Press Release: Former South Carolina Governor David Beasley Endorses Mike Huckabee

Saturday, May 19, 2007

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Mike Huckabee is “the most authentic, consistently conservative pro-family candidate our party has to offer,” former South Carolina Governor David M. Beasley said today as he endorsed the presidential campaign of his former gubernatorial colleague and friend. “I know Mike’s heart and his record. I know he’s one of us,” Beasley said in a speech before the South Carolina Republican Party state convention. Beasley served as South Carolina’s governor from 1995-1999. “I’m truly proud to have the support of David Beasley, a man whose courage I admire and whose friendship I treasure,” said Huckabee, who served as Arkansas governor from 1996-2007. “Mike Huckabee is the best candidate because he is consistent on our party’s core values, he has a record of success at winning support from Republicans and like-minded independents, and he has a track record of executive accomplishment that prompted him to be named one of America’s best governors,” Beasley said Beasley’s endorsement comes shortly after Huckabee’s widely praised performance in the recent South Carolina presidential debate in Columbia. It also builds the strength of a South Carolina campaign whose honorary state chair is former South Carolina First Lady Iris Campbell, wife of late Gov. Carroll A. Campbell, Jr., Beasley’s predecessor. One of her sons, Mike, is a senior national advisor to the Huckabee campaign. Mike Campbell, who introduced Beasley at the announcement, said, “We’re proud to have David Beasley aboard Team Huckabee. This endorsement shows that the families of South Carolina’s two most recent former Republican Governors believe Mike Huckabee is the right choice for President. This is a significant endorsement which builds on the momentum of Tuesday’s debate victory.” The South Carolina Republican primary has long been seen as critical to winning the GOP nomination, and Beasley played a key role in the 1996 contest when he helped marshal support for that year’s victor, Sen. Bob Dole. Beasley also was an early supporter for President Bush’s 2000 South Carolina campaign. Beasley and Huckabee became close friends when Beasley was chairman of the Republican Governors Association from 1997-1998. “If my fellow South Carolinians are looking for a candidate who best understands them, they could find no more perfect fit than Mike Huckabee,” Beasley said. “He has a track record of success in cutting taxes, in reforming education and at the White House he’ll understand how to pay attention to the special challenges of rural and small town America.” Governor Beasley’s four years in office made history as some as South Carolina’s most successful years ever in economic development. Capital investment announcements from 1995 to 1998 totaled more than $22 billion and 110,000 new jobs. Beasley’s tenure resulted in the move or expansion of more than 400 large corporations in South Carolina. Working with the South Carolina General Assembly, Beasley also led the drive to push a sweeping, back-to-basics accountability law in 1998 that created rigorous, world-class standards for what every student in every grade should know and what every teacher should teach. Beasley currently serves as the chairman of the National Advisory on Rural Health and Human Services for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Beasley and his wife, Mary Wood, live in Society Hill, S.C. They have four children: Mary Hunter, Sarah Catherine, David Jr. and Samuel Ross.

Mike Huckabee Comments On Proposed Immigration Reform Legislation

Saturday, May 19, 2007

LITTLE ROCK, Ark – Former Governor Mike Huckabee (AR) issued the following statement Friday regarding proposed legislation on illegal immigration: “This bill offers amnesty and should not be approved. While I appreciate the hard work of the Senate and the Administration, this bill is not in the best interests of our national security, our citizens, and those who are patiently following the rules to become citizens.” “My number one priority is to secure America’s borders. We also need to address the fairness issue. America is a nation of laws. We need to make sure that any new legislation does not put those who broke the law ahead of law-abiding immigrants who are already in a very long line, to become Americans legally.” “Those who are caught trying to enter illegally must be detained, processed, and deported. Illegal immigrants who are already living among us and commit serious and violent crimes must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and incarcerated or deported.” “After we have our border under control, we need to address the status of illegals who are already here, about 12 million people. I am opposed to amnesty because we can’t overlook that people have broken the law and must take responsibility for their actions.”

Dick Morris states Huckabee’s “ability to turn a phrase” ranks with Reagan and Clinton — Possibly “The Great Right Hope”

Dick Morris with Fox News…read entire article here. 

Now, with Romney — impaired in his mission to become “The Great Right Hope” — taking on the winner of Giuliani-McCain, who will fill the void on the right? If not Romney, do we need to wait for Fred Thompson or Newt Gingrich? But as Fred dithers and Newt delays, the vacuum becomes more galling. Enter Arkansas’ Mike Huckabee with a stellar debate performance.

When Huckabee compared Democratic spending to John Edwards at a hair salon, he cracked everyone up. When he spoke of the commitment to human life that animates us when hikers are lost on Mt. Hood, or miners are stuck in a coal mine, or a child is lost in the woods, and compared it with our lack of concern for the fetus in the womb, he spoke to the heart of the conservative viewers.

But, beyond his substance, Huckabee (disclosure: a former client) showed an ability to turn a phrase that ranks with Reagan and Clinton. He was able to communicate so well that he stood out in the pack.

Huckabee has a long way to rise, and Romney has a long way to fall, before the Arkansan could become “The Great Right Hope” — but he is doing very well in the early going of the quarter final.

Was anybody watching? You bet. Two million viewers tuned in. And if that doesn’t sound like a lot, consider that the total turnout in the Republican primaries will probably not top seven million!

Gov. David Beasley will officially endorse Mike Huckabee

Former S.C. Gov. David Beasley will officially endorse Mike Huckabee of Arkansas for president today at the S.C. Republican Party convention, according to TheState.com.  Read the article here.