Huckabee pulls negative ad, but shows it anyway
By Susan Milligan and Michael Levenson, Globe Staff
DES MOINES -- Mike Huckabee, seeking to counter attack ads by chief rival Mitt Romney, readied his own negative ad against the former Massachusetts governor today, then pulled it just hours before it was set to air on Iowa television stations.
But he still showed it to the assembled press corps.
Huckabee said he had planned to run an ad accusing Romney of raising taxes, failing to OK a single execution of a death-row inmate, and signing a healthcare plan that subsidizes the cost of elective abortions.
But just two hours before the campaign planned to unveil the TV spot, Huckabee said he had a change of heart, and pulled the plug.
"At some point, we have to decide -- are we changing the policy and the level of discussion'' in the campaign, Huckabee said. "It's got to start somewhere. It might as well start here, and it might as well start with me.''
Asked if he risked losing more ground to Romney by failing to fight back, Huckabee said, "If you gain the whole world and lose your soul, what does it profit you? Whether I live with you guys a week from now is immaterial to me,'' the former Arkansas governor told a packed room of reporters. But "I've got to live with me.''
Standing in front of a backdrop that declared "Enough is Enough," Huckabee then showed the ad, allowing him to gain some publicity for a spot that cost $30,000 to produce without having to pay for it to be on the air. Vastly out-funded by Romney, Huckabee has been trying to get his message out through free media coverage, and his news conference yesterday accomplished that.
But Huckabee denied he was trying to have it both ways. "If I didn't show it to you, you'd come up to me and say, 'You really don't have an ad,' " Huckabee said.
The aborted ad slams Romney for misrepresenting his own record on fiscal and social policy, then concludes, "If a man's dishonest to obtain a job, he'll be dishonest on the job,'' a comment that echoes Huckabee's recent remarks to Iowa voters.
The Romney campaign said Huckabee's "odd'' decision showed he "has turned from nice to very hot-tempered now that his record has been examined by voters.''
"To say one thing one minute and then turn around and show an attack ad to reporters the next will, obviously, leave folks with a very cynical view of Mike Huckabee and his message,'' Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said.
I love how everyone laughed...they couldn't believe that he was trying to pull this on them, everyone in the room knew exactly what was going on.
The press would have hounded him if he didn't show the ad.
Mike Huckabee did the right thing.
If Kevin Madden wants to spin it, so be it.
Mike is the REAL thing - not fake like wishy-washy flip-flop - and the voters know it....
I am sure glad that Senator Duncan Hunter's statement didn't get published about Mitt Romney's Company Bain Capital, 3Com and its Communist Cinese company Huawei Technology and the fact that 3Com is a leading information technology firm that helps the Department of Defense ward off cyber attacks from hostle forces, or that Bain Capital now owns Clear Channel Communications, the one that pulls the strings of the elite conservative talking heads like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and others.
MIKE HUCKABEE IS MAD BECAUSE IT IS TRUE..
The so-called "Negative Ads" are not "Negative" they are contrast ads that state factual information about Huckabees record as the governor of Arkansas.
All of the contrast statements in the ads include the source of each of the statements.
Instead of addressing the statements about his record Mike Huckabee resorts to name calling.
MIKE HUCKABEE A FISCAL CONSERVATIVE
FACT: Mike Huckabee's substantial tax hikes far surpassed his modest tax cuts, with the average tax burden increasing by a whopping 47% over his tenure. (Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/09/07)
FACT: Mike Huckabee raised more taxes in 10 years in office than Bill Clinton did in his 12 years.
(SOURCE: The Leader, Who's biggest tax raiser 11/30/2007)
Huckabee is a guy who can't bear to have someone inspect his record, or discuss the issues that matter to people. Instead he relies on one-liners to illicit an emotional reaction, with no supporting evidence.
Huckabee's message is, "My opponent insists on discussing important issues, but he is a dishonest man and I refuse to say anything negative, so I will not discuss issues." Clever, but it's hypocritical and most people see through the smokescreen.
When it comes to ethical conduct, all I need to know is the number of times each candidate was fined for ethical violations:
Mitt Romney: Zero.
Mike Huckabee: Six.
Is Mike Huckabee the character played by Martin Shen in Stephen King 's "The Dead Zone?"
So I was thinking...since Huckabee's a baptist preacher, I wonder if he got the idea for this last trick from the bible? After all, wasn't this what Pilate trying to do...not crucify Jesus himself, but turn him over to the Pharisees. You know, that way his hands were clean and all...
Funny that this is coming from the self proclaimed "Christian Leader" in the race.
Huckabee 'turned the other cheek' it because he doesn't have the cash.
The fact that Mr. Hucakabee tried to pull this stunt off tells me he thinks Iowans are real IDIOTS! I was with you Mike, gave you the benefit of the doubt even though you pardoned the rapists as a favor to some other pastor, even though you were cited 14 times for ethics breeches, even though you coerced the state prosecutor to let your son off for his animal cruelty crimes...I was going to pull the lever for you....
Until now. You've lost me Mike...I feel sick, but I will be writing Romney on my caucus tab Thursday.
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