Tag: Mike Huckabee

What Would Jesus Do?

You’ll probably here a quote from this answer over and over again from last night’s debate…

Mike Huckabee was asked, “would Jesus support the death penalty?”
The clip you’ll probably hear is, “Jesus was to smart to never run for public office.”

But there’s a whole minute before that you probably won’t see due to time. As Gov. of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee is the only person running on the GOP ticket who’s ever had to give his signature to approve a death penalty and I don’t think he took his decision lightly.

There are those who say… how can you be pro life and believe in a death penalty, because there’s a real difference between the process of adjudication where a person is deemed guilty after a thorough judicial process, and is put to death by all of us as citizens under a law, as opposed to an individual making a decision to terminate a life that has never been deemed guilty because the life never was given the chance to even exist.

Thoughts on the debate

I didn’t get to see the GOP debate but I’ve read and seen some good things about Mike Huckabee.
Chris sent me a text shortly after it was all over and asked if Huckabee was as cool as he seemed.
I assured him (for what it’s worth) I was a huge fan.

Watching the post coverage there were some critics of Huckabee on Anderson Cooper’s wrap-up or thought he was “out there” because he wanted to abolish the IRS. They seemed to think this was just a dumb idea and seemed to think that Huckabee just wants to get rid of the IRS and has no plans to replace it – apparently they missed his comments about the FairTax and their completely ignorant on the topic. Glad these analysts get paid the big bucks instead of me.

ABC’s Nightline gave a pretty good run down from what I could tell. But the only clips of Huckabee focused on his one-liner jokes rather than any of his substantive comments. It will be interesting to see how NPR and others cover the debate.

There’s also some great responses online already.
Continue reading Thoughts on the debate

NPR says Mike Huckabee commands attention

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Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee suddenly finds himself in the media’s spotlight. He has hovered just below the media radar and had not been taken seriously for the GOP presidential nomination. But his lead in one Iowa poll changes that.

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Hucakbee a fiscal conservative

Huckabee is a Fiscal Conservative
By Dick Morris

As Mike Huckabee rises in the polls, an inevitable process of vetting him for conservative credentials is under way in which people who know nothing of Arkansas or of the circumstances of his governorship weigh in knowingly about his record. As his political consultant in the early ’90s and one who has been following Arkansas politics for 30 years, let me clue you in: Mike Huckabee is a fiscal conservative.

A recent column by Bob Novak excoriated Huckabee for a “47 percent increase in state tax burden.” But during Huckabee’s years in office, total state tax burden — all 50 states combined — rose by twice as much: 98 percent, increasing from $743 billion in 1993 to $1.47 trillion in 2005.

In Arkansas, the income tax when he took office was 1 percent for the poorest taxpayers and 7 percent for the richest, exactly where it stood when he left the statehouse 11 years later. But, in the interim, he doubled the standard deduction and the child care credit, repealed capital gains taxes for home sales, lowered the capital gains rate, expanded the homestead exemption and set up tax-free savings accounts for medical care and college tuition.

Most impressively, when he had to pass an income tax surcharge amid the drop in revenues after Sept. 11, 2001, he repealed it three years later when he didn’t need it any longer.
Continue reading Hucakbee a fiscal conservative

Huckabee airs new issues ad

The new ad airing in Iowa from the Mike Huckabee camp loses the humor of his first but points out his faith and some of the issues he places on the front burner because of it…

I think it’s a strong ad that will either draw people towards him or turn them further away. If you agree with the issues, it will draw you closer – if you don’t – you’ll tune it out and maybe the Huckabee campaign

What do you think?

The best campaign website

Zephyr Teachout, writes that “Mike Huckabee’s campaign has the most effective online operation of any of the candidates.”

I think there are a lot of things folks can learn from this in any organization – especially in ministry.
I think each of these areas are ones that churches, ministries and other political candidates and organizations can put into play.
Here’s the highlights:

  1. He has the best use of video in the year that YouTube matteres the most. He is the only candidate consistently–every day–sharing user-created videos on his blog.
  2. He has done minor blogger outreach since April, to great effect; the twice-a-month phone calls with Huckabee and bloggers (homeschoolers, godbloggers, anyone who wanted to sign up)
  3. His blog has typos. This is not in itself a good thing, but evidence of a good thing. A website is not a candidate, and it is not a flyer, but most people encounter websites more like they do an individual than they do a flyer–does it excude some authenticity, does it actually attempt to communicate, or does it try to shut down any conversation except “My candidate is the bees knees.”
  4. His website is not a Stepford Site. It has big buttons that are about making it easy for users, not slick presentation that are about making it impressive for the webteam.
  5. He encourages independent action. He encourages people to go to Meetup. He encourages the growth of Huck’s Army (a very active independent Huckabee forum).

“All of this has led to massive rise in traffic (now well above Clinton’s and Obama’s, only lower than Ron Paul’s). And like Ron Paul’s supporters’ use of the internet, it is helping him in the polls and in support around the country. Unlike Ron Paul, the “help” may lead to winning key states and the primary.”
In what areas could you improve your ministry website/blog by utilizing some of these tips?