The Politico’s Jonathan Martin has a blog post comparing the fundraising success Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee have had in Arkansas. Condensed version: the former Arkansas First Lady (Clinton) raised about six times as much from Arkansas donors as did the former Arkansas governor (Huckabee).
I just chatted by phone with Huckabee on another topic, but asked a final question about this fundraising disparity.
"There’s about 50 Democrats to every Republican in the state. Look at the demographics of Arkansas. Democrats still overwhelmingly dominate the political landscape, so that’s no surprise. I was always out-raised by most all of my opponents and still beat them so that, for me, is not the issue. It’s going to be more about connecting with voters," Huckabee said.
About O.Kay Henderson
Kay is a founding member of the Radio Iowa network newsroom. In 1994, she became the network’s news director. She’s a featured reporter and commentator on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” and the 2002 recipient of the Shelley Award.
Senator Hillary Clinton is planning host her own “Rural Americans for Hillary” lunch and campaign briefing on October 30th in Washington, D.C., at the offices of Troutman Sanders Public Affairs, the lobbying firm for controversial multinational Monsanto. Monsanto doesn’t sound like the kind of “rural Americans” a democratic presidential candidate would necessarily want to be associated with.
Monsanto was one the leading manufacturers who produced Agent Orange for the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. Monsanto also came under heavy public fire with the development of their “Terminator Technology”, a.k.a. “suicide seeds”, in which the seeds coming from a first planting would be sterile thereby forcing farmers to buy their seed from them every year rather than saving their best seed for the next years planting. In 1999 Monsanto called the program off and pledged not to commercialize the technology.
When it comes to the issues facing rural America, it seems like Senator Clinton is listening to corporate lobbyists instead of spending time with struggling family farmers in Iowa.
Senator Clinton clearly does not relate to farmers in rural America. Her idea of talking to rural Americans is having a campaign lunch in Washington, D.C. with agribusiness lobbyists. That includes lobbyists with corporate conglomerates like Monsanto and Tyson Food that are destroying family farms in rural Iowa.
WHY MIKE HUCKABEE MAY BE PRESIDENT
J. Grant Swank, Jr.
The former governor may become President just because enough earnest prayers put him in the White House.
That means that Huckabee is the David versus Goliath GOP candidate. In other words, in human terms he does not stand a chance.
He does not have the money, first of all. His campaign coffers are not overflowing. Further, he’s not one of those names that have been carved into news granite. And remember that he’s also a Baptist preacher.
Will the other candidates’ funds smother Huckabee? Will his comparative newness to the upswing scene hold? And will those who are not evangelical / fundamentalist believers still take to Huckabee?
Those who call themselves “born again Christians” can readily read Huckabee. Why? He’s basic biblical believer. He has the biblical morals, biblical philosophy, biblical hope. He is biblical through and through. There’s not a theological liberal bone in his soul.
Genuine Christians can sense spirit-to-spirit when in the company of a fellow disciple. They don’t need a lot of evidence because there is a transparency present that communicates powerfully.
True, at times we disciples have been fooled by the con artists. The world is not perfect. But may there be enough who come to trust Huckabee.
Following the Sunday night Republican debate in Florida this kind of support hit the Internet: ‘Chuck Norris Endorses Mike Huckabee for President.’ Check it out at http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,304096,00.html
TIME web site featured Huckabee with ‘Huckabee’s Bid for the Christian Right.’ Check it out at http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1674340,00.html
Who knows? The media itself may bring this man to the front without a trainload of campaign cash.
The TIME piece was in-your-face reportage:
“Hitting his stride, Huckabee compared himself to ‘the prophets of old, the ones who spoke truth to power.’ And he set up an altar call for his audience, letting them know exactly what they could do as well to stand up to the powerful.
“In what has to be the first ever presidential candidate shout-out to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Huckabee made his case for the little guy. ‘It’s a lot better to be with David than Goliath,’ he declared.
“Or with Elijah than 850 prophets of Baal. Or with Daniel and the lions than the Babylonians.
“The point was not lost on the crowd of Sunday school veterans: the Bible is, after all, jam-packed with stories of the seemingly weak who triumph, heroes who shock the naysayers.
“’Don’t ever let expediency or electability replace our principles,’ Huckabee urged the crowd. ‘Come on, Mike!’ yelled a man in support. ‘That’s right!’ shouted out others.”
If the nation is ever going to return to a revival base of sane morals—individual integrity, family solidarity, and national pride—it will take a person as qualified as Mike Huckabee.
For those who say he doesn’t stand a prayer, that just might be the call to hope-filled believers to prove those negatives wrong.
So, Christians, you know what’s next. To your knees, brother. To your knees, sister. To your knees.
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Read: http://truthinconviction.us/weblog.php
Monsanto is not only destroying famaily farms, but they are controllong and monopolizing the industry worldwide…
i never did understand why people like him and ralph nader still try for the presidency when everyone in the planet knows they dont stand a chance..