# Can Mike Huckabee win the GOP nomination and the presidency? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 26, 2015, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603 "2015-11-26T04:40:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GloryDays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GloryDays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GloryDays)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/21 "2015-11-26T14:06:12Z")
> [@desertmonk](#): > > He’s stating his opinions behind the cover of “his friends”. I have to think you already know that. My friends opinions are not mine. It’s what they tell me. They’re in pain. They’re watching a “slide” in society as they tell me. They’re not happy. I have a different opinion to what my friends believe. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/22 "2015-11-26T14:12:24Z")
My understanding is he ain’t doing so well with Republican women. That whole “Women should be seen not heard” vibe he’s got going on isn’t setting well with them. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/23 "2015-11-26T14:12:40Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > Some people want to know why Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is repealed. Some people want to know why homosexuals are in the military. Oh, that one’s easy. Homosexuals have always served in the military. There are homosexuals in every walk of life that you can think of. In previous times, society made homosexuals pretend that they were straight, but gay people have always existed. Gay people have served in the military for years, with honor and bravery. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was repealed because society, on the whole, has realized that it’s stupid to go on pretending that gay people don’t exist. While I’m sure that there are some stupid people - including Mike Huckabee - who would prefer that gay people go back to pretending they don’t exist, it’s better for all of us to do the rational thing and face facts. As for the OP - no, Huckabee will not be president. He’s unlikely to win the nomination, either. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/24 "2015-11-26T14:16:00Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > My friends opinions are not mine. It’s what they tell me. They’re in pain. They’re watching a “slide” in society as they tell me. They’re not happy. I have a different opinion to what my friends believe. I’m guessing your friends are what Michael Kimmel calls [_Angry White Men_](http://www.amazon.com/Angry-White-Men-American-Masculinity/dp/1568585136/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448547040&sr=8-1&keywords=angry+white+men) (excerpt [here](http://www.salon.com/2013/11/17/americas_angriest_white_men_up_close_with_racism_rage_and_southern_supremacy/)) – and, as Kimmel writes, they are “sending their mail to the wrong address.” They have legitimate grievances – deindustrialization, offshoring, outsourcing, agribiz, walmartization, declining opportunities for the working class and small-bizmen – but, whoever is to blame for their troubles, it is **not** the parties they blame for their troubles, not Yankees or liberals or feminists or gays or women or minorities or intellectuals. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/25 "2015-11-26T14:17:32Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > I voted yes. It’s possible he can win. Some people are upset that social changes are being made to our society. Some people want to know why Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is repealed. Some people want to know why homosexuals are in the military. I don’t have a problem with it, but some of my friends do. My former professor does. They think that homosexuals have no business in our military, that they will hurt the morale of the military. Huckabee appeals to an disgruntled group of Americans. I’m undecided in this election, but right now, Huckabee is a long shot. Some people think we should hang blacks from trees, that doesn’t mean a KKK grand wizard can be elected president. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/26 "2015-11-26T14:20:20Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Why don’t you let your friends make their own argument? Because it’s a text-based board; participation is limited to people who can read. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/27 "2015-11-26T14:33:53Z")
Huckabee isn’t running for president. He’s just whoring himself out for publicity so he can get talk shows, book sales, and speaking gigs. Perhaps some more sham endorsement deals as well. ---
**Author:** ![GloryDays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GloryDays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GloryDays)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/28 "2015-11-26T14:34:58Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I’m guessing your friends are what Michael Kimmel calls [_Angry White Men_](http://www.amazon.com/Angry-White-Men-American-Masculinity/dp/1568585136/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448547040&sr=8-1&keywords=angry+white+men) (excerpt [here](http://www.salon.com/2013/11/17/americas_angriest_white_men_up_close_with_racism_rage_and_southern_supremacy/)) – and, as Kimmel writes, they are “sending their mail to the wrong address.” They have legitimate grievances – deindustrialization, offshoring, outsourcing, agribiz, walmartization, declining opportunities for the working class and small-bizmen – but, whoever is to blame for their troubles, it is **not** the parties they blame for their troubles, not Yankees or liberals or feminists or gays or women or minorities or intellectuals. I don’t think that they’re nasty bigots, they just want people to know their place and not step into boundaries that should not be there for them. ---
**Author:** ![Stoneburg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Stoneburg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoneburg)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/29 "2015-11-26T14:36:08Z")
To me it seems very strange that the sexual orientation of people serving in the armed forces would even come up on the radar of “things that matter to me in a presidential election”. You have the economy, several wars, climate change, pollution, unemployment, aging infrastructure, income inequalities, racial tensions… seems like there’s a whole lot of significant issues to chose from, and to pick this Huckabee character just because he doesn’t want gays to be able to say that they are gay if they work in the military seems very, very weird. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/30 "2015-11-26T14:54:47Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > I don’t think that they’re nasty bigots, they just want people to know their place and not step into boundaries that should not be there for them. That’s pretty much the definition of bigotry. It’s hard to find recent data, since it looks like the topic is so non-controversial that people stopped polling on it, but way back in 2003, Gallup found that [79% of Americans supported gays serving in the military](http://www.gallup.com/poll/10240/public-gays-women-military.aspx). I don’t think you can win the presidency going after the remaining 21%, or what’s left of it. ---
**Author:** ![basquebromance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecb155/32.png) [@basquebromance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/basquebromance)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/31 "2015-11-26T14:57:00Z")
when folks were sayin we’re gonna march for our freedoms somebody said you can’t do that and they said YES WE CAN! when they told reagan we can’t beat the soviet union he told them YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN…make mike huckabee president! YES WE CAN…take our country back! YES WE CAN…restore our constitutional liberties! YES! WE! CAN! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/32 "2015-11-26T15:03:59Z")
> [@basquebromance](#): > > YES WE CAN…take our country back! From . . . ? ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/33 "2015-11-26T15:10:58Z")
> [@basquebromance](#): > > when folks were sayin we’re gonna march for our freedoms somebody said you can’t do that and they said YES WE CAN! > > when they told reagan we can’t beat the soviet union he told them YES WE CAN! > > YES WE CAN…make mike huckabee president! > > YES WE CAN…take our country back! > > YES WE CAN…restore our constitutional liberties! > > YES! WE! CAN! [Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?](https://youtu.be/V8lT1o0sDwI?t=9) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/34 "2015-11-26T15:12:51Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > [Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?](https://youtu.be/V8lT1o0sDwI?t=9) :smack: No, that was the **Jews!** You know, the guys who kept shouting “Torah! Torah! Torah!” ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/35 "2015-11-26T15:13:10Z")
Huckabee might have had some appeal as the flip side of Bill Clinton, but Bill hasn’t been President for 15 years and Huckabee’s time has come and gone. > [@GloryDays](#): > > I don’t think that they’re nasty bigots, they just want people to know their place and not step into boundaries that should not be there for them. You realize that “know their place” was an anti Civil Rights term back in the 60’s, right? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/36 "2015-11-26T15:21:24Z")
> [@basquebromance](#): > > when folks were sayin we’re gonna march for our freedoms somebody said you can’t do that and they said YES WE CAN! > > when they told reagan we can’t beat the soviet union he told them YES WE CAN! > > YES WE CAN…make mike huckabee president! > > YES WE CAN…take our country back! > > YES WE CAN…restore our constitutional liberties! > > YES! WE! CAN! In another post, you asked people to donate to Ted Cruz. Who do you support? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/37 "2015-11-26T15:22:31Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > I don’t think that they’re nasty bigots, they just want people to know their place … Gosh, where have I heard that before? ---
**Author:** ![basquebromance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecb155/32.png) [@basquebromance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/basquebromance)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/38 "2015-11-26T15:23:59Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > In another post, you asked people to donate to Ted Cruz. Who do you support? all the candidates except hillary and pataki! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/39 "2015-11-26T15:34:20Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > I don’t think that they’re nasty bigots, they just want people to know their place and not step into boundaries that should not be there for them. That would make them nasty bigots. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/40 "2015-11-26T15:44:15Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > I don’t think that they’re nasty bigots, they just want people to know their place and not step into boundaries that should not be there for them. If you can hear your friends say that and conclude that they’re not bigots, you really need to broaden your circle of friends. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603.md?page=3)