Des Moines – When Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee took the stage at a packed hotel ballroom here to declare victory in the Iowa caucuses, the scene resembled a religious revival as much as a victory fete.
“That’s right!” “Amen!” “Hallelujah!” the crowd screamed at Huckabee, a former Baptist preacher, between chants of “Huckaboom! Huckaboom!”
But as much as Iowa’s powerful evangelical movement contributed to Huckabee’s astonishing victory, many supporters said rival Mitt Romney’s attack ads also played a role.
“Iowans are smart people,” said Cynthia Kammeier, 42, an investment compliance analyst who said she switched from Romney to Huckabee because of the negative ads.
“When the average Iowan sees one ad from Huckabee making his case and then forty ads attacking him, they’re not buying it,” Kammeier said. “They aren’t looking for a slick politician. They are looking for someone they can trust.”
Romney outspent Huckabee 15-to-1 in Iowa and has outspent him 20-to-1 so far nationwide, according to Huckabee’s camp. Much of that money was spent on ads assailing Huckabee as soft on taxes, undocumented immigrants and crime.
Three days before the vote, Huckabee was poised to launch a counter-attack ad on Romney that accused him of flip-flopping on such issues as abortion. But in a bizarre news conference here, he announced he had yanked the ad because he couldn’t “sleep at night” if he resorted to negative campaigning. Then, however, he showed the pulled Romney ad to 100 reporters with cameras rolling.
At caucusing centers and at Huckabee’s victory speech, supporters said they believed their candidate had shown the ad only to prove it really existed – even though he showed it while standing in front of a backdrop reading, “Enough is Enough!”
Supporters also brushed aside concerns that Huckabee’s recent comments about Pakistan and Iran suggested he was out of touch on national security.
“Faith is what I find most important in a leader. With faith, a leader can tackle the other issues,” said Brian Thomas, 33, a shaggy-haired, bespectacled risk management analyst who is Pentecostal.
Evangelicals account for nearly 40 percent of likely GOP caucus voters in Iowa. Number crunchers and pollsters will undoubtedly be combing through voting data in the coming days to determine how many of them also object to negative advertising.
In the meantime, the big question is whether Huckabee was right in claiming in his victory speech that “what is happening tonight in Iowa is going to start really a prairie fire of new hope and zeal.”
His pugilistic campaign chairman, GOP veteran Ed Rollins, who helped engineer Ronald Reagan’s landslide in 1980, crowed that funds are already pouring in to replenish coffers so empty that “we were just limping along.” That will allow Huckabee to start building at least a shadow of the campaign machinery that Romney possesses.
But in live-free-or-die New Hamphire, voters may be less impressed with Huckabee’s religious credentials. And as one reporter reminded Rollins during a spin session after Huckabee’s victory speech, “Folks in South Carolina don’t necessarily dislike negative advertising.”
Letta Tayler
Comments (5)
I like the Huckster.....But,
The hiring of Ed Rollins as campaign manager was the end of the Huckster. Rollins has been B Class candidate manager for many years now.
Ed Rollins was working down in Florida last year (Kathleen Harris) and left in the middle of her Campaign, receiving negative feed back on that move for leaving a candidate in the mist of a race.......
Ed Rollins then came up to New York State to take the Reins of: "I See Black Helicopters Flying by my Window, K.T McFarland".......(What a story that was)
His candidate (McFarland) LOST.....To my candidate, Mayor John Spencer of Yonkers in a GOP primary ....
In short, with the Huckster hiring Rollins reflects a lot to the money people in New York. He also has the GOP establishment working against him. This should draw the end of the road for him. Good politician but.....Has a second or third place finsh possible in SC
I do know from the other campaigns that it will not be Rudy at this point. Rudy could concede Florida which was his "Firewall" if things don't change real soon.
Jim Kelly - NY Conservative Campaigns
Huckabee has risen to the top against all odds and has proven dozens of critics wrong. He's gotta long road ahead of him, but from his track record, it's obvious that he'll emerge victorious in the end. Congratulations to Huckabee!
I find it hard to believe in this day and age how Mike Huckabee was able to pull off the political crime of the century. If Mike Huckabee had made a racial statement about a black candidate or a sexist comment about a female candidate, American would have not allowed him to capitalize on such statements. Why did his religious bigotry toward another candidates faith not bring such rath from a nation that has worked for hundreds of years to put such thinking behind us. What a double standard and everyone seems blind to it even though it was exactly what brought Mike Huckabee to the forefront in Iowa.
"Flip-Flopper" is code name for "No, I will not vote for Mitt because he is a Mormon"; which = BIGOTRY!!!!!!!!!
Flip-flopping means you ran "Strong" Commercials for your campaigns in Massachusetts describing yourself as a defender of being "Pro-Abortion" & "Anti-2nd Amendment" & "Pro Gay Rights" (More rights for gays then traditional families.
Now one has to decribe and defend yourself to Conservatives why you have changed your mind within eight months time.
That is Mitt's problem, not so much as this Morman stuff. Polls indicate this from those voting....Trusting the man for his word and past actions.
Jim Kelly - NY Conservative Campaigns.