Huckabee campaign makes stop in Hub
by Desarea Autry, staff writer

 

In front for a crowd of about 300 people, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee took to the stage outside the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock recently to rally votes and supporters before they hit the polls on Super Tuesday.

 

He kicked off his campaign stop on February 29 by performing with Lubbock's own Josh Abbot Band, when he played guitar to songs by Johnny Cash and Tom Petty. Huckabee did not travel alone on the campaign trail bring along his most famous supporter, actor Chuck Norris.

"It's occurred to me that there's a guy who could be both Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Homeland Security,” Huckabee said. “I want to bring him out here, my friend, a great Texan and a great American, Chuck Norris!" Huckabee announced.

 

Norris joined the stage hand in hand with his wife Gena and spoke of why he decided to back Huckabee for president.

"Gena and I were watching the Republican debates and trying to decide who we were going to support, and we were kind of disenchanted to be truthful,” Norris said “But what we heard from Mike Huckabee we were impressed with."

 

He got such little time on the air that we really didn't know what he stood for, so we went on his web site and started checking him out. The more we read, the more impressed we became.

 

Norris also talked about how he started supporting Huckabee by using his weekly article on World Net to talk about what he like in Huckabee as a president. After a few weeks Norris was approached by the Huckabee campaign and asked to do a promo for the candidate at the Norris' ranch. Norris said yes and after only 24 hours the promo got a million hits on You Tube.

 

That kind of lit the spark, but the thing about a spark is it will go out if there is nothing there to support that spark." Norris said. "Mike Huckabee has the message that people wanted to hear. That spark became a raging fire, and he started surging like you wouldn't believe, and that's what we all know. But the thing is, Mike does have the message. He has the youth we need. He has the leadership and vision of what we need to do with our country today, and that is why Gena and I have been so supportive and doing all that we can to get Mike Huckabee elected as President of the United States."

 

Norris also went on to compare the Huckabee campain to the 2006 movie “Facing the Giants”. The underdog movie is about a Christian high school football team that defies all the odds and goes on to win the state championship. Norris talked about how the critics said Huckabee would never make it, and how Huckabee has proved them all wrong. Huckabee did win eight states, including seven in the South. 

 

Once you hear the message Mike Huckabee has to say, you can't help but believe that he is the man to lead the United States," Norris said. "Critics said he'd never make it. But he did; here he is, right here. They said he wouldn't win any states, but he did. They said he wouldn't make it in the finals, but he's one of the last two standing here."

 

Before Huckabee got a chance to dive into his issues, Norris offered his last thoughts on the candidate.

 

"No one tells us who we are going to vote for," Norris said. "These pundits are saying vote for John McCain' because he's going to win.' Uh-uh. I'm going to vote for who I believe in. That's the way we are here in the state of Texas. I want to introduce the man who's going to win the state of Texas so Gina and I can go on vacation smiling, and that's the next president, Mike Huckabee."

 

Huckabee said he wanted to reach as many parts of the state as he could as he continued his campaign leading up to the primary, despite trailing McCain almost 4-1 in the delegate count. Huckabee was quick to address his critics, who he said had questioned the purpose of his trip to Texas.       

 

"I don't believe that the people of Texas are going to sit back and allow the people of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut and California tell them who they're going to have as a Republican nominee for president," Huckabee said. "It ain't over until Texas says it's over."

 

Huckabee took time to touch on many of his beliefs and political standpoints that he thought were important to the Texas voters.

 

"Taxes ought to be lower, not higher,” Huckabee added. “People here believe that you ought to have less government, not more government, and the best government is the most local government. And if you're going to have government, let it be elected locally. Let the decisions be made as close to you as possible, not decisions made in Washington telling you what you're going to do in Lubbock, Texas." Huckabee said.

 

Huckabee said he is the only candidate wanting to secure the borders.

 

"No state in America has done a better job of welcoming people in our country,” he said. “We're not against people coming. We just want to make sure that our own government makes it so that people that do come at least have as much documentation to walk across the border as you do to get on an airplane."

 

Huckabee didn't really touch on the current war in Iraq during his Lubbock stop, though he did talk about the war on government and the Internal Revenue Service, which he believes to be the bigger problem facing America.

 

"Folks, our country is in danger today of being somehow taken over, not just by those external foes in Islamic fascism who really would like to see every one of us destroyed," he said, "but crumbling from within because we forget that the greatness in America is not the government, it is the ordinary citizens."

 

Huckabee went on to say that the IRS has more information on people than they need, and that most Americans were more afraid of being audited than being mugged.

 

"I want to be the president that nails the going-out-of-business sign on the front door of the IRS," Huckabee said. "I want to kill the IRS before they kill the last decent business in this county, and before they kill the last remaining job in America."

 

Huckabee said he was the only candidate running who believes marriage is between a man and a woman and, as president, he would work to make that a national law.  Huckabee is also a pro-life candidate and said he is the only candidate in favor of a Constitutional amendment banning abortion.

 

"So that once and for all, we say what we have always believed in our country, and that is, life means something; it matters all the way from unborn children to terminally ill elderly people," Huckabee said. "We will celebrate and elevate every human life. People in Texas believe life means something. We value that idea."

 

Huckabee went on to say he would support the Fair Tax plan. He believes the current tax system often hurts small-business owners and penalizes hard workers. Huckabee's plan calls for Americans to receive a rebate on part of their spending.

 

"When we have the Fair Tax, guess who's going to be paying," he said, "all the people in the underground economy who, right now, don't pay the taxes you pay because you pay yours and theirs. Drug dealers, prostitutes, pimps, gamblers and illegal’s who don't pay the taxes because they pay under the table."

 

The scene was not all business and politics. Huckabee went on to share a few of his favorite Chuck Norris jokes with the crowd before ending his speech.

 

"Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he just pushes the earth down, and they were going to put Chuck Norris on Mount Rushmore but the rock was not tough enough for his beard," Huckabee said jokingly. "Ladies and gentlemen, with your help, and Chuck's, Tuesday we're going to win Texas and be on our way to becoming the 44th president of the United States of America. Thank you for coming, God bless you Lubbock! Thank you very much."

 

Unfortunatly for Huckabee, not even the Norris was able to save his campaign. Huckabee abandoned his presidential bid after Super Tuesday voting in four more state contests made it clear his rival, John McCain, would be the Republican candidate in the November election.

 

*All photos by Homer Marquez/Plainsman Press