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Huckabee’s Think Tank Is Tanking

Oh well.Last year, even some Democrats liked Mike Huckabee for two and a half seconds because he had “ideas” that went beyond “grind up the bottom 2 percent of earners into Hamburger Helper and give Fred Thompson another tax cut.” He said novel things about looking after the Poors and probably some other shit, who can remember really, it was so long ago. Anyway, after he lost the Republican nomination to an enfeebled Navy guy with a hair-trigger temper and a grifter sidekick, Mike Huckabee formed a political action committee and everybody assumed he was laying the groundwork for another presidential run. But that PAC and its attendant “think tank” organ are now looking pretty sad.

Nobody knows how much money Huck Pac has in the bank because they haven’t filed any FEC reports this year (PROBABLY NOT A GOOD SIGN). But things went steadily downhill between June and December of last year in terms of debt and cash on hand. Now they’ve laid off an old Huckabee hand; their associated think tank, the Vertical Politics Institute, appears to have been eated by the larger Huck Pac organization; and the VPI’s head has gone to work on a political campaign.

AND Mike Huckabee has gotten fat again. Conclusion: he’s not running for anything besides Mayor of Fox News.

Mike Huckabee’s Huck Pac ‘Restructuring;’ Longtime Aide Laid Off [Arkansas Business Journal]


9:41 AM on Thu July 23 2009
By Sara K. Smith
6569 Views

  1. dangbuddy says at 9:49 am, July 23rd, 2009

    I love fat Huckabee!! I wish I could use him for a pillow.

  2. norbizness says at 9:50 am, July 23rd, 2009

    “I think… I think I’ll get an extra glass of gravy to go with my biscuits and gravy.”

  3. Monsieur Grumpe says at 9:51 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Hair Trigger Temper Man and his sidekick Grifter would make an excellent comic book series.

  4. nbawriter says at 9:53 am, July 23rd, 2009

    He should change the name to Phuck Pac … all the Little Rock hipsters would come runnin’.

  5. Noodle Salad says at 9:54 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Sounds like the vertical politics institute has gone horizontal, and not the good kind of horizontal that so many other Republican contenders enjoy engaging in.

  6. ForTheTurnstiles says at 9:56 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Mike Huckabee is already president if of the Sarah Palin Ruined My Career Club.

  7. earnestcivilservant says at 9:57 am, July 23rd, 2009

    That photo! So unpatriotic. No stars, only stripes. No flag pins. And the dog is clearly a muslin.

  8. finallyhappy says at 10:01 am, July 23rd, 2009

    HELLO- Where is my Mark Sanford coverage?

  9. ManchuCandidate says at 10:02 am, July 23rd, 2009

    I’ll bet the catering bills ate a considerable hole into the PAC’s bottom line.

  10. finallyhappy says at 10:03 am, July 23rd, 2009

    HELLO- Where is my Mark Sanford coverage? http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20090722/NEWS/90722009/1004/NEWS01
    What a husband and what a governor!

  11. A Better American Than YOU says at 10:06 am, July 23rd, 2009

    My feeble mind has trouble putting that photo and the term “think tank” in the same sentence.

    Mebbe “chamber of pondering”…”mull bucket”…”barrel of cogitation.” Certainly not “fat vat!”

  12. snideinplainsight says at 10:06 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Hey! Waitaminute! Is that actually a PYT in the Huckabee family there? Is that photo still accurate, or have they eaten her since it was taken?

  13. queeraselvis v 2.0 says at 10:09 am, July 23rd, 2009

    norbizness: “I think… I think I’ll get an extra tank of gravy to go with my biscuits and gravy.”

    Fixed.

  14. tthyme says at 10:09 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Is the point of the Vertical Politics Institute to promote the wearing of vertically striped shirts among its members? Then it has brilliance I had not suspected…because OoooooWheeeeee! VPI will drive us mad for a peek at the doughy wonderment beneath those blousons!

  15. x111e7thst says at 10:13 am, July 23rd, 2009

    finallyhappy: This guy is not doing much governing these days. Is there no federal money to be rejected? No state service to the poor he could be cutting?

  16. MC_Bob says at 10:14 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Conclusion: he’s not running for anything besides Mayor of Fox News.

    ———

    Mayor McCheese, maybe…

  17. Mahousu says at 10:15 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Someone must have told Huck that Vertical Politics were slimming. When he found out to the contrary, well, not much hope for them.

  18. MayorShroomberg says at 10:15 am, July 23rd, 2009

    earnestcivilservant: And are those some professorial elbow patches on those striped shirts? I mean, they look like they could be denim, but still… ELITIST!

  19. Norbert says at 10:16 am, July 23rd, 2009

    earnestcivilservant: maybe that’s why one of his obese children tortured the dog to death or some such (look it up!)

  20. freakishlystrong says at 10:17 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Gawd, those sons of his! That’s child abuse right there that is…and by that I mean the matching shirts, who the fuck does that?

  21. finallyhappy says at 10:17 am, July 23rd, 2009

    snideinplainsight: I found a picture of her from the campaign- she is not bad looking but not as cute as she was.

  22. Mahousu says at 10:18 am, July 23rd, 2009

    snideinplainsight: Even worse: daughter Sarah is the Executive Director of Huck Pac. I guess child labor is still legal in Arkansas.

  23. Norbert says at 10:18 am, July 23rd, 2009

    The post already made me sad and now i just read the alt text and feel like weeping. o the pathos!

  24. Pirate King of the Jews says at 10:19 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Mike might have been angling for that Surgeon General spot…

  25. blowhard says at 10:21 am, July 23rd, 2009

    They blew the first rule of think tank budgeting, which is to restrict expenditures to mission critical functions and have only ONE Pizza Day per week.

  26. snideinplainsight says at 10:21 am, July 23rd, 2009

    finallyhappy: So aren’t we all, my friend, so aren’t we all.

  27. widget09 says at 10:27 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Huck needs a good PR campaign led by none other than Chuck Norris. Chuck can Kung-Fu anyone who objects.

  28. widestanceromancer says at 10:28 am, July 23rd, 2009

    “Mmmm, butter” does not a think tank make.

  29. bitchincamaro says at 10:29 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Why didn’t he hire Mark Penn in the beginning? Sure, he’d be broker than an orphan hobo baby, but think of the donuts they could have enjoyed together.

  30. JadedDIssonance says at 10:32 am, July 23rd, 2009

    New Article Title:
    Huckabee’s Thinks Tank

  31. Don Juanquete says at 10:33 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Friedman just publshed his new book, The World is Fat 4.0: A Beef Huckstory of the 21st Century.

  32. Stradric says at 10:36 am, July 23rd, 2009

    earnestcivilservant: Haha. That is Daily Show quality comedy right there. Well done, sir.

  33. gurukalehuru says at 10:38 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Yes, vertical stripes are slimming, but there ARE limits.

  34. dangbuddy says at 10:39 am, July 23rd, 2009

    earnestcivilservant: I see plenty of stripes.

  35. finallyhappy says at 10:41 am, July 23rd, 2009

    x111e7thst: I think SC is doing better with him gone. Not that I would know- I try not to enter that state unless coerced(meaning work travel)

  36. Speed Ball says at 10:42 am, July 23rd, 2009

    major web design background advertisement FAIL

  37. Mahousu says at 10:44 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Speed Ball: Yeah, vertical picture stripes are not really slimming.

  38. Come here a minute says at 10:48 am, July 23rd, 2009

    But that PAC and its attendant “think tank” organ are now looking pretty sad.

    The problem was they had nothing to stimulate the Republican “thinking organ”. SarahPAC rules! I predict more Runners World type photo galleries.

  39. jodyleek says at 10:49 am, July 23rd, 2009

    What in the world was his “Think Tank” thinking about? My guess - The virtues of Sansabelt slacks whilst dining at your local OCB.

  40. lionboy says at 10:51 am, July 23rd, 2009

    gurukalehuru: tthyme: I had a similar though — THe Vertical Institute: Think Tank for Fat-Headed Thinkers and Morbidly Obese Wingnuts

  41. wildeoats says at 10:55 am, July 23rd, 2009

    With their matching duds, this looks like the album cover for some fat version of a Christian rock singing group.

    “Ready, gang, ‘Holy Jesus and Me, go together like ribs and sweet tea’ on 3. . . .”

  42. nightshift says at 11:06 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Is Wonkette baiting us with the dick jokes? You’re just asking for it when you use phrases like “think tank” organ…..

  43. chascates says at 11:07 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Huckabeen

  44. Studge says at 11:09 am, July 23rd, 2009

    When I look at that family photograph, I cannot help but ask the question: whom will get eated by whom first?

  45. Joshua Norton says at 11:10 am, July 23rd, 2009

    If they’re the ones who “thought” those shirts would be a good idea then they deserve to be shut down.

  46. It’s sad when your brainstorming-for-ideas session becomes a drizzle and then slides into a long drought.

  47. Holy hell, 500 Days of Cummer in my face? It’s the new economy-size Campbell Brown.

  48. Harold_Ignoramis says at 11:26 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Barbershop trio meets the Judds?

  49. Johnny Zhivago says at 11:29 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Don’t you all realize the only way Huck can keep up his diet and exercise program is by quitting it?

  50. Johnny Zhivago says at 11:32 am, July 23rd, 2009

    BTW, Huck is taking up the cause of investigating dimensional profiling by police and resturant workers.

  51. germansteel says at 11:40 am, July 23rd, 2009

    The one of the left is affectionately known as “Huckabee’s Trig.”

  52. Tundra Grifter says at 11:53 am, July 23rd, 2009

    Per the standards of Faux Noise, putting on those lbs. means he can’t be Surgeon General.

  53. Cape Clod says at 11:56 am, July 23rd, 2009

    He’s getting fat again? Obviously he’s looking to lead the million fat wingnut march on Washington.

  54. trondant says at 11:58 am, July 23rd, 2009

    earnestcivilservant: The dog has an apple in his mouth. He probably went straight into the roasting pan after the picture was taken.

  55. Pithaughn says at 12:05 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    ManchuCandidate: I am lieterally crying here, yu r funny !

  56. Pithaughn says at 12:07 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    lionboy: Don’t forget, Pure (not by choice though)

  57. trondant says at 12:08 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    finallyhappy: I thought he had Bubba’s old job, which meant he probably had to replace the office drapes when he moved in. But anyway, SC isn’t going to get ahead at all so long as both their senators are named after Girl Scout cookies.

  58. Who, Moi? says at 12:35 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    OMG, Grifter! That is the best one-word description of Palin ever!

    http://palingates.blogspot.com/2009/07/arah-palins-handwriting.html

    pass the popcorn…

  59. Mahousu says at 12:55 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    Whew! Turns out we don’t have to worry about Huck Pac after all. They have a new line of business - ripping off Republican candidates for office: Phillip spent nearly $45,000 [most of it going directly to Huckabee] to raise less than $20,000 ….

  60. hobospacejunkie says at 12:55 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    Slice up the big brother on top, put his pieces in a few Omaha Steaks boxes, sell him door to door and voila! Think tank saved by sacrificial cannibalism.

  61. hobospacejunkie says at 12:58 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    Who, Moi?: Congratulations! You’re the first contestant on Whore My Blog!

  62. My god they’re just fucking AWFUL.

  63. Fat striped men that make their women wear red and live on a plantation. Perfect for Washington!

  64. Extemporanus says at 1:07 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    The Huckster just said “Tanks, but no tanks” to that thought to nowhere.

  65. Who, Moi? says at 1:15 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    hobospacejunkie: umm, that’s not my blog.

  66. hobospacejunkie says at 2:18 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    Who, Moi?: Please accept my humble apologies for being an asshole. I have no excuse.

  67. Who, Moi? says at 2:30 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    hobospacejunkie: It’s okay. The truth is, if I could whore my blog, I would. Actually, a lot of sites are set up so a lick on a commenter’s name brings you right to their own site, and I quite like having that option available. I have frittered away much pleasurable time following such links and discovered all sorts of interesting ideas I never would have encountered otherwise.

    Why does Wonkette hate her commenters so? Is she a jealous intertube attention hog?

    BTW the latest Grifter ethics issue is deliciously amusing.

  68. guerilla-nation says at 2:41 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    is it just me, or do they look like that farting family on the fake movie trailer in tropic thunder? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6CZyy6bWA0&feature=related)

  69. sarahconnor says at 2:42 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    this photo should be on the Awkward Family Photos site…

  70. Smoke Filled Roommate says at 3:42 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    guerilla-nation: The Fatties Fart 2: In the Stink Tank

  71. Uncle Glenny says at 3:51 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    Who, Moi?: Having a link from your name to website encourages people to post just to whore their blog; I suspect that’s the reason.

  72. Who, Moi? says at 4:12 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    Uncle Glenny: sigh. It is very difficult to fathom these intertube etiquettes especially when you’re old enough to remember the days when an entire family shared one phone and the only cars with a/c were Cadillacs.

    On the other hand, no one is forced to click on a link, and if the poster has nothing interesting to say nobody will go to their site - or they will, and leave nasty snark that will discourage them from posting solely to whore their blog…no?

  73. Smoke Filled Roommate says at 4:52 pm, July 23rd, 2009

    Who, Moi?: C’mon man, yer draggin’ this out. It’s really simple.

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