Back from the Brink

Isn't it amazing how many times Gov. Huckabee has been counted out, only to rise again from the ashes and accomplish another victory?

Our caucus closed yesterday with my precinct showing numbers that eclipsed the last Presidential election by over 1000 percent. Last election -- 4; this election -- over 50!

And, also yesterday (Saturday February 9th) I attended, along with my wife and youngest son, a breakfast featuring Mrs. Janet Huckabee. We sat at a reserved table and enjoyed great fellowship and a message from Mrs. Huckabee outlining the Huckabee Plan for America.



Here is Mrs. Huckabee speaking to an audience at the International House of Pancakes in Olympia, WA. Total invited -- 100; Total Attended -- 130...








Some of the visiting dignitaries included State Senators and Representatives.


Here is State Senator Dan Swecker introducing Mrs. Huckabee to the audience.















Mrs. Huckabee was not only extremely well spoken, but professional and approachable at the same time.
Her humor and down-home relational style is attractive, but also authoritative in its tone. She knows of what she speaks. And she did not falter in her reporting of her husbands plan for America and the components therein.

She made a point of visiting with as many (nearly everyone) there at the IHoP, even spending time allowing pictures and others to eat their breakfast, while hers grew cold.

Kudo's to IHoP and the manager/Owner, and the servers for our gigantic party. Not an ordinary location for a group that large to be viewed in a good light, but these guys were top-notch. They even came up with a catchy plate title "The HuckaBerry" Breakfast, special for the occasion.

Due to my role within the organization, I was afforded a good perch to witness Mrs. Huckabee speak and was able to speak directly with her both before and after about her limited time in the State as well as to ensure she knew that we were serious about Gov. Huckabee's run for the Whitehouse.

UPDATE: Just released from AP; Mike Huckabee challenges Washington State Republican "calling of the race" to McCain with only 87% of the precincts reporting. Gov. Huckabee has said that legal team members are on the way to Washington State to challenge the statement, and the State Republican Party leader Luke Esser has stated that if Huckabee wants to continue counting, then he has no problem with that, but has not released any new numbers.

We will continue to monitor this issue and report.

Check out www.washingtonforhuckabee.com to view the latest State information and also sign up for MeetUp locations.

Time Out >> Time In

O.K. -- I had a great time out...but now I'm back in the saddle again...

By the time this hits the presses, the New Hampshire Primary will just another "yesterdays news" item. Since the Northeast is traditionally known as conservative Democrat territory, Huckabee stood little chance in garnering much of a support base -- However, placing third is truly a remarkable achievement.
Romney has a summer home there, (and in Michigan), and McCain has brand recognition, so their places were foregone conclusions. Less impressive was the showing by Giuliani...losing ground in both New Hampshire as well as the National Polls.

Let's talk a little about the Voting/Election Process for Washington State. If, like me, you are wondering what to do to support your candidate come caucus time, here is some information for you to chew on:

Participating in Caucuses and Conventions

Getting to Your Republican Precinct Caucus

Caucuses will be held on Saturday, February 9^th, 2008, at 1:00 p.m.

What are precincts?

• Washington is split up into 49 legislative districts and 39 counties.
• Each legislative district is then broken down further into smaller areas called precincts.
• Your precinct number may look like this (Example: 02-034) which means you’re in the 2nd district, 34^th precinct.

How do I know what precinct I live in?

• The quickest and easiest way to find out is to check your voter registration card.
• If you can’t find your registration card, call either your GOP district leader or county party headquarters, and ask which precinct you live in. Attached is a list of phone numbers for each county GOP HQ, and each GOP county chairperson.

How do I find out where the caucuses are meeting?

Close to the caucuses, you should contact your county chairperson and ask where your caucus meeting is going to take place. Usually it will be in a school or some other public building, like a fire station or library, (or even someone’s house) and it will start at 1 p.m., so be about a half hour early so you can get signed in.

What Happens at the Caucus

Where is my precinct?

With more than one precinct in the same building, each table will probably have a piece of paper on it somewhere indicating which precinct is at that table. Just sit down at the table that has your precinct number on it, even if you’re the only one there.

OK, now what?

• All your time leading up until 2 p.m. will be spent primarily on voting on specific aspects of the party platform. (Party Platform—a statement of where a political party stands on each major issue of the day.)
• Most likely you’ll simply have papers to fill out with different choices for what you want represented in the party’s platform for each issue. For example, you’ll be able to choose whether the Republican Party will be pro-tax or anti-tax, and things like that.
• If you’re not sure about what you’re doing, ask your PCO (who will be in charge of things, if he/she is there), or whoever is in charge of your table, or ask the PCO at another table if no one at your table can help you, or you by chance happen to be the only one from your precinct actually present.

What about delegates?

• From 2 p.m. on, you and the people at your table will elect certain people to go as delegates to the county convention. (Delegates commit to attend the county convention and there nominate local candidates and elect delegates to the state convention) The paperwork provided will inform you as to how many delegates you can elect from your precinct.
• Any voter from the precinct can be a delegate, whether he/she is actually at the caucus or not.
• First, delegates will be nominated. You can volunteer to be a delegate, and you will represent the Presidential candidate of your choice (Mike Huckabee).
• You do not have to say which Presidential candidate you want, but you do want to make sure any delegates you elect are also for your candidate (Mike Huckabee) as well.

What’s so important about the delegates?

• In short, this is where we can win.

• As I mentioned earlier, the delegates elected at the caucuses will attend the county convention later in the year, and they will choose delegates to go to the state convention.
• At the state convention, the delegates all vote on which candidate they want to nominate for President. The candidate who gets the most votes gets all 11 of Washington’s delegates, who will represent him at the Republican National Convention.
• The Presidential candidate who wins the most delegates will be the official nominee for the Republican Party, and will face off against the Democrat nominee in the general election in November 2008.
• If you want Mike Huckabee to win, you must make sure you vote for delegates in your precinct who are also for him, so they can represent him at your county convention. Strongly consider becoming a delegate yourself.

Check these websites:

http://www.wsrp.org/default.aspx

http://www.piercegop.org/index.htm

Let’s win this state for Mike Huckabee!!

I will post a chart of the Counties and their Contact information to the GOP leaders for your viewing tomorrow...

That is all