Mike Huckabee announced his endorsement of former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson yesterday.
Thompson is to the far left of most Republican Primary voters and will need all the help he can get if he is to beat former Congressman Mark Neumann for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin.
Thompson was a supporter of mandating government health care and of supporting tax payer dollars to be spent on wasteful and destructive embryonic stem cell research.
Tommy Thompson would be a disaster as a Republican Senator because he would vote liberal on many issues and many of my Republican friends will get mad at me when I point that out.
If on the other hand, Tammy Baldwin is elected U.S. Senator, When I go after Tommy Baldwin for the same votes that I would criticize Tammy Thompson on, all of my Republican friends will cheer me on.
Make no mistake, Tommy Thompson is no conservative.
But this post isn't about Tommy.
Its about Mike Huckabee and what I perceive is behind this latest endorsement of Thompson.
Its called revenge. And this time its ugly.
It seems pretty clear to a lot of conservatives, that Mike Huckabee doesn't like the folks at the Club for Growth. He once called them the "Club for Greed"
The Club in turn has made it clear they don't like Mike -- for things like raising taxes while as Governor of Arkansas.
Then there is this video that the Club showed to everyone willing to watch:
In 2010, I watched pretty closely the endorsement race -- and more times than not, if the Club for Growth endorsed someone, Huckabee endorsed someone else. The few times they matched it appears that Huckabee endorsed first.
What leads me to believe that the Huckabee endorsement is really about sticking it to the Club is a couple of things.
1. If you compare Huckabee endorsements so far in 2012 -- they all seem to be good conservatives, like Gary Glenn in Michigan (running for U.S. Senate) and Steve Daines who is running for Congress in Montana. In 2010, I don't think you could find one endorsement of Huckabee's that the candidate was for Government control of healthcare or embryonic stem cell research.
2. Read what he says about Thompson:
"Tommy has the necessary experience to make an immediate and positive difference in Washington," Huckabee said in a statement on his political action committee's website. "Tommy served the great state of Wisconsin as the 42nd Governor, serving four terms for 14 years, and was forced to work with a Democrat-controlled state legislature; because of that Tommy knows how to work in a bipartisan nature and will be a positive voice for real change in Washington." Seriously? That's what you are going to say about the guy that will help him win a Republican primary?
He's "bipartisan"?
Really? I hope and pray that the next United States Senator doesn't have to work with "a Democrat controlled" legislature.
Say what you will about the other previous endorsements, but this one seems like its all about payback.
Now -- quickly, I like Mike Huckabee. But I firmly disagree with him on this one. He's wrong about Tommy.
And the stakes are very high this election. Not only do we have a chance to oust President Obama, but we have a chance to remove Harry Reid as Majority Leader of the Senate.
So this time -- this endorsement -- this revenge -- may cost us dearly.
- Repeal of Obama Care
- Real pro-life advancement
- Real substantive cuts to the funding of Planned Parenthood
- Real government reform
- Lower taxes
Tommy Thompson will have more in common with Democrats like Ben and Bill Nelson, then Republicans like Jim DeMint, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, and even the other Sen. from Wisconsin; Ron Johnson.
If Tommy Thompson is able to beat Tammy Baldwin and become the next U.S. Senator, the new Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell will have to worry about one more so called moderate who will keep him from doing the right thing on so many issues.
Conservatives only want to help Mitch McConnell by electing honest conservative Senators like Ted Cruz in Texas, Adam Hasner in Florida and Mark Neumann in Wisconsin. Why doesn't Mike endorse these fine conservative men?
These conservative candidates for Senate will join forces with the DeMint wing of the Republican caucus and move the whole United States Senate to the right -- on taxes, on spending and cutting, on life and traditional values. If those three candidates aren't elected to the U.S. Senate, Mitch McConnell is probably not going to be the Majority Leader and if he is, it will be only for a short time as the American people will get fed up again and throw Republicans out again.
And it will be Mike Huckabee's fault....
