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Huckabee's Thin-Skinned Blast
The American Spectator ^ | 2/14/2008 12:05:43 AM | Eric Earling

Posted on 02/14/2008 7:19:10 AM PST by ecurbh

Mike Huckabee's campaign grabbed headlines in the days approaching the "Potomac primary" by lacing into the leadership of the Washington State Republican Party after John McCain eked out a modest "victory" in that state's February 9 precinct caucuses. The "loss" contrasted with Huckabee's strong showing earlier that day in Kansas, thus his campaign promptly called the Washington results into question. The caucus results have now been examined and updated without ultimate change to the leader board, but the episode has revealed more about Huckabee and his Ed Rollins-led campaign than anything else.

At the crux of the original contretemps was the decision by Washington State GOP Chair Luke Esser to project McCain the victor with results from 87 percent of the state's precincts tallied. The resulting late-night, imprecisely worded press release, however, gave Huckabee's campaign the wrong impression. They immediately leaped to the conclusion that Esser had ceased counting "votes," wouldn't be tabulating further results, and arbitrarily declared the contest over on an apparent whim. None of that was actually true, but it didn't stop Huckabee or his campaign staff from publicly repeating those myths in the next few days.

(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections; US: Washington
KEYWORDS: mikehuckabee
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1 posted on 02/14/2008 7:19:11 AM PST by ecurbh
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To: ecurbh
None of that was actually true, but it didn't stop Huckabee or his campaign staff from publicly repeating those myths in the next few days.

When has the truth ever prevented anything in politics?....:D
2 posted on 02/14/2008 7:27:34 AM PST by IMissPresidentReagan ("Don't give up your ideals, don't compromise, don't turn to expediency..."Ronald Reagan, 1976)
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To: ecurbh

So making sure the voting was fair makes a person thin skinned? Is that really the face Republicans want to present to the public?


3 posted on 02/14/2008 7:28:12 AM PST by The Ghost of FReepers Past (Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light..... Isaiah 5:20)
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To: ecurbh

This is consistent with what folks from Arkansas say about him. I’m not trying to provoke his supporters, but I really think his habit of personal attacks on anyone who opposes him comes from a Messianic complex - he truly believes he is God’s choice, so anyone who opposes him by, for example, pointing out his record as Governor, is doing the devil’s work.


4 posted on 02/14/2008 7:30:22 AM PST by coramdeo
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To: coramdeo

He never said anything remotely like that. I think that’s your fear of a preacher that you are projecting onto him.


5 posted on 02/14/2008 7:37:20 AM PST by DannyTN
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past
So making sure the voting was fair makes a person thin skinned? Is that really the face Republicans want to present to the public?

What evidence was there that the voting was unfair?

Huckabee's camp jumped to an unreasonable conclusion that when McCain was declared the victor, when he was winning by a solid margin with most of the precincts reporting in, that they were stopping the vote count.

That's not something that would have been hard to verify.

Instead of verifying it, he spouted unfounded accusations. When it became obvious that the accusations were unfounded, the kept spouting them. Why? Because if you scream a lie loud enough and it doesn't get challenged before the press loses interest and moves on, a lot of people will never find out it wasn't true.

6 posted on 02/14/2008 7:45:34 AM PST by untrained skeptic
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To: DannyTN

Preachers have no business in the Oval Office.

Especially a socialist theocrat like Elmer Gantry.


7 posted on 02/14/2008 8:16:01 AM PST by Emperor Palpatine ("There is no civility, only politics.")
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To: untrained skeptic; The Ghost of FReepers Past
Instead of verifying it, he spouted unfounded accusations. When it became obvious that the accusations were unfounded, the kept spouting them. Why? Because if you scream a lie loud enough and it doesn't get challenged before the press loses interest and moves on, a lot of people will never find out it wasn't true.

Sounds an awful lot like: "My new attack ad is so awful, I won't run it on television. Here, television reporters - let me show it to you so you can see how principled I am that I won't run it."

His act is old. Time for him to slink back to Arkansas.

8 posted on 02/14/2008 8:23:37 AM PST by highball ("I never should have switched from scotch to martinis." -- the last words of Humphrey Bogart)
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To: ecurbh
The resulting late-night, imprecisely worded press release, however, gave Huckabee's campaign the wrong impression

Words have consequences, my friend.

9 posted on 02/14/2008 8:26:50 AM PST by McGruff (Pardon me if I resist being assimilated.)
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To: DannyTN
He never said anything remotely like that. I think that’s your fear of a preacher that you are projecting onto him.

Are you sure you are not just projecting your fear of preachers on me? I love supporting Christian candidates, but I define that as someone who demonstrates his Christianity by his actions and how he runs his campaign. For example, Mark Earley, who ran for Governor of Virginia and is now the President of Prison Fellowship.

I'm not sure why you Huckabites feel the need to personally attack anyone who questions him. I think Huckabee has spoken repeatedly about how he believes there is a divine element promoting his campaign. A quick google search will confirm. I think my observation is a reasonable theory as to how someone who promotes himself as a "Christian leader" rationalizes the way he slanders and attacks anyone who challenges him.

And some of my best friends are pastors, really.

10 posted on 02/14/2008 8:28:25 AM PST by coramdeo
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To: coramdeo

“but I really think his habit of personal attacks on anyone who opposes him comes from a Messianic complex”

Or maybe he learned it from his fellow Arkansans - the Klintoons.


11 posted on 02/14/2008 8:29:40 AM PST by Daveinyork
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To: ecurbh

Curiously, Huckabee and Hillary are at about the same distance behind the lead candidates of their respective parties. Yet nobody is demanding that Hillary drop out. What gives them the right to demand that Huckabee drop out?


12 posted on 02/14/2008 8:31:18 AM PST by livius
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To: ecurbh

Huck is just not ready for prime time.

It remains to be seen if he ever will be.


13 posted on 02/14/2008 8:32:41 AM PST by freespirited (The worst Republican is far preferable to the best Democrat.)
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To: Emperor Palpatine

“Especially a socialist theocrat like Elmer Gantry.”

Amen!


14 posted on 02/14/2008 8:45:35 AM PST by Polyxene (For where God built a church, there the Devil would also build a chapel - Martin Luther)
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To: ecurbh

And there was his attack on the Club for Growth as the “Club for Greed” — pure class-warfare crap that would be right at home on Democratic Underground.


15 posted on 02/14/2008 8:56:34 AM PST by steve-b (Sin lies only in hurting others unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense. --RAH)
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To: ecurbh
My Great Grandfather's business partner's great grandson is simply trying to prove to us that most of his problem with Bill Clinton had to do with guys who've been Governor of Arkansas.

That was one of Billzo's accusations early in Troopergate ~ and there now seems to have been some substance to it.

The folks at American Spectator really shouldn't try distancing themselves from the Republican party's Evangelical "base" with these nasty jibes at The Huck. There are much better arguments to be had to deal with him.

16 posted on 02/14/2008 9:55:19 AM PST by muawiyah
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To: untrained skeptic; The Ghost of FReepers Past
"Unfair"? We are talking about Washington State. They have a record that's long and deep when it comes to unfair vote counting practices. Their current Governor would probably be in prison if she and her cronies had done what they did in any other state in the country ~

It's more than fair to challenge what they do in Washington State, it's a MORAL OBLIGATION.

17 posted on 02/14/2008 9:57:31 AM PST by muawiyah
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To: muawiyah
"Unfair"? We are talking about Washington State. They have a record that's long and deep when it comes to unfair vote counting practices. Their current Governor would probably be in prison if she and her cronies had done what they did in any other state in the country ~

We're talking about a 9% lead, not a 1% lead. We're also talking about a Republican Primary, not the Democratic one, so the heavily Democratic areas that have had issues with their vote counting are going t be a small factor in the totals.

It's more than fair to challenge what they do in Washington State, it's a MORAL OBLIGATION.

Bringing forth a challenge based on evidence would have been reasonable. He didn't have any evidence. He played the typical liberal trick of making accusations to get people stirred up and build support without bothering with evidence or the truth. He accused others of being corrupt without any evidence.

I don't know if he's an idiot or a con man, but he's one or the other.

18 posted on 02/14/2008 10:44:28 AM PST by untrained skeptic
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To: Emperor Palpatine
"Preachers have no business in the Oval Office."

But a liberal Mormon Bishop like Romney is ok?

19 posted on 02/14/2008 11:27:04 AM PST by DannyTN
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To: DannyTN

Romney isn’t a Marxist like Elmer Gantry. He’s also not for surrender like McQuisling or RuPaul. The economy and national security is what is important to me, not you zealot socons’ silly issues.


20 posted on 02/14/2008 11:36:43 AM PST by Emperor Palpatine ("There is no civility, only politics.")
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