Comments on FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: Why Doesn't Mike Huckabee Get More Respect?

Huckabee is way too moderate to be nominated by th...

2009-04-25T03:43:00.000-04:00

Huckabee is way too moderate to be nominated by the Republicans. I think the GOP is still going to be in self-destruct mode in 2010 and 2012 (I think we will make gains in the House and Senate in 2010 and hold or stay even in 2012).

They have at least 5 more years before they pull their **** together and figure out where their ass ends and their head begins.

"Onama just won by 7% against a real life candidat...

2009-04-24T17:47:00.000-04:00

"Onama just won by 7% against a real life candidate!"

Yes, that's exactly my point (I even referenced the election)- Obama won by 7, and it was a decisive win, even Steve Schmidt is saying it wasn't competitive.

I'm glad you see my point- I knew you couldn't possibly believe the nonsense you first posted (Especially after seeing those Indy numbers! Yowch!)

Are we talking about the same Huckabee? There's a...

2009-04-24T16:37:00.000-04:00

Are we talking about the same Huckabee? There's a facebook group to the effect of "I'm moving to Australia of Huckabee is elected president."

He's also the candidate who fried squirrel with a popcorn popper.People don't know him all that well at this point. Few probably know about his statement that "I feel homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk."

Palin is much more of a known quantity than he is, and people may "like what they've heard" but not know enough about him one way or the other.

Color me also more than slightly dubious about how meaningful *any* poll is taken 4 years out from an election.

The Huckster, as he's known in Arkansas, always ha...

2009-04-24T15:01:00.000-04:00

The Huckster, as he's known in Arkansas, always had a tendency to say outrageous stuff. He governed moderately, though, and with a Democratic legislature. Under his watch, the state implemented some of the most comprehensive school legislation in the nation. The state now ranks highly in its statewide test and other measures. Hopefully the scores will improve and we'll no longer say "Thank God for Mississippi." The school reforms came on the back of a State Supreme Court ruling, known as the Lake View Case 'round these parts. Huck also was against many right wingers favoring anti-immigration laws. I'm more on the liberal side of things, but the prospect of Huckabee as president doesn't scare me. His track record as governor shows that he's more pragmatic than his rhetoric.

Colby--Onama just won by 7% against a real life ca...

2009-04-24T14:51:00.000-04:00

Colby--Onama just won by 7% against a real life candidate! He should be doing much better than that afterall he all he has done to restore America both home and abroad.

When all the tweeners can't find jobs and unemployment hangs around in the double or low single digits the people will line up to vote this jackass out!

petekent01 (on twitter)

@ Matt http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/43818

2009-04-24T13:08:00.000-04:00

@ Matt

http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/43818

@TommyReport: The party ID and race splits are ex...

2009-04-24T12:58:00.000-04:00

@TommyReport:

The party ID and race splits are exceptionally close to what we saw in the election. However the 18-30 group is 3% lower and the 30-44 group is 2% lower. The L-M-C rate is 15-45-41 in the poll and was 22-44-34 in the election. So this is a modestly older and more culturally conservative group than actually voted in 2008. My personal suspicion is that all of those young and urban liberal voters who were overly enthusiastic about dealing with pollsters during election season are now back to ignoring pollsters, but who knows?

Shift 3 points to Obama's column to reflect these differences and it's 52-39 in the best R matchup. I don't view that as particularly good news for Republicans.

Colby please allow the wingnuts ie PK their spin. ...

2009-04-24T12:19:00.000-04:00

Colby please allow the wingnuts ie PK their spin. It's all they got ...

take care, blessings

"Pretty much proves generic GOP is comeptitive aga...

2009-04-24T12:00:00.000-04:00

"Pretty much proves generic GOP is comeptitive against him"

Losing by 7 (At best!) isn't competitive. At the Presidential level, it's a solid ass-kicking (See: 1988 2008). And that's BEFORE the camapign machinery (which is proven to be good for Obama and rather lacking for the others) is activated.

But I suppose nobody's buying your spin anyway, so I don't really know why I got involved...

Ok here is Why Huckabee doesn't get more respect f...

2009-04-24T10:28:00.000-04:00

Ok here is Why Huckabee doesn't get more respect from the Rs. He totally pissed off most Rs the way he handled his campaign.

He stayed in and kept fighting needlessly stirring up division for no reason. This is part of the reason why Palin had to be picked. If Huckabee would have bowed out when Romney did things would be much better for him. He doesn't stand a chance in 2012. Besides most of those people are in Palins camp now but he ruined his chanced by acting like a whiny liemlight hogging kid and not folding earlier in 2008.

Pathetic showing by Obama. Pretty much proves gen...

2009-04-24T09:19:00.000-04:00

Pathetic showing by Obama. Pretty much proves generic GOP is comeptitive against him

After he is done effing up the economy, he too will be done.

We will be well rid of Obama and his collectivist ideas.

PeteKent01 (follow me on twitter)

When I discovered Sarah Palin's views after she go...

2009-04-24T09:06:00.000-04:00

When I discovered Sarah Palin's views after she got the VP nomination last year, my first thought was, "She's Mike Huckabee in a skirt!"

After watching Huckabee on his TV show, I now think he is more like "Sarah Palin wearing pants!"

@Mike in Maryland... Off Topic Latest vo...

2009-04-24T07:12:00.000-04:00

@Mike in Maryland...

Off Topic

Latest vote totals from NY-20:

Murphy: 80368
Tedisco: 79967

Murphy now leads by 401 votes!

This is GREAT NEWS! For MICHAEL STEELE!!

Dang, I downloaded 538TrollRemover awhile ago, but...

2009-04-24T07:10:00.000-04:00

Dang, I downloaded 538TrollRemover awhile ago, but I seem to have lost its handle. Could someone please point me to a DL and instructions on how to use it? You-know-who is just taking up too much screen space.

@Greg F... Maybe having his own show is hurting h...

2009-04-24T07:08:00.000-04:00

@Greg F...

Maybe having his own show is hurting him. How many people take television personalities seriously enough to vote for them?

About 3-600 more than will vote for a drifting political opportunist with good hair and a buttload of ethical baggage.

At least in Minnesota.

I think James is right. Huckabee is keeping low wh...

2009-04-24T07:04:00.000-04:00

I think James is right. Huckabee is keeping low while the others parade around mocking Obama after having made the mess he's cleaning up in the first place: that automatically makes him more appealing, and he has a genial persona. On the other hand, whether he would be a good candidate is an entirely different matter: some of his views are as nutty as those of Palin.

If you look where the narrowest margins of votes were in 2008, then 2012 is going to be fought on the periphery and borders: Montana, North and South Dakota, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Arizona and maybe even Louisiana for the Dems; Minnesota, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, and New Mexico for the Republicans. Sure the old battleground rustbelt will still be there and the Republicans will focus on Indiana and the Dems on Missouri, but the point is that the next election will be very different from the last three, and the political issues that matter in those states will also be different: Obama changed the political map. What the Republicans have to find is someone who can fight that election, otherwise they will be reduced to a rump. Apart from the deep south, I'm not sure Huckabee is the one.

Huckabee isn't getting more respect from the Repub...

2009-04-24T06:03:00.000-04:00

Huckabee isn't getting more respect from the Republicans themselves because he believes in what he says. The Evangelicals never had real power within the GOP. They were used whenever the economic agenda of the GOP was unpopular. Huckabee would change that, because he knows his way around and would not rely on handlers like Sarah Palin did. Also, just imagine if the Bible really served as an economic model.. just remember that 'it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God' - that's basically socialism. The whole Grover-Norquist-taxes-are-too-high people could go home.
It's probably not necessary to call his positions 'unorthodox' - with quotation marks, no, he is really not following the Republican orthodoxy, that's what their positions are at the moment. Or can you tell me a substantial policy difference between Palin, Gingrich, Sanford, Romney or any other potential conservative candidate? It's all just a different packaging, a different biographical narrative. Huckabee's flat-tax proposal, no matter how problematic it is, was the only individual economic position of the Republican primaries I can think of.
And Huckabee is one of the most likable guys of the GOP. One can disagree with him without disliking him.

Huckabee is a scumbag. He deftly maneuvered media ...

2009-04-24T05:37:00.000-04:00

Huckabee is a scumbag. He deftly maneuvered media event that suggested that Obama was Muslim and Mormonism was in fact a sort of cult..

Well,he got one out of two right.

Gingrich: I think he cultivates these presidential...

2009-04-24T05:36:00.000-04:00

Gingrich: I think he cultivates these presidential rumours to up his brand and keep the buzz going. But I have a hard time seeing him actually wanting to run.

He's just a non-starter for a general election.

It seems the GOP primary will once again be a batt...

2009-04-24T05:32:00.000-04:00

It seems the GOP primary will once again be a battle of political dwarves. It's a weak field. Sanford, Thune or Huntsman wouldn't change that either, I dare say.

As for Huckabee's relatively good polling, well, he's not being scrutinised and his numbers are hence good. Right now, he's got his folksy charm working for him without his baggage and ideology being scrutinised.

BTW, what is he up to right now? Does he do the conservative speaking circuit bigtime? What about his PAC? What about his presence in IA and SC? Or is he just doing his Fox show?

In any case, the key battle of the next few years seems to me over how progressive the Obama presidency will be. I'm rooting for more Krugman and less Geithner.

The whole GOP thingie is a total sideshow. They're in the political wilderness and won't be nationally competitive for years to come given their obsolete and in many respects nasty ideological zealotry.

Only if they ever manage to refashion their party as the British Tories have with David Cameron (after a decade in the political wilderness), will they ever have a chance. However, given the pretty rabid nature of the GOP base (see those tea parties!), I just don't see 'em embracing an American David Cameron.

Given that, I could see the GOP being displaced by a moderate centre-right party (think Bloomberg, Schwarzenegger, Powell spectrum).

So, did the mothership pick Mule Rider up and take...

2009-04-24T05:27:00.000-04:00

So, did the mothership pick Mule Rider up and take him back to Alpha Centauri?

I think people take Newt seriously because, well w...

2009-04-24T05:15:00.000-04:00

I think people take Newt seriously because, well who else is there? Why take Newt less seriously than a one term governor of 'Taxachusettes' (at least from a Republican pov). My own personal guess is that Gingrich could be a big player in 2012 if he wants to be. If all he wants is plump up his name a bit to get a bigger fee on the speaking circuit and the morning show circuit, then he is going about it the right way however. He is a smart guy, despicable but smart.

Newt? People actually take Newt seriously? Oh well...

2009-04-24T04:41:00.000-04:00

Newt? People actually take Newt seriously? Oh well...

This is all nice to contemplate: Though a nice guy, Huckabee has zero personality (his show, I decided to check out once- painful- stay outta showbiz, Mike) and ideas just loony enough to drive away most rational people.

It's like the GOP is already in agony over 2012 because there is NO fresh blood, NO fresh ideas, NO anything to stand on. They're on their way to fast becoming a regional party. If Romney, Palin, Jindal, and Huckabee are the best they can do, geeze, Pawlenty I cannot see as someone taking a serious knock at BHO either. Just no gumption or fire in the party. And for good reason. Bush spewed all their energy to hell like frat kid on a binge with his buddies and Cheney destroyed any semblance of respectability for them.

I would go on to say it serves them right, yet I say this really from a less judgmental position. BushCO shot the wad. The party has no libido, no oomph, no vision, nothing, nada, just an empty brand that Dick Morris and Glen Beck and the rest of the conservative media try to prop up like a dead parrot. You look at the eyes of Boehner and the other GOP elected officials, and you see nothing but a distant look of shock, a tired befuddlement saying "how the fuck did we get here?"

Kind of sad, yet kind of justice served.

Mule Rider give us a kiss! take care, blessings

2009-04-24T04:07:00.000-04:00

Mule Rider give us a kiss!

take care, blessings

Huckabee is not as well known as the others, this ...

2009-04-24T03:55:00.000-04:00

Huckabee is not as well known as the others, this is certainly an advantage. Voters who are yet to know a candidate are likely to hold a positive view (Innocent until proven guilty is deeply ingrained in us). Huckabee's worst enemy is time, if he didn't win an election in the past, he is less likely to win one in a more progressive and liberal future.