Spring Break
Huckabee visits Davies, loses Wisconsin primary
GOP hopeful speaks to hundreds in Council Fire Room
Jacob McCormick
Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: News
Huckabee addressed some of the concerns the national media have had about his continuation in the race even though it seems as though McCain had all but wrapped up the Republican nomination.
"You've probably heard some of the national pundits and some of the establishment of the Republican party act as if we all should give up and not even bother because this is supposed to be all over," he said, "And after all, the people of Wisconsin don't need to show up and be heard from because the people of New York and California and New Hampshire and Florida have already made the decision for you and we already have the nominee of the Republican party ... I think there's a Wisconsin word for your response to that - bologna."
He added that elections involve campaigns and the exchange of ideas and can also be "pretty messy."
"This is not a coronation, it's an election," he said. "I didn't write the rules but I'm playing by them. Until somebody gets 1,191 delegates we still have an election.
"The party is not well-served if it doesn't have an honest discussion of who it is, where it's headed. And if the party can't handle having more than one point of view, then it's not a very strong party."
Despite Huckabee's optimism and no-quit attitude, political science professor Geoff Peterson said he is all but out of the presidential race.
"The only way McCain loses is literally if Huckabee wins all the remaining states by huge numbers until the convention," Peterson said. "There's an outside chance, but it's really virtually zero."
But Peterson said that Huckabee is staying in the race for similar reasons to Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas). He said that both are spending a lot of money to vie for a spot they can't win.
"The fact that (Huckabee's) still getting 37 percent and pulling in a third of Republicans does send a message to McCain," he said. "He really clearly needs to try and appeal to that certain chunk of voters if they're willing to vote for candidates that can't possibly win rather than vote for him."
"You've probably heard some of the national pundits and some of the establishment of the Republican party act as if we all should give up and not even bother because this is supposed to be all over," he said, "And after all, the people of Wisconsin don't need to show up and be heard from because the people of New York and California and New Hampshire and Florida have already made the decision for you and we already have the nominee of the Republican party ... I think there's a Wisconsin word for your response to that - bologna."
He added that elections involve campaigns and the exchange of ideas and can also be "pretty messy."
"This is not a coronation, it's an election," he said. "I didn't write the rules but I'm playing by them. Until somebody gets 1,191 delegates we still have an election.
"The party is not well-served if it doesn't have an honest discussion of who it is, where it's headed. And if the party can't handle having more than one point of view, then it's not a very strong party."
Despite Huckabee's optimism and no-quit attitude, political science professor Geoff Peterson said he is all but out of the presidential race.
"The only way McCain loses is literally if Huckabee wins all the remaining states by huge numbers until the convention," Peterson said. "There's an outside chance, but it's really virtually zero."
But Peterson said that Huckabee is staying in the race for similar reasons to Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas). He said that both are spending a lot of money to vie for a spot they can't win.
"The fact that (Huckabee's) still getting 37 percent and pulling in a third of Republicans does send a message to McCain," he said. "He really clearly needs to try and appeal to that certain chunk of voters if they're willing to vote for candidates that can't possibly win rather than vote for him."
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