Michael Farris: Huckabee Can Beat Hillary

Michael Farris, founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), wrote the following letter to Iowans in the weeks prior to the Ames Straw Poll.

The letter echoes many of our reasons for supporting Mike Huckabee and is pleasantly prophetic. Enjoy.

From the desk of Michael Farris

July 27, 2007

Dear Friends in Iowa,

Iowa voters have a unique opportunity to influence the future of America on August 11th. I write in the hope that you will consider my analysis on two critical issues:

• Why you should attend the Iowa Straw Poll on August 11th in Ames.
• Why I have decided to support Governor Mike Huckabee for President in 2008.

Let's start with the second issue and then return to the August 11th event in Ames.

In fairness, let me reveal the factors I used for deciding who to support for President. Many of you will recognize scriptural themes in my analysis. Let me emphasize, this is how I made my decision. I believe that every American has the total freedom and right to use their own value system to reach their own conclusions.

• Our president should be a man of a consistent philosophy proven over time. In Deuteronomy 17, kings of Israel were to be those who did not deviate from the right way either to the right or the left. I simply do not trust those who have not been consistent over time--especially those who finally "discover" that they are social conservatives at the very time they are running for president.
• Our president must be a man of consistent character.
• Our president should have that rare combination of leadership, tenacity, and humility that is commended in that same passage. Leaders of Israel were to be strong to be sure, but they were, ". . .not to consider themselves better than their brothers."
• Our president should not be a neophyte in serious leadership positions. The New Testaments tells us that church leaders should be "tested" and that we are to avoid "laying hands" suddenly on someone. Although this does not apply directly to political leaders, I believe that there is wisdom in this standard that is broadly applicable.
• Our president must be an unwavering supporter of the right to life--period.
• Our president must understand the original intent of our Constitution and insist that both his administration and his judicial appointments faithfully follow its provisions.
• Our president must believe in American self-government. I will never support someone who believes that it is proper for any branch of government--other than an elected legislature--to make our laws. The UN should not be allowed to make laws for America. The Supreme Court should not be allowed to make law. No agency of government should be allowed to use international law to override the law of this country.
• Our president must believe in liberty--religious liberty for all is a first principle--but all principles of the First Amendment--and the Second (and the rest of the Bill of Rights) are essential. But, our president must understand that liberty under law allows for moral standards, not the amorality and decadence that is the byproduct of libertarianism.

After a thorough review of all candidates, I believe that Mike Huckabee fully embraces all of these principles, qualities and possesses all of the relevant experience so that he is fully qualified to be our President.

Importantly, I believe that he has the best ability I have ever witnessed to communicate these values in a winsome and articulate fashion. His ability to communicate with such ease and quickness is not just a speaking gift, but it arises from a heart of deep conviction so that he never has to first stop and ask himself, "What am I supposed to say about this issue?"

On a pragmatic note, Americans elect Governors, not Senators, not members of the House and certainly not mayors. And Americans DO NOT elect moderate Republicans.

In 1976--Ford (a moderate) lost.
In 1980--Reagan ("too conservative for America") won a landslide.
In 1984--Reagan won another landslide.
In 1988--Bush (41) won because America thought he was Reagan, Jr.
In 1992--Bush lost after he violated his pledge on taxes and America knew he was a moderate.
In 1996--Dole (a moderate) lost.
In 2000--Bush (43) ran as a pro-life conservative and won.
In 2004--Bush won again.

The lessons to be learned are that when the GOP nominates a Senator we lose, and when we nominate a moderate we lose. We need a conservative Governor who is pro-life, pro-family and pro-Constitution. That is the pragmatic formula for victory.

Many of you know that my wife and I have homeschooled our children for 25 years. I have nine grandchildren being homeschooled. I am absolutely committed to the protection of the freedom for home education.

I believe that the biggest threat on the horizon to home education specifically and to parental rights in general is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Hillary Clinton will make this one of her highest priorities if she is elected president.

We need a president who is absolutely committed to the sovereignty of America and the sanctity of the family and is ready, willing and able to stop the UN from usurping the role of moms and dads who want to raise their children in a decent and honorable fashion.

Hillary makes her "pro-child" message sound so deceptively appealing. If we are going to win the presidency, the GOP candidate must stand for what is right, but also have the communication ability to make every one in America understand what a danger the UN Convention on children's rights poses to the American way of life for all of us.

Mike Huckabee has the convictions, the ability to communicate, and the ability to beat Hillary in debate after debate on this and any other issue she raises. I do not want to trust the future of my family to any person lacking the ability to truly best her in debate.

I have coached legal debate teams to repeated college national championships. I think I can spot a good debater. Mike Huckabee stands head and shoulders above all others in his ability to best any Democrat--Hillary, Obama, or Edwards.

In short,

• Mike Huckabee has proven his convictions over time.
• Mike Huckabee has the highest level of preparation and experience.
• Mike Huckabee has the right character.
• Mike Huckabee has the best ability of any candidate in either party to communicate a winsome and articulate message.
• Mike Huckabee is probably the only Republican who can win.

Here is the rub:

The media has decided for us who the frontrunners are, and big money Republicans have decided that they will only bet on frontrunners.

August 11th is the first and most critical moment in this campaign. It is the first time that the American public--not the media--gets to select the frontrunner.

I have had hundreds of people say to me, "Yes, Mike Huckabee is probably the best candidate--but how is he going to break out of the pack?"

The answer is, August 11th! If he can gain a very strong showing on August 11th, he will be a frontrunner. And then, the money will flow, and his ability to communicate will be noticed, and I believe he will fly to the top and win the nomination.

I have no doubt that if he wins the nomination, he will win the presidency. I cannot say that about any other Republican because winning requires that special combination of life experience (Governors), conservatism, and communication skill.

I know that this has been a little long. But choosing a president is a big deal. If my analysis seems sound to you, then I ask you to join me on August 11th in Ames. I will be there in person to support Mike Huckabee. If you are able to attend, please do so.

It is no exaggeration to say that the future of our country may well be riding on this event.

Huckabee Rising: Polls for IA, NH, and SC

A new series of American Research Group polls came out this morning and show an incredible increase in support for Governor Huckabee in the critical states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

Prior to the Ames Straw Poll, the American Research Group polls had Huckabee polling at 1% in Iowa, 1% in New Hampshire and 3% in South Carolina. Today those numbers are 14% in Iowa, 9% in New Hampshire and 9% in South Carolina.

This places the Governor ahead of both Fred Thompson and John McCain in Iowa, again ahead of Thompson in New Hampshire, and tied with Mitt Romney in South Carolina. More and more, Huckabee is looking, sounding, and polling like a real contender.

Joel Belz: Finding a Front-Runner

In the August 25th issue of WORLD Magazine, Joel Belz penned a column entitled Finding a Front-Runner, which weaves in the following story:

A young mother from Ohio, very savvy in matters political, was reporting to her father last week her perceptions on the Republican presidential field.

Romney? Mormon and too "slick Willie."

McCain? NO!

Guiliani? Good on national security. On everything else: blah!

Thompson? Way overhyped.

Paul? I'm just not ready quite yet to go into the "moonbat" category.

Her responses seem indicative of the response of many conservatives around the country when it comes to the 2008 presidential election. Belz highlights the dissatisfaction with the current front-runners, noting that "every singer in that front-of-the-stage trio simply has too many negatives to build a winning coalition."

But what is most interesting is not Belz's clear doubts about the Big Three of Guiliani, Romney, and McCain, but rather what he has to say about two of the alternatives: Fred Thompson and Ron Paul.

[That] is why so many eyes have tended for three months now to turn to Fred Thompson of Tennessee. But if the Big Three can't manage yet to electrify a campaign, Thompson can't even seem to find the starter button. His launch date has been postponed so often now (and there are just enough worries about whether Thompson himself or his wife is in charge of start dates) that the luster is fading fast. Folks want to know whether his work ethic matches his good ol' boy image. He's a great talker, but people won't wait forever to see if he's that good.

And I already know how my mailbox will fill up with letters from Ron Paul fans, who for weeks have already let me know—repeatedly—that we at WORLD simply don't know gold when we see it. I'm not quite sure what the "moonbat" label implies, or if it's really fair to apply it to a usually honorable man to whom Congress ought to listen more often. But when Paul last week openly joined his ignominious colleagues in their continued use of spending earmarks, trying to slip in several projects for his own district in Texas—and then tried to defend his actions—his credibility as a purist dropped in the general direction of his electability. I wish it were otherwise, but it isn't.

So who does Mr. Belz view as the winning alternative? He doesn't come right out and say it, but the young mother from Ohio is clear:

Ahhh. I finally found a candidate I can support. Mike Huckabee. It was like he was speaking to my heart. I think I even got teary.

The column closes:

I'm not saying Mike Huckabee's the man. I am saying it's becoming altogether likely that an unlikely man with an unlikely name will push the front-runners aside.

The young mother's skepticism about the big boys is right on target. While too many pundits have their eyes on electability, she's sniffing out, with uncanny intuition, the much more critical issue of non-electability. And the front-runners in both parties are all carrying heavy baggage.

Whether she's picked the right dark horse may be a totally different issue. But the dark horses, this year and next, are the ones to watch.

Video: The Story of Mike Huckabee

Watch and spread this incredible video about Mike Huckabee.

HT: Mike Huckabee '08

Huckabee: Connecting Across the Lines

David Brody of CBNNews.com recently interviewed Emory University psychiatry professor and Democratic political strategist Drew Westen. His specialty: connecting emotionally with voters.

Brody shares the story of then President Bill Clinton calling Westen after reading his book The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation. This year donors to the major Democratic presidential campaigns have put him in touch with the campaigns or candidates.

In the interview (and in real life), Professor Westen gives advice to Democratic presidential candidates, but there is one Republican candidate who Westen says has distinguished himself in the area of voter relations: Mike Huckabee. Read his analysis below:

The thing about Huckabee is that if you watch his ability to connect with people he’s quite impressive. He can deliver a line that is very far to the right but sounds very balanced in his demeanor. His position on evolution was one that a lot of CBN viewers would agree with but it’s pretty far from the mainstream with what scientists believe about evolution yet he can speak about it in a way where people who might be skeptical may feel comfortable. That was Ronald Reagan’s real gift. He made people feel comfortable with him and his values in part because he spoke them with conviction even if they didn’t agree with his convictions.

This is becoming a common theme. Visit any Democrat blog or forum and you will find people who are scared of Huckabee. There's a reason.

Huckabee Surges in Iowa State Fair Poll

It seems that Mike Huckabee was racking up the kernels in the Channel 13 poll at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines over the last week.

First, consider this week-old news piece from the morning of the Ames straw poll:

The corn vote shows Mitt Romney in a runaway.

Romney led the rest of Republican presidential field by 400 kernels in this remarkably unscientific poll at the Iowa State Fair on Friday: Fairgoers dropped corn in jars in support of their favored candidate.

Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, was not among the top three, and did not merit a mention on the tote board.

Huckabee is banking on a far better showing today at the Iowa Straw Poll in Ames.

But yesterday, USNews.com reported that Huckabee has since turned things around in a big way:

Mike Huckabee has been taking a victory lap since coming in a surprising second at last Saturday's GOP Iowa presidential straw poll, and now he's got another poll to crow about: At Channel 13's popular booth at the Iowa State Fair, the former Arkansas governor has surged into second place in the all-important corn Kernel Poll, knocking former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson out of the top three.

The official count over at Iowa Votes 2008 has Romney with 36 percent of the 13,275 kernels cast and Huckabee with 17 percent, besting third place Guiliani and fourth place Thompson by 400 and 500 votes respectively.

Of course, does a kernel count at the Iowa State Fair really mean anything? The surge certainly does, as it shows a noticeable upward wave of support following Huckabee's strong showing in Ames. Plus, consider the following from US News:

The kernel poll works this way: Poll voters 18 or older are offered a corn kernel, which they drop into the glass Mason jar designated for their preferred candidate.

Does the thing mean anything? Well, in its maiden voyage last year, the kernel poll accurately predicted that Chet Culver would be elected governor, the station's Jarrett Schneider tells our Liz Halloran.

Considered beside statistical analysis like this, I think you can only say that this corn kernel poll means good things for Mike.

Analysts: Huckabee Surging in Iowa

USA Election Polls, the best source online for up-to-date polling information and analysis, has posted an excellent article on Mike Huckabee's surge in the key state of Iowa following Ames:

Summary: Mike Huckabee has a bump in post-debate polls then drops back down after voters question his viability. With Huckabee's strong second place performance at the Ames Straw Poll, his viability will no longer be questioned by Iowa voters. Look for a surge in the upcoming polls.

Excerpt #1: Mike Huckabee's strong second place performance at the Ames Straw Poll will help remove all doubts as to whether or not he can win. The up-and-down roller coast ride to his poll numbers are going to stop and we are going to notice gradual increases for Huckabee in Iowa.

Excerpt #2: For those voters that like the Huckabee, Brownback, and Tancredo alternatives, they will vote for the candidate of that group they feel is most likely to win. Thanks to Ames, Huckabee is that candidate and we expect the supporters of the other lower tiered candidates to converge towards supporting Huckabee.

Excerpt #3: There is upwards of about 20% undecided Republican voters in the upcoming Iowa Caucus. Undecided voters will traditionally flock to the lesser known challengers in any election because they are already familiar with the well known candidates (like Giuliani, McCain, and Romney) and to still be undecided despite the familiarity is generally a reflection of the fact that those voters have rejected the top tier.

Read the whole thing...

A Huckabee Story: Nothing Crooked About Him

Someone sent the following story to a friend of ours after reading our post, Why We Support Mike Huckabee. We share it here:

I actually met Gov. Huckabee in 2002, when I was an intern in DC. He was the incoming president for the organization I served with -- Council of State Governments. The previous president was the Gov of Maryland, and he was one slick character. Not someone I'd want to be alone in a room with.

Gov. Huckabee comes in, greets everyone in the staff room by name (there weren't many, but these ladies were absolutely fawning) and then he gets to me and says, "I'm Mike Huckabee, I don't believe we've met." So introduce myself and we make chit-chat, and then he gets his registration materials and agenda and leaves. I looked at my boss, Cynthia, who managed the CSG office, and she said, "I honestly love that man. There's nothing crooked about him."

I had to smile -- Cynthia was this big, black gospel singer and she didn't like just anyone. But she was very intuitive, so when she smiled on Mike Huckabee, I had to, as well.

I had to smile -- Cynthia was this big, black gospel singer and she didn't like just anyone. But she was very intuitive, so when she smiled on Mike Huckabee, I had to, as well.

There were over 400 people attending this convention, and I was running interference for several organizations and making sure everything was going okay, and every time I saw Gov. Huckabee, he'd yell out, "How's it going, Kate? You hanging in there?" or "Keep it up, Kate!" Pretty soon he had his staff checking up on me -- which was amazing to be a college senior and have that response from some pros. But they would just grin when he'd start his chorus. That man knew everyone's name, it seemed.

I've been in ministry long enough to tell when someone has been coached to remember first names and greet people with details that they've shared with you, but this guy was genuine. One of my fondest memories was him calling Cynthia on to the stage on the last night -- Huckabee had a rock band at the time, formed of all civil servants like the State Auditor, etc., and he wanted Cyn to sing with them. This was no small thing, because Cynthia was awesome, but they got up there and rocked it.

So anyway, I've been keeping an eye on him and hoping he'll clean things up on the GOP side. Whoever said it in their list of quotes below had it right -- I think he's the only one who could take on Hillary and prevail. Not only that, but he'd do it with class, which is more than I could say for any other candidate on either side.

So if you talk to the boys, tell them Huckabee's had my vote for the past 5 years! ; )

Video: Huckabee Ames Straw Poll Speech

Mike Huckabee's inspiring speech at the Ames, Iowa straw poll.

Thoughts on Mike Huckabee (After the Poll)

Many people have expressed skepticism about Mike Huckabee's chances in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. We understand, because we have felt exactly the same way about many candidates friends of ours have been excited about in the past -- third-party candidates in particular.

Mike Huckabee does not fall in that category. Not only does he have the experience and credibility from his ten and half years as a popular and effective governor of Arkansas, but he has that charisma, that ability to communicate with the ordinary American, that can only be called — as so many political analysts and pundits have described it — Reagan-esque.

If you have not read our first post on Huckabee, click here.

Over the past few months, as Huckabee repeatedly revealed himself as the most powerful communicator in the presidential debates — and also began to overtake McCain in key primary states, like Iowa — it became clear that the only things keeping him from vaulting in the top tier of candidates was the media's lack of exposure and the money to get his message out to voters. For many potential supporters, the question was, "Can he really get any traction?"

The answer to that question hinged on the results of the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa this weekend. The poll doesn't elect anybody, but it is a key test of organizational strength, supporter enthusiasm, and campaign momentum. After Romney committed to do (pay) anything to win, other top tier candidates like Guiliani and McCain chose not to participate. This made the event a must-win-big event for Romney, but the real story leading up was the other candidates. Who would come in second?

Romney spent over $4 million on the poll for a huge blitz of TV ads and mailings, over 175 buses to bring in supporters, and thousands of the $35 tickets people needed to cast a ballot in the poll. Senator Brownback, Huckabee's main rival for the social conservative vote, spent over $500,000 for robo-calls attacking Romney on abortion prior to the poll, over 100 buses for his supporters, several thousand tickets, and a large air-conditioned tent. Huckabee spent only $150,000 and did not run a single ad or rent a single bus. He only bought 1,800 tickets.

We were, to be honest, a little hesitant to post about Huckabee before the straw poll. If he did well, then of course, we could talk about his clear momentum. If he did poorly, thus being forced out of the race, then so much for that -- another great candidate who just couldn't make it in the actually running. But we were too impressed with his content and presentation to wait. We're glad we didn't.

As it was, Huckabee became the undisputed story of the straw poll, taking a strong (and to many, surprising) second place to Romney with nearly 2,600 votes. With an estimated 1/32 of Romney's spending, Huckabee had well over 1/2 the number of votes. But I'll stop here, for a while, and let some of the post-poll coverage speak for itself.

TIME Magazine:

Romney's first-place finish was just the logical next step in his mechanical push toward January, the genuine surprise of the day was Mike Huckabee's runner-up placement. The former Arkansas governor captured 2,587 votes (18% of the total) to Romney's 4,516 (32%), and said after the results were announced that he had spent less than $150,000 on the effort. Unlike rival campaigns, the Huckabee operation rented no buses for the event, relying on supporters to transport themselves to Ames.

More remarkably, Huckabee's vote total was higher than the number of tickets his campaign had purchased. That means either some of his supporters paid the $35 cost on their own instead of — as most voters do — obtaining their tickets through the campaign or Huckabee won the support of voters who attended the straw-poll on other campaigns' dimes. Huckabee, with his engaging manner, gubernatorial experience, and credential as a Baptist minister, may now be able to force his way into the first tier.

News and Policy:

With his second-placed position in the Iowa straw poll, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has emerged as a potential insurgent candidate of the Republican Party presidential nomination race... He edged out Kansas Senator Sam Brownback for runner-up position, polling 18.1 percent as against Brownback's 15.3 percent. Going into the straw poll, former House Speaker, Newt Gingrich, had reportedly predicted that Huckabee could emerge from it as the dark horse because he has an authenticity and candor that was beginning to resonate with people. The Iowa straw poll result seems to be vindicating such predictions.

“Over the last several months, a lot of people have told us, you’re a great guy, you have a wonderful message, we really think you have good experience, but we’re just really not sure that you can get the traction to win,” Huckabee said after the poll. “So this for us was a great testing point to show that we can get the traction."

The Politico:

So maybe message is more important than motorcoaches, after all. Mike Huckabee finished a surprising second with 18.1 percent of the vote in the straw poll here Saturday even though he did not have the funds to rent a single bus or put a single commercial on TV. True, Mitt Romney finished in first place with 31.5 percent of the vote, but Romney spent millions on buses and television commercials.

“For me to come in second is the story,” Huckabee said in a press conference immediately after the results were announced. “For me to hold the frontrunner under 50 percent is the story.”

Huckabee told The Politico on Wednesday night that he probably would have to withdraw from the race if he did not come in at least a strong third. That is no longer a problem, though it is not known whether Huckabee's second place showing will make him a “top tier” candidate, a media judgment that has no hard and set rules.

Latest Politics:

The headline out of tonight is clearly Mike Huckabee's second-place finish, just 13.4 points behind Mitt Romney. Mr. Romney's financial and organizational advantage was staggering going into Ames — meaning, as I've discussed before, that his winning isn't much of a win. Mr. Romney met the minimum requirements, but his margin had no "wow" factor. That means the media bounce out of tonight is likely to accrue to Mr. Huckabee. It was basically a battle between Mike Huckabee and Sam Brownback as to who could score second place and a potential bump up to the first tier.

The Atlantic:

The second flight out of Ames belongs to Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, who manifestly did not spend nearly as much as third-place finisher Sam Brownback and who has been dogged by questions about his ability to harness his support.

“We had two fish and five loaves and it fed 5,000,” Huckabee said of his victory.

Michael Farris, a Huckabee adviser who runs the Home School Legal Defense Fund, said Huckabee’s campaign has existed on a “shoe-string budget” so far. “But it just goes to show that he is the best communicator in this race.”

Political Buzz:

Rising GOP star Huckabee finishes 13 points behind Mitt and the loads of Mitt-heads that were supposed to turn up and push his vote total well above 6-7,000 never showed up... Bad news for Mitt? Definitely. Huckabee’s stellar performance vaults him into the sleeper position for Iowa and select states in the South.

Real Clear Politics:

The instant analysis would seem to show two very clear winners: Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. The two former governors took 31.5% and 18.1% respectively... For Huckabee, the second-place win came after having spent little money and organizing much less than Romney, Senator Sam Brownback and others.

"The momentum was with us," said Huckabee. "For us, it's really that we overperformed." Huckabee didn't miss a beat in taking over the mantle of challenging Romney. "I think if you look at those, even above us or below us, there was a lot who underperformed," he said.

The Washington Post:

The biggest political event of the 2007 calendar year gave former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney a victory, but the biggest winner may well be former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who placed a surprising second... Huckabee knew his back was against the wall, and he pulled out the surprise of the night. On the ground it was evident that Romney and Brownback had spent the most money courting straw poll voters, while Huckabee was working with a far smaller budget (his campaign spent $150,000 or so, according campaign manager Chip Saltsman). No matter how it happened, he got it done. Huckabee's campaign was looking for a spark and they seem to have gotten it tonight. He must -- and we repeat MUST -- turn this surprise showing into campaign cash or it will be for naught. But today is Huckabee's best day as a candidate by far.

Beliefnet.com: (Link)

A couple months ago I was talking to one a major political reporter who said their predicted Republican candidate - as crazy as it may sound - was still Mike Huckabee. This is a person with a very good track record.

What is clear coming out of the Ames straw poll is that Huckabee is rising. I'm becoming less and less surprised. Huckabee may be the one Republican candidate who has the ability to create a new coalition of Christian backers holding traditional Christian conservatives who care most about abortion and gay marriage while bringing in the new breed of evangelical who is increasingly concerned about social justice issues.

Christians increasingly see him as a "real" Christian - not just one made to sound like one for the political season.

Wall Street Journal: (Link)

The biggest winner of Iowa Republicans' weekend straw poll of 11 presidential rivals may well turn out to be not Mitt Romney, whose first-place finish here was expected, but surprise runner-up Mike Huckabee, the guitar-picking former governor of Arkansas.

Should Mr. Huckabee capitalize on his second-place showing here Saturday to get a second look from demoralized Republicans unhappy with their choices -- and to get much-needed funding -- the repercussions could reshuffle the party's contest for its 2008 nomination. Social conservatives, who have come to dominate the Republican party, could decide the candidate they have been looking for has been in the race the whole time, languishing at the back of the pack with little money to promote himself.

The National Republic: (Link)

It's hard to overstate the significance of Huckabee's performance here. Combined, Huckabee and Brownback--the field's two leading social conservatives--outpolled Mitt Romney today 33 to 31.5. If, as the results suggest, Huckabee emerges as the lone standard bearer for this group, he'll probably end up with a block of support to rival Romney's. (Most "Brownbackers" I spoke to would feel extremely comfortable throwing their support behind the Arkansan.) But, of course, just combining Brownback's and Huckabee's numbers actually way understates Huckabee's potential ceiling. For one thing, he's come this far running on fumes. It will be interesting to see what he can do with the fundraising boost he'll enjoy after today. On top of that, there seem to be a lot of social conservatives currently supporting Romney because he's running as the most conservative of the top-tier candidates. Now that Huckabee has demonstrated his viability, it's not hard to imagine him peeling off a decent number of Romney's conservative backers."

Huckabee has proved that he is viable and dangerous to the front-running, yet less-than-stellar candidates. What he needs now is for people to get off the sidelines and support him, vocally, but most importantly, financially.

It takes a donation of just $20.08 (read 2008) to join Team Huckabee. That's well within the reach of any of us. For some, larger donations are a very real possibility. Brett and I are excited to be voting in our first presidential election in 2008, but it won't be our first to participate in. All of us can be involved. An online donation only takes a few minutes, telling people about a candidate is the natural outgrowth of enthusiasm, and this is all of our chance to turn our enthusiasm into real-world impact.

We understand that some of you have some research to do still. That's more than fine. My first note is a great place to start and I'll be updating it with more links and articles as I find them. We just encourage you not to take a "sit back and wait" attitude toward the election and toward Huckabee. With primaries moving earlier than ever, now is the time to act if we want a voice — or a choice besides Rudy McRomney. We're convinced Huckabee is that choice.

Thanks for reading, folks. God bless you all!

Why We Support Mike Huckabee

We first became aware of Mike Huckabee through an article in World Magazine and were reminded of him after his strong showing in the August 5th debate, when analyst Frank Luntz proclaimed him the undisputed winner.

Since then we have followed him closely, watched his debate footage, listened to his interviews, researched his positions, and read countless articles. We are convinced that Mike Huckabee is not only the best candidate for Christian conservative voters, but that he has the elusive political charisma to pull in voters from all sides of the political spectrum. He's done it before, serving 10 and half years as governor in a state where over 80 percent of the elected officials were Democrats.

Mike Huckabee is an authentic and tested conservative. Prior to running for elected office he served for 12 years as a small-town Baptist pastor and has been married to his wife, Janet, for 33 years. He is unassailably conservative on issues of religion, abortion, same-sex marriage, and the Second Amendment. At the same time, he is able to explain his views on divisive issues, from abortion to creationism, in a way that doesn't alienate those who differ with him on his policy stances. According to political analysts tracking audience response during the televised Republican debates, Huckabee was the winner in every single one.

Salon wrote of Huckabee:

He is the only Republican currently running for president with solid-gold Christian-right credentials as well as the potential to appeal to crossover independent voters, who abandoned the Republican Party in 2006... [He] appears to have that special something -- the charismatic ability to communicate with the common man, which hundreds of millions of dollars never bought Bob Dole, Al Gore or John Kerry.

Or consider what Richard Land, who heads the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, has said:

Huckabee is as close to Bill Clinton as I have seen for a Republican since Ronald Reagan left public life. When he speaks, he not only knows the words and music, he knows the harmony and the melody.

Or consider what the HSLDA PAC Committee said in a letter from J. Michael Smith and Michael Farris, when they took the historic step of making an early presidential endorsement for 2008:

We believe that Mike Huckabee, Governor of Arkansas, should be elected the next President of the United States. Mike is a principled conservative, a friend of homeschooling, a man of character, and a man with a mature faith in Jesus Christ... We believe that [he] may be the only candidate in the race who could defeat Hillary Clinton in 2008.

There's a chance you haven't heard of (or at least, much of) Huckabee before coming to this blog. That's because the mainstream media hardly gives him the time of day and his fundraising is dwarfed by the big three (i.e. media darlings) of Guiliani, Romney, and McCain. But most Republicans are dissatisfied with those three, for good reason, and political pundits are almost unanimous that the only thing separating Huckabee from breaking into the top-tier is the money to get his message out. Yet even with very little money, Huckabee is beginning to close in.

The latest polls in Iowa show Huckabee tied with John McCain for third place among announced candidates. In a recent Political Insider's poll, Republican insiders named Huckabee as the most underrated candidate at 46 percent, over 20 percentage points ahead of their next choice, Mitt Romney. Just earlier this week, Newt Gingrich said that Huckabee was the dark horse candidate in the race and predicted that his authenticity and candor is going to catch on with Republican primary voters in the weeks ahead, saying that he deserves to be considered a top-tier candidate.

But our words and the words of others can only say so much. We ask you to take eight minutes to watch a video of Mike Huckabee speaking for himself on a myriad of issues. You can see it by clicking right here. Two other great videos of Huckabee are courtesy of Comedy Central, on the Colbert Report and Daily Show.

After you have watched the videos, we encourage you to get involved by signing up for email updates on MikeHuckabee.com, posting/emailing your own version of this post to your friends, and most importantly, by donating to his campaign. Any amount will help, but we encourage you to be generous in supporting a man who not only shares our convictions, but who can bring together a divided party and nation.

We also encourage you to act quickly. On Saturday there will be a critical straw poll in Ames, Iowa. A strong showing there will be the proof many national donors and leaders need to get behind his campaign and vault him into the top-tier. If you live in Iowa, we urge you to go and vote for Mike Huckabee. If you have friends or family there, call and urge them to go and vote. The 2008 election will be a defining one for our country and our generation.

Let's throw our hats in the ring and act. God bless you all!

Continue to Our Thoughts After the Straw Poll...

Video: The Best of Mike Huckabee

A short video we created to introduce people to Mike Huckabee. Enjoy.