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Huckabee Fires Back at Karl Rove

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February 10, 2008 2:49 PM

ABC News' Kevin Chupka Reports: Former Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee continued to answer question Sunday as to the status of his candidacy. His viability in the race has come into question of late thanks to many inside the beltway all but handing the GOP nomination to Senator John McCain. Huckabee bristles, however, at calls to drop out, arguing that the race is a campaign and not a "coronation."

In a press conference in Lynchburg, Virginia Sunday afternoon Huckabee reacted to claims from Karl Rove that Huckabee simply couldn’t win the nomination. On CBS’ "Face the Nation" this morning Karl Rove told moderator Bob Shieffer when asked if Huckabee could win, "No. Going into last -- after super Tuesday, for Huckabee to win the nomination, he'd have to take 83 percent of the delegates who are yet to be elected or who are unbound. Bob, you heard it from him, himself. He said he could win, provided that there were mistakes made by his opponent, and that some of these bound or pledged delegates would change their mind. Well, even if they change their mind, they're bound or pledged to vote for the candidate who won their primary."

Huckabee responded in kind, "Karl Rove has also maxed out personal contributions to John McCain so I’m not saying he doesn’t know what he’s talking about politically, but he’s not infallible either. And the point is, Karl is a supporter of John McCain. And I’ve not had my supporters yet to tell me to get out of race."

As for the calls from many in his own party suggesting Huckabee drop out? Huckabee says he’s just playing by the rules of the game, "I’m really not very persuaded by the party officials and the party establishment who come out now and are saying ‘Oh, well John McCain has 700 delegates, we oughta just quit.’ Well when they wrote the rules it said you had to have 1,191."

Huckabee, who is fond of speaking about the 1976 campaign and his support of Ronald Reagan during the primary season, was asked why, if that was so pivotal, did the GOP not hold onto the White House in the end. Careful not criticize President Ford Huckabee suggested that it had to do with energizing the GOP base, something no one has been able to do yet this cycle, "if we do not have a candidate who can excite the base of this country, and particularly the base of our party and make them energetic and going out and getting the folks to put the yard signs in and making phone calls and traveling all over the country asking people to vote, we can lose again.

February 10, 2008 in Giuliani, Rudy | Permalink | User Comments (39)

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Don't mess with Karl Rove or he may drop a house on you ...

Posted by: JIMBO | Feb 10, 2008 2:56:54 PM

Karl Rove is the dejà vu, elections are about vote, people's voice and not Karl Rove's voice.

Posted by: BKMC | Feb 10, 2008 4:05:47 PM

I wondered where Karl Rove was and when he would surface with the media coverage. He must be helping McCain. If I were Huckabee, I would have told Karl Rove to go to the devil. Anyone who has anything to do with Karl Rove is evil. I knew there was a reason that he left the White House and I have written about him being out there doing his dirty work. Why the heck was he on Face the Nation....OUR nation needs to show him the door and boot him out of having anything to do with OUR political system. This guy lied to us about Iraq and so many other issues regarding our security and for the White Housse spying on it's own citizens. This is another of the Bush's moves to continue to scam all of us, the American legal citizens.

Posted by: DAR | Feb 10, 2008 5:34:41 PM

This guy is still not in jail for outing that CIA agent???

Posted by: Justice Seeker | Feb 10, 2008 5:40:40 PM

So the Evil king maker raises his head again. I thought he was laying low hiding out from supoenas. Funny how he deserted Bush after the damage was done.

Posted by: WordSource | Feb 10, 2008 5:49:54 PM

If Huckabee drops out, I still would not support John McCain. There are 4 previous voting Republicans sitting here beside me as I post. They are all going to write in a name.

Posted by: LP | Feb 10, 2008 7:50:47 PM

Remember David and Goliath?

Posted by: Danna | Feb 10, 2008 7:58:23 PM

The 'polite' discourse between Mike and Mac is about to collapse. McCain's people will do anything they can to get Huckabee out of the race. When that fails, out will come the dirty tricks against him. If Huck can somehow succeed despite that and make it a brokered convention, he could win it all. If McCain and the party establishment succeed in destroying him, they fail anyway, since they will also be destroying their conservative base, and the Democrats will win. If McCain had any brains, he would tell all of them to shut up, he is not the nominee yet, and that they need to continue campaigning vigorously. His response to the 'Huckabee' threat is really his first test as a 'national leader' and will give everyone in America a chance to see how he deals with a tough situation. So far, not very impressive.

Posted by: Politico | Feb 10, 2008 8:16:02 PM

Danna, you are correct.
Does anyone remember what happened to Pat Buchanan in 96? Once they realized he might win, he was smeared with lies about being a racist, etc. They will do the same with Huckabee when he wins Tuesday. It might not be the "racist" name, but it will be something. All of McCain's surrogates will be out in force.

Posted by: Jeff from Iowa | Feb 10, 2008 8:30:44 PM

Now that the establishment can not divide the conservative vote anymore he might just have a chance. The way I understand it if Mcain does not get the amount of delegates he needs then he will have to goto the convention and it would be decided there. I think some of Romney's delegates could goto Huckster. Let's face it if the conservative vote was'nt divided in the early rounds Mcain would'nt even be the guy. I will never vot for Mcain because he is not conservative, and if the establishment thinks they can just discard conservatives because they think we will support John just to win. Then they will continue to brush us to the side. No, I will not vote for him and they will realize they can't win without conservatives. It will be better for americans in the long run. We will take our party back because you can't win without us.

Posted by: Paul | Feb 10, 2008 8:33:00 PM

Actually it's "Politico, you are correct".
Just realized, the writer of each post is listed BELOW the post:)
Although David and Goliath is appropriate to:)

Posted by: Jeff from Iowa | Feb 10, 2008 8:34:31 PM

Some choice the citizens of this country have: 1) Obama 2) Clinton 3) McCain 4) Huckabee all of them in the back pocket of the shadow government known as the CFR (Council of Foreign Relations). Looks like we're going to get "comprehensive immigration" whether we like it or not. Every candidate I listed wants open borders, a undeniable fact. It is a undeniable fact that comprehensive immigration will be followed by the North American Union=end of the United States as we know it. I don't understand why the people of this great country want to give up their sovereignty and the US Constitution. I must be missing something.

Posted by: JOG | Feb 10, 2008 8:42:00 PM

I am 57 and have never voted for anyone
who wasn't a conservative. I am still
trying to decide what to do about a
McCain vss Hillary campaign. I would feel a lot better about Huckabee than
McCain. I do agree with Huckabee that there is no reason to drop out now. I sure wanted Duncan Hunter. I know he is in no-ones back pocket including the CFR, TLC or the Bilderbergers. It is a sad day for America. You can laugh if you want, but a North American Union is on the horizon.

Posted by: repron | Feb 10, 2008 9:15:24 PM

Anyone think McCain will have a Howard Dean moment?

Posted by: Alan | Feb 10, 2008 10:25:03 PM

I personally made 60 calls for Huckabee today. My wife and daughter made another 80 besides me. Should he call it quits? Huck, NO! Think we would spend over 4 hours calling if we thought he didn't have a chance?
McCain will be fortunate to win 30% of what's left, now that there's only one strong conservative in the Republican race.
Get ready for a HuckaBOOM. It's coming.

Posted by: Tommy | Feb 10, 2008 10:45:20 PM

I have to totally agree with Gov. Huckabee.

What political correctness is saying in the voices of Karl Rove and others, is ridiculous.

If we are to follow this line of reasoning to its most logical extent, then the remaining states that still have primaries should cancel those primaries.

Huckabee -- bless his soul, is not only staying in the primary fight for his supporters, but he is [whether consciously or unconsciously] exposing the pitfalls and weaknesses of the whole primary process.

Posted by: Nathan Bickel | Feb 10, 2008 11:39:34 PM

The sentiment among the electorate that took McCain "to the woodshed" last summer over the immigration bill he tried to cram down our throats, is the same sentiment that will not let the elite dictate our destiny. We want to change Washington, but it is almost impossible. BUT, we CAN keep the established elite from telling us who is going to run it. We CAN change that, and we will go down trying. A vote for Mike is a voice saying "This is still OUR country".

Posted by: Dominic | Feb 11, 2008 12:01:23 AM

The root of the evil that is taking over this country and the world, is our Federal Reserve banking system. Ron Paul is the only man who has been willing to stare this evil down. The GOP has sold all of us out. I am a RP supporter to the bloody end. I stand with the Huckabee supporters on the issue of the GOP. To the convention we go! May the best man win. That will not be Juan "Amnesty, Debt, and War" McPain.

Posted by: Mike Allard | Feb 11, 2008 1:41:46 AM

Is Huckabee running for "President" of the United States or "Preacher" of the United States? He needs to start thinking about the party and defeating the democrats in Nov. and that won't happen as long as he's in the race. I liked him to begin with and now I find him irritating and arrogant...

Posted by: elli | Feb 11, 2008 6:22:25 AM

what is wrong with them asking huckabee to pull out of the race? didn't he tell romney he should pull out and huckabee had only carried one state at that time. I will not vote for that man and i have checked out some of his records when he was governor of arkansas he was worse than bill clinton. we don't need another president from hope. i can't believe the people that vote anymore that don't check out the person's voting records. i pray that huckabee does not win. he would be very bad for this country. we think we had it bad under slick billy it will be 10 times worse. by the way i voted for the only man fit to be president and that was romney. born in arkansas.

Posted by: donna | Feb 11, 2008 8:08:23 AM

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