Mike Huckabee is hoping to pick up Fred Thompson’s leftovers, but that doesn’t seem to be going so well. Aside from Gary Bauer and other religious-right leaders who still don’t like Huckabee, a number of Thompson’s backers have switched to Mitt Romney. And now an embittered former Thompson staffer has started his own campaign hitting Huckabee where it hurts most: his sidekick, Chuck Norris.
Huckabee may joke about his action-hero endorsement, but as we’ve noted before, he’s made Norris a very serious part of his campaign. And not just in terms of livening up his stage shows: Norris is aggressively raising money, hoping to provide $10 million for the cash-strapped candidate (one recent fundraiser netted $250,000).
Dennis Ng, founder of BoycottChuckNorris.com, says that makes Norris “fair game”:
Saying he’s ‘kicking Chuck Norris where it hurts – his wallet,’ Ng explains he’s starting the boycott because Norris endorsed a presidential candidate and supports ideas “far out of the mainstream.”
Ng singles out Norris’ endorsement of Huckabee – “a candidate who says that he does not believe in evolution,” and “who called for the isolation of AIDS patients – long after the Centers for Disease Control determined that the virus was not spread by casual contact.” …
Ng is asking visitors to his site to join him in boycotting products Norris endorses and companies that purchase advertising on reruns of his long-running CBS television series, “Walker, Texas Ranger.” In the first category, Ng lists exercise-equipment manufacturer Total Gym, endorsed by the actor. Sponsors listed are KFC, Payless Shoes, Nutrisystem, Tylenol and Geico Insurance.
“Republicans long decried celebrities telling us how to vote,” says Ng. So, uh, is that why Ng’s own candidate, famous actor Fred Dalton Thompson, had to drop out?
