Saturday, December 1, 2007

I Heart Huckabee?

Clever video made by a supporter...enjoy!



(Via the Official Blog)

12/1/07 Rasmussen Poll

Some good news from the current Rasmussen polls:

Iowa:

Huckabee: 28%
Romney: 25%

New Hampshire:

Romney: 34%
Giuliani/McCain: 15%
Huckabee: 14%

National:

Giuliani: 24%
Huckabee: 15%
Thompson: 14%
McCain: 13%
Romney: 10%

So, Huckabee extends his lead in Iowa, currently has his best showing so far in New Hampshire, and is essentially tied for second nationwide...It seems that in most polls, Huckabee is gaining some points from almost all of the frontrunners. If he can win Iowa convincingly, come in a strong second in New Hampshire and win at least South Carolina, this whole thing might just boil down to a Rudy vs. Huck race. And, quite frankly, I like my chances in that situation. This surge just goes to show that conservatives are looking for someone to vote for and not to have to wait until November just to vote against Hillary.

Just ask John Kerry what it is like when your supporters aren't so much for you as they are against your opponent...

~Justin

We Did It!

Around midnight CST, the Huckabee campaign reached its November goal and then some.

The final tally according to the official site was: $2,076,467.73

Great job in November! Still have a long way to go, though. If you haven't contributed yet, December is a great time to do so. You can do it here right now!

~Justin

Friday, November 30, 2007

The Immigration Controversy

In my earlier post today, I mentioned the controversies swirling around Gov. Huckabee as he moves forward in the primaries. Probably the biggest one that has come out is his stand on illegal immigration. This issue has become one of the major focuses of the Republican primary, ever since President Bush's earlier failed proposal.

Here is the problem in a nutshell: when he was in Arkansas, Mike Huckabee allowed the children of illegal immigrants to access a state scholarship program in much the same way that regular residents of the state could. Now, on the surface, that sounds unfair, but let's take a second and think about it. The scholarship in question was a merit based scholarship. The applicant had to meet certain academic requirements. In other words, they had to earn it. Second, the applicant had to apply for US citizenship in order to be considered for the award. So, logically, wouldn't it be better to have an intelligent, well-educated US citizen come out of this process rather than an undocumented illegal?

I understand and believe the opinion that an illegal is just that...illegal. But should we really be punishing the children for the crimes of the parents? If you think so, that is fine, but do not slam Mike Huckabee for trying to govern sensibly in a difficult situation.

Overall, the governor is pro-enforcement, pro-border security, and anti-amnesty. Isn't that what we all are looking for anyway? So where is the problem???

~Justin

Check out the following Huckabee/Immigration Resources

Charlie Rose Show Interview on Immigration

Main campaign website answers to immigration issue

Getting Closer...

Less than 2 hours to go Eastern time and the fundraising goal is within reach! About $89,000 left! I have contributed...have you? :)

Contribute to Mike Huckabee here!

Update 1:
11:00 pm EST and we have broken the $2,000,000 mark! Only $62,000 to go!

Update 2:
11:30 pm EST...total $2,023,562!

Update 3:
12:00 am EST...total $20,036,493! It is now December here on the East Coast, but there is still plenty of time for the Midwest and West to chip in! Only $31,500 to go! I am off to bed but I feel pretty confident we will meet our goal before very much longer. Way to go!

Criticizing Mike

I have been an avid follower of political news and blogs on the internet since the Clinton scandal days of the late 90's. I understand that the internet is a great way to regular folks like myself to discuss ideas and opinions with people that I would never have the opportunity to encounter otherwise. As it is though, the internet can become something of an "echo chamber", where truth and logic fall prey to ideology and personal preference.

Reading my regular conservative/Republican sites in the last several weeks of this Huckabee surge, I have to admit that I am getting a little disgusted with some of my fellow conservatives. Before Mike was really on the radar, the bulk of the discussion online seemed to be taken with many people's dislike of Rudy Giuliani and a search for a more conservative alternative to his campaign. There was a small but vocal minority of folks who righteously declared that if Rudy were the nominee, then they would stay home! Although I have never been a Rudy supporter in any way, I certainly would vote for him over Hillary or Obama.

But the saddest thing I have noticed of late is that same self-defeating attitude toward Mike Huckabee. Many folks calling him "Bubba Jr." or an "economic liberal" based on some tough decisions he had to make as governor of Arkansas. Some conservatives are declaring that they will stay home if Huck is the nominee or that his nomination will be the death of the Republican party! How ridiculous is this?

Huckabee's rapid surge to the forefront has certainly hurt the feelings of many hard core supporters of other candidates. I imagine I would feel the same way if someone else surged past the candidate I believed in too. However, this kind of attack should be reserved for our true opponents next November. Yes, we need to vet our candidates and make the best decision we can at this time. But let's leave the name calling and hyperbole out for now. The 2008 election is just too important.

I have no intention of slamming Rudy or Mitt or Fred or anyone else on this blog. I believe that Mike Huckabee is the best candidate we have and I am going to spend my time talking about him, not running down everyone else. Plenty of other places on the net for that...

~Justin

(For the best response to criticisms of Mike Huckabee's record, check out the Truth Squad articles on the official website.)

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Who won the debate last night?

Great video from a supporter of Huckabee...

Watch it on the Official Blog...(sorry, I can't get the video to embed properly here. I'll try it again later.)

~Justin

Huck on TV 11/29-30

From the Official Blog:

Thursday, November 29, 2007
(All times are approximate)

4:15 p.m. ET – Guest on CNN’s Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer

5:00 p.m. ET – Guest on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews

10:00 p.m. ET – Guest on Fox News Channel’s On the Record with Greta Van Susteren

Friday, November 30, 2007

7:00 a.m. ET – Guest on Fox News Channel’s Fox and Friends. (Note the Governor will appear sometime during the program which runs from 7:00 – 9:00 a.m. ET)

(I am going to try to watch what I can of these, but I have to work this evening.)

More Debate Stuff

It seems that CNN might have allowed just a touch of bias into the debate proceedings last evening...what? CNN shilling for the Clintons??? Why, I would never have imagined! :)

And it also seems that many of the other debate questioners were confirmed supporters of Edwards or Obama as well. See here for more details. I have no problem with my candidate facing tough questions from people, even from folks on the other side. But let's have some transparency from CNN on the matter. Does anyone really think that very many of the folks from the Democratic YouTube debate still have Bush/Cheney '04 stickers on their vehicles?

The general consensus as the morning dawns is still that Huckabee won the debate. My favorite response was this one:

Debate Reactions

As I said earlier, many folks on the web think that Huckabee walked away from the debate as the winner, even those who do not personally support his campaign.

Huckabee's official blog has a good rundown of some of those reactions here.

Also, the Southern Political Report did a survey of Florida and Iowa undecided voters who agreed to watch the debate and got the following results:

Florida:

Huckabee: 44%
Giulani: 18%
Romney: 13%
McCain: 10%
Thompson: 5%
Paul: 4%
Hunter: 1%
Tancredo: 1%
Rest: undecided

Iowa:

Huckabee: 32%
Romney: 16%
Giuliani: 12%
McCain: 10%
Thompson: 7%
Paul: 6%
Tancredo: 2%
Hunter: 0%
Rest: undecided

Let's see how this translates into polling over the next week or so...it will be great to see a big Huckabee boost from this debate!

~Justin

YouTube Debate Review

Well, I just finished watching the Republican debate tonight and I have a few thoughts.

Format:
The whole user-submitted questions notion is interesting, but it resulted in some unusual questions, particularly the one to Giuliani regarding his support of the Red Sox in the World Series. Was that really necessary? Were there no other more important issues to cover? I know that people want to see the "human" side of candidates, but this was a Leno or Letterman question, not a debate question.

Performances:
The inital feeling in the blogosphere and through some of the news outlets is that Huckabee is the winner tonight. Granted, I am biased, but I would agree with that. He gave some great answers defending his immigration stance and on his beliefs about the Bible and the death penalty. Much of the evening's focus was on Giuliani and Romney, especially since they each went for the jugular on the first question. Romney seemed flustered at times and was off his game quite a bit. Giuliani did well, but his positions are the problem, not his performance.

Overall, Huckabee was able to stay above the fray, address criticisms of his positions and past decisions and connect with the audience very well. I think he will see a boost in both attention and fundraising with this debate in conjunction with his recent rise in the polls. Hopefully, this is yet another step in Huck's ascendance from obscurity to potential front-runner!

~Justin

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Huck on the issues

As I get this blog up and running, I am going to try to direct readers to the best places to learn about Governor Huckabee and where he stands on the important issues of the campaign.

Check out this section on his main website for a good rundown of his positions. Each section also has videos as well that summarize his main ideas. Great place to get acquainted with the next president of the United States! :)

~Justin

CNN/YouTube Debate

Unfortunately, I missed the debate live, but I am going to go watch the tape right now. I'll comment on it a little later. For now, check out the live blogging on Huckabee's Official Blog! Or you can read the debate transcript yourself here on CNN.com!

~Justin

Here's the second part of that debate transcript as well. Enjoy!

Welcome to NC for Huckabee!

Hello fellow North Carolinians and anyone else who happens upon this blog!

The purpose of NC for Huckabee is to keep folks in the Old North State updated on the campaign of Gov. Mike Huckabee for president. For more information about the governor, check out the following websites:

www.mikehuckabee.com (Campaign Site)
www.teamhuckabee.com (Join the team, get Huckabee resources and contribute to the campaign)
Mike Huckabee in the Carolinas (Meetup site for folks in NC and SC)

Please feel free to make comments to the posts, but I am moderating comments to keep out the trolls and such. Hope you enjoy the site and be sure to vote Huckabee!

~Justin