# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/101 "2015-11-27T13:54:44Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > I hear people at work **saying** the things my friends **say**. I heard my professor **say** bigoted and vicious things about minorities. It’s a silent majority who are thinking about the future of the country. (My bolding.) How did you get the descriptive word “silent” to fit in here? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/102 "2015-11-27T14:25:25Z")
So, GloryDays. You live in New Jersey and go to college, where you found the one bigoted professor in academia (a place normally reviled by bigots because it is so left-wing and accommodating to minorities) and your only friends are elderly white men from Queens and Staten Island whose opinions are so important that there’s no room left in your head for any of your own. We need to take you to the Smithsonian. They collect unique specimens. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/103 "2015-11-27T14:44:13Z")
I know it’s already been discussed but I’m fascinated by this formulation: > [@Should the United States cut or increase the defense budget?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-united-states-cut-or-increase-the-defense-budget/738512/1): > > Some say that the U.S. spends more on defense and military than any other country combined. Some say that President Obama is cutting and gutting the military to pre World War I I levels. > [@GloryDays](#): > > 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. It’s like you used to write introductions for The Stig on _Top Gear_ and can’t stop doing it. As for “why homosexuals are in the military”, the answer is: because they want to serve their country. In fact, “some people” could make a very strong argument that gay men and women who knew the vast amount of abuse, discrimination and outright persecution they were likely to face and STILL joined up to serve are a hell of a lot more patriotic than your average grunt (and far more so than “your friends” who are bitching about them). Go look at the accomplishments of the likes of, say, [Stephen Snyder-Hill](http://www.soldierofchange.co/) and tell me people like that don’t love their country. And sure, we could kick out all the homosexuals like we used to, but then you’re asking to _weaken_ the military (as happened when a number of desperately-needed Arabic translators got the boot due to their orientation during the Bush years). Which would be really fucking stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/104 "2015-11-27T16:39:09Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > While we’re discussing this, it is good that we are having a good, principled discussion about these issues about race, religion, sociology, etc. It’s important. True, but one of the principles should not be bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/105 "2015-11-27T17:20:05Z")
Well, really, the OP is simply an unbiased observer, with a wide array of personal relationships, who simply wants us to honestly and unemotionally consider the opinions of people we may have regarded with prejudice. Why, if we indoctrinated lefties were to give such opinions a fair and honest hearing, we might be moved to reconsider, to adopt a new centrism, just to the left of Huckleberry and just to the right of Rubio. Should this actually occur, I will plow all my liquid assets into umbrella manufacture, because when pigs fly, and their poop falls from the skies, a tidy fortune could be made! ---
**Author:** ![GloryDays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GloryDays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GloryDays)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/106 "2015-11-27T18:27:09Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > So, GloryDays. You live in New Jersey and go to college, where you found the one bigoted professor in academia (a place normally reviled by bigots because it is so left-wing and accommodating to minorities) and your only friends are elderly white men from Queens and Staten Island whose opinions are so important that there’s no room left in your head for any of your own. > > We need to take you to the Smithsonian. They collect unique specimens. You have to hear all opinions about all types of people. I don’t have those views, but you have to hear how people feel about others. When these folks from Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island see protests after protests, their view of minorities get more angrier. They live in blue-collar, suburban areas. They are tough. Some of them have minority friends. They just want candidates who respect them and honor them. People like Giuliani and Lhota. [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-laquan-mcdonald-black-friday-protest-met-20151127-story.html](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-laquan-mcdonald-black-friday-protest-met-20151127-story.html) > **[Laquan McDonald protesters look to disrupt Black Friday in Chicago](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/27/laquan-mcdonald-protesters-black-friday-chicago)** > > Demonstrators have been in streets of Chicago for days since the release of a video showing police shooting the 17-year-old more than a dozen times > **[BLACK OUT FRIDAY: Chicago Protesters Plan Black Friday Demonstration Over...](https://newsone.com/3272324/chicago-protesters-black-friday-demonstration-laquan-mcdonald-death/)** > > Chicago protesters planned a large demonstration on the city's Magnificent Mile to disrupt the Black Friday holiday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjcvvcrfr8k ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/107 "2015-11-27T18:39:17Z")
Against my better judgment, I randomly clicked on one of your links. [QUOTE] [/QUOTE] That was one obnoxious campaign ad for Lhota. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/108 "2015-11-27T19:08:36Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > I don’t have those views, … Then why are you carrying water for people who do? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/109 "2015-11-27T19:43:47Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > They’re not voting for Huckabee alone. They’re old school Democrats. They would vote for a old school Democrat. They are looking for a common sense American. Someone who respects the military. No one respects the military no more in their minds. Tell your friends to watch [this documentary](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-X-PEjZhus). It’s important. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/110 "2015-11-27T19:46:56Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > When these folks from Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island see protests after protests, their view of minorities get more angrier. Does it never occur to your friends that the protesters might be right, that they might have some legitimate grievances to protest about? They are, and they do. ---
**Author:** ![GloryDays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GloryDays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GloryDays)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/111 "2015-11-27T20:22:03Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Does it never occur to your friends that the protesters might be right, that they might have some legitimate grievances to protest about? They are, and they do. I try to, and they tell me that I’m appealing to “low life scum”. They want the protesters to respect the police. In Queens and Staten Island, they LOVE the police. Especially in Middle Village, Glendale, Maspeth, Queens. Please visit there if any of you are in New York City. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/112 "2015-11-27T21:10:07Z")
Isn’t Middle Village where all those short people with fuzzy feet live? ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/113 "2015-11-27T21:23:57Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > I try to, and they tell me that I’m appealing to “low life scum”. Sure. That’s because your friends are bigots. > [@](#): > > They want the protesters to respect the police. The protesters are protesting the fact that Chicago police murdered a 17 year old and then conspired to destroy evidence of their crime. What your friends want is stupid and unreasonable. But it’s not about logic, is it? It’s about spreading your friends’ stupid and unreasonable bigotry. > [@](#): > > In Queens and Staten Island, they LOVE the police. Especially in Middle Village, Glendale, Maspeth, Queens. Please visit there if any of you are in New York City. Yeah, we’re all in a huge hurry to go visit your bigot friends. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/114 "2015-11-27T21:31:16Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > They want the protesters to respect the police. Isn’t that a bit problematic, if the protest is about police brutality? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/115 "2015-11-27T21:32:17Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > In Queens and Staten Island, they LOVE the police. Especially in Middle Village, Glendale, Maspeth, Queens. Please visit there if any of you are in New York City. Can we let the sun go down on our heads there? ---
**Author:** ![GloryDays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GloryDays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GloryDays)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/116 "2015-11-27T22:18:22Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Can we let the sun go down on our heads there? It’s good to visit other areas in the country. Don’t only visit Midtown Manhattan, Herald Square. Visit these working class areas and see how they really feel. I provided bus schedules. \*\*Please visit Queens and Staten Island. You have to learn other cultures. \*\* [http://web.mta.info/busco/schedules/q067cur.pdf](http://web.mta.info/busco/schedules/q067cur.pdf) [http://web.mta.info/nyct/bus/schedule/queens/q059cur.pdf](http://web.mta.info/nyct/bus/schedule/queens/q059cur.pdf) [http://web.mta.info/nyct/bus/schedule/staten/s061cur.pdf](http://web.mta.info/nyct/bus/schedule/staten/s061cur.pdf) [http://web.mta.info/nyct/bus/schedule/staten/s055cur.pdf](http://web.mta.info/nyct/bus/schedule/staten/s055cur.pdf) ---
**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 27, 2015, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/117 "2015-11-27T22:35:26Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > They voted for Giuliani in 1989 (Giuliani lost to David Dinkins in '89), 1993, 1997. They voted for Bloomberg in 2001, 2005, 2009. They won. They voted for Joe Lhota against Bill de Blasio in 2013. Lhota lost in a landslide. That crushed them. They see leadership. I believe that they are swing voters. If they’ve been voting for Republican candidates for more than 25 years, they aren’t “swing voters” by any definition. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/118 "2015-11-27T22:43:08Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > You have to learn other cultures. You’re telling _me_ that _I_ have to learn other cultures? Do you tell this to your friends? ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/119 "2015-11-27T22:45:23Z")
I feel like we’re conversing with a travel robot. “Mike Huckabee runs for president. There are protests against police officers. What do you think about these issues? While deciding, why not a trip to Queens? Here are the bus schedules.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603/120 "2015-11-27T22:48:36Z")
> [@](#): > > You’re telling me that I have to learn other cultures? Do you tell this to your friends? You see it right there, how so-called “liberals” are narrow-minded and intolerant! And the hypocrisy? Don’t get me started on the hypocrisy… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-mike-huckabee-win-the-gop-nomination-and-the-presidency/738603.md?page=7)