idahoconservative's blog

Before I get started, I wanted to respond to a commenter who said I would force readers to go through all 27 chapters of Huckabee's book.

That's impossible as:

1) The book has 12 chapters (which actually seems to be a Standard for Huckabee book as "From Hope to Higher Ground" and his weight loss book also had 12 chapters.)

2) Readers can read an entry or not. Their choice. But, if we're going to talk about the book, let's talk about it, not just rumor and innuendo about it.

Chapter 1 of Do the Right Thing is called, "Dude, Where's My Candidate?" and focuses on a base that wasn't enthused with either of Rudy McRomney (my word, not Huck's) Trilemna. Huckabee lays out a set of signature issues.

Huckabee makes a succinct case for staying a socially conservative course in the GOP, writing, " Having lost our reptation as a competent managers and fiscal conservatives, we can't afford to lose our credibility as social conservatives. If we do, they will point to us and say, 'The Emperor has no clothes," and deservedly so."

Huckabee's book gets a bit awkward grammatically. As he pretty much put the book to bed in June, the question of who would win the Presidency was an open issue and his books reflects it with warnings of why 2008 is a bad year to elect a Democrat. By the time that issue was decided, it would have already happened or not.

Huckabee lists five reasons a Democratic would be bad: Health Care, Taxes, Protectionism (instead of education reform), and that "Democrats still don't understand how viscerally, obsessively, and fanatically, the Islamo-fascists hate us, and how determined they are to kill us and destroy our Judeo-Christian culture and civilization."

Huckabee then lays out the reasons that prompted his campaign. He laid out a sensible foreign policy, his belief in energy independence, his pro-second Amendment stance, support for the sanctity of life, and support for traditional marriage as issues that  prompted his run.

This section on core issues strengthens my belief that if Palin runs, she will probably not have Mike Huckabee as an opponent. Excepting the Fair Tax, on the core issues that made Huckabee's core platform, he and Palin are in agreement.

Huckabee also uses this section to explain the difference between him and the-then big three. Contrary to news reports, Huckabee talks about all of the three. As I stated in my previous piece, I think this is book is geared towards people who may not have followed the nominating process with rapt attention.

He's generally quite short with comments on McCain, "I consistently supported President Bush's tax cuts, John McCain voted against them in the Senate and then changed his mind to support them as he prepared to run for President."

Giuliani elicited some longer responses, "Rudy Giuliani said that his gun-control policies didn't affect hunting.  I'm an avid hunter, but I know and you know the Second Amendment isn't about hunting: it's about tyranny. The Founding Fathers weren't worried about being able to bag a duck or a deer; they were worried about us being able to keep our fundamental freedoms..." and went on another two paragraphs.

Romney was hit hardest in this section on flip flops, the whole flap about whether Romney owned a firearm. Asks Huckabee, " Any of you there not sure if you own a gun? I didn't think so." Huckabee concludes Romney offered a flip flop too many.

"He said he never really thought about when life begins until he was in his late fifties. I would be more inclined to accept his change as genuine rather than politically expedient if he hadn't changed on so many issues at once--abortion, homosexual rights, gun control, the Bush Tax Cuts, campaign finance reform, and his appreciation for President Reagan's legacy, which he ran from in 1994 and clung to in 2007. He spent more time on the road to Damascus than a Syrian camel driver."  

Given the overall tone of the chapter, introducing the central conflict with Romney and explaining the key issue conservatives had with Romney really wasn't out of sorts.

As a post-script, a lot of folks seem to feel that Huckabee shouldn't be releasing this book now because it's time for the party to close and ranks and unify.

May I ask behind whom and for what? We have no effective national leadership and no agenda. Huckabee timed the release of his book so that it was after the Presidential elections and well before the next Congressional Session. I'd argue that this is the time to go ahead and have our fights. Other than helping out in Georgia, there's really not much to do.

For crying out loud, there seem to be some Republicans who believe the best time to discuss differences and issues is-well, never. Yes, the perfect model for political parties: dysfunctional famillies.

As Mike Huckabee's book, "Do the RIght Thing" is going to be a topic of some controversy for the next few weeks, I think it's more helpful for people to know the facts about the book rather than go on and on about excerpts. So, over the next few weeks, I'll be blogging 1 Chapter a day. Today, I'll take the Prologue: I Love Iowa

Caucus Night Remembrance

Huckabee opens the book with an unglamourous account of having to get a ride to the airport from a stranger due to the car they were supposed to take being blocked in.

Of course, this gave way to euphoria from Huckabee supporters when his plane touched down in Des Moines.

Huckabee wrote:

 "Throughout the campaign, one of our great challenges was trying to manage with far fewer staff members than was reasonable or realistic. It meant that all of our mostly young and inexperienced staff had `would be called on to do the tasks of several people...

"But on this night, no one was complaining. Our courageous army of volunteers and underpaid kids were euphoric, and they had the right to be: The kids had worked their hearts out to prove that conentional politics of money and sophisticated political strategy could beaten by sticking to core convictions and finding creative ways to communicate those convictions. A bunch of unknown, ordinary people had beaten "the best in the business."

Huckabee wrote that when he actually got up to speak, "It hit me that this was not our victory, it was their victory." Every good political story begins with a victory night celebration and this was their "We Shocked the World" moment.

The controversial passages about Mitt Romney's concession call (or lack theeof) is in this section. Reading the Prologue, it seems that the Governor really didn't have "bloggers who followed campaign stories religiously in mind." Huckabee's book is targeted towards those who may not have paid attention to the 2008 process on the GOP side extremely closely. He takes time to explain the players and the process.

He talks about Fred Thompson running a "feeble" campaign in Iowa, failing to spend a lot of time in the state and having poorly attended events. I know that some people will make a big deal of this, but really for those of us who followed the campaign, the worst Huckabee deserves is a "Master of the Obvious"  award. But, as he's writing to people who may not have followed the race as closely, it reads more background than anything else.

I have to confess that I got caught in the "Fred" thing because of the fact that I focused on the professed rule that if you finish in the top 3 in Iowa or the top 2 in New Hampshire, you are a legitimate contender. However, even at the time, I was a little concerned that even though Fred Thompson finished 3rd in Iowa, he did it with a smaller percentage of the votes than Alan Keyes got in the 2000 Iowa Caucuses. I think someone needs to rewrite this political rule of thumb, "To win the nomination, you have to win Iowa or New Hampshire." That meshes more with reality than the top 3 rule, because those of us who thought Fred would get enough momentum out of 13% in Iowa to win South Carolina were slightly delusional.   

Huckabee stood waiting backstage as a matter of courtesy for the customer congratulations call from his opponent. The reason for this is that candidates want to avoid stepping on each other's toes, particularly since the media will often cut from the losing candidate's speech to the winner. Both McCain and Giuliani could find the phone, but for whatever reason, Romney could not and Huckabee finally went out at 10 PM to declare victory.

My final note is that this section serves to bat down rumors that have spread on various Talk Shows, news stories, and the Internet. Huckabee writes that there was no "nefarious collusion" between his campaign and that of John McCain. Even though, both McCain and Giuliani were pleased that Huckabee's Iowa win had punctured Mitt Romney 's best Presidential victory scenario of running the board in early contests.  The reaction was similar to that of a baseball team being happy that their division rivals lost and allowed them to gain a game in the standings. It's not a conspiracy if the Toronto Blue Jays are glad the Boston Red Sox lost to the New York Yankees (or to the Arkansas Travelers if they were a major league team in the AL East.)

Podcast Show Notes

A Dallas School gives out bogus Social Security numbers. (Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin.) 

Cities demand bail out. (Hat Tip: Outside the Beltway.)

Peaceful Christians assaulted in San Francisco by Prop. 8 opponents. (Hat Tip: Crunchy Cons.)

Radical pro-Prop 8 activists exact restitution from a restaurant whose owner gave $100 to support Prop. 8. (Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin.)

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I joined a Mike Huckabee conference call about his upcoming book, “Do the Right Thing.” Among the highlights:

• Huckabee said it’s too early to declare for 2012. Was anyone expecting different?
• Regarding the controversy over Huckabee’s statements on Mitt Romney, Huckabee stated the book is not a slam piece on 2008. He does discuss Romney, Thompson, and others to set the record straight as to what happened behind the scenes. However, Huckabee said the book is not focused on “lamenting the past” but ideas for the future as well as being an overall positive book focusing on the achievements of a remarkable group of people who with little money and resources achieved great results as well as a vision for conservatism’s future.

I don’t know how you’re really and truly shocked that Huckabee would have a discouraging word about Romney. It seems Inspector Reneauesque:

 This was a book that discussed the campaign. There’s been a lot said about Huckabee and his effort. The Huckabee-Romney dynamic was a huge part of that. There have been many explanations for what happened in the campaign that have been offered up by De Facto Romney surrogates. I give Huckabee credit for putting his name to his criticisms. I think it’s particularly relevant that people understand some of the whys of this campaign as well as what’s happened with some Christian Conservative leaders who are off-track.

Huckabee stated his belief that adults could handle the truth, and I think they can. Huckabee noted Romney’s spokesman didn’t deny Huckabee’s claims, merely got ticked at Huckabee for making.

• Some interesting Huckabee chapter titles, “Politically Homeless”, “Welcome to Washington, DC: Roach Motel” and “Big Ideas Not Just Big Government,” “Elections by Ebay.” Good titles, I pre-ordered the book in July and look forward to reading it. 
• Huckabee made the case for Chip Saltsman for RNC Chairman, and went beyond Saltsman being Huckabee’s campaign manager, but rather pointed to Saltsman’s ability at new media, along with his  success running a shoestring effort.
• How hard did Huckabee campaign for McCain? He lost his voice on the last day of the campaign. Not even McCain did that.
• Huckabee when asked why the GOP lost was careful not to blame McCain personally, but he said the GOP lost not because of our principles but because we failed to articulate them and failed to govern. High federal spending and the bail out belied conservative talk of fiscal conservatism. He also thought that articulating a message woiuld have been more effective than the time spent on issues like Wright and Ayers that obviously didn’t connect with the American people.
• Regarding the last campaign, Huckabee stated he would have done his campaign differently in terms of where time was spent. He opted to go to Michigan after New Hampshire rather than camping out in South Carolina as Fred Thompson did. This allowed Thompson to surge to third and led to Huckabee’s narrow loss when combined with a snowstorm in a Huckabee stronhold in Greenville, SC.
• Huckabee’s main message of the book, “Do the right thing” is the centrality of cultural conservativism.  “It’s impossible to seperate the morality of a country from the economics of a country. “Over 10 1/2 years as Governor, Huckabee learned, “The cost of government is tied directly to the breakdown of the family.” To those who would like to just talk economics, Huckabee says that as a practical matter, “You can’t reduce government, if people are irresponsible.” He challenges critics who believes the issues are seperate to answer his argument and to “Tell me how there is no connection” between the moral and economic states of the nation.

Let me piggieback on Gamecock's post on religion in politics.  I'll go a step further. The "analysts" who are commenting on this race seem to have ignored what actually happened in order to fit their own agendas.

We had a Democratic Nominee who had groups like "Believers for Barack," and spent tens of millions of dollars reaching out to religious voters, running ads on Christian radio stations, handing out fliers with pictures of the said candidate in a church in front of a big cross. The Democrat won against a Republican who was reluctant to talk about his faith. The conclusion: The Republicans need to become a more secular party.

The Republicans nominated the man who wrote McCain-Feingold, who opposed drilling in ANWR, who made a great point of his support for Embryonic Stem Cell Research, disassociated himself from Christian ministers who criticized Islam, and made bi-partisanship a centerpiece of his campaign. The Conclusion: Republicans need to nominate more moderate candidates.

The Democrats ran a candidate who rejected Hillarycare, promised tax cuts for 95% of Americans, pledged to reduce abortions, and cut government waste. The Conclusion: Conservatism is dead.

I'm bemused by the urge to blame Religious Conservatives, when the candidate endorsed in the by Republicans for Choice in the Republican Primaries was the Republican nominee.

Jonah Goldberg highlights a problem with this argument:

Economically conservative social liberals are the “jackalopes of American politics,” in the words of the National Review Institute’s Kate O’Beirne. The press keeps telling us they exist out there in huge numbers, but when you go looking for them, they refuse to emerge from the bushes.

Indeed. Meanwhile, Social Conservative voters are a reality that delivered tens of millions of votes to John McCain, despite some serious reservations. When it comes to ticking off faithful social conservatives, it's not even a question of trading a bird in the hand, for two in the bush. It's trading a bird in the hand for a Jackelope and a Unicorn in the bush.

Podcast Show Notes

Put away your Obama cake. McDonald says no to Obama Day. (Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin.)

Imagine: A world without Catholic Hospitals. If Obama gets his way, it may be reality (Hat Tip: Hot Air.)

Proposition 8 supporter forced to quit his job. (Hat Tip: Malkin.)

McCain-Feingold to be fought in federal court. (Hat Tip: Right Wing News.)

Liberals flunk the tolerance test. (Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin.)

Blue Dogs abandon fiscal responsibility right after the election. (Hat Tip: Reformed Chicks Babbling.)

The bailout: no longer buying troubled assets.

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I remmber a skit on the 1990s Cartoon Histeria that made fun of Middle Ages medicine. One character provided an answer of, "Apply leaches to cast the devil out."

It seems to be the same thing with the media in the aftermath of an election. No matter what the actual issues of the campaign or what you can say about why the Republicans lost, the media asks the same question, "Is it time for the GOP to abandon the abortion issue? Consider:

Situation: You just nominated your most moderate Presidential Candidate since Gerald Ford, who favored Embryonic Stem Cell Research and opposed a Federal Marriage Amendment?

Solution: Eliminate the Social Issues from the GOP platform.

Situation: Democrats have gained dozens of seats across the nation by running candidates who are socially conservative or at least pretend to be.

Solution: Eliminate the Social Issues from the GOP platform.

Situation:Exit polls consistently show that those who actually vote on issues like abortion, cast votes for Pro-Life Republicans.

Solution: Apply leaches to cast the devils out---er, I mean Eliminate Social Issues from the GOP Platfrom.

That the question is being asked after an election that was so clearly decided on the economy shows an agenda that doesn't bother with pesky things like what actually happened in the election. They already know the answer.