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Huckabee for Veep? (editorial)
National Review ^ | May 9, 2012 | Robert Costa

Posted on 05/09/2012 5:50:59 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued

The conventional wisdom about Mitt Romney’s vice-presidential short list, according to a handful of Romney insiders, may be wrong. Instead of picking a straitlaced Midwestern senator such as Ohio’s Rob Portman, or an outspoken northeastern Republican governor such as Chris Christie, there is a chance Romney will tap an evangelical from the South.

And the name on the lips of Romney friends and supporters isn’t a rising southern senator or a current Dixie governor. He has been out of office for five years, resides on a beach in the Florida panhandle, and hosts a television show.

In other words, Mike Huckabee, the bass-guitar-playing former governor.

Yes, according to several sources close to the Romney campaign, who insisted on anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the vice-presidential search, the 56-year-old Arkansan may be included in the veep mix.

To many Republicans, a ticket with a Mormon bishop and a Baptist preacher isn’t far-fetched. “In a way, it’s almost a dream ticket,” says Ed Rollins, the chairman of Huckabee’s 2008 presidential campaign. “He’s substantive and knows domestic policy, and his personality wouldn’t overshadow Romney’s.”

For now, it isn’t clear whether Huckabee is going to be vetted, or that he’s anywhere near Romney’s short list. But he is, at the very least, being discussed. As one Romney ally puts it, tapping Huckabee would energize tea-party conservatives, evangelicals, and related voters who soured on Romney during the GOP primaries. He’s also not a sweat-inducing pick, since he was vetted by the Beltway press during his presidential run four years ago.

(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Politics/Elections; US: Arkansas
KEYWORDS: 2012veep; christianvote; evangelicals; huckabee2012
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To: Clintonfatigued

Ah, wait! Since we’re not going to vote for the Bishop, what do we care?! Understand what I be sayin, grrrrl?


21 posted on 05/09/2012 6:56:53 PM PDT by Revolting cat! (Let us prey!)
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To: Clintonfatigued

Arghh! No! No!

At least the dog looks good.

22 posted on 05/09/2012 7:08:08 PM PDT by Right Wing Assault (Dick Obama is more inexperienced now than he was before he was elected.)
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To: Clintonfatigued

Please!!! One suckass phony Rino on the ticket is quite enough already, thank you.


23 posted on 05/09/2012 7:08:28 PM PDT by Bullish
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To: skeeter

“It figgers Romney would think Huck would appeal to the right.”

Yup. The Bishop’s ‘cheesy grits’ must be repeating on him.


24 posted on 05/09/2012 7:16:04 PM PDT by Psalm 144 (Obama's record is an open charnel pit. Romney's too, but under a whitened sepulchre.)
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To: madison10

“GAAAHHH! Please, NO! Why choose such a loser?”

Me Too. He’s not even a real Conservative, they think southerners are stupid, Romney can’t win without the South and they think all the southerners will get all enthusiastic because of Huck and have huge turnout helping Romney carry some of the states obama carried last time. I want a CONSERVATIVE ticket, President and Vice President. I’ve lived in and worked in the South all my life and I want a Conservative, if they happen to be southern that’s a bonus. The greatest insult I’ve suffered in my life was from an Indiana brother-in-law who thought I would vote for Carter because he was a southerner.


25 posted on 05/09/2012 7:16:57 PM PDT by duffee (NEWT 2012)
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To: Clintonfatigued

The Romneybots’ blood pressure would spray out their ears.


26 posted on 05/09/2012 7:17:58 PM PDT by Colonel_Flagg (Obama vs. Romney: Zero x Zero = Zero.)
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To: Clintonfatigued
This sounds like Politico's latest brainwave.

Hey, if not Huckabee, why not dredge up Trent Lott? He's like sort of a Republican, and he could like sort of deliver the south.

27 posted on 05/09/2012 7:29:47 PM PDT by TChad
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To: Clintonfatigued

I think Huckabee could well compliment Romney—about his hair, his persistence, his beautiful wife, etc. But Huckabee just wouldn’t *complement* Romney on the ticket. : )


28 posted on 05/09/2012 7:30:09 PM PDT by AuH2ORepublican (If a politician won't protect innocent babies, what makes you think that he'll protect your rights?)
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To: Clintonfatigued
Romney and Huckabee.

That's about as exciting as a rice-cake and a glass of water.

29 posted on 05/09/2012 7:45:41 PM PDT by Washi (Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse, one head-shot at a time.)
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To: Clintonfatigued

Not THIS TEA Party voter. Lord save us from these imbeciles.


30 posted on 05/09/2012 8:40:28 PM PDT by publana (Beware the olive branch extended by a Dem for it disguises a clenched fist.)
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To: Clintonfatigued

HUCKABEE?

Gag me with a spork. A spork jammed into a whole, uncooked russet potato.


31 posted on 05/09/2012 8:42:58 PM PDT by Nervous Tick (Trust in God, but row away from the rocks!)
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To: Clintonfatigued

No Theocrats wanted...No Indian fake conservatives.


32 posted on 05/09/2012 8:49:23 PM PDT by A Strict Constructionist (We're an Oligrachy...Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. Thomas Jefferson)
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To: All

NO. just no.

Good grief, who comes up with this crap.


33 posted on 05/09/2012 8:52:45 PM PDT by warsaw44
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To: Clintonfatigued

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


34 posted on 05/09/2012 8:54:32 PM PDT by correctthought ("Obamunism is a temporary setback on the road to freedom" - Liberty Prime)
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To: RightLady

I was glad Huckabee stopped Romney from winning last election and wish Huckabee would have won over McCain or Romney. Except for the fact that McCain gave us a wise choice with Sarah Palin. I would prefer Huckabee now over Romney. But for VP, Rubio or Col. West would be the best pick.


35 posted on 05/09/2012 9:51:06 PM PDT by make no mistake
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To: Clintonfatigued
I doubt it matters who wins this election. A lot of us forget just how bad the situation looked for our survival as a nation before Obama, or Obamacare, were even heard of. Obama has just sped up the downfall of our nation with more blatant, and obvious resentment of everything our nation was founded on. I don't even know what the best outcome in this election would be. A lot of people are going to forget about how bad our problems were before Obama if we elect Romney, and going back to the status-quo isn't enough to save the country. It just gets us moving in the wrong direction at a slower speed. We have been on the wrong track for decades now, and we have shown no ability to even stop it. We can't reverse what we can't even stop. It's going to take something big to have any positive change.

If a Romney victory makes too many people relax it's pointless in the long run. Just like it's pointless if we accept another term of Obama, and his obviously unconstitutional actions that don't require a Judges decision to be seen for what they are. There are some real debatable Constitutional arguments about many issues, but there are just as many that are obvious to everyone, including those who disagree with them and are trying to bypass them. Elections aren't going to get us much further when we are always on the defensive over things like Obamacare that weren't even a problem a few years ago when everyone could see exactly where we were headed.

I don't know how much an ideal Conservative President who was willing to do anything to restore the Constitution could do at this point. Romney will take us in the wrong direction at a slower speed than Obama, but if Obama can make things come to a conclusion in a shorter period of time then let him. Everything shows we are headed for the end of our unity as a nation regardless of who we elect on a federal level, and I would rather that end just come sooner than later, because later isn't that far off.

States are the only answer when it comes to saving themselves, and taking back the Constitutional rights that have been stolen from them. They have to stand up in absolute defiance to the federal government on certain issues, and while this isn't the same times as our first civil war, I see it as an end to our United States. The best outcome would be a loosely United 50 States with a small federal government sat up for the obvious reasons needed, and solely intended for, but does anyone seriously see that happening? It's time for a new Union of States ready to see a Constitution based on our original written and respected, because it's too far gone to save a nation that doesn't even want to be saved by a large portion of it's people. A simple thing like a much broader education of the people on our Constitution and political system might have been able to save us at a much earlier point, but not now. The only ones who know anything about our Constitution anymore are those self taught out of personal interest to uphold it, or those interested in finding ways around it. The average person we always encourage to vote don't know a damn thing about it, and they don't care to know.

36 posted on 05/09/2012 10:10:48 PM PDT by ThermoNuclearWarrior (Succession of the more Conservative States and formation of a new Union should be our goal now!)
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To: Clintonfatigued; All; Antoninus; Lazlo in PA; writer33; napscoordinator; cripplecreek; ...
Look, I know most Freepers don't like Huckabee now and didn't like him in 2008. I'm the minority here because I voted for Huckabee four years ago since I thought he was better than McCain or Romney.

Iowa conservative activists and others in 2011 showed pretty consistently that they still liked Huckabee and wished he was a candidate. Many of those people eventually became Santorum supporters. It would be a mistake to dismiss the potential power of a Huckabee candidacy — at the very minimum I think this is a trial balloon, and it's a whole lot better than some of what we've been hearing of Romney's plans to “move to the middle.” If he's going to move, I'd much rather see him move toward Southern populism of the old evangelical model than move toward east coast secular liberalism.

I have no way of knowing if Huckabee is being seriously considered by Romney. Unfortunately, the things I don't like about Huckabee are quite possibly the things Romney likes the most, so I don't think we can dismiss this option. Personally, since I believe Romney will lose this fall, I'd rather not see Huckabee get drawn into a losing ticket — but that's just me.

While Huckabee is going to draw criticism from economic conservatives if selected as vice president, Huckabee’s core support comes from the Christian conservative movement. That's the main group which is organized well enough to torpedo Romney's election, and therefore poses the greatest threat to Romney. He also comes with some significant advantages in the more “populist” wings of former Democratic Party voters who have gravitated into the Republican camp in the South and the industrial states. Attacks against Huckabee as a so-called “Christian socialist” could effectively blunt the attacks on Romney as a corporate raider who doesn't understand the working poor.

Those of us who believe executive experience is important also should not minimize the potential effects of having two former governors on the ticket (Romney and Huckabee) compared to two former senators (Obama and Biden).

I hope Huckabee doesn't get offered the vice presidency, and if offered I hope he doesn't take it (though we'll never know for sure if he turns it down). I'd much rather see Huckabee run in 2016 without the baggage of a 2012 defeat.

On the other hand, at least this trial balloon shows Romney is beginning to take conservative concerns seriously.

37 posted on 05/09/2012 10:14:12 PM PDT by darrellmaurina
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To: Clintonfatigued

Two wrongs don’t make a right. That’s what I always say.


38 posted on 05/09/2012 10:14:13 PM PDT by UnwashedPeasant (Don't nuke me, bro)
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To: Clintonfatigued

I just threw up a little in my mouth.


39 posted on 05/09/2012 10:15:46 PM PDT by Redcloak (Mitt Romney: Puttin' the "Country club" back in "Republican".)
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To: Clintonfatigued

Huckster is the Southern-fried Willard. An EPIC FAIL ticket if there ever was one.


40 posted on 05/09/2012 10:50:50 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (If you like lying Socialist dirtbags, you'll love Slick Willard)
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