10:35 PM: Huckabee makes pitch in Green Bay
GREEN BAY -- Facing long odds for the GOP nomination, Mike Huckabee admitted it would be a "true upset" to win Wisconsin Tuesday but pledged to post a picture of himself on the Internet sporting a cheese head if he did.
Huckabee, who has tried to offer himself up as a conservative alternative to John McCain, repeatedly stressed his social stances and harped on his support for a constitutional amendment to uphold the sanctity of life.
"At some time this country is going to have to accept that human life matters," Huckabee said. "We stand for the lives of not just the unborn, but the lives of every single human being in this country."
The former Arkansas governor did not mention McCain by name, nor did he hint at Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaigns. Instead, Huckabee spent his time stressing his calls for abolish the IRS, help out small businesses and strengthen border controls.
Huckabee noted the calls for him to drop out of the race but again said that wouldn't happen.
"Until someone gets 1,191 delegates there is not a nominee yet," Huckabee told his supporters, although he acknowledged that if he won the state, "It would be a true upset."
Huckabee urged his supporters multiple times during the 30-minute speech to get as many people as they could to vote, at times jokingly encouraging the crowd to tell people not voting for him that the primaries would be delayed due to the snow.
"What I'd really like for you to do is to just mess up the whole world and those talking heads," Huckabee said. "This could go all the way to the convention, and if it does, I don't want to be sitting around at home watching TV and saying, 'Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have quit so soon.'"
Huckabee was introduced by his state chair Tim Michels, who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2004 against Dem Russ Feingold. Michels pointed out that Huckabee is the only candidate left who has ever spent significant time in a deer stand, and Huckabee told stories about the time he spent at Lambeau Field.
"If I win Wisconsin, there will be a picture of me on the Internet with a cheese head on," Huckabee said. "That's worth your vote right there."
-- By Tim Maylander
Labels: 2008 spring primary