Free Republic

Supporters of Sarah Palin seem to view her as the second coming of Christ, and given her self-appointed code name of "North Star," it seems that she agrees with them. Speculation on a 2012 presidential run by Palin almost sounds as if her candidacy is divinely ordained. Next thing we know, she'll tell us she was born in a barn because all the hospital beds were occupied. Not so fast, cautions Politics Daily. Mike Huckabee could pose fierce competition for Sarah Palin, even among those Republicans who, inexplicably, think she's a well-qualified candidate. Ever play that game on long road...

In 2008, Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee emerged from a crowded field of Republican presidential hopefuls to win the Iowa caucuses and become the preferred candidate of social conservatives. Could Huckabee play the dark horse again in 2012? A sampling of opinions as to how Huckabee presence (or lack thereof) will shape the fight for the Republican nomination: •Under The Radar Politico's Jonathan Martin and Ben Smith note Huckabee's position right now is similar to where he was at this point in the 2008 cycle, operating in relative obscurity while boldfaced names like Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Rudy Giuliani gobbled...

Politico's Martin and Smith remind the political world not to forget about Mike Huckabee when looking ahead to the 2012 GOP presidential contest. Dial down the deafening Sarah Palin buzz for just a moment: The most consequential decision in the 2012 Republican presidential sweepstakes could be whether Mike Huckabee decides to run again – and associates say the former Arkansas governor may well take the plunge. If Huckabee gets in, he will unquestionably be a force to be reckoned with in the fight for the nomination. He’d be the undisputed frontrunner in lead-off Iowa, where he won by nine points...

Mike Huckabee puts on his best Rodney Dangerfied routine, whining to Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin that no one shows him any respect as a 2012 contender: "I just don't understand how it is that a person can read these polls day after day and the narrative is constantly everybody but me," he told POLITICO. "Whether I do it or not, the fact is that if one looks at the overall body of information that's available, nobody would be in a better position to take it all the way to November." There are a few good reasons for this. Most...

Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who had a good run during the 2008 Republican presidential primaries before Sen. John McCain went on to win the nomination, is thought by some in the White House to be the likely GOP nominee. But he hasn't been getting the kind of excited frequent media attention of Sarah Palin and this has apparently begun to bother him. According to Politico.com which interviewed Huckabee, he expressed some consternation: “The polls are consistently favorable, putting me either at the top of every poll or right near it. It’s hard to ignore that, having swum in...

Maurice Clemmons, the former Arkansas prison inmate who gunned down four police officers in Washington is back in the news, and it's not the kind of news good for potential presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. Seattle Times reporters have completed a new book on Clemmons and it illustrates even more graphically how thoroughly unsuited for clemency Clemmons was when Huckabee extended it — without consulting prosecutors first. Even as he was writing letters proclaiming his rehabilitation, Clemmons was extorting other inmates, assaulting them and participating in gang rapes. There's more, lots more. Paired with Wayne Dumond, he makes a matching set...

Arkansas, you run deep in me. That's a line from the state song. But this week, red ran deep in this Blue Dog state that is just this side of wacky. No doubt, Bill Clinton has to be crying somewhere. His home state slipped completely down the rabbit hole. On Tuesday night, Democrats were hyperventilating as the party lost several state offices along with two congressional seats, seven state senate seats and 16 state house seats. Both houses of the state legislature remain Democratic, but some Democrats are worried that a few conservative colleagues might flip Republican in exchange for...

EDITOR’S NOTE: The writer is addressing the question, Should Hillary Clinton challenge President Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2012?The latest buzz flitting among the Georgetown salons is that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will switch jobs with Vice President Joe Biden and take his place on the Democratic ticket in 2012. That’s one of the tidbits being peddled by Bob Woodward to promote his new book “Obama’s Wars” and it has Democratic loyalists desperate to salvage a rapidly failing Obama presidency atwitter with unbridled joy. As a rumor, it’s intriguing. As common sense, it doesn’t pass Logic 101....

In a speech Tuesday night at a pro-life event in Houston, former presidential candidate Sarah Palin said abortion is an "essential" issues for the pro-life movement in the 2010 elections. Palin said it is important to take advantage of the opportunity the elections present to mitigate President Barack Obama's pro-abortion agenda. Palin said Obama has been responsible for "the biggest advance of the abortion industry in America" thanks to the ObamaCare bill that includes abortion funding, she said, according to CNN. She added Obama is "the most pro-abortion president to ever occupy the White House," "That's why it's essential that...

After weeks of keeping himself in the headlines and growing more explicit about his intentions to run for president in 2012, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee touted himself as the Republican front-runner, The Hill reports. Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Huckabee attempted to remain elusive about his presidential ambitions, but showed he is closely watching his poll numbers. "I end up leading a lot of the polls," Huckabee said. "I'm the Republican that clearly at this point does better against Obama than any other Republican." About his presidential run, Huckabee added: "I haven't closed the door. I think that would...

Rogers Mayor Steve Womack finished first in the 3rd Congressional District Republican primary Tuesday, but couldn’t avoid a runoff with state Sen. Cecile Bledsoe of Rogers. Womack had more than twice as many votes as Bledsoe, but couldn’t secure at least 50 percent of the vote in an eight-candidate primary to avoid the June 8 runoff. Bledsoe edged former state legislator and Fort Smith attorney Gunner DeLay by 158 votes for second place and a spot opposite Womack in the runoff.

What plans do you have to help Arkansas economically? First, our family is creating jobs (plastics company, tool and die shop, car dealerships (being reinstated as Chevrolet dealer), radio station, and realty company! I will support a do-over of the health care bill with one that includes things I have worked on in the Arkansas Senate (tort reform, insurance competition, increasing number of doctors and nurses with additional educational facilities). I will support helping our community banks to make loans to small business people, I will support efforts that move people into productive work!

Republican Senate candidate Curtis Coleman was on KARN today and had an interesting answer to a question about President Obama qualification to serve. Coleman told the caller that he believes Obama should produce his birth certificate to prove he is qualified to hold office. I followed up with Coleman to clarify exactly what he meant. “Absolutely, the President must produce his birth certificate,” said Coleman. “I will find out what steps are available to require him to do so, and will take those steps aggressively and unrelentingly. I don’t know where the President was born, which is a matter of...

Sarah Palin was in God's Country last night, preaching "revolution" to the Arkansas GOP in exchange for $100,000 or so. The party also gave her an engraved .44-magnum rifle. So that's what you get the quitter who has everything. The Arkansas Republican Party was happy to allow press coverage of Palin's speech, but she overruled them, so the only accounts we have are from reporters' notes. The Arkansas Times took a statistical approach: Number of African-Americans in attendance: 4. Mentions of President Obama: 1. Times Palin mentioned the Republican Party in her speech: 1. Wal-Mart: 7. We have no idea...

While 170 or more voters might have been fooled in the 2009 Values Voter Summit straw poll, it wasn’t Mike Huckabee who came out on top in a recent Washington Post poll of the leader who best reflects GOP values. From CNN: According to the poll, 18 percent of Republicans and independents who lean towards the GOP say the former Alaska governor best reflects core GOP values. In second place, 5 points back, is Sen. John McCain of Arizona, last year’s Republican presidential nominee, followed by former Arkansas governor and 2008 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee at 7 percent, former Massachusetts...

Conservative Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, who is emerging as a top contender for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, is gaining some attention this week for his comments in defense of President Obama. As first reported on the Huffington Post, Huckabee said some of the recent criticisms of Obama have been unfair and even "shameful." Huckabee made the comments to the Hudson Union Society. "When he [Barack Obama] was at Dover the other day, and went there to pay respect for soldiers, I heard a lot of people on the Right say "Aw, that's just a cheap photo-op."...

State Sen. Gilbert Baker, R-Conway, took off from Conway’s Cantrell Field Thursday morning en route to media appearances in Little Rock, Jonesboro, Texarkana, Fort Smith and Fayetteville as part of his campaign for the U.S. Senate seat occupied by incumbent Democrat Sen. Blanche Lincoln. Baker was speaking during stops in these cities on health care reform and his opinion that government-administered health care will lead to “higher costs, reduced quality and limited patient choice.” On. Nov. 19 Baker is scheduled to hold a $1,000-per-person fundraiser at the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The Arkansas House on Wednesday approved a bill allowing concealed handguns in churches, despite hearing arguments that lawmakers should put their faith in God, not guns. The bill, which passed on a 57-42 vote and now heads to the Senate, removes churches and other houses of worship from the list of places where concealed handguns are banned. Currently, the only private entities where concealed weapons are banned are churches and bars. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Beverly Pyle, R-Cedarville, said she introduced the measure after a series of church shootings across the country. She said it would be up to each...

But now, in its current configuration, President Obama doesn't have a vote to spare, which means Arkansas' own Sen. Blanche Lincoln will be forced to cast some very unpopular votes. She will no longer be able to straddle the ideological fence between a Republican administration and her own party. Lincoln would have been vulnerable heading into 2010 regardless of the outcome of the presidential contest, but with her party taking a decidedly left-of-center approach, many state and national Republicans believe Arkansas could be a GOP pick-up. With respect to the other chamber of Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's majority is...

There’s speculation on the US site, VP Watch, this evening that Barack Obama might be considering the former general and 2004 contender for the presidential nomination - Wes Clarke - for the VP slot. This is the report: “Gen. Wes Clark’s slogan — “Securing America’s Future” — is the theme for the night Barack Obama’s running mate is scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Convention. Clark’s political action committee is called WESPAC — Securing America’s Future. It could just be a coincidence. After all, Clark appeared to dash his hopes of running with Obama in late June when he...