HuckPAC

Huckabee Endorses Gary Glenn For Senate

Submitted by Brian Tashman on November 9, 2011 - 2:05pm

When Gary Glenn, the head of American Family Association’s Michigan affiliate, announced his run for U.S. Senate, Kyle wondered “how long it will be before Glenn receives Mike Huckabee's endorsement given that Huckabee believes that ‘if we had leaders like Gary Glenn across America, our work wouldn't be so hard.’”

Well, today Huckabee made it official, endorsing Glenn and saying he “will be a Senator that will take his values with him to Washington”:

I am very happy to endorse and support Gary Glenn for the United States Senate in Michigan. Gary is a person whose clarity of conviction is refreshing. He has boldly led on issues of life, traditional marriage, and the Fair Tax. When I needed help in Michigan in 2008, Gary didn't wait until it was convenient or popular, he stood with me out of sheer courage of his views. Gary Glenn won't take a poll to find out where he needs to stand. He will be a Senator that will take his values with him to Washington. I hope you will join me in getting behind Gary with your prayers, your generous and sacrificial contributions, and your vote.

Glenn faces a competitive primary against former congressman Pete Hoekstra and charter school activist Clark Durant and, if he wins the nomination, an uphill climb against Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

While leading the AFA’s state chapter, Glenn has amassed a tremendous anti-gay record. He not only led the successful campaign to enshrine a ban on marriage equality for gays and lesbians in the state constitution, but also targeted openly gay candidates and was a plaintiff in the unsuccessful lawsuit to block the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expands hate crimes laws to protect people targeted because of their sexual orientation.

Glenn supports the criminalization of homosexuality and joined anti-gay radio host and Mission America head Linda Harvey to warn companies against hiring gay and lesbian employees, saying, “What ridiculous folly to suggest that only those individuals who engage in homosexual behavior given all of its severe medical consequences constitute the best and the brightest.” During an interview with anti-gay extremist Peter LaBarbera of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality, Glenn said that anti-bullying programs were a “Trojan Horse” of “homosexual activists” and said that the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell “defies reason,” predicting repeal will lead to more “sexual assaults” and “security,” “moral,” and “medical” risks.

But for Huckabee, Glenn’s “clarity of conviction is refreshing.”

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A Bad Night For HuckPAC

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on June 9, 2010 - 9:54am

Last night's various primary election results were not particularly good for Mike Huckabee and his HuckPAC considering that three of the candidates he endorsed in high profile races all lost ... and lost badly.

In California, HuckPAC endorsed Chuck DeVore in the GOP Senate primary and saw him come in third.

In Iowa, HuckPAC endorsed Bob Vander Plaats, who lost by nine points.

And in South Carolina, HuckPAC endorsed Andre Bauer, who finished in fourth.

I have to say that HuckPAC's record has not been particularly impressive, but there is always hope because I just discovered while gathering the info for this post, that HuckPAC has also endorsed Star Parker in her bid for Congress:

Star Parker is just the voice we need in Congress—a person who loves America for all the right reasons because she has experienced the American Dream as few have. Star has traveled a journey that took her from welfare to workforce, from dependence on government to independence and entrepreneurial excellence. She is one of the most powerful communicators and debaters I’ve seen, and I can’t wait to watch her deconstruct the liberal agenda live from the House floor.

Update: Huckabee has issued a statement on last night's results:

As we sort through election results, there were some victories of candidates we supported and there were some unfortunate defeats. I've read with interest how some pundits have tried to figure out why would we support candidates like Bob Vander Plaats in Iowa, Chuck Devore in CA and others instead of the well-funded, favored, and highly touted "establishment" candidates. Some thought that my support for candidates who weren't the establishment picks would not be good for MY political future - so let me explain something to the self-appointed "insiders" who are trying to understand why HuckPAC and I support candidates:

I don't support candidates based on how it will affect my political future, but how it will affect the future of the country. I don't support candidates just because they may already have the money, momentum and machinery. More often than not, I like to help underdogs who actually believe in something other than getting elected - who are principled, pro-life, proven conservatives whose stand on the issues is based on conviction and not political convenience.

...

I am proud of the candidates we supported. Many of them will be back on the stage and when our country gets tired of politicians who accommodate any position to get elected, these candidates will emerge as real leaders. Find out if our candidates ended in debt, and if you can help them financially, please do it. Encourage them to stay in the fight either as future candidates or activists. Whether our candidates win or lose, I never feel bad when I support a person who stands for something. Believe me, I like winning rather than losing, but I'd always rather lose an election than my soul.

In some cases, there are good and supportable candidates who won in races where we helped someone else - we will endorse the winning candidate in many of those races and support his efforts. We will NOT however, endorse candidates who don't believe in the sanctity of life, the sacredness of marriage, lower taxes, holding down debt, and balancing the budget.

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At the Last Minute, Huckabee Suddenly Becomes a Hoffman Booster

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on November 2, 2009 - 9:56am

Last week we noted that while just about every right-wing leader had endorsed Doug Hoffman's campaign for the House seat in NY-23 over the Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava, Mike Huckabee was one notable exception. Huckabee's refusal to take sides on this issue was not playing well with conservative activists, but now that Scozzafava has dropped out, Huckabee has suddenly become an ardent supporter of Hoffman's campaign:

We commend Dede Scozzafava for stepping aside and in light of her very unselfish announcement, we join the RNC and other Republicans in urging support for Doug Hoffman.

And his HuckPAC has announced that getting Hoffman elected is one of its top priorities:

This Tuesday voters will head to the polls and cast votes for three very important candidates: Bob McDonnell (candidate for Virginia Governor) and David Harmer and Doug Hoffman candidates for Congress in California and New York. We need to help get each of these fine men elected.

We are past the point where a donation to their campaign will matter that much, what we need now is to reach as many voters as possible within the next 36 hours and let them know Americans are focused on helping elect elect Bob McDonnell, David Harmer and Doug Hoffman.

Today I am emailing to ask if you will take a moment now to make phone calls to voters. We have set up phone banks for Bob McDonnell and David Harmer and you can begin calling voters immediately. Tomorrow we will launch a phone bank for Doug Hoffman. Even if you can only make a call or two, you will help make a positive difference in the final hours before votes are cast on Tuesday.

Also, if you know friends or family who will have a chance to vote on Tuesday for one of these candidates please make sure they do. Huck PAC volunteers have already made over 20,000 calls in Virginia and helped Bob immensely. I know if we make these final calls we can do more of the same.

Wow, what a bold, principled stance for Huckabee to take, throwing his support behind Hoffman just two days before the election ... and only after his Republican challenger has dropped out.

Huckabee seems to be have been inspired by James Dobson and is now mirroring his feckless policy of making face-saving, self-serving, last-minute political endorsements.

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HuckPAC's Healthcare Threat

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on September 11, 2009 - 8:54am

Mike Huckabee's PAC, HuckPAC, has issued the following warning:

Huck PAC will not endorse any Republican candidate that votes for the government takeover of health care. And if we have endorsed your campaign, and you vote for this monstrosity of a bill, we will revoke your endorsement immediately.

Let's suppose that HuckPAC-endorsed candidate Les Phillip of Alabama announced that he would support healthcare reform and Huckabee revoked his endorsement: would HuckPAC then reimburse Phillip for the tens of thousands of dollars that Huckbee's endorsement has already cost his campaign?

Just curious.

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Huckabee's Eternal Predicament: Grassroots Support and No Money

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on July 31, 2009 - 1:14pm

Mike Huckabee might currently be sitting atop the polls of potential 2012 GOP presidential candidates but, just as happened during his 2008 run, his support among grassroots activists is not translating into fund-raising:

Recent polls show he is among the early frontrunners for the 2012 GOP presidential bid, but when it comes to fundraising this year, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee trails well behind his chief rivals.

The former Republican presidential candidate e-mailed supporters Thursday night announcing he has raised a little over $300,000 in the first six months of the year, a cash haul that is only about 20 percent of the $1.6 million former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney took in the same period.

It's also about a third of what former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has raised since January. Her political action committee, SarahPAC, reported raising $730,000 through July 1, but a spokeswoman for Palin said the Alaska Republican took in an additional $200,000 in the early days of July after announcing she was stepping down as governor.

In addition, Newt Gingrich’s PAC, American Solutions for Winning the Future, took in more than $8 million in the first half of the year.

Perhaps these low fund-raising numbers for Huckabee explain why the PAC recently had to undergo a "restructuring" and why Huckabee is charging candidates his PAC has endorsed more than $30,000 to speak at their fund-raisers.

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Huckabee Already Preparing for 2012

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on October 27, 2008 - 12:16pm

Over the weekend, Mike Huckabee attended a fundraiser for a couple of Republican candidates in Louisiana during which he urged those in attendance to get on their knees and thank God if John McCain wins … and get on their knees and pray if Barack Obama wins:

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a minister, couldn’t resist a reference to prayer as he addressed a Republican crowd here Sunday during a fund-raiser to benefit party nominee U.S. Sen. John McCain.

“If Sen. McCain wins, we should get on our knees and thank the Lord,” said Huckabee, who was hosted by Squire Creek Country Club developer James Davison and 5th District U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander. “If Sen. Obama wins, we’ll need to get on our knees and pray even harder.”

He was also asked about his future presidential aspirations and said he couldn’t rule it out:

Huckabee didn’t rule out another run at the White House. “It’s hard to say,” he said when asked about his future role in the national party. “I honestly don’t know.”

That makes sense, especially considering that his PAC is currently offering “Huck” bumper stickers to its donors:

Want to annoy Barack Obama and the Democrats? Support Huck PAC and our conservative candidates with a contribution of $10 or more and we will send you our new Huck PAC "HUCK" bumper sticker.

It’s rather odd that Huckabee is offering stickers featuring his own name just a week before John McCain appears poised to lose this election. Purely coincidence, I’m sure.

Dan Gilgoff has this image:

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When In Doubt, Go With God, Guns, and Gays

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on October 7, 2008 - 4:31pm

During the GOP primary, we kept hearing about the emergence of a "new evangelical" movement that cared about issues beyond the standard anti-gay, anti-abortion right-wing agenda and were repeatedly told that Mike Huckabee was the most high profile example of this new type of leader.

As we pointed out then, and have continued to point out, that was a dramatic oversimplification and fundamentally misleading. Because, when you get down to it, people like Mike Huckabee are in fact fully aligned with the traditional Religious Right agenda and, as Dan Gilgoff smartly notices, inevitably revert to form when it comes crunch time:

Remember back to the Republican primaries, when Mike Huckabee campaigned as a new kind of evangelical candidate, adding issues like the environment, education, and poverty to the hot-button agenda of God, guns, and gays?

That big-tent Huck seems to be in much shorter supply now. An email the Arkansas governor just sent out soliciting donations for his political action committee--whose beneficiaries include John McCain and Sarah Palin--asks fors $5 for each of these five red meat issues:

1. Protection of Human Life 2. Traditional Marriage 3. Tax policy that doesn't punish people for working, but rewards them 4. 2nd amendment rights 5. Supreme Court and Federal Court judge selection

So much for all those professed concerns about poverty, the environment, and human rights.

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Huckabee Not The Forgiving Type

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on April 28, 2008 - 3:18pm

A while back, we noted that Mike Huckabee had been mending fences with the likes of The Club for Growth and the Family Research Council despite the fact that the groups had been cool, if not outright hostile, to his presidential aspirations.

While Huckabee may be trying to make nice with some of the DC powerbrokers, it doesn’t look like he is quite as forgiving of those who crossed him back in Arkansas.

Back when his campaign was starting to pick up steam, former Republican state representative Randy Minton was among those who started showing up in the press bad-mouthing Huckabee to anyone who would listen:

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, suddenly a serious candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is “the biggest RINO I know,” according to former state Rep. Randy Minton.

…

“I call (Huckabee) a pro-life, pro-gun liberal,” says Minton, who says he himself belongs to “the Re-publican wing of the Republican Party.”

Minton says he is philosophically aligned with the anti-tax Club for Growth, which has begun running political ads attacking Huckabee as “Tax Hike Mike.”

…

“He says he’s pro-family. If you’re raising taxes on the families of Arkansas, causing wives to go out and get jobs to make ends meet, that’s not pro-family,” Minton said.

Minton was so opposed to the prospect of a Huckabee presidency that he even traveled to Iowa, on Ron Paul’s dime, to campaign against him:

Earlier this week, a group of Arkansans went to Iowa for three days of media appearances to lobby against Huckabee. Randy Minton, a former state legislator and chairman of the conservative Eagle Forum, was one of these new Travelers. “I will be going across the state raising awareness [of Huckabee's record],” said Minton before the trip. He cited Huckabee's record of raising taxes and his liberal use of pardons as two issues he planned to discuss.

Huckabee’s campaign eventually faltered and folded and Huckabee re-emerged as the head of a new PAC and, wouldn’t you know it, now that Minton has decided to run for a House seat in Arkansas, HuckPAC has likewise decided to back his opponent:

Despite his new status as national political celebrity, Huckabee is backing Minton's opponent in a very local legislative race.

Davy Carter of Cabot is Minton's GOP opponent for the House District 48 seat in the May 20 Republican primary. Sarah Huckabee, the former governor's daughter and executive director of HuckPAC, a newly created political action committee, confirmed Friday that her father is supporting Carter, and that the PAC would be supporting him, as well.

Minton did what he could to ensure that Huckabee’s candidacy went down in defeat and it looks like Huckabee has decided to return the favor.