Dialing for Huckabee

It's all hands on deck for Mike Huckabee, literally.

That's the subject line on an e-mail Chip Saltsman, Huckabee's campaign manager, has sent to supporters of his boss nationwide asking for their help in phone-bank operations for both Tuesday's Republican presidential primary in Florida and the raft of contests on Feb. 5.

Huckabee is desperately in need of another breakout showing -- comparable to his scrappy victory in the Iowa caucuses -- to remain a major player in the GOP race. But money, never his campaign's strong suit, is in particularly short supply. So to compensate, Saltsman is asking for a Herculean grassroots effort on behalf of his candidate.

In his e-mail, the aide writes that his plan "calls for every Huckabee supporter to get involved in helping us identify and turn out" likely voters for the former Arkansas governor. The memo goes on to say that an online phone bank has been established "designed to give campaign supporters, no matter where you live, the ability" to rouse other folks to cast ballots for Huckabee in the upcoming faceoffs.

And it's not just a phone call or two that ...

Saltsman is envisions. He asks in his e-mail: "Will you contact 10 voters on Governor Huckabee's behalf?  25 voters?  50 voters or more?"

He says that "short, telemarketing scripts" will be provided. Focusing on the Florida vote, he adds: "Nationalizing this effort will give us the ability to contact more potential Huckabee voters than our Orlando phone bank is able to do."

And make up -- at least a bit --for Huckabee's inability to reach those possible backers through an aggressive advertising campaign.

Now, if Huckabee was Mitt Romney, he would simply write a personal check to beef up staffing at that phone bank in Orlando. But then, he'd face pesky questions about how much of his own money he's spending, like the one posed to Romney at Thursday's night candidate debate (and which Romney proceeded to dodge).

-- Don Frederick

 

Comments

[Ian Repley]

I've already placed 100 calls for Huck, and I'll be working the entire weekend over at http://mikehuckabee.com where I'll be served up 20 at a time, once I select the phone bank. It's an amazing technology they're using, and I've obtained good responses. I've tailored a simply script focusing on the FairTax. All one need do is watch the interplay between Sen. McCain and Gov. Huckabee at the debate in Florida to know why people are opening their ears: http://snipr.com/flftanswer

[Allen Fuller]

Huckabee may not be the most likely candidate to win, but he is not completely out of the running yet.

First of all, he does have a core of very committed supporters. He represents several important but underrepresented groups in the conservative movement: the social conservatives; the FairTax advocates; the "crunchy cons", and conservatives who believe in fair trade. He also has very strong crossover appeal due to his non-Republican lingo... though at this point it has hurt him more than it has helped him.

Even though the proposals he embraces are practical conservative solutions overall, some felt uncomfortable with his rhetoric and thus became easy prey to misleading attacks on Huckabee that seemed to confirm their uneasiness. Thus, although many objective analyses on their records and positions place Huckabee close to or even to the right of Romney (see OnTheIssues.org for a good example), he has already been branded a "liberal" or even a "socialist" in many conservative circles.

Nevertheless, as someone who myself is in touch with a large part of the "conservative pulse," I think there is still a chance for a comeback for Huckabee. He does have strong support in a lot of southern states. Although the conservative "conventional wisdom" about him has started to gel, I am seeing signs that he has started to chip through this barrier.

Duncan Hunter's endorsement of Huckabee is a good example. Mr. Border Fence himself endorsed someone that the pundits have decided was "Mr. Open Borders." How could that be? Could it possibly be that Huckabee's immigration plan, and his commitment to it, is actually solid enough to win over the man for whom this was THE main driving issue?

In the Florida debate, too, Huckabee showed he was both fiscally conservative yet practical about how to stimulate the economy. Even many of his critics, to their own consternation, found themselves agreeing with his idea to improve the infrastructure rather than just put money in the pockets of people who would likely spend it in ways that won't necessarily stimulate the economy. Some pointed out that this would provide a short-term boost to the economy and a long-term improvement as well.

The challenge for Huckabee is to finish demolishing this wall of lies that has been erected in the minds of too many conservatives. It may not happen in time for him to win in Florida, but many voters are steadily coming around to see him as he really is, in spite of the pundits. In South Carolina for example, he comfortably won the vote of self-identified conservative voters.

If his supporters do not flake out on him, and if he continues to break through the misconceptions, he will still be a force to reckon with in plenty of key states on February 5th.

[Shelby]

As voters learn more abut Huckabee his chances of winning will continue to DECREASE. Who could feel comfortable voting for an ex-minister who is listed on the Top 10 List of Most Corrupt Politicians for 2007, along with Hillary Clinton?

Also, his son brutally tortured and killed a dog and got fired for it as a counselor at the Boy Scouts. Huckabee hindered the investigation of animal cruelty of his son, David. Is Mike Huckabee someone we should trust? I never would!

[Will Riddle]

Well it's definitely true that Huckabee is having to fight disinformation from the right. He's clearly more conservative than Romney. Even on economic issues, what may make a good sound byte as "liberalism" on the surface, on closer examination doesn't look that way at all.

I will say though that I don't think he's going to make any inroads with people for whom conservatism is a religion. He needs more middle of the road types. Honestly all of this is probably good for Christians, to realize that we're just as much beholden to rich white Republicans as the black Christians are to rich white Democrats.

[Katie]

I've made 22 calls so far this afternoon. Huckabee is truly a man of the people, and I intend to do all I can to prove that a man with ideas instead of money wins over the man with just the money. He's the most fiscally responsible candidate running, and you don't need to look far to see that. He's spent less (FAR less) than any other candidate running on either ticket, and yet still manages to place 2nd in National polls. Maybe it's because people aren't swayed by money anymore, they look at what people say. Huh. Who knew?
Vote for Huck and tell your friends. Be a part of this!

[Mike B]

Mike Huckabee, whatever flaws you see in him, is the real thing. He's not perfect but he is the same guy he was before he started running for president.

It took a while for an agnostic like me to get past the religion thing but after a while I noticed it was the media that brings up the subject most of the time not him. He is no theocrat. Once you do a little independent research the bias against him becomes obvious.

All of his supporters I have talked to around here are, like me, small business owners and self employed professionals. Not exactly what the media portrays.

I became a supporter because of the fair tax and his call for increased spending for space and science research. Again not something you hear much about on FOX news or CNN.

Romney is just a well designed advertising campaign. When he travels to the next state he plugs new poll data into the formula and presto - a new Mitt!

I will continue to support the honest if not perfect candidate and not the media construct that is Romney.