Huckabee wins West Virignia

**Ironduke** · 02-05-2008, 15:23 PM

First primary win, and a surprise... I'd projected Mitt Romney to take West Virginia. Apparently McCain's supporters in the caucus crossed over to Huckabee after the elimination round, which handed him a win in the state with 52% of the vote.

dalem · 02-05-2008, 15:41 PM

I am not one to whine about fairness in politics. It is, after all, politics.

But I will say that the love-tag-team of McHuckabee is turning my stomach.

If they continue this through to the convention and, horror of horrors, actually combine on a ticket, I'll have to seriously consider my earlier commitment to the Republicans no matter what. That would disappoint me.

-dale

**Ironduke** · 02-05-2008, 15:44 PM

I don't expect to see Huckabee on a ticket (and don't want to).

Romney, however, is swallowing a stiff dose of his own medicine.

This is payback, and payback's a b*tch. He's reaping what he's sown.

To note, West Virginia is a winner-take-all state with 18 delegates.

I wouldn't be surprised if we see the same result in other caucuses Romney is leading.

dalem · 02-05-2008, 17:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ironduke

I don't expect to see Huckabee on a ticket (and don't want to).

Romney, however, is swallowing a stiff dose of his own medicine.

This is payback, and payback's a b*tch. He's reaping what he's sown.

To note, West Virginia is a winner-take-all state with 18 delegates.

I wouldn't be surprised if we see the same result in other caucuses Romney is leading.

Payback for...?

-dale

Bluesman · 02-05-2008, 17:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ironduke

I don't expect to see Huckabee on a ticket (and don't want to).

Romney, however, is swallowing a stiff dose of his own medicine.

This is payback, and payback's a b*tch. He's reaping what he's sown.

To note, West Virginia is a winner-take-all state with 18 delegates.

I wouldn't be surprised if we see the same result in other caucuses Romney is leading.

Dude, you are seriously coming close to becoming a NUT.

Are you still peddling that weak crap about Romney starting up with the nastiness that McCain is so notorious for? Or are you making some other point that's so obscure that none of us knows WHAT the hell you're talking about?

Listen, chief, you are becoming a caricature with this line. I mean, you pretend not to know that conservatives - the REAL ones, I mean, not like you and lwarmonger - are going for Romney 2-to-1, you seem to believe that McCain has any claim to the heart of a 'movement' conservative, and you demonize a capitalist with an amazing record of success as a poor governor, when he's the ONLY Republican that could've gotten ANY output from the bluest state legislator in the enitire fifty. Are you REALLY as grounded in reality as you think you are? Maybe time to review what you THINK you know, and the assumptions that you're grounding your analysis on.

**Ironduke** · 02-05-2008, 17:56 PM

I'm just saying it as it is. Fact is, Romney's managed to piss off Huckabee and McCain supporters to the point that they banded together to block him in the WV caucus. It's nuts to say that? To assert the factual truth that Romney alienated McCain and Huckabee supporters?

Since you've challenged that assertion, the onus is on you to prove otherwise. Go ahead, explain the WV results. I'm waiting.

Bluesman · 02-05-2008, 18:28 PM

Okay:

Quote:

Mike Huckabee took the West Virginia state convention and the state's 18 delegates as John McCain's team threw him their support to defeat Mitt Romney. The state allocates delegates on a winner-take-all basis, and the late action by McCain's delegates keeps Romney from winning any of them. It closes out one of the states in which Romney could use to keep pace, but the move has some Republicans seeing a different kind of red:

Quote:

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee won 18 delegates here Tuesday as backers of rival John McCain threw him their support to prevent Mitt Romney from capturing the winner-take-all GOP state convention vote.
In first contest decided on Super Tuesday, Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, bested Romney on the second ballot with 51.5 percent of the 1,133 delegates attending the state GOP's first-ever presidential nominating convention. Romney was backed by 47.4 percent.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who poses the biggest threat nationally to front-runner McCain, had entered the event with the largest pledged bloc and attracted the largest vote — 41 percent — on the first ballot. Huckabee captured 33 percent on the first tally; McCain, 15 percent and Texas congressman Ron Paul, 10 percent.

Some of the correspondence I've seen on this topic calls this a dirty trick. It's not -- it's just good, old-fashioned hardball. Mike Huckabee's continued presence in the race allowed it to happen, and it may not be the last state where his campaign trips Romney's run for delegates.

Romney's team wasted no time calling this a "backroom deal":

Quote:

"Unfortunately, this is what Senator McCain's inside Washington ways look like: he cut a backroom deal with the tax-and-spend candidate he thought could best stop Governor Romney's campaign of conservative change.
"Governor Romney had enough respect for the Republican voters of West Virginia to make an appeal to them about the future of the party based on issues. This is why he led on today's first ballot. Sadly, Senator McCain cut a Washington backroom deal in a way that once again underscores his legacy of working against Republicans who are interested in championing conservative policies and rebuilding the party."

While there may be some truth in this -- clearly the state had more of a leaning towards Romney than either McCain or Huckabee -- it's a little like arguing against the Electoral College. The rules were set in advance, and the result may not represent the one-man, one-vote principle very well, but we knew that going into the contest.

In fact, it shows why indirect mechanisms like caucuses and conventions are much less desirable than direct primaries. It turns these elections into games, and it increases the cynicism of the voters at a time when we need to attract them and make them believe they can make a difference. The last-minute hardball by the McCain campaign couldn't have been pulled in a primary state.

So, good shot, McCain. Using accepted rules to get an outcome favorable to yourself, while frustrating the will of the majority. With the added bonus of ensuring that the disgust of the American voter curdles just a li'l bit more, and gives us all a view of why what is allowable sometimes shouldn't be done.

THAT is YOUR CHOICE. He's asking YOU to carry his standard, and you'll do it. Well, I hope you're happy with the call.

Me, I'm revolted just a little bit more by the depth that McCain will descend to in order to cut the props out from under the Republicans that he doesn't like.

02-05-2008, 15:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
Ironduke Burgomaster Join Date: 08-02-03 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 6,802 Country:	Huckabee wins West Virignia First primary win, and a surprise... I'd projected Mitt Romney to take West Virginia. Apparently McCain's supporters in the caucus crossed over to Huckabee after the elimination round, which handed him a win in the state with 52% of the vote. __________________ The Buck Stops Here

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02-05-2008, 15:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
dalem Lord High Hullabalooster *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 11-23-04 Location: Columbia Heights, MN Posts: 8,323 Country:	I am not one to whine about fairness in politics. It is, after all, politics. But I will say that the love-tag-team of McHuckabee is turning my stomach. If they continue this through to the convention and, horror of horrors, actually combine on a ticket, I'll have to seriously consider my earlier commitment to the Republicans no matter what. That would disappoint me. -dale

02-05-2008, 15:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
Ironduke Burgomaster Join Date: 08-02-03 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 6,802 Country:	I don't expect to see Huckabee on a ticket (and don't want to). Romney, however, is swallowing a stiff dose of his own medicine. This is payback, and payback's a b*tch. He's reaping what he's sown. To note, West Virginia is a winner-take-all state with 18 delegates. I wouldn't be surprised if we see the same result in other caucuses Romney is leading.

02-05-2008, 17:56 PM	#6 (permalink)
Ironduke Burgomaster Join Date: 08-02-03 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 6,802 Country:	I'm just saying it as it is. Fact is, Romney's managed to piss off Huckabee and McCain supporters to the point that they banded together to block him in the WV caucus. It's nuts to say that? To assert the factual truth that Romney alienated McCain and Huckabee supporters? Since you've challenged that assertion, the onus is on you to prove otherwise. Go ahead, explain the WV results. I'm waiting.

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