Eyeon08 has a write up and review of the latest Gov. Mike Huckabee blogger conference call.
I haven’t seen any audio of the call posted yet, but once I do I’ll be sure to post a link.
The first thing that struck me is that no one that I had heard of was asking questions. Huckabee said that they have 150 “Bloggers for Huckabee,” and they are clearly different people. Every question, except mine, started with an expression of support or love. This is not how it works for Rudy Giuliani or John McCain. The people on those calls are high-traffic national blogs focused on politics. The people on the Huckabee call were, at least, local blogs, often focused on things other than politics. At the very least this is a different model than the McCain and Giuliani are taking. It is very possible that it is closer to what Mitt Romney’s campaign is doing online, namely developing a blogger community that talks primarily to supporters. Thompson’s seems some of a hybrid. This is interesting, although I am not sure what to make of it.
Second, I asked a question about Huckabee’s economic populism. The answer is pretty striking, and you aren’t likely to hear it from any other GOP candidate in the field. He attacked CEOs and hedge fund managers. Perhaps the most interesting passage was:
As a Christian, [this is] not just an economic issue, but a moral issue. When you have real success, you share it with the people who helped you. … That’s the difference between capitalism and greed. … A President has to show the moral leadership of the country, not just policy leadership. …
And:
The basic way that the rules have been written to favor a few. … You have a tax policy that encourages boards a huge tax incentive to give a huge salary to the CEO.”This language could have come out of Barack Obama’s or John Edward’s mouths with little trouble. It probably couldn’t come out of Hillary Clinton’s mouth. I don’t think that she does populism like that. Unlike many of the national blogs out there, I think that there is a real openness in the GOP base for this.
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Maybe someday I’ll have some time off and can get in on one of those calls or set up a separate interview with Huckabee – we’ll see. I’d be open to the same with Obama as well.
