"HUCKABEE'S "SECRET WEAPON" -- BLOGGERS IN IOWA"

Ari Melber (The Nation):

Mike Huckabee huddled with a smattering of conservative bloggers a today, in a Des Moines hotel room packed with reporters and television cameras. "The greatest secret weapon we have is over 700 dedicated bloggers to get our message out to people," said Huckabee, who credited conservative web activists -- the "RightRoots" -- for catapulting him past better funded establishment candidates.

"We don't have the kind of money that other campaigns have," he explained, "a lot of the reason is because of the 700 bloggers out there pounding away on their keyboards and hitting the send button and making magic happen."

Huckabee was flanked by actor Chuck Norris, who continues to deliver both star power and counterpunches against Romney on the campaign trail. "It was bloggers who introduced Chuck Norris to the Huckabee campaign," said Huckabee, recounting how Republican bloggers were the first to alert his aides to an October WorldNetDaily column announcing Norris's endorsement. The campaign drew over half a million dollars in donations after the endorsement. Today Norris floated a proposal for a "virtual barbeque" fundraiser at his 700-acre Texas Ranch on January 20th, which would tap web activists from around the country. The bloggers in attendance, who hailed from as far as Florida, Tennessee and Texas, in addition to local Iowa activists, responded enthusiastically to the idea.

Then Huckabee and Norris jumped on a telephone conference call with web supporters, fielding questions about the campaign, education policy and how Christian values motivate Huckabee. Huckabee credited the No Child Left Behind program for showing that "Every child in every school is important as an individual," while contending that it did not fund enough programs tailored to serve students with disabilities nor provide sufficient music and art classes, which are crucial to developing the "left and right brain of the students."

Nick Shayko, a 22-year-old who writes a small blog, "My Life as a Christian Conservative," said he thought Huckabee did a good job speaking with bloggers today. "He's right on all issues hat I love is he is a conservative and part of the social conservative movement," he added.

Mike Huckabee speaks to web activists across the country during a conference call in Des Moines on Tuesday.