Friday, December 31, 2010

Mike Huckabee receives Fair Assessment from MSNBC, Breitbart skewers

MSNBC recently gave a fair assessment of Mike Huckabee’s prospects for 2012, but Andrew Breitbart wants you to think otherwise: “Is MSNBC Promoting Huckabee for GOP Nomination?” Breitbart is implying that liberal MSNBC wants Huckabee to win and is therefore promoting him.

What exactly did MSNBC do to push Huckabee? Let's take it line by line.

(M) Huckabee is a likeable guy.

* Even Jim Geraghty at the Campaign Spot said, "I had a chance to hang around with the former Arkansas governor in a Fox News green room recently, and he reinforced my sense that it’s impossible to not like Huckabee personally."

(M) He's a Southern Baptist preacher. * True

(M) His problems are ones of structure. He does not like raising money, he’s admitted he does not like being measured by process and field operations.

* About raising money, Huckabee recently said when talking on the Alan Colmes radio show,I love the retail end of politics. I hate the glad handing for money. I love talking to people who aren't necessarily the ones who can write the big checks.”

* Huckabee said this about process and field operations when interviewed by Bret Baier for the FoxNews 12 in 2012 series. Huckabee said, "It's a whole lot more about the money than it is the message. And so, because it's more process-focused than policy-focused, we end up not necessarily giving attention to the people with the best ideas, but giving attention to the people with the machinery and the money -- even if their message doesn't even sell."

(M) Polls that matter are going to be Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

* So he is pretty much saying that the CNN poll that Huckabee came out on top of doesn’t really matter.

(M) Ya know the thing about Huckabee, is if people like you, he has a lot of name recognition because he ran before and he has been on cable news.

* Huckabee said in his interview with Alan Colmes, “The one nice thing whether I should decide to run or not is that more people at least would know me by what I actually believe or say as opposed to what my opponent has defined me to be and that is kinda encouraging. If I would have had that opportunity four years ago, things might have turned out differently."

(M) He also has shown himself to be willing to come to the middle on some issues. He said about the first Lady’s obesity campaign that maybe Sarah Palin misunderstood what Michelle Obama was trying to do.

* Huckabee said in a recent radio interview with New York radio host Curtis Sliwa, "With all due respect to my colleague and friend, Sarah Palin, I think she's misunderstood what Michelle Obama is trying to do. Michelle Obama isn't trying to tell people what to eat or not trying to force the government's desires on people, but she's stating the obvious: that we do have an obesity crisis in this country."

(M) Here's a guy who famously lost about a hundred pounds. * True

(M) He has shown himself to be sorta this common sense guy who is not going to attack Democrats for the sake of attacking Democrats. That is something that could appeal to a lot of independents.

* Huckabee has been doing well in all the polling. The CNN poll showed Huckabee doing best among all groups:

Mike Huckabee

Among Republicans } 69/32 ..+37
Among Independents } 66/30 ...+36
Among Conservatives } 74/25 ...+49
Among Tea Partiers } 72/26 ....+46
Among Moderates } 61/35 ....+26

Click here to see all 2012 polling done in 2010.

(M) There is not as much heated rhetoric that comes from Mike Huckabee on every single issue, it’s not just totally anti-Obama, totally anti-Democrat.

(M) Mike Huckabee is very conservative, very socially conservative in particular. Fiscal conservatives don’t love him.

* Which is why Andrew Breitbart has posted this video clip with the label that MSNBC is pushing Huckabee.

(M) He is the only candidate actually, who had the Club for Growth run ads against him in Iowa. So he had tons of attacks from fiscal groups on the right. All that money from Mitt Romney and Club for Growth, and he still won the 2008 Iowa primary. * True

(M) This just shows how wide open this thing is going to be.

* But even Steve Kornacki at Salon indicated thatBut it's getting harder to ignore the polls: The same CNN survey that shows Palin's GOP support collapsing also shows -- not for the first time -- that Huckabee is the most popular '12 prospect in the party.

(M) Can you tell the political types are very eager for the political season to get underway here?

* Yes, that is why they are talking about the current polls and the race for 2012.

* What Breitbart fails to recognize when he mocks Huckabee for the fair assessment he received, is that the 2012 Republican nominee needs to appeal to Republicans, Independents and Democrats. We need to win back those Reagan Democrats who voted for Obama in 2008. Huckabee has a great chance to not only earn their vote, but make them Huckabee Republicans.





Cross Posted at: I Like Mike Huckabee 2012

13 comments:

Bill589 said...

The left and their media (and the GOP establishment) wants anybody but Palin. They know who will not only beat Obama, but bring individual freedom and personal responsibility back to our country. Two things anathema to socialism. I like Mitt. Huck, from recent remarks and what I read of his past, is a scumbag. First, he needs to overcome his ‘scumbag’ problem. The devil quotes the Bible too.

Michael said...

I agree with Bill. I'm a Romney supporter who if Romney doesn't run, could support Palin.

I would find it hard to support a liberal hypocrite posing as a conservative minister tv host.

If Huckabee got the nomination, I'd be tempted to go 3rd party.

At least, I'd have 4 more years of slamming Obama rather than living with a criminal loving, tax raising, bleeding heart, slime bag in the White House THAT'S A Republican In Name Only!

Revolution 2012 said...

Bill & Michael.

Ditto! Ditto!

Enough said!

Anonymous said...

"If Huckabee got the nomination, I'd be tempted to go 3rd party." I have to admit I agree with that statement, but a couple of Republicans would make me even more tempted. Good article BTW, ironically, Mr. Huckabee is turning into the compromise candidate between the Romney and Palin camp and that why he might be the slight front-runner for now. He is trying to find the balance between pro and anti Tea Partiers, but he may end up hacking up both sides.


OHIO JOE

BOSMAN said...

OJ,

"BTW, ironically, Mr. Huckabee is turning into the compromise candidate between the Romney and Palin camp"

=====

Really, I don't know one Romney supporters, with the exception of Pablo, who has anything positive to say about Huckabee. On the other hand, I know Romney supporters who like Palin as well.

You and I must travel in different circles.

phil said...

Huckabee really does nothing for me.
I suppose if he were the nominee, I'd vote for him over Obama. How's that for an endorsement?

Right Wingnut said...

I would have an extremely difficult time dragging myself to the polls to pull the lever for Huckabee. He's got some serious work to do if he is to win over the loyal Palin and Romney supporters. I could write a very lengthy post on the numerous swipes he's taken at Palin over the past two years. And he wonders why she won't go on his show...

Aside from my personal feelings about Huck, I don't appreciate his dishonesty in regards to some of his past liberal policy positions. I have no doubt that he would be just another proponent of "compassionate conservatism" if he were to end up in the White House.

No thank you.

Right Wingnut said...

Really, I don't know one Romney supporters, with the exception of Pablo, who has anything positive to say about Huckabee - Bosman

That pretty much tells you all you need to know about where Huck lies on the ideological spectrum.

Anonymous said...

"You and I must travel in different circles."

Haha, I cannot disagree with that.


"That pretty much tells you all you need to know about where Huck lies on the ideological spectrum."

I think real life is more complex than the blogoshere. Certainly on law and order issues and Foreign policy issues, Mr. Huckabee is the odd man out in the party, but apart from the tax deal and food laws, Mr. Huckabee has at least gave himself a personna that puts him between the other two main camps. Obvisiously, since both Mrs. Palin and Mr. Romney care about Social issues, the Conservative Spectrum is more diverse than just TEA Party versus non-Tea Party, but the Spectrum is different than it was two years ago when it was M versus M and the issues that concerned Conservatives were different. At the risk of using the Pablo example, for better or worse, they is a much higher per centage of real live people that match his political persona than do on the Blogoshere. To be sure, the Blogoshere is influencial, but the last primary suggested that non bloggers voted as well and they did not see the political spectrum in the same way.

OHIO JOE

Right Wingnut said...

different. At the risk of using the Pablo example, for better or worse, they is a much higher per centage of real live people that match his political persona than do on the Blogoshere. To be sure, the Blogoshere is influencial, but the last primary suggested that non bloggers voted as well and they did not see the political spectrum in the same way. - OJ

It may be that those in the blogosphere are just more in tune with what's going on. Primaries and general elections are the mechanism for educating the uninformed masses of the past policy postions of the candidates. It is or this reason that I believe that certain candidates (Huck being one of them) face a steep uphill climb in the upcoming GOP primary contest.

Anonymous said...

I'm with the majority here.

Although as a Rombot, I poke fun at Palin every chance I get, I'd vote for her in a heartbeat over Huckabee. I believe the man is evil!

zeke

kelly said...

I don't like Huckabee either.

Anonymous said...

If Harry Reid can be a Mormon....and it bothers nobody, well then, just shut up about it being a problem for Mitt Romney, or anyone else.