Huckabee could face hurdles from the past, Parole of rapist haunts campaign

Boston Globe ^ | October 14, 2007 | Susan Milligan, Globe Staff

[dano1]

(snip)

If Huckabee, who is creeping upward in the polls, gains more momentum, the case is certain to become an issue. Stevens said she is prepared to campaign actively against him if he becomes a serious candidates for president or vice president. (snip)

Bloggers have already dubbed the matter "Huckabee's Willie Horton," referring to the case of a Massachusetts man who was paroled during Michael Dukakis's tenure as Massachusetts governor, and then raped a Maryland woman and terrorized her fiancé. The episode tainted the onetime Democratic presidential nominee's campaign even though Dukakis had not personally intervened on Horton's behalf.

And a surge in the Huckabee campaign - once seen as a quixotic mission by a man hoping to become the second governor from Hope, Ark., to make it to the White House - no longer seems unthinkable. Huckabee placed second in the GOP Iowa straw poll, in which Senator John McCain of Arizona and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani chose not to compete. Afterward, Huckabee pulled ahead of McCain there in a recent statewide poll, and he is edging up in other early primary states. (snip)

Huckabee is different from many politically active evangelicals. Faith, Huckabee said, does not merely influence his public policy; it drives it. He rejects the fire-and-brimstone warnings delivered by some fellow religious conservatives and instead frequently talks about the need for forgiveness and diplomacy.

"When I see people who are very confrontational, you know what they're against. You're not sure what they're for," Huckabee said. "I believe that there's a place for judgment and for justice - don't get me wrong. But I think sometimes people mask their own personal anger in the form of righteous indignation."(snip)

[kjo]

He has no chance for the presidential nomination. He’s running for VP.

[RightCenter]

Just replace him with Brownback. They’re interchangeable.

[dano1]

"He has no chance for the presidential nomination."

Maybe so. However Huckabee is slowly but steadily moving up in the polls and he does still seem to have a lot of potential to move up further.

There are a lot of indications of this. Many, many people have still never heard of him. Past experience shows that once people do become aware of him, many do tend to support him. Polling data shows that Huckabee supporters tend to be relatively unlikely to say they would consider switching to another candidate. Even this Sunday article in the Boston Globe shows the MSM itself is starting to take his campaign a bit more seriously. Also too, one assumes that some pragmatic voters who previously ruled him out as a fringe candidate might reconsider this decision when his campaign numbers begin to edge up into double digits and as Huckabee begins to pass some better known names in the polls, as is already starting to happen in Iowa.

For further anecdotal evidence, look at the huge bounce Huckabee got from placing second in what presumably should have been a relatively meaningless Iowa straw poll. IMHO, the superball-like bounce he got from the Iowa straw poll is indicative of the large, latent potential Huckabee's campaign still has in the polls. Contrast this Iowa straw poll bounce, for example, with the fizzled response some other candidate's have recently drawn from much more highly-publicized but tepidly-received debate performances.

So while Governor Huckabee may not be able to win, IMHO the polling data is clearly showing that he still has a lot of upside potential to do much better in the polls than he is currently doing.

[packrat35]

Huckabee is a big illegal alien supporter. That is a big downside.

[dano1]

"Just replace him with Brownback. They’re interchangeable."

Link to Brownback website

[Judges Gone Wild]

Elections are determined by the voters, not the media. At the same time, I don’t like Huckabee’s position on illegal immigration.

[dano1]

"Huckabee is a big illegal alien supporter. That is a big downside."

IMHO, Huckabee's position on illegal immigration seems to me to be more or less the same as all of the other leading Republican candidates, at least based on what I've read on their websites, (Tancredo and Hunter excepted, of course, since they are out front on this issue). The other candidates all say they want to enforce the border and oppose amnesty, but don't discuss the bigger issue of what they would do regarding the 12 to 20 million people already living in the U.S. illegally.

[fweingart]

No more presidents from Arkancide or Georgia.

[norwaypinesavage]

"Huckabee could face hurdles from the past, Parole of rapist haunts campaign"

Its a pretty sad day when committing a rape is OK for a democrat president, but paroling a rapist isn't, for a Republican president.

[norwaypinesavage]

"Huckabee could face hurdles from the past, Parole of rapist haunts campaign"

Its a pretty sad day when committing a rape is OK for a democrat president, but paroling a rapist isn't, for a Republican president.

[rod1]

So it was Huckabee who let Bubba Clinton out?!

[seemoAR]

Just out of curiosity, where do most people get information about candidates? Do you actually think the Communist media is impartial?. Why do you think they love Frootie Rootie so much?.

[freespirited]

IMHO, Huckabee's position on illegal immigration seems to me to be more or less the same as all of the other leading Republican candidates, at least based on what I've read on their websites

Then the website has rewritten history. Some background for you:

=====================================

http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/12/6/110901.shtml

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Wednesday the nation is being given a chance to make up for past racism by the way it handles the influx of Hispanics.

Huckabee, a Republican who is considering a run for president in 2008, said Arkansas has made progress on racial justice and has a fresh opportunity to do the right thing in the way it welcomes the growing Hispanic population.

"One of the great challenges facing us is that we do not commit the same mistakes with our growing Hispanic population that we did with African Americans 150 years ago and beyond. We're still paying the price for the pathetic manner in which this country handled that," Huckabee said at a meeting of the Political Animals Club in Little Rock. The club meets monthly to hear from political figures and experts.

"I think frankly the Lord is giving us a second chance to do better than we did before," Huckabee said.

======================

See also:

Huckabee on Illegals-1

Huckabee on Illegals-2

[Coldwater Creek]

If I remember right, the reason that Dumond was convicted, was the fact that the girl was a cousin to Bill Clinton and had served a pretty long sentence.

[dano1]

"Immigration-control activists announced a bill to crack down on benefits available to illegal aliens in Arkansas, the first in what is expected to be a wave of initiatives and bills following the success of a similar proposition in Arizona in November's election."

Do you happen to know what the provisions were of the Arkansas bill in question? For example, were they provisions to penalize the children of parents here illegally?

[dano1]

"Just out of curiosity, where do most people get information about candidates?

FreeRepublic.

[Travis McGee]

Huckabee promotes 'open door' policy at LULAC convention

http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2005/06/30/News/323746.html

"I would hope that no matter who we are, or where we are from, that America should always be a place that opens its arms, opens it heart, opens its spirit to people who come because they want the best for their families ...," Huckabee said as the largely Hispanic audience gave him a standing ovation. Huckabee was the keynote speaker, along with Tyson Foods Inc. Chairman and CEO John Tyson, at a noon luncheon of the League of United Latin American Citizens, which is holding its 76th annual convention in Little Rock.

Pretty soon, Southern white guys like me may be in the minority," Huckabee said jokingly as the crowd roared in laughter.

He told the LULAC delegates that their presence in the state's capital city was very important because Arkansas has one of the fastest growing Hispanic populations in the nation.

"Your gathering is so very significant for our state," Huckabee said. "We are delighted to have you."

Despite several light moments, Huckabee did not stray away from several controversial issues that made him a target of criticism during the recently ended 85th General Assembly. He said Arkansas needs to make the transition from a traditional Southern state to one that recognizes and cherishes diversity "in culture, in language and in population."

"This is an issue that is going to require extraordinary efforts on both sides of the border, particularly those coming from Mexico," Huckabee said of verifying the status of illegal aliens. "But I am confident that our government will recognize that we should accommodate people who wish to provide the best opportunities for their families (and) employers so that we can make sure our economy has the necessary work force."

During the legislation session, Huckabee criticized an immigration bill by Republican senators Jim Holt of Springdale and Denny Altes of Fort Smith as un-Christian, un-American, irresponsible and anti-life.

[Travis McGee]

Bookmark the above link. Hucklebee is way out in front of the other canditates on being pro-amnesty. Two years ago, at the height of the border debate, he was busy sucking up to major illegal alien employer Tyson Foods and the radical "raza" group LULAC.

"Pretty soon, Southern white guys like me may be in the minority," Huckabee said jokingly as the crowd roared in laughter.

He might think "southern white guys" being over run by immivaders is a big joke, but millions of us DON'T. It's an existential question for us, not just a matter of sucking up to Quisling corporations for campaign funds.

U.S. Constitution, Article 4 Section 4:

"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,

and shall protect each of them against Invasion;"

---

Invasion: \In*va"sion\, n. [L. invasio: cf. F. invasion. See Invade.] [1913 Webster]

1. The act of invading; the act of encroaching upon the rights or possessions of another; encroachment; trespass.

QUISLING: a synonym for traitor, someone who collaborates with the invaders of his country.

[seemoAR]

Most people don’t know about FreeRepublic and use the major media for information. There are some liberals here also.