NOTE: Huckabee won all 18 delegates from West Virginia this afternoon!

This blog is intended to be a “cliff’s notes” for those readers who are just now researching the candidates for the upcoming primary election. I have prayed and researched myself and have come to the conclusion that the best candidate, hands down, is Mike Huckabee. Some of you may wonder why I have thrown myself so passionately into the fray in support of someone the media casts as an underdog.

I am voting for Mike Huckabee because….

1. He is the only candidate who supports a human life amendment to the US Constitution. He thinks Roe v. Wade needs to be overturned. Both Romney and McCain are more liberal on this issue. McCain has stated that he thinks we need Roe v. Wade. Romney used to be unapologetically pro-abortion…until he started campaigning for President. Now he says he is pro-life. Huckabee is pro-life and is the only one who supports a Human Life Amendment. Of course, such an amendment would have to be ratified by the citizens of this country, so even if you don’t agree with him on this and think a woman has a right to choose, Huckabee still could be the candidate for you. A President can’t make laws; he can only sign them and inspire.

2. He advocates getting rid of the IRS and income taxes and instituting a new, simpler way to finance government through the FairTax system. It’s high time to bring our antiquated means of funding the government into this century. He also will implement an online viewing system where citizens can see exactly what our tax dollars are being spent on, right down to the cost of mowing the lawn in front of the federal courthouse in your town.

McCain’s tax plan is just more of the same! It still involves the IRS and income taxes and changing the limits for the 28% tax bracket, yada yada yada. It’s too complicated! I believe we need to scrap income taxes and move to consumption taxes so that more businesses will stay here and so that people get to keep what they earn. I’m tired of feeling gypped!

Romney’s tax plan is also more of the same. Anything that keeps the IRS in business is not something I can support.

3. He has pledged to end our dependence on foreign oil within ten years. The other candidates ridicule his vision and say “that’s impossible.” Well, people told Kennedy it was impossible to put men on the moon as well. Anything is possible when the might and the intelligence of the American people are inspired!

After Huckabee’s focus on energy independence came up in some of the debates, the other candidates jumped on the bandwagon. But neither McCain nor Romney are willing to put a timetable on it. I believe Mike Huckabee is the best because he recognizes that every dollar we spend at the pump is another dollar in Osama bin Laden’s pocket…and he has the vision to get our country free of foreign oil through free enterprise. Whoever finds the best alternative first will win in the global economy. Huckabee realizes that and wants America to win the Energy Race!

3.5 National security. Take a look at Huckabee’s website, click on the Issues tab, and read what he has to say about foreign policy. Or, if you’d prefer, watch this clip — he says it much better than I can!

4. He has the best plan for dealing with illegal immigration and has pledged to close our borders within 120 days of being in office. I am tired of politicians promising things but not giving a time frame. I like goals with specific times.

McCain’s plan would have offered amnesty to the millions of illegals already in our country. Now that he is in the race for the nomination, he has changed tactics and adopted Huckabee’s plan to close the border because he recognizes “that’s what Americans want.” Mike Huckabee wanted the border closed as a matter of national security. Huckabee has been accused of being a “liberal” and “more Democrat than Hillary Clinton.” Well, that’s not really true. John McCain’s immigration bill was IDENTICAL to Hillary Clinton’s. Hmmmm…

Romney’s immigration plan is not a plan at all. It offers no specifics except for a biometric identification card, but it does not mention time frames or other specifics. Huckabee’s nine-point plan is partially modeled on a proposal by Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies. That’s another thing I like about Huck. He isn’t afraid to bring in the experts to give him advice. His focus isn’t on himself; rather, it is on getting the job done.

5. He has the best vision for health care reform and is the only candidate talking about our health crisis. He will lead us by his example and use the presidency as a bully pulpit to encourage Americans to live healthier lifestyles. He’s going to run in the Boston Marathon and is finding time to train even during this very busy presidential campaign. If he can do it, I can do it too! What an inspiration!

6. Huckabee is not going to be a partisan bicker-er. He will work with people of different parties to move America UP, not down. He understands that we have serious problems — a huge deficit, trade inequalities, health care concerns, social security, illegal immigration, national security, and more. He believes that the Republicans aren’t right all the time and the Democrats aren’t wrong all the time. It’s time for us to have a leader who will bring our nation to a consensus so that progress can be made.

7. Huckabee is a supporter of the rights of parents to homeschool their children. He’s seen that it works and believes parents should be free to raise their kids without government intervention. The other candidates say they support homeschooling, and that’s great! Over all, though, I like Huckabee’s ideas about education better than those of his opponents. He has a plan to reduce drop out rates that is very simple: bring back the arts.

8. Huckabee is a supporter of a Marriage Amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Both McCain and Romney have flip-flopped on this issue. In fact, Romney was responsible for legalizing gay marriage in his state by telling state employees that they had to abide by a decision that came from a judge, not one that was made by the legislature. Marriage certificates and birth certificates in Massachusetts now say “Party A” and “Party B” instead of “husband” and “wife.”

McCain has stated in interviews that he IS in favor of same-sex unions. Then he flip flopped on that and said he didn’t. Which is it? I like Huckabee because he does not flip flip. His convictions are grounded in his faith, and he does not sway according to what the American people want. Right is right, and wrong is wrong, in his view.

9. Mike Huckabee understands the common man. His experience in the ministry has given him insight to every social problem that exists. He doesn’t just think of “the poor.” He actually sees and cares about the people who are poor and wants to give them a chance to climb another rung on the ladder of prosperity.

John McCain went through hell and back again as a POW. I admire him and believe he would be a great military leader. However, I don’t see how he connects with the common man. His campaign finance law (McCain Feingold) was a huge slap in the face. Because of his law, a regular person can only donate $2300 for a campaign. However, a wealthy person can use as much of his or her own personal money as they want. This doesn’t seem fair to me; it sets up our country as one run by the rich and reminds me of the old colonial laws that only allowed men who owned property to be able to vote.

Romney has tried to buy the votes of America through his vast media buys. He’s also loaned his campaign millions of dollars of his own money. Will he be able to connect with the common man? No.

If, like me, you believe Huckabee is the best candidate to lead us, please don’t be daunted by the polls. A vote for Huckabee is a vote for Huckabee! Vote your conscience. If every person who liked Huckabee actually voted for him, he would win. The media is scared of him because of his Christian background. If that scares you, look at his record in Arkansas. He did not beat anyone over the head with a Bible. He based his decisions on the law of the land. If anything, his faith is what added compassion to his leadership.

A final thought for those of you who think Romney is the best choice.

Romney is a retired partner of Bain Capital.

Bain Capital owns Clear Channel Communications.

Clear Channel owns FoxNews and other radio networks and holds the contract for such conservative talk show hosts as Rush Limbaugh (who hates Huckabee), Sean Hannity, Laura Ingrim, and others. Why are these conservative mouthpieces so adamantly against Mike Huckabee? Could it be because their paychecks come from the company Romney owns? Every one of them has endorsed Romney and has called for Huckabee to drop out of the race. Is this impartial journalism? Are they reporting on this connection? No.

I’ll let you connect the dots.