Huckabee returns to Iowa!
November 22, 2010 4 Comments
Mike Huckabee returned to Iowa. The professional articles and professional bloggers have written about his press conference and speech at the Iowa Family Policy Center Event in Des Moines. Interested people will be able to read exactly what Mike said and see photos of his time on stage playing bass with the Praise Band and video of the Press Conference.
While these articles document the actual words spoken by Mike Huckabee this post comes from the heart of a Huckabee supporter.
Some background:
In 2008 I caucused for Mike Huckabee in an overly crowded room and counted what I thought would be 7 voters for Huckabee. My count was off by 40 as there were 47 votes cast for Mike. I left the caucus room to hear the reports that Mike Huckabee was the winner of the Iowa Caucus. With excitement and delight I headed for the Victory Celebration in Des Moines. There I was surrounded by many other happy Huckabee supporters and witnessed the very ecstatic Mike Huckabee revel in his win and success for all the time spent with Iowa voters in the hot Iowa summer and cold Iowa winter.
I watched Mike Huckabee all through the 2008 campaign. I saw him placed on the side of the stage during the debates. I listened to the great amount of wisdom and information he shared in the small amount of time he was allowed to answer questions. I heard pundits and reporters make fun of Huckabee’s name, how silly he looked in his Iowa hunting gear, and make comments about his remarkable sense of humor. Let’s just say that reporters and others did not always appreciate Huckabee’s sense of humor as much as I did.
It was with great sadness for me that Mike Huckabee dropped out of the 2008 Primary and John McCain went on to run against our now President Obama.
My Huckabee for President campaign buttons, bumper stickers, and yard signs went in to storage but my Huckabee heart and soul continued in action because of a few words scratched on a piece of paper and kept in plain sight for me to see daily:
“YOU BE THE SOMEBODY – YOU DO THE SOMETHING.” Mike Huckabee
Fast forward to 2010 election.
Grass roots Huckabee Iowans worked for Bob Vander Plaats and other local candidates. By now we were seasoned and experienced with net working, literature drops, and making phone calls and more. We were also hearing speculation about which Republican candidates would enter the 2012 Presidential race.
With the election over the speculation has increased. On a daily basis the names of Palin and Romney are uttered as the front runners for the Republican Party. Numerous on line polls are up for voters who follow such things to vote for who they think will be the nominee. Potential candidates make the trip to Iowa. The drama builds.
The drama for me continued on Sunday, November 21.
Mike Huckabee returned to Iowa.
I watched the large crowd file in to the IFPCA event. There were seasoned citizens, young couples holding hands, people in wheel chairs, babies in infant carriers, teenagers. Iowans in suits and Iowans in jeans.
I listened in as Mike Huckabee answered questions from the media. Here was the Huckabee I had come to respect and admire with his terrific communication skills and easy going way to answer even more Palin questions.
I observed those in the audience enjoy Mike playing a guitar with the Praise Band. More delight.
And then, with so many others, I listened to Mike give the keynote address.
No teleprompter and speaking from the heart. His kind voice and inspirational message listened to with such intensity that I was reminded of the saying ‘you could have heard a pin drop’. Well, except for the row of men sitting behind me that at certain times in the speech would say “Amen”!
Yes, Mike Huckabee had returned to Iowa!
And Mike Huckabee has something that the media seems to fail to understand in their passion to say ‘Palin’ and ‘Romney’.
Mike Huckabee has boots on the ground in Iowa. And not just boots, he has grandma types with Huckabee hearts with signs and buttons ready to dust off when taken out of storage. He has volunteers who are now experienced with net working not just with other Iowa supporters but nationally, as well.
Mike Huckabee has said “this is my race – my pace” and while we wait for his official word as to whether or not he will be a candidate for the 2012 election he did give people like me a message on this visit to Iowa. It came through loud and clear and it came in the form of a beautiful purple tie.
Purple is my favorite color. Mike Huckabee is my favorite candidate. My grandma walking shoes are ready.
I’m a professional blogger? Somebody tell my pocketbook that, LOL.
Wow! It sounds like the Second Coming, alright.
I remember being impressed the first time I heard Huck on the radio. He said for some people, terrorism comes in the form of a pink slip. Does he still talk like that?
From what I heard, he’s realized that kind of populism is what turned Wall Street against him. He won’t be so sympathetic to poor Christians in the future–just concentrate on the self-righteous ones who detest gays.
Hey Jerry, where have you been since those three judges lost their jobs?
It looks like I said “self-righteous” just in time.