Meet Huckabee's Homeschool Army
By David Brody
CBN News Sr. National Correspondent
January 4, 2008
CBNNews.com - Mike Huckabee is a former Southern Baptist pastor, and evangelicals made the difference for him in Iowa. But they did more than just show up to vote, they were a crucial part of his campaign.
Meet Huck's Army
Huckabee's support does not come from inside the beltway in Washington DC - not at all.
Meet the Allen family, a homeschooled family of eight. School is the first priority, but when school is out, the classroom turns into Huckabee headquarters.
Fifteen-year-old Daniel Allen calls other homeschoolers while 17-year old Ben tracks opposition research.
After class, 14-year-old Rachel trades in her violin for a computer to monitor Huckabee's poll numbers. The younger kids make signs - and then comes the sales pitch:
"We were wondering if you would put a Mike Huckabee sign in your yard?" one of the kids asked a neighbor.
"Sure," she said. "That would great."
The Allen household is no stranger to Huckabee. Their mother, Aspen, organizes Iowa's homeschool network.
"I'm sure the first thing that comes to their mind is 'Oh, well mother is excited so of course she's forcing these kids to do this' but no this is their love," she said.
They call themselves Huck's Army.
"We want to see our country and our nation prosper, so I think it's really exciting to see everybody step up and watch this big pyramid grow as everybody unites together," Rachel said.
There are about 10,000 home school families in Iowa. The majority is evangelical Christian and it's believed that about a quarter of Huckabee's grassroots base is within the homeschool community.
"It's been one by one. It's been one person telling another person telling another person and saying we need to get active," explained one home-school volunteer.
Homeschoolers: Huck's the Real Deal
These Christian homeschoolers see in Huckabee the real deal where faith and family really matter and with a track record to prove it.
Aspen said, "He has an appeal not just to Christians and not just to homeschoolers but to all walks of life and the reason is he is a man who sees all people as created equal. He sees all people as precious. He sees life as precious."
With homeschoolers active in their churches and communities, it's a perfect fit for the Huckabee campaign. They can't compete with Romney's money and infrastructure.
"Please understand the impact we can have in our nation. Understand that you make a difference," Aspen said.
And Huckabee is receiving the fruit of their labor.
"We might just shake this country up and shake this world up and go all the way to The White House because of the wonderful people of Ames, Iowa." Huckabee said.
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