Weyrich Gets Right…

Last month at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New Orleans, several dozen leaders of the “Christian right” met to strategize next steps—but the meeting inevitably included discussion of missteps in the GOP presidential campaign. Michael Farris of the Home School Legal Defense Association, an early supporter of Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, chided the group for cold-shouldering his candidate until it was too late. Others, including Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, disagreed. The meeting quickly threatened to dissolve into accusations, rebuttals, and recriminations.

Then, venerable Paul Weyrich—a founder of the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority, and the Council for National Policy (CNP)—raised his hand to speak. Weyrich is a man whose mortality is plain to see. A freak accident several years ago left him with a spinal injury, which ultimately led to both his legs being amputated in 2005. He now gets around in a motorized wheelchair. He is visibly paler and grayer than he was just a few years ago, a fact not lost on many of his friends in the room, some of whom had fought in the political trenches with him since the 1960s.

The room—which had been taken over by argument and side-conversations—became suddenly quiet. Weyrich, a Romney supporter and one of those Farris had chastised for not supporting Huckabee, steered his wheelchair to the front of the room and slowly turned to face his compatriots. In a voice barely above a whisper, he said, “Friends, before all of you and before almighty God, I want to say I was wrong.”

In a quiet, brief, but passionate speech, Weyrich essentially confessed that he and the other leaders should have backed Huckabee, a candidate who shared their values more fully than any other candidate in a generation. He agreed with Farris that many conservative leaders had blown it. By chasing other candidates with greater visibility, they failed to see what many of their supporters in the trenches saw clearly: Huckabee was their guy

Huckabee planning to run again in a few years

 

By Perry Bacon Jr.

Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 6, 2008; Page A09

Advisers to Mike Huckabee spent yesterday starting to build a conservative coalition that could propel a future run for the White House, hoping to capitalize on the popularity he gained during his unlikely presidential bid.

Using as a model Ronald Reagan’s time between his failed run in 1976 and his success in 1980, the former Arkansas governor plans to help Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and Republican congressional candidates win over conservative Christians in the fall, while looking for a national radio show or other forum that he can use to expand his influence within the party.

And though Huckabee has said that he doubts McCain would offer him the vice presidential slot on the Republican ticket, he has not denied interest in the job. The head of his campaign’s faith-and-values coalition, conservative radio talk show host Janet Folger, said she is broadcasting the phone number of McCain’s campaign office so callers can demand that Huckabee be placed on the ticket. Folger said McCain “needs” to pick Huckabee to ensure that conservative Christians will turn out in November.

Huckabee spent yesterday thanking his supporters, as well as taking a congratulatory call for his performance from President Bush, who officially endorsed McCain yesterday.

Well, it has been nice

Well, it has been good experience blogging here at WAforMike.  You, our visitors, have been great.  The turnout to this blog has been amazing, with thousands of visitors since this blog was started exactly 2 months ago, the 4th of January, just hours after Huckabee won Iowa.  We had great hopes that a great, conservative, Christian canidate would win the nomination and bring true change to America.  Not empty hopes such as the kind Senator Obama offers, but TRUE, solid hopes for change.  Sadly, this has not happened.  With 64% of the results in from Texas, Governer Mike Huckabee has lost to Senator John McCain.  We here at WAforMike commend Mike Huckabee for a well run campaign.  We will throw our weight behind Senator McCain’s campaign now, and recommend that you do so also.  Remember, Senator McCain may be more liberal than some of us like, however, he is still much better than either Senator Obama or Senator Clinton.

We are now blogging a new website, www.trueobamafacts.com, and encourage you to visit the site, and pass out the link to everyone you come in contact with.

Thanks, and God bless you all!

The Bloggers at WAforMike

What about me? – video

Video: Huckabee Supporter Serenade

Huckabee endorses ‘egg’ amendment

DENVER, Feb. 26 (UPI) — GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has endorsed a proposal to amend Colorado’s constitution to define a fertilized egg as a person, a published report said.

Huckabee — a former governor of Arkansas and Baptist minister — offered his endorsement Monday for the Colorado Human Life Amendment, The Denver Post reported.

The ballot initiative is being promoted by Kristi Burton, 20, and her organization, Colorado for Equal Rights.

“This proposed constitutional amendment will define a person as a human being from the moment life begins at conception,” Huckabee said in a statement. “With this amendment, Colorado has an opportunity to send a clear message that every human life has value.”

Backers of the initiative are trying to collect an estimated 76,000 petition signatures to get the measure on the November ballot.

If Colorado voters approve the measure, it would guarantee state constitutional rights to life, liberty, equality of justice and due process of law to every fertilized egg — and could set the stage for outlawing abortion in the state, the newspaper said.

Keep on Running

Glenn to back Huckabee at GOP convention

Midland Daily News

Midlander Gary Glenn plans to attend the Republican National Convention as one of two at-large Michigan alternates supporting former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee for president.

    The convention Sept. 1-4 will be at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown Saint Paul, Minn.

    It will be Glenn’s second GOP national convention.

    He was an alternate supporting George H.W. Bush at the 1988 convention at New Orleans’ Super Dome. Glenn’s wife, Annette, was an alternate supporting Ronald Reagan at the 1984 GOP national convention in Dallas.

     In an e-mail message, Gary Glenn wrote that if Sen. John McCain hasn’t wrapped up the presidential nomination before the convention:

    * more than eight Michigan delegates might not vote for McCain and

    * Huckabee supporters are confident that a convention dominated by social conservatives will eventually turn to Huckabee. In part, that’s because he’s “the only candidate who has always supported both a Human Life Amendment and a Marriage Protection Amendment,” Glenn wrote.

    Also, Huckabee believes protecting people’s First Amendment rights of free speech is more important than McCain’s campaign finance legislation “that violates those rights to protect incumbent politicians from accountability,” Glenn wrote.

    Huckabee’s continuing campaign “ensures that more socially conservative delegates will continue to be elected” in states which haven’t yet voted, Glenn added. Those additional delegates “will strengthen our ability to protect and preserve principles in the Republican platform which Sen. McCain does not support, such as constitutionally protecting both prenatal life and one-man, one-woman marriage,” Glenn continued.

    Glenn has been president of the American Family Association of Michigan since October 1999.

    In the Michigan Republican primary election Jan. 15,  Huckabee’s statewide vote earned him two at-large delegates. They are newly elected Republican National Committeeman Keith Butler of Southfield and Bill Voorheis of Clio.

    Chosen recently as GOP national convention delegates from the Fourth Congressional District, of which Midland County is a part, were Kim Emmons of Clare County, Carolyn Curtin of Evart and state Sen. Jason Allen of Traverse City. Curtin is a State Board of Education member and chairperson of a Fourth District Republicans’ organization. That GOP group annually raises money at events in Clare and Mount Pleasant to support Republican candidates.

    The three national convention alternates recently elected by Fourth District Republican activists are Wilma McQueen of Leelanaw County, former Saginaw County Republican Chairman Ken Shapley and Gerald Wall of Roscommon County.

    The district — represented in the U.S. House by Midland Republican Dave Camp — includes part of both Saginaw and Shiawassee counties and all of 12 other counties.

On Our Terms – Video

On the trail in Texas

My candidacy is, and always has been, about convictions – and the issues and core values that are critical to our country’s future, such protecting traditional marriage, the sanctity of life, individual empowerment and a revamping of our federal tax code to encourage productivity. It’s about lifting Americans up, from hope to higher ground, with a positive vision for America’s future that is grounded in a belief in our nation’s basic goodness, and defined by a ‘can—do’ spirit that knows how to gets things done. My goal is to offer Republican voters, a voice and a choice in this election.

The last four out of five U.S. Presidents have been governors, and there is a reason for this: the challenges facing our nation require steady, experienced, executive management. As governor of Arkansas for 10 ½ years, I delivered on my promises to cut taxes 94 times, reduce welfare by half, reform health care for children and our education system, and transform our transportation infrastructure. My record of results, achieved with a Democrat legislature, gives a meaningful viability to my candidacy.

There are millions of Republicans from across this country who have yet to be heard from. Clearly we were disappointed by the results in Wisconsin, but I look forward to campaigning hard in Texas and Ohio this week – and taking my case before the good people of those states. I encourage you to leave a comment on our campaign blog today and share with me your thoughts.Emailing you from the road in Texas and with deep gratitude,