Matt Rhoades (and Team Romney) Playing Right Into Dick Morris's Hands? (UPDATED) (UPDATED)
Quite a headline Drudge has up this morning in screaming red letters - "Huckabee Wanted To Isolate Aids Patients"
The AP story that Drudge is referencing may be found here.
Three takeaway Huck quotes in the story (quotes taken from Huck in 1992 btw):
Now, which of those three quotes (really) hurt Huck in a Republican Primary?
1. "If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague."
2. "I feel homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk."
3. "In light of the extraordinary funds already being given for AIDS research, it does not seem that additional federal spending can be justified. An alternative would be to request that multimillionaire celebrities, such as Elizabeth Taylor, Madonna and others who are pushing for more AIDS funding be encouraged to give out of their own personal treasuries increased amounts for AIDS research."
None of them.
We think that 98.9% of "likely GOP Primary voters" will read those quotes from 1992, they'll listen to Mr. Huckabee's explanation of the quotes and then they'll casually turn back to their own affairs.
As for the argument "The quotes will turn off independents and swing voters in a general election" well, maybe.
And it might hurt Huckabee.
If Huck was running on the "I'm the most electable Republican in a General" platform.
Huck's not.
He's running on the "I'm the real Conservative" platform.
And he's currently in a primary dog fight. And focused on primary voters in Iowa and South Carolina.
Where right-of-center comments from 1992 about homosexuality, AIDS and Hollywood don't hurt.
They might even help.
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(UPDATE) Our friends over at the One Campaign have this YouTube clip of a Mike Huckabee 2007 answer on HIV/AIDS funding.
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(UPDATED) Huck is out with a statement on the whole shooting match.
