Huckabee Gets His Facts Wrong

Ft. Lee, NJ -- In a speech given Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention, former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee snarkily announced to the crowd that his party's vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, won more votes when she ran for Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, than the votes that Democratic Sen. Joe Biden won in the 2008 presidential race.

I really wish that instead of checking his coat at the door, Huckabee had checked his facts.

When Palin ran for re-election in 1999, she won the race by 909 votes to 292 against her competitor, John Stein.

As far as the votes garnered by Biden, let's start with the first state to hold a presidential caucus, Iowa. On caucus day Sen. Biden won 2,328 votes in that state, and won additional votes in other states as well. This info is from the CNN Elections Center.

Not only was Huckabee incorrect in his matter-of-fact statement -- just by counting the votes in ONE STATE in the Democratic primaries, Biden won MORE THAN TWICE the votes that Palin did. And on February 6, also known as Super Tuesday, he had at lease one vote in my home state of New Jersey -- mine.

So, Huckabee, it would be ever so much more helpful next time to remember this rule:
keep your coat, and check your facts.

Comments

[zedthewizard]

THE NEGLECTED STORY

The neglected story and the most important story is the loss of the fourth estate in American politic. The republicans attack on the so-called liberal media performing biased reporting has dire consequences.

The current republican contradictions and the attack on the media lump all media together. The republican campaign has the nuance and the wherewithal to understand the difference between news media and tabloid, fact and fiction, truth and un-truth. We recognize cultural differences and perspectives. However, the republican contradictions and claims of unfair treatment use these cultural differences and perspectives to explain away their unreasonable disagreement with evident facts and truths.

The behavior by the republican party will ultimately erode and perhaps eliminate the role of a free press in American society. By not distinguishing between serious news reporting and tabloid reporting they have equated all information has equal. Therefore, there is not truth or fact. There is only subjective noise. If, we sound alarmist, we are alarmed. As with a round earth, and the earth"s orbit around the sun; our claim is indisputably evident. Some calling us alarmist would demand nothing. However, we now have come together to state unequivocally the erosion and eventual death of the fourth estate from American Institutions is well under way. Action is required. Action is demanded.

We believe that to continue down this destructive path to attempt to equate all information as equal must be pushed back by the republican party itself or by the American electorate.