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Minnesota Governor and 2012 Presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty needed to make an impressive showing in his first major speech in front of Iowa's most influential Republicans. He accomplished that goal. Pawlenty's speech at the Iowa GOP's fall fundraiser was peppered with humor, stiff jabs at Barack Obama, and well-placed, straight right wing points

Before Sarah Palin became the embodiment of the conservative grassroots, another national candidate from a state beginning with "A" mastered 21st century Republican populism on his way to winning the 2008 Iowa caucuses. During the campaign, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the funniest Republican since the heyday of Bob Dole, would go off on little-guy riffs like this: "If you're a person for whom 'summer' is a verb, if you went to Harvard or Yale, you probably think the economy is doing just dandy." After John McCain won the nomination, Huckabee did not fade away. Instead, he morphed into a...

And Romney was nowhere to be seen. BY BRENDAN MINITER Amidst the stunning events in New York's 23rd congressional district -- with Republican-turned-independent Doug Hoffman suddenly surging to the front and likely to win today's race -- collateral damage has been suffered by some of the GOP's presidential hopefuls who misread the race and the mood of the Republican electorate. Mitt Romney -- formerly a man who seemed willing to show up and plug for any Republican anywhere to pick up a few chits -- was nowhere to be seen in the district. Mike Huckabee, a favorite for religious conservatives...

According to a "tweet" from Jonathan Martin of Politico.com , Huck has endorsed Doug Hoffman: Huck now behind Hoffman, praises Scozza for her "very unselfish announcement." about 5 hours ago from web jmartpolitico

One name is notably absent from the list of prominent conservatives who have lined up against the GOP nominee in the Nov. 3 New York special election: former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Even as other past and prospective Republican presidential candidates have offered their endorsements, Huckabee has conspicuously declined to officially support Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman, a decision that has left bewildered many of the social conservatives whom he assiduously courted in his 2008 bid. “It’s very disappointing,� said Tom McClusky, vice president for government affairs at the Family Research Council. “You have names out there like Sarah Palin,...

One name is notably absent from the list of prominent conservatives who have lined up against the GOP nominee in the Nov. 3 New York special election: former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Even as other past and prospective Republican presidential candidates have offered their endorsements, Huckabee has conspicuously declined to officially support Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman, a decision that has left bewildered many of the social conservatives whom he assiduously courted in his 2008 bid. “It’s very disappointing,” said Tom McClusky, vice president for government affairs at the Family Research Council. “You have names out there like Sarah Palin,...

Tea Party Patriots 2012 Presidential Poll Who do you think would make a great conservative president? (Consider only their commitment to the constitution, charisma and personal integrity. Do NOT consider their ability to win.)

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is once again making headlines by publicly pondering a 2012 presidential bid. Yesterday, as Politics Daily and Politico report, Gingrich talked about a possible bid on CSPAN's Washington Journal. In the interview, Gingrich said he would make the decision in February of 2011 and that probably would run if he and his wife, Callista, decided that they feel "a requirement as citizens that we run," which would be based on how they asses the other candidates running for the Republican nomination. "We are going to reach out to all of our friends around the country,"...

There is still time for potential 2012 candidates to stand with Republican voters and the conservative base against the Inside the Beltway Establishment keen on abandoning principles for ACORN supported candidates. Tim Pawlenty and Sarah Palin, both talked about as 2012 candidates, have stood with the base. The Hill reports: Other candidates, like former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), have said they will not get involved on either candidate’s behalf. This is disappointing. At a time when the conservative brand is ascending and the Republican brand is still in the gutter, candidates like...

Fox News posted yet another 2012 poll and as usual Governor Palin more then tripled the votes cast of the number 2 candidate. This poll had 3,357 votes cast with Sarah Palin at 49%, Mitt Romney 16%, Mike Huckabee 15%, Newt Gingrich 5% and Tim Pawlenty 5%. As I monitored this poll I observed Romney and Huckabee supporters contacted first (Facebook, MySpace, Freerepublic, PAC) too vote & spread the word but Sarah Palin still stayed way ahead. Soon after the world spread and Palin, Pawlenty & Newt supporters caught on and all the candidate’s supporters were voting & spreading the...

Last week there were a couple Rasmussen Polls which seemed to show Governor Palin losing support among Republican voters. One showed her in third place behind Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney. Another showed her losing in head to head matchups with Huckabee and Romney. At the time I argued, justifiably, that hypothetical polls, even scientific polls, this far from an election, are unreliable at best. I still believe that to be the case. For example, in March 2007 Rudy Giuliani was beating John McCain by 21 points in the Rasmussen Poll for the 2008 GOP nomination, yet less that none...

During an appearance on the Neil Cavuto show, Mike Huckabee said he would not make an endorsement in the NY-23 special election -- and then proceeded to profusely praise Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, and say he could never support a pro-choice candidate (which so happens to be the case for the GOP's nominee, Dede Scozzafava). "Certainly his views represent more closely to mine," said Huckabee. "I'm not taking a role in that with my PAC, simply because I feel like it would be inappropriate with me at this point -- mainly because I'm already speaking to the Conservative Party...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) will appear as the special guest at a fundraiser next week to benefit South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint's 2010 re-election, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by the Fix. The event, which will be held on Monday in Charleston at the home of Sheila and Bill Prezzano, features a number of power players in Palmetto State politics including money men Dick Coen, Bill Hewitt and O.L. Thompson as well as former Gov. Jim Edwards, former Rep. Tommy Hartnett and Republican National Committeewoman Cindy Costa. Hosts for the event are expected to donate...

Two weeks before Sarah Palin's memoir hits bookstores next month, possible 2012 presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee is publishing a new volume of his own: A Simple Christmas: Twelve Stories That Celebrate the True Holiday Spirit. Huckabee's already taking presale orders—and orders for leather display boxes and for signed, numbered versions of the book that include certificates of authenticity.

Rush Limbaugh isn't going to be a part-owner of an NFL team thanks to the smears that were hurled at him by media voices and political opponents who didn't bother to see if the "evidence" against him was even true. Turns out, it wasn't. A few weeks ago, I talked about the "death of journalism" and pointed out that in today's world of rushing to get things on the air or in print, the old fashioned practices of fact checking, verifying, and editing have been replaced by breathless self-congratulations for getting it first rather than getting it right. And sometimes,...

Is it odd how anti-Palin polls pop-up all over the MSM? The few and infrequent polls that are less favorable to Governor Palin always seem to be big news. The reality is over 90% of the many 2012 polls show she is the front runner. Michelle Malkin’s Hotair.com offered the latest Poll on 2012 & Governor Palin with Sarah leading with 63%

Here is video of Gov. Mike Huckabee last night saying Rush Limbaugh has been wronged by the baseless attacks against him to prevent him from being part of an ownership group to buy the St. Louis Rams. Huckabee defended Limbaugh, and at the same time took a shot at him by asserting that during his own Presidential campaign, Limbaugh and others accused Huckabee of being a "big-Government Liberal," an attack Huckabee likened to what Rush has just been through. From the tenor of his commentary, it is unclear whether his main point was to defend Rush, or to defend himself....

An off year special election in upstate New York has received a lot of attention and created a bit of a spilt among Republicans. The vacancy was created when Rep. John McHugh was appointed as Secretary of the Army in September of this year. Controversy has since been brewing since the New York Republican Party choose to forgo a typical primary election and instead have the eleven county chairman within the district nominate moderate Republican State Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava. Scozzafava policy positions, particularly her pro-abortion and pro-gay rights positions, quickly troubled conservatives within the district leading many to instead support...

Fox News host, garage band cover guitarist, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will be making a long-planned speech before the New York Conservative Party in Syracuse, New York on October 28, but has thus far declined to say whether he will formally endorse or financially support Conservative Party House candidate Doug Hoffman, who is running to fill former Rep. John McHugh's 23rd Congressional District seat. Most Republican Party leaders have thus far taken a pass in endorsing Hoffman, who has the support of the conservative Club for Growth, as well as the American Conservative Union. House minority leader John...

In July it was Romney 25, Palin 24, Huck 22. Then again, Rudy Giuliani once pulled something like 45 percent before last year’s primaries. Perspective. These numbers reflect an improvement for Huckabee since July when the three candidates were virtually even. Huckabee’s gain appears to be Palin’s loss as Romney’s support has barely changed. The numbers for Huckabee and Romney look even stronger when GOP voters were asked which candidate they would least like to see get the nomination. Pawlenty came on top in that category with 28%. Palin was second at 21% while 20% named Gingrich. Romney and Huckabee...

Huckabee is easily dispatched. He is not a conservative. Anyone suggesting that remains blinded by those wonderful crosses they saw dancing across their TV screen in last year's Huckabee campaign ads. Fiscally, he's a populist, at best. And he actually has quite a liberal streak. Distributing income is just as much a desire with Huckabee as it is with the Left. He simply wants to use those tax dollars in a different way. On top of that, he's a Big Government guy. Anyone who thinks that dictating menus and diets has anything to do with conservatism has no idea what...

Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Republican voters nationwide say former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is their pick to represent the GOP in the 2012 Presidential campaign.

Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Republican voters nationwide say former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is their pick to represent the GOP in the 2012 Presidential campaign. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that 24% prefer former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney while 18% would cast their vote for former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich gets 14% of the vote while Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty gets 4%. Six percent (6%) of GOP voters prefer some other candidate while 7% remain undecided. These numbers reflect an improvement for Huckabee since July when the three candidates were virtually even. Huckabee’s...

(snip) Mike Huckabee and Tim Pawlenty — both potential 2012 presidential contenders — urged restraint. "There will be an outcry from those on the right who will say that Obama's nomination, made two weeks into his Presidency, is impossible to justify, but I think such an outcry will sound like right-wing whining," Huckabee said in a statement. "The better response is simply to allow those on the left to explain what he did in his first two weeks as President that merited such recognition." Pawlenty, speaking on NPR, said there "will be some people who are saying 'Was it based...

Huckabee warns Republicans on Nobel reaction Posted: October 9th, 2009 12:20 PM ET From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney (CNN) – Mike Huckabee is advising his fellow Republicans to temper their criticism of President Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize award. In a posting on his blog, the former GOP presidential candidate writes that members of his party must be careful their comments don't sound like "right-wing whining." "There will be an outcry from those on the right who will say that Obama's nomination, made two weeks into his presidency, is impossible to justify, but I think such an outcry will...

There will be an outcry from those on the right who will say that Obama’s nomination, made two weeks into his Presidency, is impossible to justify but I think such an outcry will sound like right-wing whining.....

The fracture of the Tea Party and 9/12 protest groups has begun, with some protesters following Republican Dick Armey into partisan activism and others chasing jet trails after anyone from Glenn Beck to John Birch. In North Texas alone, three different political factions are selling "Tea Party Training" or "Tea Party Boot Camp," where for $25 wannabe activists can learn everything from Armey economics to conspiracy theories taught by a "birther." So far, it’s been tough to tell who’s on which Republican or Libertarian team in the Tea Party protests. Actor Stephen Baldwin, a speaker at Armey’s Sept. 12 Washington...

I sat next to the Governor and, I must admit, I invited some of his responses through my own questions and observations. ...there was much more to come in the rich content of his intelligent public policy positions. It was the substance of those deeply held positions on the issues which matter most which won the day and only deepened my admiration for the man. He breaks the molds of the empty political labels of “left/right”, “liberal/conservative.” He espouses truly human, just and concerned positions. However, permit me to share just one of his comments. In the context of discussing...

Fellow freepers, join me for this event to raise money for the Family Foundation, our top pro-family organization in the state. This group is a family policy council for Virginia and is associated with Focus on the Family. The speaker will be Governor Mike Huckabee. Below is the link to sign up. Funds raised will help the Family Foundation in their important upcoming fight for the family during the 2010 Virginia General Assembly.

VIDEO: Former Arkansas Governor and Presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, recently appeared on the FOX Business Channel to discuss overhauling the nation's overbearing tax system. Huckabee makes a convincing case in favor of abolishing the IRS and implementing the Fair Tax.

Over the last few days, the media is reporting on growing speculation that the president is considering or even ready to propose a value added tax. In this way, President Obama would share some ideological similarities with Mike Huckabee. Mike Huckabee is also in favor of a value added tax, though he calls it a consumption tax or the fair tax. There is however a huge difference between Mike Huckabe and President Obama. Mike Huckabee proposes that all we have is a value added or consumption tax. Meanwhile, President Obama wants a value added tax on top of all the...

It was all I could do to keep from pulling an Elvis and shooting out the screen of my TV this week to see the tag-team of terrorist dictators come to the podium of the United Nations to spout their lunacy. Muammar Qaddafi, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez all were given stage time as if they were legitimate leaders of civil governments. They are murdering thugs and despicable despots. Their raging rants were bad enough, but it was made worse by the fact that U.S. taxpayers like you and me are paying for a big chunk of it. The United...

As more and more of the country is realizing Obama is a communist and a monumental disaster, dreams of 2010 and 2012 are vivid and nightly. Race for 2008 posted its analysis of each candidate on domestic and foreign policy. I included their analysis on Governor Palin and Mayor Giuliani, since I think they would make a great team. I do not believe he is a RINO, they have similar political styles and they are friends. You can also check-out their analysis on Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Tom Ridge, Mike Huckabee, Gary Johnson and Ron Paul.

As more and more of the country is realizing Obama is a communist and a monumental disaster, dreams of 2010 and 2012 are vivid and nightly. Race for 2008 posted its analysis of each candidate on domestic and foreign policy. I included their analysis on Governor Palin and Mayor Giuliani, since I think they would make a great team. I do not believe he is a RINO, they have similar political styles and they are friends. You can also check-out their analysis on Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Tom Ridge, Mike Huckabee, Gary Johnson and Ron Paul.

Muscle Shoals, Alabama- The Vitamin Press has just learned that three former presidential hopefuls -John Sinister McCain, Mittens “Mad Cow Romney” and Mike Huckabee- have placed their former ambitions behind them and united together for the greater purpose of healing the world with the psychedelic burn of their sweet sweet rock and roll music. This experiment in harmonic synergistic fusion, the power of believing in the beauty of your dreams and the unstoppable uniting force of their positive rock melodies has coalesced around these three musical troubadours and forged a sum that greatly exceeds the size of their parts. Alone...

Tonight (September 26th), Mike Huckabee interviewed Chuck and Gena Norris about their concerns regarding health care reform. This video clip explains their disappointments. VIDEO: Mike Huckabee & Chuck Norris on ObamaCare

Three days after winning the presidential poll in Washington during a convention of Christian conservatives, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is backing away from committing himself to another run for the presidency. Huckabee was in Texarkana Tuesday to support Prissy Hickerson for state representative. “It’s too early to jump into the shark-infested waters right now. I enjoy what I’m doing now and I will consider it in a year or a year and a half,” Huckabee said. “I would rather be successful now in framing issues in the media than being a candidate who couldn’t take...

So which Republican would do the best against President Obama if the 2012 election were held today? The answer, according to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted Sept. 18-21, is former Arkansas governor and 2008 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who would get 41 percent to Obama's 48 percent with 11 percent undecided. Huckabee has been the strongest candidate against Obama all six times PPP has posed the question.

Governor Palin easily handles Politico's Straw Poll: Who should have won the presidential straw poll at the Values Voter Summit? by a very very wide margin. The Governor took a overwhelming majority of 55% to Governor Romney’s 15% and Governor Huckabee’s 10%.

Mike Huckabee may have won the straw poll at the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit, but Tim Pawlenty may have done himself the most good. I saw the major contenders give their speeches and thought, like Mark Hemingway of NRO, that Pawlenty showed he had the goods. Pawlenty's presentation of his own record as a budget-balancer in MN was impressive and he sounded like the kind of conservative candidate who knows how to handle himself in a debate. The Minnesota governor came off as smart, tough, and ready for prime time. If he keeps making the rounds speaking the...

Here is a video report from the Values Voters Summit today, where Gov. Mike Huckabee was the winner in the 2012 Presidential Straw Poll. Mike Huckabee cruised to an easy victory in a presidential straw poll taken among attendees at a social conservative conference, beating a group of four other Republican contenders by an over two-to-one margin.Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and a 2008 presidential candidate, won with just over 28 percent of the 597 votes cast by attendees at the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was the runner-up, narrowly edging out Minnesota Gov....

This poster has always found Mike Huckabee's almost-forced levity un-nerving. Like when John McCain says the word "friends". For some reason Huck seems a bit more defiant.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is the preferred 2012 GOP presidential nominee among Christian conservatives, according to the results of a straw poll announced Saturday at an annual gathering of the religion (sic) right in Washington. Prominent Republican leaders, including House Minority Leader John Boehner, took to the stage at the Value Voters Summit to blast President Obama's spending policies and announce the top 2012 presidential pick among conservative voters. The summit's poll, which featured 9 presidential prospects, found that 28 percent of Christian conservatives said Huckabee would revive the Republican party and traditional conservative principles while 12.4 percent preferred...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – An old rivalry flared up again at the annual Values Voter Summit on Friday, when Mike Huckabee took aim at the health care system in Massachusetts that was implemented in 2006 by then-Gov. Mitt Romney. Huckabee — who did serious damage to Romney's presidential hopes last January by winning the Iowa caucuses and has made clear his disdain for the former Massachusetts governor — told the crowd at the conservative conference that the Bay State health care system is a model for the kind of government-run health care President Obama wants to implement. "It's going to bankrupt...

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who left office without much of a Republican bench of viable statewide candidates under him, is hosting a fundraiser for Republican Senate candidate and businessman Curtis Coleman. The $500/person fundraiser is being held on September 21 at Huckabee’s Little Rock home. Coleman, who managed Huckabee’s unsuccessful 1992 Senate campaign, is one of six Republicans to challenge Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.). He drew controversy earlier this year when he suggested people “might as well get visas and shots” when traveling to southeast Arkansas. Coleman’s chief Republican rival for the nomination is state senator Gilbert Baker, who...

I miss the old Mike Huckabee. No, not the circa-1998 porker who could have given John Madden a run for his money in a turducken eating contest; I mean the Mike Huckabee of 2007—the charming, warm-hearted country preacher who, it seemed, genuinely wanted to give a good account of his religion and his political ideology. This was the Huckabee who, rather than simply catering to anti-abortion conservatives with fiery rhetoric, challenged those who call themselves pro-life to think about the implications of that label. “I believe that life begins at conception,” he told Time in March ’07, “but I don’t...

Here is video of impressionist / comedian Frank Caliendo appearing on the Mike Huckabee Show this weekend where he brought his cast of characters with him. Caliendo did Al Pacino, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jonathan Winters, Robin Williams, and Jay Leno in this brief segment. . . . . (Watch Video)

So much for conservatives’ insistence on not injecting Teddy’s death into the health-care debate, I guess. Although Stephanopoulos is right: This is less about The One and ObamaCare than it is about Huck’s growing rivalry with a certain darling of the base who was way ahead of him on this subject. Which Democrat will toss it back first? Will any Republicans jump on it by challenging Huckabee head-on? One thing’s for sure: by joining the debate in this time in this way, Huckabee is showing how determined he is not to be outmaneuvered by Sarah Palin in the early 2012...

Here is audio of Gov. Mike Huckabee essentially making the powerful point that Sen. Ted Kennedy would not have lived as long as he did with brain cancer if he had not been able to seek the very best private health care available. Huckabee advocates that the best way to honor Kennedy's work for bringing health care to all is to make sure every American has access to the same "private health care" that Kennedy had. Huckabee also referenced the fact that Kennedy did not "go home to take pain pills" when he was diagnosed. Instead, he had a very...

Mike Huckabee, most widely known as a former Republican presidential candidate, said recently that evangelicals are more supportive of Israel than even American Jews. In an interview with CBN News, Huckabee, who was wrapping up a trip to Israel, called evangelicals the “best friends” of Israeli Jews. While American Jews are divided on the level of support for Israel in terms of its borders, the politician-turned-political commentator said in general he doesn’t see that “dichotomy” among the evangelical community. He says that “it’s pretty adamant” among evangelicals that “there ought to be one city (Jerusalem). There ought to be a...