Mike Huckabee: The Next Howard Dean??

Does anyone remember all the buzz that surrounded 2004 Democratic candidate for president Howard Dean? His support came mostly from blogs and the internet, and at that time blogs were quite new. His campaign fizzled and he never did win the nomination, but he helped redefine politics as we know it. The web had come of age, and politics had a new venue.

The web gives all the candidates an equal playing ground, for the most part, and that helps Huckabee’s shoestrings campaign immensely. Now Huckabee is no Ron Paul, but he is using the web to generate tons of support and momentum. He said recently, “The internet has been the key to our success, the blogosphere and people going to our website.”

Huckabee has been consistently at the top of campaign website traffic (recent data from Hitwise has his website second among all campaign websites for hits, behind Ron Paul). And he has raised 2 million dollars online in just the past month or so. And his web support is translating into real, on-the-ground support as well.

Blogging is a significant element to web-campaigning. More than simply contacting or emailing people you know, blogging brings people of similar interests together. These interested readers will be more likely to respond positively to posts promoting Huckabee.

Chuck Norris is living proof that blogging has dramatically impacted Huckabee’s campaign. Recently he added his support to Huckabee, and helped create some fascinating and unique campaign ads. Right around the time Chuck gave his support, Huckabee’s campaign started surging forward at an incredible pace. In his own words, Chuck Norris said he started thinking of Huckabee largely because of an email from two teenage bloggers, Alex and Brett Harris of The Rebelution. (This video will show you both a Norris ad, and his discussion of blogs and the web influencing him to support Huckabee.)

And if that was a big development, my own blogging has to be considered as well! I speak facetiously here, but let me illustrate the power of blogging. I read Brian McCrorie’s blog where he promoted Huckabee. Then a month or so later (in April), I came out and started supporting Huckabee. Now over the past several months, I’ve had many tell me they are considering Huckabee because of my blog. And recently Rhett Kelly pointed to my blog as the reason he now supports him. And the chain will go on.

All of this is intended to be a shout out to you bloggers out there. Start blogging about Huckabee!! Do 1 post at least. Add a banner in your sidebar. Get yourself linked from Huckabee’s website (it will bring traffic to your blog.) Jump in and lend a hand. Even if you don’t have spare change, your blogging can really help his campaign.

All along people have said they like Huckabee and his message but don’t think he can win. Now that he is near the top of national polls and all the state polls, what are you waiting for? He has a big chance to win the nomination, and an even better chance of winning the presidency. As Jonathan Alter of Newsweek said a while back, “[Huckabee] may be the only Republican candidate with a decent chance to beat the Democrats next November.”

For those still unfamiliar with Huckabee, I came across a great post co-authored by Justin Taylor. In it he, with Joe Carter of Evangelical Outpost, details the reasons why Huckabee is both the best candidate ideally and pragmatically. He is consistent conservatively and has a real shot at winning the general election. My thoughts on Huckabee can be seen in my Huckabee category here, and especially in this post. Also, you can keep up with the latest on Huckabee by following my Go Huckabee tumble blog.

One final note: today is Mobilize for Mike Day. Mike Huckabee is asking for people to send emails to friends introducing them to himself and his campaign. You can do this via the Huckabee website and that will help keep track of all the emails today. The goal is 100,000 emails to that many different people. This is one more pain-free way to support Mike Huckabee, now while there’s still time for Huck to win the nomination.

So lets work to make Huckabee more than a Howard Dean has been. Let’s band together and propel him to the presidency!