Quantcast
POLITICS 2008

Huckabee Attack Ad Runs Anyway

His attack ad appears on three Iowa stations. We find it somewhat misleading. Another ad makes misleading claims about tax cuts.

factcheck.org
Jan 3, 2008

« Return to Article

 
Discuss
 
Member Comments
  • Posted By: ih2005 @ 01/04/2008 12:50:20 AM

    Comment: One hopes that, absent a Huckabee campaign effort, the media will counter Romney attacks by pointing out how, at Bain Capital, Mr. Romney used offshore corporations to avoid U.S. taxation, and he fee-milked acquired businesses before firing workers and taking them into bankruptcy ( http://snipr.com/romneyoffshore ), to amass his great $250,000,000 wealth.

    So, when you compare how Mr. Huckabee's visionary FairTax advocacy ( http://snipr.com/nextrung ) compares to Romney's interest in the current tax system, it's pretty easy to see who will lead us out of tax slavery ( http://snipr.com/taxburden ) - $265 billion annual tax code compliance costs representing 5 billion wasted hours, annually.

    • Posted By: Johnsonium @ 01/04/2008 16:55:48

      Comment: It's all academic. Neither will be president.

  • Posted By: tmeldrum @ 01/03/2008 11:10:51 PM

    Comment: I am very conservative, but if Huckabee wins the primary, I don't know how I will vote. I am not impressed with him. Not to mention...his name. I can't imagine calling the president of the United States, President Huckabee. He sounds like a hick.

    • Posted By: YuWang @ 01/05/2008 00:26:12

      Comment: So I suppose you are totally OK to call US president Hussein or president Obama, rhyming well with our terrorist enemy Osama.

      • Posted By: Johnsonium @ 01/07/2008 15:22:01

        Comment: Yeah. Neither sounds like a hick.

  • Posted By: mswrightsr @ 01/03/2008 11:04:27 PM

    Comment: Also as a resident of Arkansas I am really impressed with Mike Huckabee's governorship. After Frank White,Bill Clinton and Jim Guy Tucker he was a refreshing change. The readers who commented here as being from Arkansas and the problems they stated they are encountering are not the Arkansas I live in and have lived in all my life. As for the state employees I couldn't say but the highways in Arkansas are some of the most scenic and well maintained highways in the United States today, maybe these people haven't left the state lately.As for the schools this just simply isn't true, not in our schools anyway I went to school in Wynne and my children and grandchildren go and went to school in Searcy and I would put our schools up against any in the country. The quality of your communities schools is only as good as the effort the community itself is willing to put into it. Some of these issues are issues which aren't directly under the control of the governor so maybe a little self examination would go along way for these people. Mike Huckabee was as honest and dedicated a public official as this state has had in a very long time and I am quite sure that when the mud slinging starts, and it will, that he will be the cleanest man left standing. Character is still king and the rest of the candidates may not know it yet but Mike Huckabee is a man of character and he will be missed by many in Arkansas.

    • Posted By: Johnsonium @ 01/04/2008 16:54:40

      Comment: I'm glad you like him. You will have him back soon.

  • Posted By: wildlife1 @ 01/03/2008 9:36:09 PM

    Comment: As a resident of Arkansas I am SO glad Huckabee is gone!!!!! He took away numerous benefits from State employees like myself and my husband. Considering what a poor State Arkansas is we pay outrageous taxes. Huckabee loves to brag on all the tax money he spent improving our highways - Love to see where all that went, because it sure didn't go to any type of highway improvement. The school system is a mess, he did away with a morning break for elementary school kids which just keeps first graders in class over 4 hours straight without any break. These kids are so tired and hungry by the end of the morning the last thing they can focus on is their school work! Oh the list just goes on and on! It is amazing all the federal labor laws the State of Arkansas violates from on call pay to Family Medical Leave. Huckabee so glad you are gone from our State, NO WAY should you be running our Country!!!!!

  • Posted By: saphyre @ 01/03/2008 9:24:18 PM

    Comment: I'm with moothew --the media are driving this duct taped bus

  • Posted By: greenhermit @ 01/03/2008 8:42:27 PM

    Comment: What is never mentioned is that the Arkansas Constitution requires a balanced budget. There is no way that a Governor can submit a budget that is not "balanced." Therefore, Huckabee's boast of balanced budgets is simply empty hot air.

  • Posted By: moothew @ 01/03/2008 7:37:54 PM

    Comment: Wow, the ad appears Dec 31 and it takes the press 3 days to get it some national coverage (conveniently too late for most Iowans to see it). Where are the unbiased journalists? They love Huckabee!

  • Posted By: velo3501 @ 01/03/2008 7:33:24 PM

    Comment: i just want to know one thing about the Huckster- how does a christian minister proclaim himself to be a better candidate because he has had more people executed. It is reprehensible. Reasonable people can disagree about the death penalty, but to bragg that you killed more so you are better...well that is so unacceptable he should crawl back into the hole in Arkansas he came from.

  • Posted By: TruthWatch @ 01/03/2008 7:32:58 PM

    Comment: Want negative?

    How about The Huckster intervening in the State Police investigation into his son's alleged torturing, hanging and slitting the throat of a defensless dog?

    How about The Huckster lying about urging the parole board to let Wayne Dumond, a violent rapist, free- if he would leave the state! Dumond went to Missouri, where he promptly raped and murdered a young lady. The Huckster freed Duond in a fit of political revenge against President Clinton-- the lady Dumond had raped in Arkansas was a distant cousin of Clinton's.

    How about The Huckster using state resources for personal use?

    Or The Huckster accepting highly questionable gifts from political appointees, even to the point of setting up a gift register?!!

  • Posted By: sec42 @ 01/03/2008 6:57:35 PM

    Comment: If Huckabee wins the Republican nomination, I do not believe he will beat Clinton, Obama, or Edwards. I do not believe he is the right candidate to represent the republican party. I am not sure who I will vote for at this point, but from what I have seen of Huckabee, I am confident that he will not get my vote. It concerns me the the religious right in my party are gearing for Huckabee just because Romney is a mormon for example. Many so call Christians will not vote for Romney because they have the false perception from the false teachings of their ministers and pastors that Romney or his church does not believe in Christ. Yet the "religious right" of this country who is suppose to believe in Chris,t are acting less like "Christ" in their words and actions than non-christians. You say to yourself that you are Christlike and that if you lived during the time of the bible that you would follow the prophets and Christ, but right now your actions, words, and thought are like the Pharisees of old. The way your acting toward Romney because he does not belong to your sect is like the ones who gather around the temple and cried "crucify him". Are you really being taught the true doctrine of Christ from your ministers and pastors? Matthew 7:15.

    • Posted By: Johnsonium @ 01/03/2008 19:10:07

      Comment: Nobody should NOT vote for Romney because of his religion. They should NOT vote from him because he's a giant flip-flopper. Plus, he can't beat any of the leading Democrats (thank goodness). The Republicans only hope is Guiliani or McCain and even that's a long shot.

      • Posted By: YuWang @ 01/05/2008 00:31:19

        Comment: I can't imagine anyone wants a muslim or a woman or a lawyer who sues all the time to be president. Democratic party has such a good chance to win presidency this time, but these three candidates will lose . But Romney will lose also. McCain is kind of ok if he's just 10 years younger. So really, Huckerbee is the best out of the pack. But if really can't have Huckerbee, then maybe Clinton, not anyone else. No Obama.

        • Posted By: JRWhittler @ 01/10/2008 12:25:24

          Comment: Barak Obama is not a Muslim. His father was born a Muslim but becdame a non-practicing one.He left when Barak was two years old, and there was almost no influence on Barak's religious views by his father. Barak Osama is a committed Christian who is a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. YuWang should check out his facts first before rushing to mislabel someone. Just because Barak's name (Barak Hussein Obama) sounds "Muslim" doesn't make him one. The name is Arabic, and there are many Christians with Arabic names. A case in point here: "David" is a Hebrew name but it doesn't make a person Jewish.

        • Posted By: Johnsonium @ 01/07/2008 15:23:12

          Comment: Well, I don't think the Democratic party is courting the racist vote. So, you are free to vote for the Republicans if you like.

  • Posted By: TruthWatch @ 01/03/2008 6:46:05 PM

    Comment: This is classic Ed Rollins tactics... create an ad, hold a press conference to claim they had decided to not "run" it while showing the ad to the press anyway. Oh, and let it play ONCE in three markets so the "press" can pick it up and run it ad naseum on the cable TV talking head "news" shows under the guise of discussing the ad. FOX NEWS is legendary for running "pulled" ads dozens of times, giving the ads far more expossure than the campaign could ever afford.

    • Posted By: Johnsonium @ 01/03/2008 19:07:44

      Comment: Exactly right. You have to hand it to him. It's dead clever. I guess it's his answer to the question: WWJD?

  • Posted By: jawadswo @ 01/03/2008 6:37:53 PM

    Comment: Comment: To djwiz1: It is true that economy of the late 90's was robust, but lets not forget the less robust economy from 92 to 94 when the democrats far outnumbered the democrats in the house. Moreover, there are a lot of things that determine a successful economy aside from who is President, for example the Federal Reserve and boosts in technology. Lastly, it is a true principal that you and I and most people will likely employ our own capital far better than the government would.
    As a final note, I think that Huckabee runs a slimy campaign. Him playing the "Mormon" card and now acting as the victim when he seeks to defame Romney is a pathetic example of what small men will do for power.

  • Posted By: MiBlue @ 01/03/2008 6:37:53 PM

    Comment: The other funny thing is the ad itself. Huckabee opens on camera saying he is mad about the dishonesty about his record and he has to set the record straight, then he jumps in on all these misleading things about Romney. He never clears his record, that is because he can't!

  • Posted By: MiBlue @ 01/03/2008 6:35:56 PM

    Comment: The funny thing is that Mitt Romney's ads on Huckabee were very gentlemanly and very precise. He did pardon over 1000 crominals including 12 murderers, he did push for tuition benefits for adults here illegally, and he did raise taxes significantly. All Huckabee says is that Romney is dishonest, but he never gets specific. The fact that his response to his tax hikes is a half truth about much smaller tax cuts tellls me everything I need to know about the con man from Hope part II.

  • Posted By: djwiz1 @ 01/03/2008 6:21:58 PM

    Comment: To MomOf4Boys: We did try the Arkansas-governor for President experiment once before and wound up with one of the greatest economic expansions in History as well as a budget surplus. Were you upset that everyone else had some money in their pocket? Want to hog it all for yourself as the typical Republican does?

    • Posted By: crowebar @ 01/03/2008 19:36:03

      Comment: WOW, did you feel the heat on that one?

  • Posted By: MiBlue @ 01/03/2008 6:21:16 PM

    Comment: The funny thing is that Mitt Romney's ads on Huckabee were very gentlemanly and very precise. He did pardon over 1000 crominals including 12 murderers, he did push for tuition benefits for adults here illegally, and he did raise taxes significantly. All Huckabee says is that Romney is dishonest, but he never gets specific. The fact that his response to his tax hikes is a half truth about much smaller tax cuts tellls me everything I need to know about the con man from Hope part II.

  • Posted By: MomOf4Boys @ 01/03/2008 5:59:03 PM

    Comment: Once again, Mike Huckabee proves to be about as insincere and misleading as one can be. It is a big surprise to me that anyone would vote for him knowing his record. Didn't we already try the Arkansas-governor for President experiment once before? American voters, wake up!

  • Posted By: horseman35 @ 01/03/2008 5:36:15 PM

    Comment: Sounds like you are nitpicking to me. It also sounds like Huckabee had the ad pulled but the three news stations did not get the word in time. This is why it only ran one time in each market. Is it possible that he is running a clean campaign and you do not know what else to report?

    • Posted By: Johnsonium @ 01/03/2008 19:05:27

      Comment: No. Not really. Again.

  • Posted By: horseman35 @ 01/03/2008 5:32:44 PM

    Comment: Sounds like you are nitpicking to me. It also sounds like Huckabee had the ad pulled but the three news stations did not get the word in time. This is why it only ran one time in each market. Is it possible that he is running a clean campaign and you do not know what else to report?

    • Posted By: Johnsonium @ 01/03/2008 19:05:09

      Comment: No. Not really.

  • Posted By: PatrynXX @ 01/03/2008 5:26:15 PM

    Comment: Your a little late, this was mentioned during the news conference.

  • Posted By: PatrynXX @ 01/03/2008 5:25:12 PM

    Comment: Your a little late. This was mentioned during the news conference.

  • Posted By: JamesB @ 01/03/2008 5:20:45 PM

    Comment: Brooks Jackson, are you being ethical as a reporter? The title article, Huckabee Attack Ad Runs Anyway gives the deliberate false conception that Huckabee ran the ad sometime after he spoke of it and showed it to reporters. He did not "run the ad" to reporters. He showed it to them. How unethically you use words. Showing it to reporters is not something you have to pay money to do. Running, or airing an ad on TV cost money. That is a different matter. Does Brooks, in twisting words in this way, agree with Clinton's defining what is is? Even if the reporters SHOWED a copy of the ad on a newscast, it could not be difined as Huckabee RUNNING the ad on TV. You use of words makes evident your personal bias. (You state that he "ran (aired?) the ad to reporters anyway." Have you ever used the word that way in your life?



    He did not ever run the ad after he spoke of it, and you probably know that as fact.



    If you claim to be a person of honesty and intergrity, the why would you not report what Judy Kratochvil stated rather than being purposely misleading?



    Can yo not own up to the fact that a republican governor in a democratic state who lasted 10 years and was nominated as one of the best Governors in America deserves at least a little more prasie and honesty?



    Why don't you show yourself a bit more equitable and fair ?



    JB

    • Posted By: Johnsonium @ 01/03/2008 19:04:21

      Comment: Huckabee didn't pull the ad completely, and it still made it to air in some markets. End of story.

  • Posted By: bluecurmudgeon @ 01/03/2008 5:12:53 PM

    Comment: Maybe Newsweek lent Karl Rove to the Huckabee campaign? It sure smells like a rovian adventure!

  • Posted By: bluecurmudgeon @ 01/03/2008 5:06:30 PM

    Comment: What a sleazeball! The more someone wraps themselves in religion, the less you can trust them.
    Organized religion, and their brainwashed followers, is the cause of 90% of the grief in the world today

    • Posted By: crowebar @ 01/03/2008 19:31:07

      Comment:
      There is no light, in the dark. There is no light in the dark. You have no light.

      • Posted By: bluecurmudgeon @ 01/04/2008 10:20:15

        Comment: Keep drinking that kool-aid!

  • Posted By: jacobdeeds @ 01/03/2008 5:03:15 PM

    Comment: What a biased article. Need to hide it a little better than that. Being a Mitt Romney fan, even I could read into it.

  • Posted By: mikesmithcomic @ 01/03/2008 4:57:19 PM

    Comment: You just can't believe anyone who bills themself as "A Christian Leader."

  • Posted By: spacecadet @ 01/03/2008 4:53:55 PM

    Comment: As someone who works for a TV station, I can assure you that schedules can be changed until literally the last minute. To say that this ad ran because it was scheduled more than a week ago and those schedules were somehow set in stone is laughable. The ad ran because Huckabee wanted it to run.

    • Posted By: dmccoy21 @ 01/12/2008 15:12:33

      Comment: I also work at a TV station. While you are correct it can be changed at the last minute I also know how many channels that pulling and ad has to go. Its not as if he could have just called the stations operator and tell them not to run it.

  • Posted By: MCut @ 01/03/2008 4:40:13 PM

    Comment: Made a mistake and took action to correct it? How about apologizing to Mr. Romney for calling him dishonest while slathering his own kettle black? At least Romney's advertisements addressed the issues and never the person themselves. It still amazes me that ads that simply state one candidate's record or position compared to another's are instantly seen as attack ads.

    I didn't have any issues with Mr. Huckabee at the beginning of this election. However, the more I find out about his past record and the more I see of his whisper campaign - the more I strongly dislike him. Him calling Romney dishonest just drips of irony.

    Good luck to us all.

    • Posted By: crowebar @ 01/03/2008 19:17:54

      Comment: Hold on there partner. The difference between Romney and Huckabee is all perception.........What you see is what you get with Huck........Romney is a cameleon.

      • Posted By: Johnsonium @ 01/03/2008 19:54:34

        Comment: Their both hucksters, but in different ways. Huckabee hides behind the bible, Romney hides behind his hair.

  • Posted By: judykratochvil @ 01/03/2008 4:26:13 PM

    Comment: I beleive that Mr. huckabee said in his press conference regarding the ad that it was possible that it may air a few times even though he officially pulled it because it had been scheduled to run already. The point is weather it airs after he pulled it.

    I commend news week for not reprinting the claims in the ad becasue they should be exposed to no wider an audience than those who saw it because it was in the schedule for their local station. To reprint the claims in order to analyze him would violate his request.

    Mr. huckabee is not a coniver. He made a mistake, owned up to it, and took the action necessary to correct it. He also warned people that it might air because of scheduling at TV stations. He is not slippery, but he is human and will make mistakes.

    This battle in the GOP is getting ugly because there is a battle between Main Street and Wall street brewing within the party. Mr. huckabee discusses issues that all families discuss. The Wall Street base is not willing to go quietly into the night and let less business oriented interests take over the party.

    • Posted By: crowebar @ 01/03/2008 19:08:14

      Comment: WOW, you are so right on. Huckabee makes mistakes. Romney makes mistakes. They are both very close in many areas. Deep down though, Huckabee has humility, Romney appears robotic, too rehearsed, too smooth. I can't trust him.

      • Posted By: Johnsonium @ 01/03/2008 19:16:17

        Comment: Neither is trustworthy. McCain is the only one on the Repub side that comes close to having integrity, but I think he's too old.

    • Posted By: Johnsonium @ 01/03/2008 19:02:27

      Comment: Scheduling or not, the ads could be pulled if he wanted to. Huckabee tried to have his cake and eat it to. He got to attack his rival with a deceptive ad, and paint himself as the guy with integrity who pulled the ad. Thank goodness this guy will never make it to the White House.

      • Posted By: mswrightsr @ 01/03/2008 23:25:42

        Comment: Did any of you ever consider that the ad may have aired as a result of unscrupulous reporters recording it when it was showed to them at the press conference and airing at will because when asked how he obtained the copy he ran Shaun Hannity changed the subject and never answered. It's a pretty petty issue, after all, is it not?

        • Posted By: Johnsonium @ 01/04/2008 16:49:29

          Comment: They aren't talking about news programs showing the ad. They are talking about stations airing the ad as an actual commercial.

  • Posted By: judykratochvil @ 01/03/2008 4:18:36 PM

    Comment: The ad aired only because it was in the schedules for the stations that aired it. He said that it may air a few times despite his action. He pulled the ad and I commend you for not discussing the claims in the ad so that no more people are made aware of the contents of the ad.

  • Posted By: MyViews1 @ 01/03/2008 4:14:43 PM

    Comment: Thank you for the clarifications. Being political is one thing. All the candidates have to do it (except maybe Ron Paul) but Huckabee appears to be a bit of a coniver. This guy is amazingly slippery for a Baptist minister.

  • Posted By: Johnsonium @ 01/03/2008 4:09:04 PM

    Comment: Wow. The battle over who gets to lose to a Democrat gets ugly.

 
 
Reply
Cancel
 
 
Report Abuse

Enter comments if any for reporting abuse

Cancel
 
The Peek
 
 
PROJECT GREEN
Cathleen McGuigan

Sustainable buildings are virtuous, but they can be ugly. Only a few designs are truly great.

Sponsored by
 
 
 
 
GEORGIA
John Barry
Sponsored by
 
 
 
loadingLoading Menu