I'm steaming mad at the MSM, Conservative media and Romney kool-ade drinkers who are repeating this mantra and making this stick on the minds of Huckabee and undecided voters.
However the facts say another thing. This is the truth: A vote for Romney is a vote for McCain.
7. If John McCain and Mitt Romney were the only choices in the Republican primary, how would you vote? 30-31 Jan 08 Republicans: McCain 62%/ Romney 29%/ (Don’t know) 6%/ (Would not vote) 3%
With Huckabee out of the picture, you see that a huge majority of voters jump to McCain. I can bet you if there was a poll with McCain out of the picture, Huckabee would be in the lead. Unfortunately the MSM and fox news won't run a poll of Huckabee vs. Romney. You would see who would beat whom.
Both McCain and Huckabee supporters overwhelmingly don't like Romney. This is mostly Romney's fault because he early on ran very negative and misleading ads against both men while flip-flopping on almost every issue.
Why is Huckabee being kind to McCain? Because 1) He hasn't attacking Huckabee so far and 2) He doesn't want the McCain supporters to have a bad impression of him. He wants the get the McCain supporters once Romney is out of the way. That is why Huckabee has his eyes on Romney.
From my campaign sources, they have clearly told me that they are in it for the long haul (yes that means till the convention if necessary). They are not going to give up. They deserve to be in the race. Any objective person should admit that there hasn't been a campaign in recent history that has been as efficiently run as the Huckabee campaign.
Here's what Gov. Huckabee said today about this very topic. He took a dig at Romney's MBA degree.
“Under anybody’s business model, that’s not a very efficient or effective operation,” he said. “If you have an MBA from Harvard, and you believe in trying to figure out the best way to build market share and you spend an enormous amount of money and you have a competitor spends a very small amount of money, but he’s able to reach the same market share, it may say that that person has a more sellable product than you do. So maybe it would be appropriate to go out of business and merge your business with the one that has the more efficient model."
I love how Huckabee comes up with very shrewd ways to make a point. He is right on the money on this.
There is an audio clip on the website that shows that Mitt wasn't all that against McCains bill. He said it wasn't amnesty, now he strongly says that it is amnesty. I just want the electorate to know that Romney is just as weak on immigration as the other two. There's no need to lie about Romney's so called consistent record on immigration.
PHOENIX -- When Mitt Romney swooped into the heart of John McCain country this week, he brought a pointed message on illegal immigration: McCain's approach is the wrong one.
Proudly touting the endorsement of Joe Arpaio, a sheriff in the state who is known nationally for rounding up immigrants in desert tents, Romney boasted of cracking down on illegal immigrants as governor and denounced an immigration bill that the Arizona senator introduced with Senator Edward M. Kennedy in 2005.
It is a theme Romney has hit hard in recent weeks in his appeals to conservatives, many of whom attack McCain's immigration bill for proposing an eventual path to citizenship for immigrants living illegally in the United States and a guest-worker program to help fill American jobs.
"McCain-Kennedy isn't the answer," Romney said in a well-received speech to conservatives in Washington this month, describing it as an amnesty plan that would reward people for breaking the law and cost taxpayers millions to provide them benefits.
But that is markedly different from how Romney once characterized McCain's bill, elements of which are receiving new attention in Congress and from President Bush. Indeed, Romney's past comments on illegal immigration suggest his views have hardened as he has ramped up his campaign for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.
Huckabee supporter Susan Brooks of Colorado Springs, CO, sends over a robocall she got last night from Mitt that wipes Huck out of the picture:
Hello, This is Governor Mitt Romney. The race for the Republican nomination for president is now a two person race. Our party, I believe, is at a critical crossroads, and the future of conservatism is very much at stake. I believe the choice before us is quite clear: Do we support the liberal policies of the Washington D.C. crowd, or do we want to fight for the conservative principles that have defined our party for more than a century? I believe that our policies have to remain rooted in conservative thought. Together, you and I can begin to change Washington. That's why I need your vote on Tuesday.
And my call today is being paid for by Romney for President, Inc., 857-XXX-XXXX
FEC RULES
§ 1001. Statements of entries generally (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States knowingly and willfully— (1) falsifi es, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact; (2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or (3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fi ctitious, or fraudulent statement or entry; shall be fi ned under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism (as defi ned in section 233i [of 18 U.S.C.]), imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both.1
Romney is stealing the votes from Huckabee. Romney must drop out of the race and give the conservative votes to Huckabee.
Why do I say that? Because Huckabee is more electable and he is a conservative. He is electable for these reasons:
-Gov. Huckabee received the endorsement of Black conservatives and independents in Alabama. In Arkansas, Gov. Huckabee received 48% of the African American vote in his gubernatorial election - which is unprecedented.
-Gov. Huckabee can get the independent vote and will inspire a new generation of voters to enter into politics like Obama has.
-Gov. Huckabee has won 4 elections in the heavily democratic state of Arkansas. Mitt Romney has only won 1 election and there is no doubt that he would've miserably failed his second term. Just look at the failed campaign of his lieu. Governor after he left.
-Even democrats will crossover and vote for Huckabee based on his sincerity and compassion. I have read countless comments from democrats on various websites that proves that fact.
-Huckabee has faced the Clinton machine in all of his elections. Bill and Hillary personally came and campaigned against him in the gubernatorial elections and miserably failed.
-Huckabee is the best communicator in this election season. He is widely stereotyped but when people hear from him directly, they will come to find out his integrity, eloquence, and intelligence.
-He will not shift to the left like McCain, and he will govern with conservative principles. He will be a strong proponent of Federalism and will streamline the government like he did in Arkansas by instituting the Murphy commission. Huckabee started the Tax me more fund which got praises from Newsmax, and even Rush Limbaugh.
But Romney's illegal immigrant bashing is of fairly recent vintage.
In 2004, the Boston Globe reported that Romney was reluctant to veto the tuition proposal – and not at all the certain, sure-footed decision maker portrayed in the ad. At the time, Romney said:
Romney (June 2004): I hate the idea of in any way making it more difficult for kids, even those who are illegal aliens, to afford college in our state. But equally, perhaps a little more than equally, I do not want to create an incentive to do something which is illegal.
Romney wasn't a hardliner on immigration until late in his tenure as governor. As we have written, he took no action to punish the "sanctuary cities" that he now rails against. And while he boasts that he authorized state troopers to enforce federal immigration law, that order came at the end of his term, never went into effect and was overturned by his successor.
None of the specifics presented here are false, but the ad presents a black-and-white contrast that doesn't exist in reality.
Also I wanted to add that Gov. Romney said that he signed a bill that prevented illegals from getting drivers licenses. For the record, Gov. Huckabee did too, but would Romney mention that similarity in the ad? Nope.
Here's the ad I'm referring to:
By the way, he said that he has a pro-life record in Massachusetts. Apparently in his health care plan, $50 dollar abortions were covered. I'm surprised that many media folk are not truly stepping him and fact-checking him. Also I have posted before about how Gov. Romney ran on a pro-choice platform. He promised that he will preserve the woman's right to choose. If he says he had a pro-life record in Massachusetts, does that mean he denigrated his own promise to the people of Massachusetts? Was he pandering to just get elected? Is he doing the same now? More info: By the end of his first term in office, Gov. Romney had a whopping disapproval ratings of 59% and approval ratings of 39% (According to Survey USA). Does anyone in their right mind think that he would've won reelection if he had chose to run again? I don't think so.
Here's a news story that talks about his tanking numbers in 2006
New Poll: Romney's Approval Ratings Tanking
BOSTON (CBS4) ― Massachusetts residents are losing the love for Governor Mitt Romney.
A new poll finds that 70% of Massachusetts residents -- and 64% of Republicans -- say Governor Mitt Romney has been doing a fair-to-poor job. The public opinion survey, to be released Thursday, shows that voters are losing faith in elected officials while nearly half of those polled believe the state is "on the wrong track."
While just 43% of Massachusetts residents view Mitt Romney favorably, President Bush fared even worse. Only 28% of those polled said they have a favorable opinion of the President, and an overwhelming 69% of residents have an unfavorable view.
The picture below is the chart of Gov. Romney's approval ratings. Click pic to enlarge. The picture below is the chart of Gov. Huckabee's approval ratings. Click pic to enlarge. What's impressive with Gov. Huckabee's approval ratings is that after 11 long years of being Governor (elected twice) and three years before that as Lieu Governor he still registered numbers like 55% approval and 42% disapproval. Usually there is voter fatigue, but it seems like a good number of people in Arkansas still liked him.
It wouldn't be so bad that Romney change positions if wasn't so Holier-than-thou. He's apparently attacking Gov. Huckabee for not have Reagan principles. This is the same guy who distanced himself as much as he can from Reagan all of his political life till the time he decided to run for President. There was some major remaking and marketing ploy behind the scenes trying to create a new Mitt Romney. A Mitt Romney who is enamored by Reagan, who is strong on life, and is the true republican. Watch these videos below and see whether you agree.
ANTI-REPUBLICAN RHETORIC
ANTI-REAGAN RHETORIC
ANTI-PROLIFE RHETORIC
PLAYING DOWN AND IGNORING ENDORSEMENT FROM MASS. RIGHT TO LIFE
MORE PRO-CHOICE RHETORIC
ANTI-SECOND AMENDMENT
P.S. - GOP attacked John Kerry time and time again for being a flip-flopper. Do they really think they can defend Gov. Romney's flip-flopping efforts? Good luck with that.
WASHINGTON — It’s interesting to see what two years and a suddenly heated presidential race can do to one man’s opinion of another.
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is certainly not as strong a supporter of rival Mike Huckabee as he was in 2005, when the two men were governors of Massachusetts and Arkansas, respectively.
Romney and Huckabee are engaged in a tight battle for the GOP nomination in Iowa. Caucuses there are less than a month away.
The two have battled over Huckabee’s positions on immigration and taxes, as well as Romney’s alleged flip-flopping on social issues. And with a 2005 assessment of Huckabee in which he said the man would “make a fine president,” it appears Romney opened himself to more flip-flop accusations.
The Arkansas News Bureau reported in August 2005 that Romney said Huckabee would have the support of many Massachusetts Republicans if the Arkansan were to run for president in 2008.
While at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion for a meeting about health care, Romney demurred when asked whether a presidential race was in his future but had nice things to say about his host.
“Who knows what the future will hold?” Romney said in 2005. “Most likely, we’ll all stay as governors or find other offices, but we need to make sure that we have a strong person who can take the baton from President Bush, and Gov. Huckabee is certainly one of those individuals. He’d make a fine president.”
National Review, a former reputable conservative news magazine has come in support of Gov. Romney. It wasn't very surprising, however. There is a good reason why they decided to announce the endorsement now rather than later. Romney's poll numbers have been dropping in early states and he hasn't garnered much support in the national polls. What's mind-boggling is that they don't give any excuses to Gov. Huckabee but embraces all of the flip-flops and previous anti-reagan and anti-republican statements of Romney.
I found an article that showcased the connections between the Romney campaign and NRO.
Mitt Romney today garnered the support of the right-wing magazine National Review. Romney has donated thousands of dollars in order to support various right-wing causes. In March the NY Times reported that Romney and allied organizations had paid thousands of dollars to The National Review and various Republican causes.
“Mr. Romney gave $5,000 to help sponsor the anniversary dinner celebrating National Review's Web site last October at a Washington steakhouse. Another group called Evangelicals for Mitt also gave $5,000…The magazine and its Web site have written favorably of Mr. Romney.”
Now on to Mr. Matt Drudge. There is a lot of speculation between the connections between the Romney campaign and Drudge himself. I very wary of individuals who have too much power in their hands and the drudgereport website is a prime example of that.
Here's an article in the NY Observers that explains how Romney and Drudge are connected: LINK
Something to keep in mind as Matt Drudge continues his effort to take down Mike Huckabee: Huckabee poses the most immediate and serious threat to Mitt Romney.
Last year, a delegation of RNC officials flew to Miami Beach, where Drudge lives, for a dinner at the Forge steakhouse to introduce the Internet maven to Matt Rhodes, the party's new opposition research director.
During his time at the RNC, Harris suggests, Rhodes was the G.O.P.'s main conduit for funneling potentially damaging research on Democrats to Drudge.
A year ago, Rhodes signed on to Romney's campaign. Since then, Drudge-watchers have noted Drudge's consistent refusal to hype--and in many cases to even mention--negative stories about Romney. But now Huckabee threatens to blow Romney's nomination strategy. Since last week, Drudge has unleashed a torrent of screaming, anti-Huckabee headlines, culminating in today's "exclusive" (which cites one unnamed Democrat) about the Democrats' supposed hope that Huckabee will emerge as the G.O.P. nominee.
Today's exclusive on Drudge was the following "DEMS HOLD FIRE ON HUCKABEE; SEE 'EASY KILL' IN GENERAL ELECTION". It wasn't linked to any particular article, but it was one of those special articles written by Drudge himself.
Jonathan Martin at Politico called the DNC for a comment:
DNC denies Drudge item came from them
I asked officials at the DNC about the item screaming at the top of Drudge today.
Responded Communications Director Karen Finney:
"We always appreciate having our hard work noticed, and we know Mitt Romney likes to feel special, but the truth is we've been tracking Huckabee for over a year. The Romney campaign should take heart in the fact that the Drudge Report is buying their spin hook, line and sinker because nothing in that story came from us."
Romney's camp keeps a close watch on who the Dems are hitting and have boasted in the past about how they are the most popular target.
I have a theory about this. I'm pretty sure the Romney campaign wanted to point out the fact that Huckabee hasn't been attacked so far by the DNC. So Drudge probably got some random DNC official to say something to back up his presupposition.
Now if the so-called exclusive is true, then that means that the DNC is actually scared of the eventual nomination of Gov. Huckabee. They were trying to do some reverse psychology to make the perception that electing Huckabee would be a mistake because they some how have the silver bullet to derail Huckabee's candidacy. That's nonsense of course, because everyone knows which area they are going to attack Huckabee on.
Matt Lewis of Townhall has come out with a new article about the Romney campaign coalition of bloggers and columnists to spew out anti-Huckabee news.
These kind of tricks and Romney's fake optimism and conversion is what is causing the recent downturn of support. He has spent tens of millions on ads and related events, all in vain. Gov. Huckabee has spent 1/20th of what Romney has. I think that speaks for itself.
The Romney campaign is also behind the recent rumors that Huckabee is somehow trying to promote anti-Mormon bigotry. Foxnews and others like Hannity, Krauthammer, are coming in defense of Romney and strongly against Huckabee. Matt Drudge who has connections within the Romney campaign constantly post anti-Huckabee articles, which is truly sickening. HotAir.com has come up with constant anti-Huckabee pieces and has unfairly engaged in 'gotcha' politics. Remember, these are the same people who riled against the Liberal Media when they did the same kind of dirty tricks on Pres. Bush.
Fred Thompson's campaign is not overlooked either, it is well known that they are into similar things. If I have learned one thing, I have realized how shady most of these 'dependable' conservatives are.
Here is Matt Lewis' article:
As a senior aide to Sam Brownback, Rob Wasinger knows first-hand what it's like to challenge Mitt Romney from the Right.
Though Brownback's campaign never caught fire, his credentials as a social conservative leader from the Mid West meant he was an early Romney rival. Operatives on both sides have admitted to me that the two campaigns simply didn't get along, and that they often traded barbs on the trail. (In the past, I've written about the contentious rivalry between Brownback and Romney.)
In a phone interview with me today, Wasinger echoed what I've heard other operatives say to me off the record -- that he believes Romney's campaign is behind many of the recent attacks on Mike Huckabee:
"They've got a scorched-earth strategy, and it's not surprising they are now going after Huckabee," Wasinger told me.
According to Wasinger, the Romney campaign is a disciplined and efficient operation that effectively uses blogs and opinion leaders to disseminate negative information regarding Romney's opponents:
"They roll out these surrogates to attack other candidates ... They are particularly sensitive to anyone who questions Mitt's conversion," he tells me.
Unlike ever before, candidates on both sides are utilizing bloggers and surrogates to spread their message. During a typical GOP debate, my blackberry is deluged with press releases, attacks, and up-to-the-minute rebuttals from the candidates. But while campaigns use the new media to spread their positive message, the medium is perhaps even better at advancing a negative narrative.
I can personally attest to the fact that all the major Republican campaigns, from time to time, leak negative stories to bloggers. I suspect this is true of the other side, too. Why do bloggers often bite? Sometimes because they already like the candidate, but often it's because it's a win/win: The campaign gets an attack without their finger prints on it, and the blogger gets some juicy information that (hopefully) nobody else in the world has ...
And Romney's team has clearly been at the top of their game, cultivating some of the best bloggers in the nation to help advance their message. On a large scale, Romney communications strategist Matt Roades is famously close to Matt Drudge -- that's obviously the nuclear option. But Romney has other blog allies, including MyManMitt, and these bloggers have obviously ratcheted up attacks on Huckabee in recent days.
Romney Communications Director Kevin Madden says the Romney campaign has focused on a positive message, but acknowledges the Romney campaign isn't afraid to show a sharp distinction between the candidates: "We won't hesitate to draw contrasts with other campaigns. Where there are big differences on big issues, it is important to inform the voter on those differences," he tells me.
Mitt Romney is at it again. This time he's attacking Huckabee, saying that Huckabee is no Reagan. Obviously Romney was always a great admirer of Reagan (NOT) and he was a supporter of Reagan-Bush policies in the '80's (NOT). I will allow Romney to tell you that himself, watch the video below.
MORE RESPONSE:
FISCAL: Joe Carter wrote an article on Reagan and attacks by club for growth. This is pretty relevant to this blog post as well.
After being elected Governor of California in 1967, Ronald Reagan reneged on a campaign promise and signed into law the single biggest tax increase in the state's history: $1 billion. (At the time, the total state budget was only about $5 billion. Adjusted for inflation and population growth, the increase in today's dollars would be $10 billion.)
If the Club for Growth had been around in 1980, Reagan might not have become President. The influential fiscal conservative group would surely have done everything in their power to prevent the Gipper from gaining the nomination. They would have attempted to derail Reagan's campaign just as they are now doing to Gov. Huckabee.
ON IMMIGRATION: Don't forget Reagan's Amnesty plan of 1986. The border wasn't built under Reagan, nor the illegal immigration situation was solved. I'm not saying that it was a good thing, nor am I saying that Huckabee is going to do the same. I'm just laying out the Reagan record.
There has been a lot of talk about Gov. Huckabee's proposal on allowing children of illegal immigrants who have attended an Arkansas school for at least 3 years and met all academic requirements for graduates to receive an in-state tuition rate for attending any college in Arkansas.
WHEREAS, there are children of undocumented immigrants who have lived in Arkansas most of their lives; and WHEREAS, most of these children have spent their formative years in Arkansas elementary and secondary schools; and WHEREAS, many of these children have proven their academic ability by graduating from an Arkansas high school; and WHEREAS, many of these children are precluded from accessing an affordable college education because they do not qualify for in-state tuition rates or state-supported scholarships; and
WHEREAS, educational opportunities should be offered to all children so they may contribute to the future economic viability of Arkansas,
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: As Engrossed: S3/31/05 S4/11/05 HB1525 04-11-2005 19:35 KAC234 SECTION 1 1. (a) This act shall be known as the “Access to Postsecondary Education Act of 2005”. (b) Any tuition rate that is granted to residents of Arkansas shall be granted on the same terms to all persons, regardless of immigration status,who have attended a secondary educational institution in Arkansas for at least three (3) years and who have either graduated from an Arkansas high school or received a general education diploma in the state. (c) In addition to the requirements under subdivision (b) of this section, a student without documented status shall file an affidavit with the state-supported institution of higher education stating that the student has an intent to legalize his or her immigration status. (d) The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall promulgate the rules necessary for implementation of this act.
Obviously, this might be a turn off to those who thinks this is amnesty. I beg to differ, because there is a lot of qualifiers for this bill. Gov. Huckabee has not flip-flopped on this issue, nor has rephrased his support in anyway and I admire him for it. Gov. Huckabee has explained the logic behind why he supported this proposal: It is better to encourage people to become tax payers than tax 'takers'. On the other hand, Act 2210 of 2005 was signed into law by Governor Huckabee. The legislation made it illegal for a driver’s license to be issued to anyone who could not prove legal residency in Arkansas. http://roebuckreport...
Gov. Huckabee is strongly for building the border, also he's against blind amnesty. Here is a very detailed article about Gov. Huckabee's position on immigration on MikeHuckabee.com. I would encourage you look at the other top-tier candidates and you would see that a bunch of these candidates are clearly pandering to far right for votes. I can bet you none of these guys wouldn't do anything different than Huckabee.
I wrote this on another post but I decided to place a copy of it on this post since we are on the topic of immigration:
SIDE NOTE:
How come these conservatives aren't attacking Romney nor Rudy on immigration? Why just Huckabee? I think it's very clear that Rudy was for sanctuary cities in NYC and Thompson has no real record to judge from (so he can pretty much claim anything he wants). Here is Romney's past statements and his record in Massachusetts when it comes to illegal immigration and how he has flip-flopped on this issue (like many others).
Romney Supports McCain-Bush Immigration Bill, Saying They Are "Quite Different" From Amnesty. According to the Boston Globe, in November 2005 Romney spoke "approvingly of efforts by McCain and Bush to solve the nation's immigration crisis, calling them 'reasonable proposals.[Boston Globe, 3/16/07]
Gov. Mitt Romney expressed support yesterday for an immigration program that places large numbers of illegal residents on the path toward citizenship… 'I don't believe in rounding up 11 million people and forcing them at gunpoint from our country,' Romney said. '[T]hose that are here paying taxes and not taking government benefits should begin a process towards application for citizenship, as they would from their home country.[Lowell Sun, 3/30/06]
I really think the conservative media is not doing their job in revealing the past positions of the candidates they like. They know it will hurt their favorite candidate. Recently, Huckabee has become a real threat to the republican establishment and so all of them are all out on him. I hope the American people will see through the usual convoluted politics and get to know Gov. Huckabee for who he truly is.
On a personal note, It takes a lot of our time and energy as volunteer bloggers for Huckabee to respond to all of these unfair charges. I only wish most of these conservative columnists would spend the time in doing proper and fair research.
