Huckabee Campaign Press Release - Huckabee Iowa War Room Update: State of the Union Edition

By Jack Sisson, Director of Research and Rapid Response

Warm that winter bisque, crack that creme brulée, and swap that ball-cap for an antique beret, it's Obama's final State of the Union address! The Governor has had five great Iowa events today, with one more planned for tomorrow. Then he's off to join Ms. Janet, who's been campaigning hard in South Carolina...BIG THANKS to Congressman Trent Franks for a glowing editorial filled with BIG praise…U.S. Senator Mike Rounds is in Spearfish, S.D. (where it's probably too cold to catch fish) but he took some time to go 'on the record' and share why he's supporting Gov. Huckabee. (A message from our sponsors: Please talk to your doctor about blood pressure medicine before listening to the President's speech tonight.) Some excerpts from the road….

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Congressman Trent Franks: ''No greater pro-life champion than Huckabee"

Leading pro-life social conservative, Rep. Trent Franks, published an editorial in Western Journalism supporting Gov. Mike Huckabee as "the most inspirational and Reaganesque speaker in the field" and a warrior who "first entered politics as a pro-life activist." "Deeply committed pro-life, pro-family conservatives all know that Mike Huckabee is truly one of us," said Franks, who is considered one of the biggest social conservative officials in Washington. The Arizona Republican is author of numerous pieces of pro-life legislation, including the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. "Whether I'm in New York or Iowa, I will never apologize for protecting life and defending marriage," said Huckabee.

"A conversation with Sen. Mike Rounds continues"

SPEARFISH, S.D.— U.S. Senator Mike Rounds stopped by...to weigh in on issues facing the nation...Pioneer: Who would you like to see as the Republican candidate for president? Rounds: "Mike Huckabee...I think Mike would be a great president. I think he's solid. I think he's got the right temperament for it. He's outside of Washington, yet, at the same time, he's had experience as a governor. People know who he is. He's been in the public eye long enough to know there aren't skeletons there. Me, personally, I know him. And I think he makes the right decisions for the right reasons. So I'm a Mike Huckabee fan."

Fort Madison Daily Democrat, "Huckabee targets caucus goers"

KEOKUK, Iowa — It was 8 a.m. and 16 degrees Monday when presidential candidate Gov. Mike Huckabee rolled into the parking lot of The Hawkeye restaurant in Keokuk… "In three weeks you will be caucusing," Huckabee said. "This is winter in Iowa. It may be snowing. It may be sleeting. But don't let anything stop you from caucusing for me. However, if you plan to caucus for someone else, it is winter in Iowa, after all, so stay home"…..Huckabee compared being president to being a pilot. "Somebody has to be in the cockpit who knows how to fly the plane," Huckabee said. "They need to know how to get through the turbulence and land safely. This is not about the glamour and glitz that comes with the election. It's about who has the competence to sit at that desk from day-one and get the job done"….Huckabee said he felt there are several issues not being discussed enough - like the U.S. tax code. "I believe if you have the type of economy were people are working everything changes. The mood of the people changes," he said. Huckabee said one of the reasons the U.S. has lost 5,000,000 factory jobs since 2000 is that the country has a tax system that punishes people who work. "When you have a type of system that chases people away, they leave," Huckabee said. "I want to change the tax system so we can bring the jobs back to the United States and become competitive again."

Bam! Huck Hot on Twitter=> @GovMikeHuckabee "SHOCKING FACT: #PlannedParenthood receives more taxpayer funds each year than the $900 million #Powerball winner takes home. #PowerballFever"

(FOX)—Ottumwa, Iowa "The Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee made a swing through southeast Iowa today. … He is on a 150-stop schedule and completed the "full Grassley" last week. He says he has faith in Iowa. He says Iowa voters tend to decide late who they support in the caucus. Eight years ago he was behind and pulled out as Iowa's choice. His position on issues have been constant throughout his campaign. The caucuses will be held on February first."

(ABC)—Iowa City, Iowa "Mike Huckabee is hosting events called 'The Huck Stops Here.' He has several stops including the Coffee Corner in Washington, the Williamsburg Public Library, and at the American Legion in Coralville."

Ottumwa Courier, "Huckabee asks for Iowans' support"

OTTUMWA, Iowa— Mike Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses eight years ago, and he was in Ottumwa on Monday to ask voters to help him do it again….Huckabee criticized President Barack Obama's record as a one-term senator...Huckabee repeatedly praised Iowa's role in winnowing the candidates running for president. He called the state "the human resources manager of America," weeding out unqualified applicants before submitting the final candidates to the rest of the country...During the speech he called for increasing the size of the American military. He said the military is too small and too outdated for 21st century needs. "The B52 is a model that is older than me," said Huckabee, to chuckles in the audience...A social conservative, Huckabee said neither the nation's economy nor the military needs to be rebuilt as urgently as national morality. He criticized what he sees as the effort to impose human law over divine law, saying the country is based on a Constitution that reflects the founders' understanding of "the sinful nature of man"...Provoking particular ire was the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings allowing same-sex marriage and abortion, the latter of which Huckabee said results in 4,000 abortions per day. He said without a president who understands that he is subordinate to god and a congress with the spine to fight a president who doesn't, the nation is left "to the tyranny of … unelected lawyers."

The Hawkeye, "Mike Huckabee courts Iowans three weeks out from caucus night"

"Three weeks from caucus night, candidates are picking up the pace on the Iowa campaign trail and compiling their endorsements….Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told town hall attendees Monday morning at the Burlington Public Library the city's mayor, Shane McCampbell, endorsed his candidacy and would speak on his behalf Feb. 1."

Pilot Tribune

"Janet Huckabee was raised in Hope Arkansas, and speaks with a soft southern drawl, "my" pronounced as "mah" when she says "I enjoy working with my hands." She stopped by Storm Lake Wednesday to help work on a Habitat for Humanity house….She says, 'When I was in 9th grade I tried to take shop class but my counselor refused to let me. (I'm 60 now, so you can figure how long ago that was.) I even got my mom to go in and talk to him, but he still refused. My mom taught me Home Ec at the house, so that class was a total waste of time. They made me take typing, and every time I hit that key I was mad! Now, here I am, building houses all over the world! I learned how to use tools in my own back yard and by working for Habitat. I saw that counselor again when he was an old man, and he said refusing to let me take shop was the biggest mistake of his life! Habitat crosses all lines; political, gender, race, financial. Once you put that blue shirt on you just go.'

Ottumwa Evening Post, "Is Huckabee Poised for a Comeback?"

OTTUMWA—Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee spoke to a jam-packed room of voters at Ottumwa's Country Kitchen restaurant Monday night..."I have had a lot of political events here," said Country Kitchen owner Larry Zimmerman, "but this blows them all away." The enthusiastic crowd may be evidence that the Huckabee campaign is gaining some momentum in the state he won in 2008…"If you elevate a candidate that you feel is worthy, you have done your country a service," he said, "If you eliminate candidates you feel are unworthy, you have also done your country a service"… "You would never risk putting your children or grandchildren on a plane with someone who had never piloted a jet," said Huckabee. "Why on earth would you have your children and grandchildren live in a country with a president who has never run anything?"….With less than three weeks to go before caucus night, Huckabee has more than 100 additional campaign events on the schedule...As for last night's crowd, they seem to have their minds made up. According to one campaign staffer, nearly everyone in attendance signed a pledge to caucus for Governor Huckabee...

(NBC)—Des Moines, Iowa "Today, White House hopefuls will make their pitches to Iowa voters. Six candidates are scheduled to make stops in the state during the day. The Republicans include Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee, Carly Fiorina, Rick Santorum, and Donald Trump. … It's just Hillary Clinton for the Democrats, and the latest poll shows the former Secretary of State is losing support in Iowa."

(NBC)—Davenport, Iowa "Two of them will be in our area. Former governor Mike Huckabee is making five stops in Iowa today, including visits to Muscatine and Clinton. Huckabee will host a town hall at Fabricators Plus in Muscatine at 3:30 this afternoon. He's also holding a meet and greet in Clinton at Jenny's Diner. That event starts at 6:30."

(ABC)—Iowa City, Iowa "Mike Huckabee is hosting several events today. His stops include the Coffee Corner in Washington, the Williamsburg Public Library, and the American Legion in Coralville. … A group of Iowa caucus goers plan to protest at Donald Trump's event today. They say they're against his 'out of touch economic policy.'"

(FOX)—Iowa City, Iowa "A pair of candidates will be hosting events in Coralville today … this afternoon, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee will make an appearance at the American Legion Post Number 721 … don't forget, there will be much more political news in the last weeks before the caucuses on Iowa in Focus."