Governor Mike Huckabee's campaign is charging forward, full steam ahead! If you haven't already, I challenge you to climb aboard the Huckabee train. You might not ride first class, but the other passengers are friendly, and are all interested in moving America forward.

Huckabee's campaign reports great movement during the third quarter. Read my summary below to find out where things are headed now that the train's left the station.



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Huckabee's On The Money...

Daily campaign contributions tripled, on average, to $805,000 per day from mid-August to the end of the third quarter. Additionally, the campaign has raised $160,000 these first three days of October.

Sometimes, campaigns spend a lot of money to raise money. Not so with fiscally responsible Mike Huckabee. It has only cost the Governor's campaign an average of eight cents on the dollar spent on on-line advertising, consultants, website development and servers, with 60% of all fund-raising being accomplished on-line.

It's also important to note that by and large, it isn't the wealthy who are lining up to support our candidate. The average on-line contribution is just $86.

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New Initiatives Coming Soon!

Governor Huckabee is going to initiate a national call for Volunteers tomorrow. However, the campaign blog has a post up now and the volunteers are already pouring in.

Two other initiatives to be announced soon include "I Like Mike" Debate Watch Parties and the "Walk for Mike" events. Look for details to be announced later this week.

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Getting on Board...

You don't need a ticket, just a computer! Click on the link to Huckabee's campaign headquarters to the right to find out how you can get involved in supporting a great man as the next President of the United States.

For those of you who may still be considering Fred Thompson, please consider this...

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Issue Date: www.insightmag.com - Sept. 25-Oct. 1, 2007, Posted On: 9/25/2007

Washington Watch: Huckabee: The underdog on the march

The summer of 2007 has come and gone with one Republican Cinderella fading quickly while another rises rapidly: such is the contrast between Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee. Since various candidates have thrown their hat in the ring for the Republican nomination, the conservative base has been asking: Who is our man? While Giuliani has the greatest charisma and national appeal, his stance on social issues has left conservatives cold. They cannot find the energy to support him. He appears, at best, to be “the one who can stop Hillary.” But this is like voting for a plumber, not a president.



For months, conservatives have been hoping that there is an individual, a hidden savior who will emerge to captivate their hearts. Until Thompson became an official candidate, he was the mythical “Reagan”: perhaps this actor too would have the charm, grace and conservative credentials of the Great Communicator. No sooner has Thompson made his official bid than it has become painfully obvious that he is a horrible speaker, has no new ideas and is not likely to win the Republican nomination.



For example, at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conference in July, Thompson presented a speech in a room full of journalists and state legislators. Here was his opportunity to impress an important group of opinion makers. Instead, he appeared ill-prepared, he wore glasses and looked down as he read his speech, made little eye contact and uttered themes that could have been taken from a lecture written twenty years ago. “The size of the federal government must be reduced,” he declared. Really? Did he come to that conclusion in between takes of Law and Order? He did not have any fresh ideas on how exactly the Government Mammoth can be shrunk nor did he seem to recognize that the electorate is more concerned with the state of Britney Spear’s mental health than with the size of government. In short, he was bland, lethargic and woefully out of touch. The reaction in the room was a harbinger of the national reaction to come: great hope fading into disillusionment and then sheer indifference.



National polls indicate that Rudy Giuliani still leads the Republican pack. Even conservatives reluctantly have to admit that a plumber, after all, is better than the handyman who doesn’t want to come to your home, doesn’t initially have the right address and doesn’t know what to do when he finally gets there. Thompson will turn out to be the summer fling of 2007.



Yet, as disappointing as is Thompson, there is hope on the horizon for conservatives; there is a dark horse on the march--one whose mane gleams a little brighter every day, and one who, as he gallops forward from the sunny horizon, has a gleam that goes from black to sheer white. The contrast between Thompson and Huckabee could not be greater. When Huckabee spoke at the very same venue, the crowd was mesmerized and moved. He is full of energy and zeal; eager to improve an America he clearly loves.



Mike Huckabee, the former Baptist preacher and two-term governor of Arkansas, has all of the skills, attributes and credentials conservatives have been looking for. He is an avid and uncompromising proponent of life. His brave, passionate speeches against abortion have been amongst the most stirring of the campaign so far. He opposes same-sex marriage and civil unions; he supports teaching creationism in public schools. He is not packaged, stiff and artificial: he speaks with the depth of conviction of a man who has a spiritual life. He is, in essence, an authentic Christian.



Moreover, he has been consistent and firm on the war on terror. He has a steely and level-headed view of the dangers presented by Islamic fascism. He has not buckled under the weight of public opinion—he has supported Bush’s troop surge and has even expressed his support for the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. On foreign affairs, he speaks in a clear, forthright and uncompromising manner—as a leader confronting national enemies should.



He has also been prone to a few folksy antics which have rendered him endearing to the Arkansas electorate and which reveal his overall ability to relate to the common man: in order to garner support for a sales tax to improve the state’s park system he traveled across the Arkansas river in a boat; when the Governor’s mansion was being remodeled, he moved into a mobile home on the mansion grounds in order to save the state money; he lost 110 pounds due to a medical recommendation, then wrote a health book and ran a marathon. He has also secured the people’s trust by his actions as governor: for example, he provided speedy assistance for Katrina victims who fled to Arkansas and he was on the vanguard in health care in providing a program that cut the number of uninsured children in his state in half (from 18% to 9%). Due to his record in Arkansas, he was declared by Time magazine in November 2005 to be one of the five best governors in the U.S.



Conservatives may be a little weary of his fiscal record and his lax views on immigration. Nonetheless, they can count on him to be consistent in his social conservatism and his defense of national interests. More than any of this, he is a man of character. He, unlike Giuliani, can represent a striking contrast to the libertinism of the Clintons.



It is no wonder then that as Republicans take stock of their options, Mike Huckabee surges ahead. In August, Newt Gingrich referred to Huckabee “as the most interesting dark horse”; Gingrich predicted that Huckabee will catch fire with Republican primary voters due to his candor and authenticity. In fact, in the Iowa straw poll in August, Huckabee came in second behind Romney—all the more remarkable given how much less money the former Arkansas governor has spent on his campaign. Huckabee is also making headway in New Hampshire and South Carolina. Thus, in the summer of 2007, the Cinderella conservatives have been looking for did not turn out to be Fred Thompson. Instead, the glass slipper best fits the underdog candidate who was already in the race.



-Washington Watch is a regular column published in Insight.

Wow. Even former President Bill Clinton says that Huckabee has a chance. What do you say?

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Mike Huckabee Gains National Momentum
Positive Recognition as “Dark Horse Candidate” to Win GOP Nomination
October 01, 2007
NEWS RELEASE

Little Rock, AR – Former AR Governor and Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee received praise from politics’ ‘odd couple’ – former President Bill Clinton and former Speaker Newt Gingrich –who said Sunday, in separate interviews, that he is the most likely “dark horse candidate” to win the GOP nomination.

Huckabee, who now ranks fourth in Iowa among likely Republican Caucus-Goers, welcomed the positive comments, saying his 1st place win in the recent “Values Voter” poll – along with other significant developments, has buoyed his chances for victory.

Huckabee is now ahead of Sen. John McCain in Iowa and nearly tied with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, according to a Sept. 29 Newsweek poll conducted with 1,215 Iowa registered voters by Princeton Survey Research Associates International on Sept. 26-27.

“The Newsweek poll reflects what we’ve been feeling on the ground for some time: that there is steady, upward momentum for my campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire, and other early primary states,” said Huckabee.

Huckabee, who participated in one of Gingrich’s ‘American Solutions’ workshops in New Hampshire on Saturday, said he was pleased by the former Speaker’s comments on ABC News’ “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” that he is an appealing candidate who would be “instantly viable” if given funds to succeed.

“Obviously we’re making a similar pitch to our supporters and donors,” said Huckabee. “We’ve got a winning message. Our focus is on the money game.”

Former President Clinton, who also appeared on the ABC show, said Huckabee is the only GOP “dark horse that’s got any kind of chance” of winning the GOP nomination. Clinton also said his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY), is the likely Democratic nominee.

Last month, a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed Huckabee and former Gov. Mitt Romney nearly tied in respective head to head match-ups against Hillary Clinton. Clinton led Huckabee 50-36 with 6% undecided, while she led Romney 51-38 with 5% undecided. The poll also gave Huckabee the lowest negative ratings among all Republican candidates for President, boding well in a potential match-up against Clinton.

Huckabee said Sen. Clinton’s “front-runner” status gives her a natural advantage, which could be overcome “once Republicans rally around their candidate.”

Campaign Manager Chip Saltsman agreed, saying that a Huckabee-Clinton match-up would be formidable. “Since the Iowa Straw poll, Gov. Huckabee has been gaining upward momentum in nearly every poll. Recent results in an American Research Group poll, released last month, show Gov. Huckabee is leading Mitt Romney among Republicans in South Carolina, and leading Fred Thompson in both Iowa and New Hampshire. These trends all indicate one thing: Mike Huckabee is a candidate who has the ‘right stuff’ to win.”

Thank you, NY Times, for covering this debate!

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Pasted from New York Times
September 18, 2007, 5:49 pm
Values Voters Pick Huckabee
By Michael Luo

For all those wondering whether Mitt Romney can break through among Christian conservatives, add this data point: he was the only candidate who received zero votes in a straw poll after last night’s Values Voters Debate, an event he and the other leading Republican contenders decided to skip.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee was the runaway winner with 64 percent of the vote, raising anew the question of whether Christian conservative leaders and voters might be able to coalesce around him as a longshot candidate and propel him to the first tier in the Republican race.

The rest of the pack: Rep. Ron Paul, of Texas, 12 percent; Alan Keyes, who made his debut as a candidate at the debate, 5 percent, Senator Sam Brownback, 5 percent; Rep. Duncan Hunter 4 percent; Fred D. Thompson, 4 percent; Rep. Tom Tancredo, 2 percent; Rudolph W. Giuliani 1 percent, Senator John McCain and John Cox, 1 percent; Mr. Romney, 0 percent.

Mr. Romney, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Giuliani and Mr. McCain all passed on the event, citing scheduling conflicts, even though Mr. Giuliani stumped in Florida yesterday and Mr. Romney and Mr. Thompson are there today.

The event featured a Who’s Who list of conservative activists as debate questioners, including Phyllis Schafly, founder and President of Eagle Forum, Don Wildmon, founder and chaiman of the American Family Association, and Paul Weyrich, founder and President of the Free Congress Foundation. The poll was taken among several hundred people who were selected by the conservative leaders to cast a ballot.

An intriguing set of statistics was the change in the candidates’ poll numbers before and after the debate. Mr. Huckabee nearly doubled his total of 34 percent before the debate, while Mr. Thompson plummeted from 15 percent; Mr. Giuliani started at 5 percent;Mr. McCain, 4 percent; Mr. Romney, 4 percent.

The event was streamed live on ValuesVoterDebate.com and the a href=”http://www.AFA.net”>American Family Association’s Web site. It was also broadcast by a pair of Christian radio networks.
Janet Folger, a member of the debate’s host committee and president of Faith 2 Action, a group that works to unite “pro-family” organizations, excoriated the candidates who skipped the event, especially Mr. Thompson and Mr. Romney who are angling for conservative votes, and said their non-participation would cost them.

“They have the mentality of, ‘Look, we’re going to get you guys anyway because you don’t have anywhere to go,’” she said. “What literally happened last night is values voters moved from the back of the bus to the driver’s seat. We’re now going to see a united front.”

She said that many Christian conservatives had been praying for a clear winner to emerge from the debate, which is what happened. As a result, she said, she will be casting her lot in now with Mr. Huckabee.

“The values voters have spoken,” she said. “It’s loud and clear. It’s unmistakable.”

Go to www.MikeHuckabee.com for more on Vertical Day before mid-morning tomorrow, September 25. Click on the link to the right. Don't miss out!