCain, well, whatever he's been doing and is doing, it's not working for him.

But RP is building and gaining more attention everyday. The Teaparty on the 16 will give us enough public attention before X-mas and close enough to the IA/NH votes that we'll peak just in time.

[noztnac]

Timing is key. Huckabee leaping out front now only makes him a target for Giuliani, Thompson, and Romney. That means we get left alone for now. Better to surge late...right before the election.

[voytechs]

....It doesn't surprise me he took his public counter down, either...


Thats a dead giveaway. Think about it. He was starting to get a lot more donations, starting to compete with us, the ticker is there to get the grassroots to motivatated. The problem is, he doesn't have any grassroots. We're starting to see too many 2.3K spikes in his donations and they need to take it down, in order to hide that its big business donating.

[JohnM]

Why is Huckabee surging?

My 2c worth is that I would be surprised if he was not. Think about the average Republican voter.

Rudy Giuliani is a RINO. And he has been married three times. And he is basically pro-abortion.

Fred Thompson is profoundly uninteresting. And been married twice.

John McCain has been married twice. And what does he have that no-one else has? I can't think of any reason why anyone would support the guy.

Mitt Romney is a Mormon.

Ron Paul is seen as blaming 9/11 on the U.S. And isn't abolishing the IRS a little extreme?

Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo don't have a chance.

Who are you left with?

[RonPaulFTFW]

He's electable, though I think the democrats will destroy him in a general election. If he gets on stage and starts preaching again... that just won't cut it.

They will go with the one they think can win though.

It's pretty simple.

The issue is the kind of republican party the republicans want. Hucks or Pauls.

[Midnight77]

He's electable, though I think the democrats will destroy him in a general election. If he gets on stage and starts preaching again... that just won't cut it.

They will go with the one they think can win though.

It's pretty simple.

The issue is the kind of republican party the republicans want. Hucks or Pauls.

This is the plan of the establishment to put Hillary in the White House. They know Huckabee will lose to her.

The only one that can beat her is Paul, which ruins everything for them.


This is a fight against corruption in this country.

Neo Conservatism against Traditional Republican Values.

Internet against Mainstream Media.


Never in my life have I seen a more intense election, or a greater divide in this country, than this.

[mosquitobite]

I don't think they really care. As long as the nominee is a RINO and a religious nut, they'll vote for him.

Amen ;) (pun intended)

[idiom]

Just watched the ABC interview with him... I keep thinking he is going to say something like "You know I don't want to invade Iran, I want to hug them with bullets."

[MooCowzRock]

Has Huck even raised ANYTHING in the past couple of days? I'm thinking its just a glitch, but for two days in a row I've checked rpgraphs, Huck's line isnt even on the graph...

[fluoridatedbrainsoup]

The media is not portraying reality

[sidcrowe]

I just got back from Huck's website, to make sure he's the tool in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhTZ_tgMUdo

Spread it around.

NOW!

[Heather in WI]

It's the evangelicals.


I agree. After the "Value Voters" debate, I noticed an increase in his support among conservative Christian bloggers.

[Thomas Paine]

Huckabee's temporary surge is a good thing if it results in weakening Romney, McCain, and Thompson.

[Lord Xar]

Hate to sound koody.

But this is why.

CFR - Council of Foreign Relations

He was as good as gone, until he met with them in September. Coincidently, since that time - he has risen despite his horrendous tax and illegal immigration record.

[icon57]

eh, the media and their polls can build duck-a-bee up and they can and will tear him down too. they did that to McCain. duck-a-bee he doesn't have grassroots support.

[TheIndependent]

No, the surge for Huckabee is simply the product of a great orator with absolutely nothing to back it up (and plenty of skeletons in his closet).

It's just a matter of time before the skeletons take root in the MSM. Seriously, that Drummond case is going to come back and haunt him in spades along with his tax positions. Right now the only major people fawning over him are only doing so based on unsubstantiated "future results" rather than his past.

[Malum Prohibitum]

on the surface, he is the man from hope v2.0. He appeals to the fundies because he talks about god, he appeals to the NeoCons cause he is for foreign invasions, he appeals to the moderates because he is for raising taxes and social spending, and they think he will appeal to the moderate Democrats for the same reason. He appeals to the Press because he can lie like a rug, just like ol Billy.

If your goal is to put an empty headed well intentioned but otherwise incompetent who will rubber stamp what hes told in the white house, he is the perfect candidate.

[amonasro]

On Hannity today it was Huckabee every 5 minutes. Every caller mentioned Huckabee. One guy even called him a Reagan conservative..... WHAT? I turned it off out of frustration, as usual.

[angrydragon]

They did a special on Huckabee on nightline on ABC.

[firetech40]

Huckabee is catching on according to Steve Breen of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/breen/index.html