Huckabee Endorses Vander Plaats

Wednesday, June 10, 2009, 15:09
Iowa
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8 comments

While in Iowa to raise money for his former caucus chairman’s run for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, Mike Huckabee also lent his endorsement to Vander Plaats’ campaign.

Huckabee had the following to say about Vander Plaats, “Bob hasn’t officially announced his intentions yet, but I don’t mind giving him a little nudge because the stakes are so high for Iowa. This state desperately needs new leadership and Bob’s determination to make great things happen in unequaled.”

Huckabee went on to say, “Bob’s committed to leading Iowa forward by reforming the way the state government works, putting an end to the Democrats’ runaway spending and really opening Iowa for business so you have an economy that’s hitting on all cylinders. He has front-line, real-world experience as a public school teacher and principal and he’s been a leader in the human services and health care field. Education and human services make up roughly 80 percent of the state’s budget and it’s about time you had someone leading this state who truly understands how to make those systems work better instead of protecting the status quo.”

Earlier in the afternoon, Huckabee sat down to talk with The Iowa Republican about why he thinks Vander Plaats would make a good governor.

Tags: Campaign 2010, Huckabee, Vander Plaats

About the Author

Craig Robinson has written 700 stories on this site.

Craig Robinson serves as the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheIowaRepublican.com. Prior to founding Iowa's largest conservative news site, Robinson served as the Political Director of the Republican Party of Iowa during the 2008 Iowa Caucuses. In that capacity, Robinson planned and organized the largest political event in 2007, the Iowa Straw Poll, in Ames, Iowa. Robinson also organized the 2008 Republican caucuses in Iowa, and was later dispatched to Nevada to help with the caucuses there. Robinson cut his teeth in Iowa politics during the 2000 caucus campaign of businessman Steve Forbes and has been involved with most major campaigns in the state since then. His extensive political background and rolodex give him a unique perspective from which to monitor the political pulse of Iowa.

8 Comments on “Huckabee Endorses Vander Plaats”

Conservative Demo wrote on 10 June, 2009, 16:29
We-l-l-ll isn’t tha-at speshull.
Michael Ryan wrote on 10 June, 2009, 20:31
It was a great event to be at it was cool to see Gov. Huckabee again in Iowa.
thecornwalker wrote on 11 June, 2009, 5:14
Im Wow What surprise….um NOT!!! I Wonder if an average Iowan who is not a christian nut would support VanderPlates
Deace voted for Obama wrote on 11 June, 2009, 5:38
What is the fascination with Huckabee? To be sure, he is strong on pro-life and pro-marriage but after that, he does not have a solid conservative record. His stance on illegal immigration while governor of Arkansas was dismal.

He also believes it is appropriate for government to control certain segments of private business such as controlling executive compensation. He will feel right at home with what these Democrats are trying to do.
Deace voted for Obama wrote on 11 June, 2009, 5:40
Huckabee is a pro-life populist. I wouldn’t trust him beyond the pro-life issues at all. Tell ‘em what they want to hear.
Thinking wrote on 11 June, 2009, 9:03
DVFO,

I respect your opinions on Huckabee, but I guess I do not understand some of your arguments. When you call him a populist, why is that a bad thing? Wikipedia describes populism as the “idea of democracy as being, above all, the expression of the people’s will.” With our government the way it is, I’m not totally opposed to a man who believes in restoring the government to the people. Love him or hate him, I don’t think you could fairly describe him as a facist or communist, which is presumably your argument about populism.

To your point of illegal immigration, I thought he was the governor of Arkansas, not the President of the United States. We often confuse politics with leadership. In his role as governor, his sole duty was to the people of Arkansas (the one’s who elected him, remember), not to the people of Texas, New Mexico, etc. He was also working against a Democratic controlled legislature, and had to fight for what he could get at the time. Ironically, had he taken a principled stand and not accomplished anything, you would hate him for the same reasons you dislike Steve Deace. Standing on principle at all costs equals Steve Deace, compromising to accomplish things equals “dismal record”. Take your cake and eat it too!

He was right on the bailout when it wasn’t popular (and when our nominee for President stopped the campaign to support it), he is right on the social issues, he is right on education. Finally, he is charismatic and can clearly articulate conservative principles (similar to how Obama is on the left…except for the principles and articulation part).

You talk in post after post about how we should build the party instead of destroying it, and then call one of the most liked party “leaders” (recent polls have him at least tied at the top of Presidential contenders) a populist. Really?
thecornwalker wrote on 12 June, 2009, 0:50
Phylis Schafly is appalled at Huckabee calling himself a conservative! He appointed 2 pro-choice judges to the Arkansas Supreme court. Huckabee destroyed the conservative and pro-life movements in Arkansas. People think Huckabee was a conservative because he was a minister … but even this should be questioned. In 1992 Huckabee was one of the leaders in the SBC who wanted the SBC to be more “diverse” and “open” in reference to accepting homosexuals into the SBC.
Deace voted for Obama wrote on 12 June, 2009, 5:16
Illegal immigration is ILLEGAL. Thinking: You can trust Huck if you want, I don’t. I’m not calling him a horrible person. I’m just saying he is likely to tell whatever group he’s addressing at the moment what he thinks they want to hear.

He thinks it’s appropriate for government to control how much a CEO earns and I don’t. That is not the role of government. He sounds like Obama with that one.

Cornwalker: Can you verify your allegations? I’ve heard those same things but have not bothered to google it now and frankly, I’ve not thought about these things for a while. I know I don’t trust him so don’t take him seriously.

I googled the allegation that he wants to control CEO pay and found he wants to cap it at $400,000. Or he did. I don’t know what he says now.

I do believe the reason he won the Iowa caucus was because he is a Baptist minister and caucus goers tend to be extremely pro-life so it was assumed he was the strongest on that issue.

I wouldn’t have disagreed with that except there are other issues as well and I did not perceive Huck to be conservative on the other issues.

I didn’t support him before in the caucus and won’t support him again. Surely, there is a fresh new face out there.