Huckabee struggles to compete with empty campaign coffers

January 23, 2008

Two weeks ago, Rudy Giuliani’s campaign was humiliated when we learned that it was so broke, senior campaign aides would not get paid for the month of January. Now, Giuliani isn’t the only one suffering from serious financial difficulties.

Some of Mike Huckabee’s top advisers are working without pay and some field directors have been let go entirely, the campaign said today, as money woes have taken hold.

The campaign also announced it would no longer provide transportation for reporters covering the candidate, saying it could not afford (or justify) a full bus or larger plane when many of the seats went empty. (Media pay their own way, but there aren’t enough reporters with Huckabee to make the economics work.)

“Hopefully we can get the money machine going soon,” said Ed Rollins, a senior adviser who is forgoing his own $25,000 monthly check. “The reality is we looked at our small staff and decided how we could make it smaller.”

The campaign’s media narratives and conventional wisdom have gotten plenty of angles wrong the past several months, but Huckabee’s trajectory doesn’t appear to be one of them. All signs suggested that the former Arkansas governor could appeal to religious right activists and score a big win in Iowa, but would lack the resources and organization to replicate that success elsewhere. Huckabee would need to see a huge boost in fundraising, immediately, in order to remain a credible challenger.

And by all appearances, the narrative on Huckabee was right. South Carolina was his last big chance to prove he could win, and demonstrate to donors that he’s a serious player, and he came up short.

I don’t want to say Huckabee is toast, but it’s hardly an overstatement to say he’ll have trouble clearing the hurdles in front of him.

The closely-watched Republican primary in Florida is coming up quickly, but Huckabee’s campaign acknowledged yesterday that it won’t run any TV ads in the state, because it can’t afford them.

So, Huckabee won’t get any paid TV time, and won’t get any free TV time, either.

And they’ll now get less of that which has gotten them to where they are today — earned media — as they can’t afford to charter jets for their travelling press corps anymore.

Huck is grappling with the same challenges of his rivals, competing in a one state after another with little time in between to raise money or recalibrate strategy let alone to catch one’s breath.

Asked about the major round of contests on Feb. 5, Huckabee said yesterday, “We don’t have enough people to try to field staff in all of these states. So what we’ll do is put a leaner team together.”

Huckabee got by with spending less in Iowa, but the landscape is a lot less favorable now. Watch for him to start saying all kinds of nice things about John McCain from here on out.

If Grandpa Fred hadn’t been soaking up some of his support, Huckabee might have done well enough in SC to stay viable for awhile longer. It’s too bad – Huckabee would have been a dream to run against in the general. Even if he didn’t make it that far, his divisive effect on the GOP race would have been great to watch.

I must say I’ve been pleased by the extent to which the primary campaign so far has worked as a complete repudiation of Iowa’s squirrelly caucuses. Huckabee, if you recall, only became pseudo-credible as a candidate after he won among the Iowa GOP fundies. Obama, the other big Iowa winner, has been struggling against a resurgent Hillary. If this keeps up maybe next cycle neither candidates nor media may pay as much attention to Iowa’s results.

  • “South Carolina was his last big chance to prove he could win, and demonstrate to donors that he’s a serious player, and he came up short.”

    Proof that prayer works.

  • You figure a man who runs with the lord like Huck could conjure up some divine monetary miracle equivalent of fishes and loaves.

  • Given that McCain is also having trouble with money, maybe Romney isn’t as cooked as I thought he was. Between his financial advantage and the ongoing (and baffling) Republican-base loathing of McCain, this whole thing could go for awhile yet.

  • I don’t really see Huckabee hooking up with McCain’s campaign, or even dreaming he could, myself. Huckabee is a lightweight. I don’t know why McCain would want him.

  • Good call, Beep52 (#2).

    Maybe Grandpa Fred can take comfort from the Garth Brooks’ chorus:

    Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
    Remember when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs
    That just because he doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he don’t care
    Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

  • Huck could introduce a new concept in Presidential campaign fund raising…his supporters could tithe for the Rev. Mike

  • Say it ain’t so Huck.

    Yesterday we lost phabulous phred. But Ol’ Huck still has some fight in him.

    Hopefully he’ll stay around a bit longer. Maybe he could borrow some $ from Ron Paul. I hear he’s been raking in tons of worthless paper money donations.

  • Ed Rollins was making 25K a month.. Ha – not only do they rape the lower income people for all the money they can get – they rape each other.

    Ya gotta love em

  • WBN does make a good point here. The “keeping it all in the family” lends credence to the phrase “Incestuous Republicans.”

    Hmmm…that gods-awful fool from Colorado is gone…UnAware Fred is out…Ghoul is a walking corpse (Ghouls usually are, though; nothing new in this)…McCain’s cash flow is synonymous to yet another “ramp strike”…and pHuckles the Clown is about to run out of “manna from heaven.” That eliminates the Mexicans-are-evil vote, the lobotomy vote, the scary-thing vote, the militarist vote, and the snake-dancer vote. All that’s left is Mittens and some guy with a fetish for urine-colored metal stuff and guys who like swaztikas….

  • Like others above, I’m flabbergasted that god appears to have abandoned her own hand-picked Huck candidate. I pondered whether she could be short on cash or influence. Then it occurred to me that perhaps god was actually a squirrel. Oooops.

  • When a candidate runs on a “Christian” platform he is USING his religious beliefs for his own political ends. I have been completely turned off to this man for his arrogance and lack of knowledge required to be a president (and I am a Christian). It is time for the evangelicals to wake up and stop following like sheep – check out the issues and records, not a man’s words alone. This man is for big government and is not interested in the liberty of individuals. We need a revolutionary and he is not it.

  • In 1987, during a fundraising drive, Oral Roberts announced to a television audience that unless he raised $8 million by that March, God would “call him home” (a euphemism for death). Huck should try the same thing.

  • Looks like it could boil down to Romney, the only one with any money even if it’s his own, and McCain who might benefit from the fact that he is simply not Mitt Romney. Talk about the candidate of despair…..

  • …yeah, whats with all that money being freely given to the Ron Paul campaign?

    You would think that with the lack of common sense that this country continues to display…Paul would be as broke as the Huckster.

    There must be some people out there that can’t find the snooze button any longer and are waking up.

    GOrP

  • Maybe Huck did not get the one Big endorsement. Maybe that endorsement has been withheld in favor of MITT!!

  • It’s not over till its over folks.

    Go ahead and bleed over FL stripped delegate count. Huck is out there scooping up the South. Of which Georgia, by itself has more votes than FL.

    Mike’s base is rock solid. NO ONE who was ever completely sold on his platform has balked, and soft support can walk as far as I care. That’s how we survive hiccups like SC.

    Fred going home was an answer to prayer. We were leading Florida polls once before with zero campaign organization present. (There is sure to be strong retention of those numbers, we don’t bail on our candidate whichever way the wind blows) FL has 50 meetup Huckabee grassroots campaign groups. Mike is the only reliable socon left.

    I guarantee that Mike is placing top three at least, and killing MO for whoever is unlucky enough to place behind him, especially when he ‘appears’ to be ceeding the state.

    Then we can revisit this question of Divine intervention. I see intervention in a second place finish in SC. The target is on McCain and Huck is cruising under the radar, setting up a sucker punch that will stun this race.

    See you at the polls.

  • Mitt Romney knows how to make money, earn money, and spend and distribute money wisely. That’s why so many people have supported him and given him millions and millions for his campaign. He’s a brilliant Harvard Business and Law grad. who has taken his education, upbringing, and expertise and put it to work in the real world. His executive leadership has been proven extremely successful over and over again. We need Mitt Romney to run our government and get it into shape. He’s the only candidate who even comes close to knowing how. Experience, a proven track record, conservative values, and a successful family life come togehter to bring us an outstanding President. Vote for Mitt Romney and we all succeed. I’m proud to say I’ve donated to the Mitt Romney campaign–my money can help change America!

  • Asked about the major round of contests on Feb. 5, Huckabee said yesterday, “We don’t have enough people to try to field staff in all of these states. So what we’ll do is put a leaner team together.”

    I know a way to make your team “leaner”, Mike. Send them out varmint huntin’ and then feed them squirrel-fry every day. I’ll even contribute a popcorn popper…

  • Yup, Huck and MCcain are out of cash and Ghoulie is toast. Looks like Paul’s message is getting out as he speaks the economy is collapsing just as he predicted. Soon it will be just Romnet and Paul and hopefully the strength of Pauls message will prevail. Face it America, this country is bankrupt and most of you are going to be bankrupt as well. The funds simply do not exist and wishful thinking will not fix the issues. Wake up and smell the fascism. This economy will not bounce back because it can’t.

  • Huckabee’s first mistake was to hire Ed Rollins. Rollins is a crotchety old bastard, a nasty limp-dicked political hack whose time has come and gone. Huck was doing very well until he hired the old dirty bastard. Now, instead of sounding genuine, he sounds like a staged politician. People liked that The Huckster sounded real and not staged. Now, he sounds like a resounding gong or constantly clanging symbol. Since the addition of Ed, Huck has made notable changes to his political beliefs that the media has pointed out are very different from positions he’s held for many years. Nobody likes a flip flopping disingenuous politician but add to that a phony preacher. He’s doomed.

  • Well Heck Huck – just go ask the ‘internet’ for more money. Isn’t that what Paul does?

    Oh wait, the internet isn’t a person is it… wait.. that must mean that all that money that Paul is getting from the internet is actually coming from, gasp…..real people!

    Incredible – it’s a good thing that no one believes his message or his fund raising might really be something to talk about.
    Tim – Missouri

  • You all know that Shillary will mop the floor with the remaining GOP candidates. The only one that will stand a chance against the Bush/Clinton cabal is Ron Paul.

    Dr. Paul really has the easy job here. Simply obey The United States Constitution and the principles set forth by the Founding Fathers. If he just sticks to that he’ll come out of this smelling like a rose and all the others will stink!

  • The media moguls can make a star out of just about anyone, but they can’t get people to send in money to somebody who they might like, but who they know so little about. Ron Paul has a following that pours in the money because they believe in his message and his consistent stance for more than 2 decades. Sorry, Huck, but without a base or a Romney-style checkbook, you bite the dust.

  • Huckabee:
    – Listed on Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians” for 2007 – Judicial Watch Organization.
    – Destroyed state computer files on his way out of the governor’s office.
    – Has received 14 ethics complaints and many questions about his integrity – his answer was to sue the state ethics commission twice and attempted to shut the ethics process down.
    – Used campaign funds to pay himself as a media consultant.
    – Converted public money to an expense account to pay for personal items (dog house, dry cleaning, meals).
    – Claims to have cut taxes in Arkansas – increased taxes 21 times, leaving office with a net tax increase of $505 million.
    – During Governorship, state spending increased 65%, more than three times the inflation rate.
    – Received over $112,000 in gifts in one year and was audited five times by Arkansas Department of Finance.
    – Pushed a bill to fund school scholarships to illegal immigrants, now claiming to be against illegal immigration.
    – Stated he had a theology degree – took some classes, but never graduated or received a degree.
    – In his 1998 book, he equates homosexuality with necrophilia, and nonbelievers with evil-doers.
    – Stated that AIDS victims should be quarantined from others, has retracted his statement.
    – Recently accused Mormons of believing that Jesus is the brother of Satan – not a belief of the Mormon religion, apologized for the accusation.
    – After leaving office as Governor of Arkansas, opened a registry with Dillard’s and Target so he could receive gifts for his new home.

  • Clearly the sheep who are the American people today are not interested in a tax and spend Republican, and are not donating to the Huckster’s cause any more. Those who are tax and spend sheep, vote Democrat – so Huck was realy running on the wrong ticket -as is the NY mayor. Mit won’t be quiting, becasue let’s face it, the East Coast elites like him and know that he will play the game for them, and the Mormons will always support thier own – even if he has shown while gov, that he speaks one way but acts another, and his actions show that he wants big government forcing its way further into our private lives (look at the medical taxes in MA under him), and a broadening of the nanny state and government welfare – things actually in contradiction to what most Mormons want (they, like most of us, want the federal government to leave us alone). As for McCain, psychopaths aren’t electable, and he clearly has proven to be a strict totalitarian (as long as he gets to be in charge), and has sponsored bill after bill which all but throw dog cr$p on the Constitution and our rights – like getting rid of Habeus Corpus rights, free speech, etc. That leaves us regular Joes and Jills with Ron Paul. To tell you the truth, I am today more worried about our own government than I am about any towelhead in Iraq who thinks that women should be second class citizens. Mitt will get slammed by Hilary, becasue his peeps are her peeps, and they will pick her over him in November. The only one who can beat the dems in November is Dr. Paul. Let’s face it, 40% of the Dems are going to vote Dem even if Hitler were thier candidate. 40% of the Republicans will do the same follow-the-party line deal. So it is really about 20% who are willing to look at both who will make the choice. Of the Dems, most all the white males Dems will not vote for a muslim, or a woman who would let her husband cheat on her – for that just means she thinks cheating is OK, and they won’t trust her not to sell out the US if for but a dollar. SO they will be looking across the lines at who the Republicans have, and as long as it is not a vile New England Harvard yuppie, or a downright psychopath, then they will be voting republican. Of the Republicans who are open enough to look at the option across the isle, well none of them are going to vote for a muslim, or a devisive bossy woman either, so they will be willing to go with the neutral guy (if it were Paul). SO if the Republicans want to win, they ought to put up Paul. COngress can then take responsibility for going to war or not (as they should), and all will be well again.

  • You people have no clue about the real world. Watch what happens next. I bet Mike goes alot futher than you want him to. I am sorry that he scares you. I guess that comes with change.

  • Given the condition of the economy I think we need to seriously consider Mitt Romney. I think its just common sense to look at somebody who has the best track record with making money to know who would best in office. I believe our current president had a few failed business attempts prior to being a politician and now look at our economy. It may be in our best interest to set aside aspects of Mitt we may not like (religion, changes presentation to say what people want to hear) and just look at the bottom line of the successes he had with money and in changing businesses that were failing into successful thriving companies…and changing around the olympics…he obviously has a charisma and drive that gets results….seems like that is what we need.

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