Huckabee Appealing To Hunters, Gun Owners And The Common Man

It appears that presidential hopeful, Mike Huckabee, is gaining support from three groups, some of which contain one in the same person. He appeals to hunters, I guess because I think he actually is one as opposed to claims by others. He is a draw to gun owners because of his out spoken support for the Second Amendment - really. And common folk relate well to him because he at least once was common folk.

The New York Times seems to be making an attempt to understand what makes Huckabee tick and picks up on comments he made earlier today in New Hampshire.

If a political candidate talks about his support for gun rights, “ask him when was the last time he used a firearm and would he know how to clean it if somebody handed it to him,” Mr. Huckabee urged, recalling Mr. Romney’s misstatement earlier in the campaign that he had been a lifelong hunter. If he dissembles, “beware,” Mr. Huckabee warned.

Playing to his rural audience, Mr. Huckabee said he was not only an experienced hunter but also supported gun rights for an even more sweeping reason, as a protection of property rights and other freedoms. “If we lose our second amendment rights then we stand in danger of losing our first amendment rights,” he said. “The second amendment is not about hunting.”

Huckabee’s website has an entire page that explains his position quite clearly on Second Amendment issues.

# The Second Amendment is primarily about tyranny and self-defense, not hunting. The Founding Fathers wanted us to be
able to defend ourselves from our own government, if need be, and from all threats to our lives and property.
# Second Amendment rights belong to individuals, not cities or states. I oppose gun control based on geography.
# I consistently opposed banning assault weapons and opposed the Brady Bill.
# As Governor, I protected gun manufacturers from frivolous law suits.
# I was the first Governor in the country to have a concealed handgun license.

He puts it most clearly this way:

Without our Second Amendment rights, all of our other rights aren’t inalienable, they’re just “on loan” from the government.

Perhaps the NYT article puts it best about Huckabee’s appeal in how he comes across to blue-collar voters.

As he did in Iowa, Mr. Huckabee closed his campaign here on the populist themes that have distinguished him from the Republican field, arguing that voters want a president who reminds them of a co-worker, not the boss who laid them off.

I think what listeners are finding is that when Mike Huckabee speaks, he is quick to answer, short and to the point with little fanfare and very little dancing around the issues in hopes of avoiding a straight answer. This is not common among campaigners and something that I think is allowing Huckabee to get some mileage out of.

Could this be a wave of the future? Don’t hold your breath. With Huckabee being one of the front runners he also will be falling under great scrutiny. We’ll see if he still has the right answers in another week or two.

Tom Remington