Brownback's Explanation

Leon Wolf who regularly blogs for the Brownback campaign (brownbacker.com) offered this complex explanation for the straw poll loss.

..... “religious conservatives” do not appear to be lining up behind Huckabee - Huckabee’s second-place finish was entirely due to the fact that the folks from FairTax.org, who bought 1,000 tickets which went almost exclusively to Huckabee. The FairTaxers brag about this on their website here. Without those votes, Huckabee would have finished behind Tom Tancredo, and barely ahead of Ron Paul. While the alternative flat tax proposal put forth by Senator Brownback would be easier to manage, and a more effective reform of the tax code, Mike Huckabee needs to embrace some sort of tax proposal wherein he has very little control over tax policy, in order to assuage the well-founded fears of conservatives about Mike Huckabee’s tax history. While Sam Brownback has never voted for a tax increase in his life, Mike Huckabee is perhaps the only repeat-offender tax-hiker in the Republican field. Whatever one thinks of the FairTax, it is clear that Huckabee’s finish in Iowa did not represent “religious conservatives” lining up behind him. Senator Brownback’s first-place finish in the Students for Life straw poll, in which Mike Huckabee barely registered at 5%, proves the truth of this statement.

The Brownback campaign ran no television advertising, no radio, and no media efforts in the run-up to the Ames poll. the entire operation was exclusively grassroots. The FairTax organization at the Ames straw poll was strong and unexpected, but Senator Brownback’s volunteers and donors know the true story behind what happened in Iowa, and have remained loyal to him. And unlike some of the other “major” candidates who have unwisely decided to skip Iowa, Senator Brownback’s strong finish at Ames provides him a ticket forward to the Iowa caucuses, where the Senator expects a strong finish.

Wow.. I'm speechless.. The Brownback campaign ran no sort of media efforts? I know Leon carefully worded that, but making robo-calls all over Iowa attacking Mitt Romney, and glorifying his own holier-than-thou stance on pro-life is without a doubt a form of advertising.

Huckabee would've grabbed all 15% of Brownback's support if those who supported the senator knew the Governor's experience as a Baptist minister and the actions he took as a pro-life governor of Arkansas. As far as I see it, I think Huckabee received 33% of the vote.

What is the Students for Life straw poll? I think the Brownback campaign is making too much of a big deal out of that insignificant poll. Again, the 5% Huckabee received only shows that lot of people still don't know the Governor well. Just wait a see, Leon, my friend. I think since that straw poll, lot of people have come to know Gov. Huckabee.

About fairfax.org, cry me a river, Leon... the 1000 that voted are regular people not fairfax robots. They also wanted a President that was strong on defense, pro-life, and had overall conservative principles.

I have nothing against Senator Brownback. I do think that he over-ran on his pro-life position and made himself look very pompous. In any case, I think he is a great senator, and should stay that way..

Justin

Gov. Huckabee - Hope for America

Great compilation of the biography of Gov. Huckabee.

Gov. Huckabee on Colbert Report

Governor Huckabee as usual showing his great sense of humor.

A Biography of Gov. Huckabee

I thought this biography was very balanced. It includes some mini-scandals and questionable things that people claim that Huckabee's administration has done. They also mention most of Huckabee's accomplishments as well.
As far as the controversies, I think some of them should be answered by the campaign. However, I don't think he did anything illegal or immoral though.

Why Christians should support Gov Huckabee as President - 2

Newman magazine on Gov. Huckabee
Newman magazine, a prominent Evangelical magazine gives more than enough reasons on why Gov. Mike Huckabee is the man of our times.

Gov Huckabee's sermon at the Gateway church in Texas
I loved his sermon. The title is "State of the Union - What has God joined together."
He spoke well about the importance of marriage, and the struggles and sacrifices that come along the way. Rev. James Robison gave a great endorsement of Gov. Huckabee. He talked about the Governor's struggles early in his life and how Robison helped him out. The significance of James Robison's endorsement is that he was instrumental in electing Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

In a couple of books I have read, there are accounts of Robison, after meeting both Reagan in the 70's and Bush 43 in the 90's having the feeling that God will choose both of those men to become Presidents of the United States. When it comes to Gov. Huckabee, there is a lot of hope beyond just the endorsement of Rev. Robison. His crossover appeal to all demographic groups in America, and media attention would serve him well.

Why Christians should support Gov. Huckabee for President - 1

Bishop: Call God 'Allah' to ease relations

I found this appalling. Post-modernism gone crazy. Hey Bishop, why does God care if we call Jesus a prophet and Mohammad his messenger. Right? Makes sense! We have to bend over backwards to accommodate other religions while Saudi Arabia tortures Christians and throws out bibles in baggages at airports.

Here's part of the article: "Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will name God Allah? ... What does God care what we call him? It is our problem."
A survey in the Netherlands' biggest-selling newspaper De Telegraaf on Wednesday found 92 percent of the more than 4,000 people polled disagreed with the bishop's view, which also drew ridicule.

"Sure. Lets call God Allah. Lets then call a church a mosque and pray five times a day. Ramadan sounds like fun," Welmoet Koppenhol wrote in a letter to the newspaper.

While we are on this subject here's a cartoon I found. This speaks volumes.

Links of the Day - August 14, 2007

Good reason for evil - by Greg Koukl
What is evil? Could it have a purpose? Here is a view of evil from an adult rather than a childish perspective

White House Fires Back Over Hillary Clinton Ad
Absolutely ridiculous ad by Sen. Clinton.
Men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan are invisible to this President??? You kidding me?

Decade of Duty - 6 Parts

Huckabee for President!!

I first noticed Gov. Huckabee during the CNN debates couple of months ago. His eloquence and courage in defending his views on creation first caught my attention. Even though I am an evangelical and the candidate's faith is an important factor, I wasn't sure whether Gov. Huckabee's views on domestic and foriegn policy aligned with mine. So, I did more research, watched more youtube videos, and I was surprised to know there was a candidate out there that I can feel excited about. I almost gave up hope on the 2008 election till I came to know Gov. Huckabee.

In the past week, we saw how he was able to take an underfunded campaign and maximize the results. He came in second right after Gov. Mitt Romney at 18%. Sen. Sam Brownback followed him with 15%. Even though I believe the Senator is a genuine Christian, he doesn't possess the charisma and communication skills that Gov. Huckabee does. Brownback comes off as angry, while Huckabee seems genuine and empathetic.

There are so many things I like about this candidate that it's hard to talk about it all in one blog post. In the coming days, I will go into his domestic and foreign policy views. I urge you all to look into his campaign! Check out his blog, it's very informative!!