Huckabee Blogger Call – October 22, 2007 6pm

MH: I’m in California in the midst of some wild fires … fundraising in NewPort beach tonight then in San Diego in the morning. We have had a great week. I want to say thanks to all the bloggers who have been so amazingly helpful in getting out the positive word about our momentum and the campaign, and especially as acting as our unpaid volunteer truth squad. You have been one of our single most important weapons in being our truth squad and squelching untruths that get put out by other groups.

Iowa polls came out last week …. everyone was surprised to see us in a virtual tie for 2nd … except us. This was before Senator Brownback dropped out, and now we are seeing his supporters come on board, so the next Iowa poll numbers will likely be even better.

FRC/Washington Briefing – onsite we received 5-1 more votes than anyone else. very similar results to the florida values voters and palmetto results … the values voters have spoken out very clearly in these events and they stand with us.

Debate – Frank Luntz says that I am the only candidate he polls during the debates that always goes up and not down. Internet contributions alone have brought in $200,000 since Saturday morning. The phones in Little Rock don’t stop ringing and we are going to have to put in more in order to handle all the money calls.

You in the blogging community have contributed more to our success than you may ever know. Some day I’ll be sitting in the Oval Office talking with a reporter and they’ll ask me how we did it and I will have to tell them about all of you and the amazing role you all played in my campaign.

Kevin Tracy: Chuck Norris has endorsed you. How did that happen?

MH: It is getting an amazing reaction … the press is all over it. I have never met Chuck in person. I am a big fan, and my wife is even more so. I am thrilled to death that he did it and he did it all on his own … he looked at all the candidates and made up his own mind. People know him as an actor, but also as a guy that has very strong convictions about this country. We hope he will make some appearances with us very soon.

Rhett Hatcher: What’s the campaign strategy going forward?

MH: we have to keep doing what we’re doing, just in larger form. One of the things we’ve done well is handle our money carefully. We have squeezed every bit to the maximum. We have not borrowed a dime. I credit Chip with much of that. We have to add to our staff/team. We have to do advertising in Iowa soon.

(Next question from Kerry at OneMom. At this point the Governor said “First of all Kerry, I want to thank you for the fine work you’ve been doing. I really enjoy reading your blog and all you do for the campaign.” At that point, I nearly forgot my question!)

OneMom – RNC will be punishing the states (such as Michigan) who have moved their primaries. I’m just wondering your thoughts about the RNC’s decision.

MH: Rather than punishing the states, I’m more interested in playing whatever field we are given – it’s a level field for everyone. There is great value in the Iowa Caucuses and NH Primaries. These states have a very long history and process of it. I do think there is something lost for the American people if every state is up front in the schedule, because it doesn’t give the opportunity for course correction and a not so good candidate could end up with the nomination in that scenario. I do hope we don’t entirely lose those traditions.

Skip: Question about social security. How will you fix the demographic time bomb (baby boomers) moving into the social security system?

MH: We have to give people more control over their own money and their own retirement. The President is trying, but he used a word that panicked everyone “privatization”. A better word is “personalization”. People who don’t need their SS payout monthly, they could be given a one time opportunity to buy out and invest it as they wish.

Ron Miller: As impressed as we were with the FRC straw poll, we were disappointed in the inability of the christian leaders to reach a consensus.

MH: well I wish they had reached a consensus. I can’t tell you what’s going on with them. The good news is that the PEOPLE are saying that they get it … that electability is not the most important factor and that they agree with us that there are convictions and foundations that we cannot abandon. The signers of the Declaration of Independence knew that signing their names would likely mean death, but their beliefs and their convictions were more important to them. We are seeing that the PEOPLE in these Values Voters events are more interested in message and unwavering conviction than some false image of “electability”, and they are standing with us.

Brian Snow: We had hoped to see higher expectations out of Little Rock after the 3rd quarter. and that bar is beginning to be raised. In what way can we continue to see these be raised for bloggers and others to

MH: every day we are seeing record levels of traffic and contributions. We are seeing a viral impact of our message. I am more and more convinced that we are beginning to see the makings of a wildfire … we have been praying for this for 10 months. Let’s buckle up and be ready.

(From the conference call, it is my understanding that the counter for contributions on the campaign website is only counting online contributions only. Contributions that have been burning up the phone lines in Little Rock are not included in the online counter)

Michelle: Fundraising strategies. Have you found a fundraiser?

MH: We have several folks interested in the position, but I don’t want just a slick operator, I want someone who really supports me and believes in the message that our campaign brings. We need someone who is willing to go to the mat for our campaign. What the media didn’t realize is that we scheduled many events right after Iowa, but due to scheduling, couldn’t begin those until October (actually that’s what these events are in California right now). The other thing is our Team 100 … we have a team of 100 people who are each working to raise $100,000 by December. None of these men are paid, they are volunteers and believe that our campaign is worth the effort. Many say “the Lord has really led me to be part of this campaign”.

MH: what each of you gets done for us each and everyday is more valuable to us than you can possibly know. The work you all do on your blogs, we couldn’t begin to pay for that kind of coverage and support. So again, thank you so much and God bless.