This is very interesting. I would have thought Brummett was a Clinton cultist, but this is very encouraging. I apologize to Brummett for my fallacious assumption. I have to say that I admire his candor about the Clintons and their supporters, especially considering the circle he runs in. As I was saying, this column is fascinating. Remember, the other side has troubles, too.
Huckabee Raises $111,000 at Heretic Copeland's Ministry Headquarters
Kenneth Copeland, who once claimed that God told him he could have died for our sins in Jesus' place, held a fundraiser for Mike Huckabee at his ministry's headquarters. I'm not sure how they think that isn't a violation of their tax free status, but they did it.
Copeland is under investigation by the U.S. Senate for violations of his organizations tax exempt status. Huckabee has stated that he stands with Copeland. It's not surprising, given that the way Huckabee operated as governor was a small fry version of what Copeland and many other televangelists do, i.e. using organizational funds for personal luxuries.
More information about this is now available from HotAir.com.
I can say this much, John McCain certainly wasn't speaking in the spirit of Reagan Conservatism when he said that Romney did have business experience and "people lost their jobs"... McCain wasn't channeling Reagan. It sounded like he was channeling John Edwards. It reminds me of McCain's comments that his leadership was for "patriotism, not profit"...
A group has proposed a fund to pay for socialized college scholarships for all Arkansans with the money which will supposedly be raised by running natural gas companies out of the state, or stifling them. This is a typical tactic: take from money a small, easily demonized group and give it to everybody else. I believe Thomas Jefferson said something about the dangers of a democracy when people realize they can pillage one group for the benefit of all.
"We Will Fight For Ev'ry Vooote"---Edwards Dropping Out is Good News for Obama
I've been saying this for a while, now, that John Edwards staying in the race is good for Hillary. His voters are true believer libs. If he hadn't been in the race, Obama would already have walked away with this. Expect Hillary to take a sharp left turn to prove her leftie bona fides. Otherwise, this will be very good for Obama. Edwards has already been promised the Attorney General position by Obama. He has some chips in the game, so he doesn't need to stick around.
Huckabee, Unable to Compete in FL, Goes to TN to Recruit Thompson Supporters
I'm gonna throw up. I suppose there are some Thompson supporters who might support Huckabee, the handfull of liberal and moderates, anyway. Unlike Huckabee, Fred had unanimous support from elected Republicans in his home state, whereas Huck has less than a third.
This is a really bad thing for Conservatism. If Romney had won, McCain would be out of the race. Romney's not out of the race, but it's going to be a lot harder for him.
Huckabee is staying in the race to keep Romney from winning Southern states, since McCain can't afford to campaign in all of the states for Super Tuesday.
With 67% of the vote in McCain 36%, Romney 31%, Rudy 15%, and Huckabee in a distant 4th with 13%.
Brummett's Appraisal of Beebe and His Comical Reasoning
John Brummett's latest column offers a fairly good analysis of Gov. Beebe, namely that he's a pragmatist. His analysis of the need to raise the severance tax is "comical", namely that it's "comically low".
On what basis? Is Tennessee's income tax "comically low" because of it's non-existent? What about all of that evil economic growth that's destroying the environment and infrastructure as a result of not having an income tax?
There's a drumbeat today to raise it on the notion that "they're going to drill anyway..." Really? Why weren't they drilling a few years ago? And why didn't we raise it a few years ago? The answer to the first question is because it's a business with very thin margins and it wasn't profitable based on market conditions. So when market conditions reach the point where it's profitable enough to do it, what's the state's response? Raise taxes and cut into the already thin margins? Why? Because somebody's making money and we're the government, so we get a piece of it. There's no compelling reason or need for revenue. We're still experiencing a surplus. Which means the only reason is to get a cut.
It isn't just reminiscent of mafia behavior...it is mafia behavior. These evil drillers are on the state's turf, so the state gets a cut.
What will the revenue be when the state drives the drillers out of the state? It will be less than it is now with "comically low" revenue because it will put thousands of people out of work, people who work in the industry, supporting industries, and in the areas benefitting from the economic growth caused by it.
"The practical problem is that our highway system needs work, but that, as gasoline prices rise and consumption lessens, we lose highway revenue because we rely on a per-gallon tax on gasoline, meaning consumption, rather than a tax elastic with price. "
My point exactly. Market conditions will also affect this tax, as when prices of natural gas fall and it is no longer profitable to drill here. Then the tax revenue will be "comically low", but it won't be funny ha ha. It will be funny sad.
We spend hundreds of millions of dollars of the taxpayers' money on attracting out of state businesses to come to Arkansas and then we punish those businesses that are already here... Does that make any sense? What's truly "comical" here is this newfound need to raise a low tax which is helping to attract economic growth to the state. Mark my words, if they pass this tax increase, it will damage economic growth in the state. And no one will be safe. Wait till your industry is deemed to have a "comically low" tax and watch jobs and growth disappear.
With the Florida primary today we face two very different scenarios. This really will be a make or break state for John McCain and Mitt Romney. Rasmussen's last minute polls show Romney pulling ahead, but there wasn't much time to take into account McCain being endorsed by Republican Governor Crist. Still the polls show the two front runners tied at 31%. We'll find out later today if this had any effect.
Final State of the Union Address from President Bush
The president just finished his final State of the Union Address, reminding me that he has less than one year left in office. It seems to have passed by so quickly. Many, mostly liberal democrats, will rejoice at his departure. Some, mostly those in uniform, are not gleeful at his departure, considering the odds that Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama could be the next president. As for his speech, I don't think it will be long remembered. It was mostly a programatic speech, not thematic. But otherwise it may mark the end of an era, an era when America is the bold leader of the Free World. Many of my friends complain, but they cannot fathom what the world would be like with Hillary or Obama as president if another 9-11 were to happen. We are safer today because of President Bush.
Democrat Response
At this moment Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius is giving a stupid democrat response, bemoaning the supposed malaise in the economy. She claimed that she's not going to be partisan, but after a laundry list of democrat talking points, she is getting around to the part about how meaningless the sacrifice of our servicemen is. What a waste of space.
For all those of you who are too smart to ignore conventional wisdom, consider the sage words of Andrew Ferguson for The Weekly Standard about Fred Thompson. We are all worse off for his departure from the race. His was the most refreshing and heartening campaign I've seen in years. No "fire in the belly" was a frequent refrain describing him, but do we really want a candidate who is that ambitious? Caesar was killed for his ambition. It used to be virtuous not to be an overly ambitious politician, but now it's called laziness. Some of my best friends bought into and continue to repeat this pablum.
I have to say there is much to be admired about a man who is consumed with a desire for power. It is such a rarity nowadays that few recognized it when they saw it. They saw a "lazy" candidate instead of someone who followed the true, classic American tradition of citizen statesman.
Will we ever see it, again? I doubt it. I'm surprised we saw it all. Mike Huckabee claims that he's "like the guy you work with", but most people have never worked with a guy who craves power like he does, willing to do and say anything to acheive the power to tell others how to order their lives. In that vein Huckabee stands in stark contrast with Thompson. Whereas Huckabee can only gain from running for office, Fred made significant sacrifices to run for office.
Though it pains me to ponder this campaign without Fred, I am glad to talk about this because I think it's startling how eager people were/are to ascribe to conventional wisdom as if it was actual wisdom. Even now, many are buying into the McCain hype created for us by the media. They once told us he was going nowhere and now tell us that he can't be beaten. They tell us that everybody supports him, but they ignore that much of the conservative base will not support him, with much vigor anyway. Heaven help us.
If you truly value wisdom, and a little perspective, read Ferguson's column. Here's the link.
Mike Huckabee very quickly penned a book about the horrific slaughter of schoolchildren in Jonesboro, Arkansas in 1998. He pocketed $25,000 by capitalizing on the pain of the families of those children.
It's coming back to haunt him, now, with the kind of national scrutiny the democrats would be burying him with. For those of you who support Huckabee, consider this a public service.
Also, I caught Sanders' show, Unconventional Wisdom, with his guest John Brummett. One thing stood out like a sore thumb about Brummett's analysis of the Republican race is that he said that he could support McCain, "because I won't have to worry about who he'll put on the Supreme Court."
I have received a note from David Sanders informing me that I misheard the above comment by John Brummett. He apparently said the opposite. Here's what he actually said, "Even I could almost vote for John McCain, if I didn't have to worry about who gets nominated to the Supreme Court, which is what this is all about."
This statement is still remarkably telling about McCain, although I don't agree that Brummett would have much to worry about McCain's choices for the Supreme Court, given his lead role in helping to sink many superb judicial nominees.
Huckabee Stands By Televangelist Copeland, Who Claims to Be Messiah
Mike Huckabee is standing by Kenneth Copeland, who has said before that God told him that he could have died for our sins in Christ's place. Here's the link.
Special Session to Raise Taxes on Our Energy Costs
Governor Beebe is suggesting that he might call a special session to raise taxes on our energy costs. I've written about this extensively, so here's a link to what I've already said.
Here's a recap: the cost of heating our homes is continuing to rise, along with all our other energy costs...the state government is continuing to experience a budget surplus...the governor's response: raise taxes on our energy costs...
This is remarkable. The performance is decent, but it's incredible how ill-informed these young mean are. The worst thing, by far, is how these kids seem to worshipping Huckabee. I have seen this alarming trend in a number of other videos. There's another that is even more disturbing that I don't want to post because it has young children in it. Their parents ought to be ashamed, literally, for having their children perform what I can only describe as a sacrilegious song glorifying Mike Huckabee.
As for these two, I wonder if they're bothered or even aware that Mike Huckabee is not an honest man. I have documented enough of Huckabee's lies and his pattern of dishonesty over the past few months, but I'm always amazed at his Christian supporters who are so eager to ignore the truth.
I saw that these two chuckleheads performed at Huckabee's loss party in South Carolina. Huck must have loved that.
He thinks that "climate change" is accelerating. First of all, note that he says "climate change" instead of "global warming". This comes as the country is experiencing a record cold winter.
Specifically, though, he's suggesting that Antarctic polar ice caps will melt completely during summers within 5 years. He didn't see the news that studies show that volcanic activity is causing the ice caps to melt.
This just in, Sylvester Stallone is apparently supporting John McCain in his bid for the White House. This certainly tops Wilford Brimley backing McCain, as I reported earlier.
As for who would win in a head-to-head between Chuck Norris and Rambo (Rocky)... That's anybody's guess. With Brimley, though, McCain could fight the diabeetus, too.
I don't agree with those interviewed about what evangelicals actually think, but they are becoming more representative of the trend of liberalism masquerading as Christianity. Such issues as environmentalism, welfare, and socialized health care are now apparently a part of the Bible, because these charalatans pretend that the Bibles commands to be personally charitable are commands to government. The government isn't an individual who is capable of receiving salvation, but liberal preachers pretend that commands to believers are proof that governments should adopt socialist policies.
Huckabee has largely adopted this false theology. I need to write more about this in the future. Keep your eyes peeled.
Huckabee Finishes 3rd in Arkansas's Most Republican County Straw Poll
I've been telling you for a while that Arkansans, especially Republicans, don't support Mike Huckabee. Here's more proof. The Benton County Republican Committee, which represents the most Republican county in the state, held and straw poll in which Mike Huckabee finished a very distant 3rd. Benton county has often been referred to as the Orange county of Arkansas and that's an accurate description. Huckabee has made a lot of enemies ther and it looks like his chickens are coming home to roost.
Then there's this from The Washington Times echoing what I've been saying for a while, too. Mike Huckabee has almost no support from Republicans in Arkansas. I've been sayin this from the very beginning. I'm glad to see The Washington Times is picking this up.
Here's the link to The Washington Times story. Here's the link to the story about Huck's 3rd place finish in the Benton County Straw Poll.
CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME: Speaking of Huckstering. Several readers have offered solicitous comments on news that the Mike Huckabee campaign has laid off paid workers and others are going without paychecks. Readers send fervent wishes that the three Huckabee children, brother-in-law and daughter-in-law remain in paid campaign positions.
Bush State Department Continues Diplomatic Efforts...Why Don't They Get Any Credit?
Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the Bush Administration had a cowboy foreign policy, or, as Mike Huckabee put it, an "arrogant bunker mentality, whatever that means. So, why is it that they don't get any credit for their ongoing diplomatic efforts with Iran, North Korea, and the Palestinians???
I've got an answer, and it's not all that surprising. The democrats and the media don't really care. It doesn't fit their template to highlight the fact that President Bush is pursuing diplomacy. The president is supposed to be an arrogant cowboy who just wants to start wars...
Well, it turns out that's not the case. I give the president a lot of credit for attempting to find diplomatic solutions to these problems. It's not working quite as well as his policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, though.
Secretary of State Rice is now offering full, diplomatic ties with Iran if it will stop its nuclear program. I know she's not holding her breath, but it's terribly ironic to hear the constant drumbeat that all the president wants is war when he's bending over backwards to do it the way they want him to. We are getting an interesting lesson in the fact that diplomacy only works if the other guys know you mean business. Sometimes you have to go ahead and kick the beehive over, though. One thing's for sure, if the president does eventually take military action against Iran, no one will honestly be able to say he didn't try diplomacy. You can bet they will say it, though.
This makes zero sense except that Huckabee has fooled Hunter, too, into thinking he's not for open borders. I believe Huck put it this way, "let's open both our doors and our opportunities."
Huckabee Staffers Forgoing Paychecks...What About His Kids?
Mike Huckabee is so short on cash that he's having his senior staff forgo paychecks for the time being. Apparently, he is also asking junior staffers to take a pay cut.
Here's the question of the day: are his kids and daughter-in-law, who are all paid staffers, being asked to forgo paychecks, as well? It's typical Huckabee nepotism to have them as paid staffers to begin with. I wouldn't be surprised if his kids are still getting paid, though. If not, how are they making their mortgage payments? It would be interesting to see if a donor is helping them cover their bills while paychecks are being withheld. If so, that would obviously be an FEC violation.
This is just speculation, but speculation based on years of Huckabee and his family using various funds as personal slush funds, such as the governor's mansion fund that they used to buy personal items and Taco Bell.
Here's the link to AP's story about their current cash crunch.
Apparently, the state managed a private account for Mike Huckabee, which was used for events and Huckabee's portrait. The only problem is that, somehow, nobody ever reported who made the donations to the fund, which is a violation of state law. Nobody seems to remember who donated to the fund and Huckabee doesn't have anything to say about it. Andrew DeMillo has the story.
I said this recently and now it looks like some other folks are considering the possibility, too. John Edwards is positioning himself to be a power broker at the DNC convention.
I'll go one step further. The voters who are going to John Edwards are true believers. If he wasn't in the race, Edwards voters would be far more likely to go to Obama than Clinton, since Clinton is seen as the establishment candidate. That being the case, Edwards is not just positioning himself as a power broker, but as a firewall for Hillary. He will be rewarded handsomely. Mark my words. But the fact remains, Obama would be miles ahead of Clinton if Edwards wasn't in the race.
Former DPA Head, Jason Willett, Running for Mayor of J-Town---Positioning For Congress Run?
Max is reporting that Jason Willett is running for mayor of Jonesboro. Looks like he's positioning himself to run for congress when Marion Berry retires.
It is with great sadness that I report the following:
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January 22, 2008
Contact: -
Phone: -
For Immediate Release:
McLean, VA - Senator Fred Thompson today issued the following statement about his campaign for President:
"Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."
It's not surprising, really, given that his campaign has been sinking ever since his Iowa victory. Huck's trick to win Iowa isn't duplicatable. It was the only thing he could do and now the states are coming at him too fast to keep up, especially with his inability to raise money. The media acts like his victory in Iowa was some amazing feat. In reality, it was the only thing he could do. He didn't have any money, but he had lots of time, so he stayed in a small state for months. How could he lose? He hadn't drawn enough attention yet to have the media begin to highlight his liberal record.
I just got a message from a reader that there is a war protest in downtown Little Rock. Apparently, there are 4 people protesting at the corner of Capitol and Broadway. One sign apparently says "Bush's War Causes Recession", or something to that effect.
That's some brilliant analysis. That guy must be an economist.
A friend sent this to me the other day. It's remarkable how many similar liberal stimulus packages today are to Jimmy Carter's stimulus packages. We saw what a great success Carter was at reviving the economy.
Here's the link to Time Magazine, circa late 1970s about Carter's long since failed stimulus package, that the democrats, today, are trying to resurrect.
The Clintons Make Me Laugh...They're SO Believable
First Bill Clinton, the ultimate establishment democrat, along with his wife, called Barack Obama the "establishment" candidate... I'm not making this up. Here's the link.
Then Hillary, who has no solutions to rising energy costs except to increase them further by raising taxes, called the President "pathetic" for "begging" OPEC to increase production... It just doesn't get more comical. Here's the link.
David Sanders on Huckabee's Civil Rights/Confederate Flag Paradox
Mike Huckabee is continuing his campaign to be all things to all people. He's speaking to black churches and Civil Rights groups, while also defending the Confederate Battle flag. The irony is so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Here's the link to Sanders' NRO blog post from last Friday.
Here's the link to Sanders' NRO blog post from today.
Huckabee is the Christian candidate, remember. So how Christian was it to make the following remark?
“(Y)ou don't like people from outside the state telling you what to do with the flag… in fact, if somebody came down to Arkansas and told us what to do with our flag, we'd tell ’em where to put the pole.”
Last week, idiots in Maryland held a Global Warming protest in a snowstorm...
Seriously.
Now, I was under the impression that Global Warming was supposed to cause warming. Note that we've been told that excessive carbon "pollution" causes the earth the get warmer. That being said, why is it that many global warming propagandists are starting to replace "global warming" with "climate change"?
The idiots at this protest are holding signs that say "help stop climate change"... Now, if the irrefutable science says that carbon causes warming, then why are they trying to explain that 2007 was a cold year as part of man-made "climate change"? Have they produced new evidence that says that carbon causes the temperature to go up and down?
As I Was Saying: If Huckabee is To Be Believed, We Owe Fred Thompson a Debt of Gratitude
Mike Huckabee's supporters are blaming Fred Thompson for his loss in South Carolina, as I suggested last night.
Now Huckabee is saying that, too. The truth is Fred did take those votes from Huckabee, but it was largely by being an actual conservative versus Mike Huckabee's pretend conservatism. Huckabee will still remain vulnerable because of his record of lies and liberalism.
Leave it to Mike Huckabee to give me more occasions to agree with John Brummett.
Brummett's latest column is dead on. Huckabee is a demagogue. Brummett pretends to be polite enough to say that word is too harsh, but it's exactly what he's saying and exactly what Huckabee is.
Too bad more of Huckabee's supporters, those who don't know him, which is almost all of them, don't realize this or have longer memories. They'd realize that he's pandering to them. I used to think that the advent of 24 hour national news and the internet would keep politicians from getting away with saying one thing to one group and another to another. Mike Huckabee has proven to be the exception to that rule.
UPDATE: Severance Tax: As If Energy Costs Weren't Already Out of Control..."Hey, Let's Raise Taxes on 'Em"
So, let me get this right. Gas prices are over $3/gallon, home heating costs are higher than ever, and our governor wants to RAISE taxes on energy production???
Everybody keeps talking about this like it makes sense to raise taxes. Max Brantley said the other day that the tax was "ridiculously low", or something to that effect. That pretty well encapsulates the mindset of people advocating this tax increase.
Based on what?
Neighboring states?
Who cares. If neighboring states had a 50% income tax, would that make it a good idea?
Is there a dire need for revenue? Not the last time I checked. The last time I checked state government was still flush with our cash. But they want more of it.
The best way to do that is to tax us one at a time. Go after people who are easily demonized. "Oh, those evil oil companies." Say nothing of the fact that WE are the end users of their product. We have to keep our homes warm and our governor wants to drive that price up based on nothing but the notion that other states tax them more heavily...
What's wrong with this world when there is no compelling reason to raise a tax other than, "well, the other states are doing it?"
Every Arkansan should rise up in protest, but most of them won't. Even though each of us will pay this tax in the form of higher energy costs, most of us will think we're really sticking it to those evil oil companies. Energy won't be the most expensive thing we get out of this. Ignorance will.
Update: This from Andrew DeMillo's coverage for AP,
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Nelson says his proposal to raise the rate and change how natural gas production is taxed will reform an outdated tax that has lagged behind other states. And, he says, it will bring in between $60 million and $100 million for the state's roads, local governments and colleges.
"(Natural gas companies) have gotten a free ride for a long time here," Nelson told reporters when he submitted his proposed initiated act to the attorney general's office.
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No, Mr. Nelson, Arkansans have gotten a free ride, and that's about to change, apparently. The $60-100 million will come right out of the pocket of Arkansans. Again, this is an example of liberals thinking more highly of government revenue than the budgets of average Arkansans.
This rhetoric is turning my stomach. Too many people are ignorantly giving this a pass because they think someone else will pay for it. WAKE UP. We are all going to pay for it. This isn't a tax increase on the gas industry. There's no such thing. It's a tax increase on us.
Here's the link to Roby Brock's coverage for Arkansas News.
One thing I'd add. The reason why we don't have any candidates waiting in the wings to run against Pryor is thanks entirely to Mike Huckabee. He stomped down everybody he could to make sure that he was the supreme lord and titular head of our party. The way he did this kinda reminds me of how some powerful women, such as Katie Couric and Hillary Clinton, don't surround themselves with other powerful women, because they are competition.
Conservative, Former Arkansas Legislator Speaks Out About Liberal Mike Huckabee
Thanks to a reader for drawing this to my attention.
Jim Holt, former State Senator, R-Springdale, AR, has written a very thorough and thoughtful piece about Mike Huckabee's record and actions as governor of Arkansas. Holt knows better than most what it's like to be on the wrong end of Mike Huckabee. Holt was a very conservative legislator and a leader on the issue of illegal immigration issue. He bore the brunt of Huckabee's venom, being called a bad Christian and a racist by Huck, who famously said that Holt "drinks a different kind of Jesus juice."
This op-ed is very good and well worth the read, especially if you're still up in the air about whether to support Huckabee. Huck's not who he makes himself out to be.
Mike Huckabee, the candidate who called people who oppose illegal immigration racist and bad Christians, supported drivers licenses, college scholarships, in-state tuition, and welfare for illegal aliens, now says he's for sending them all home...
Right.
Roy Beck, a leader on the issue of illegal immigration, now appears to have flip flopped, too. He once called Huckabee a "disaster" on illegal immigration, but now he says Huckabee is an alright guy because Huck's now professing support for laws he once called "race baiting."
American Research Group, which accurately predicted the Iowa results, has Fred Thompson gaining 8% in the last 4 days, jumping from 4th place at 13% to 3rd place with 21%. And I thought Fred just couldn't do it...
So, If Fred Thompson's Campaign Isn't Going Anywhere, Why Are Huckabee Supporters Doing NEGATIVE Push Polling Against Him?
Maybe this holds part of the answer: Zogby and Rasmussen are both reporting (on the Sean Hannity talk show) that Fred Thompson has the most momentum of any of the top 4 Republicans in South Carolina.
Richard Land, the chief public policy analyst for the Southern Baptist Convention is reporting that Fred Thompson is gaining momentum quickly in South Carolina.
And this, from Human Events, "It’s refreshing to hear Senator Thompson. He is not the candidate the media likes. He gives good sound bites, but he is plodding, methodical, and issue oriented. Senator Thompson’s is not a personality driven campaign. It is about issues, issues, issues." And, "There is no pandering. John McCain may give straight talk, but Thompson gives no bull." Here's the link.
And Rush Limbaugh had more favorable reporting that Fred has been barnstorming the state, not just the big towns, but small communities, and drawing big crowds everywhere he goes. Here's the link.
19% Undecided the day before the primary... Why would that be?
Speaking of polls, here's a superb comment from the Human Events thread:
"To those quoting polls: Remember that the Real ClearPolitics Average missed Romney in Michigan by 10points! (Rasmussen missed by 13 points!) I suspect alot of that was due to fairly late decisions made bythe electorate. From what we are hearing, I thinkthere are late decisions being made in SC for Fred.
Go Fred!"
By the way, I called the number the guy in the video read off his caller ID. The operator said it has been disconnected.
South Carolina Tomorrow---I'm Keeping My Fingers Crossed
I only hope the good folks of South Carolina have taken notice of Huckabee's lies and liberalism. For a refresher, scroll through the archives of Arkansas Journal.
Arkansas Business Leaders Who Support Pro-Illegal Alien Group Support Huckabee
A group of businessmen who are backing a pro-illegal alien group, the Arkansas "Friendship" Coalition, is supporting Mike Huckabee for president.
Huckabee trotted out the leaders of Tyson Foods, Stephens, Inc., and Alltel Corp. as examples that he's supposedly pro-business. I think this move was too clever by half. Because they're right. These companies wield a huge amount of political influence, especially Tyson and Stephens. They are using it right now to protect their interests in having a cheap labor supply.
Tyson did so, with great success, under Huckabee's administration, when Huck and Tyson successfully opposed legislation to stem the tide of illegal aliens seeking haven in Arkansas.
These businessmen brag in their press release that their businesses grew while Huckabee was in office... Okay, a lot of businesses all over the country grew during that time, especially Huck's last term, when America's economy grew like crazy. They don't cite any specific reasons how Huck was responsible for this growth, because he wasn't.
The economy in Arkansas grew despite Huckabee because of general economic trends which were prevalent nationwide. Huckabee raised our taxes precipitously as governor, especially in the last half of his tenure...to the tune of half a billion dollars.
All that said, it's remarkable that Huckabee would trot out these very influential businessmen who are wielding that to keep Arkansas the Sanctuary State that Huckabee presided over.
Here's the link to Arkansas News Bureau's story. And here's the link to the AP story.
Fortune Magazine: Hillary's Plan to Solve Housing Will Wreck the Housing Market
Not taking responsibility for one's actions is the best way to teach someone to be dependent on the government. Last time I checked, the government telling the market what to do was called socialism.
Mike Huckabee makes a very big show about his faith, but when push comes to shove, he's unwilling to say that Christ is the only way to salvation.
At one point in the video I've, he says that Christ is the only way, but when pressured by O'Reilly he says that Christ is the only way that "I know" to get to heaven, insinuating that there might be other ways to heaven.
Andrew Fritz is a pro-Huckster blogger who was one of the original reprinters of Huck's talking points that I talked about, yesterday. I responded to some of his statements and asked him the following questions to see if he could be influenced by facts or if the typical Huckabee supporter is more interested in what they want to believe than the truth. So far, I haven't received a specific response. He did read this because he corrected his misstatement that Huckabee had the best line of the South Carolina debate. Here's the link to his blog.
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"According to their focus group, Huckabee had the best line of the night..."
That is not what was said. Luntz, in your video, said that it was one of the best lines of the night. Your video cuts off before it Luntz gets to what he said was the actual best line of the night, which was by Fred Thompson.
I also find it interesting that you are claiming that Huckabee did a great job, when the focus group and every commentator said that Fred Thompson won and that he did so at the expense of Mike Huckabee. That Mike Huckabee is the same Mike Huckabee whom I have personally known for over 15 years, the Mike Huckabee who has almost NO support in Arkansas, the Mike Huckabee who, in response to questions about him raising taxes on us by half a billions dollars, said that what he really raised was "hope"... That line is a remarkable imitation of another former Arkansas governor from Hope... He's the same Mike Huckabee who has, on dozens of occasions, lied about his liberal record and on more occasions been unwilling to describe it accurately.
Examples of this include claiming that we, the people of Arkansas, voted for his 1999 tax on gasoline, which he continues to claim. The truth is that he had already signed it into law months before we had the chance to vote of a bond issue, which allocated how to spend the money from the tax he raised.
Another was when he claimed that the video I made famous of him begging the Arkansas legislature was in the context of a supreme court mandate, when that court decision was dealt with until nearly a year later. He has continued to claim that the supreme court required him to raise taxes on us, which is also untrue. The supreme court required education funds to be spent more "equitably". They did not require him to raise taxes. He could have shifted funds within the education budget or within the general budget, but rather than make government tighten its belt, he made Arkansas families tighten ours. And rather than tell the truth about it, he chose to claim that the supreme court made him do it.
I could go on and on, but the question this leads me to is whether you have the courage to look through his religious trappings to see a man who is both a liberal and dishonest...
Huckabee, who is continuing to have a miserable time raising money, is getting tens of millions of dollars in free air time from the media who is pushing him and McCain on us, who are our least conservative candidates.
Mike Huckabee, Repeat Offender: Yet Another Violent Criminal Freed by Mike Huckabee Now Facing New Charges
I received this release from Victims Voice 527 this morning. It's shocking to see so many of Mike Huckabee's clemencies coming out of the woodwork. He's a pastor, though, so "be sure your sins will find you out" ought to have special meaning to Mike Huckabee.
Also, I'll be posting a remarkable coincidence later today, in which two completely different Mike Huckabee supporters had the exact same response, word for word, to criticism of Huckabee's clemencies.
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For Immediate Release:
In Little Rock , history once again repeats itself: yet another violent criminal freed by Mike Huckabee is on trial again for felony charges.
In 1994 John Henry Claiborne, a man already convicted of 6 prior felonies, kicked in the back door of the home of Homer and Vivian Allbritton and held them at gunpoint with a stolen shotgun while he robbed them. Claiborne took all the valuables he could carry from the Allbrittons' house, including Mrs. Allbritton's wedding ring that he stripped from her finger as she lay on the ground. Claiborne then stole the Allbrittons' car and drove away. He was soon arrested, put on trial, and sentenced to 375 years behind bars. Three years after Mike Huckabee commuted Claiborne's sentence, he is once again the target of prosecutors for his alleged felonies.
Claiborne remained in prison until 2004, when then-Governor Mike Huckabee commuted his sentence to "time served" and released him, over the objections of law enforcement, jurors in Claiborne's case, and the Allbritton family.
"My mother isn't the same person she was before this happened," said Greg Allbritton, the adult son of Vivian Albritton. "I sleep in the recliner in my mother's home because she's afraid [Claiborne] will come back and hurt her again."
Commenting on Huckabee's record of granting over 1000 clemencies as Governor, Allbritton said: "Every time Huckabee let a felon out, it was like slapping law enforcement, veterans, prosecutors, and victims in the face."
Huckabee's commutation is even more troubling today, as Claiborne is again facing felony charges. In the fall of 2007, he was arrested again. Today he faces the criminal justice system as an accused drug dealer. He is currently free on bond and walking the streets of Little Rock , while the Allbrittons still live in fear of him.
Huckabee Talking Points or Remarkable Coincidence?
The statement has been made that if you put enough monkeys in a room full of typewriters for long enough, they'll produce Shakespeare. That being said, I suppose it's possible that this is a remarkable coincidence. I say remarkable because two completely different commenters on two different blogs had the exact, word for word comments in defense of Mike Huckabee's proclivity to set criminals free.
In this post, Clemency, I published on Sunday I came across this remarkable coincidence. I read the following comment and realized that I'd seen it somewhere else. It was too familiar so I had to retrace my trail to find where I'd seen it before.
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Michael said...
This is a rather clever video. The author has some good musical talent, but the message is a dishonest one. It is easy to represent anyone as having poor motives by excluding certain portions of information.
Obviously Clemencies have a valid and proper purpose when used responsibly. A film like this that bares no information about any of the individual cases attempts to unjustly represent the person who granted them as if they were wrong.
Simply quoting a number that sounds high, or comparing it to other numbers that are lower, does not have any relevance to whether any of the actually Clemencies were poor decisions.
The picture of Wayne DuMond in this video is not accurate information. He was not granted clemency at all, he was paroled. In Arkansas, "Clemency" is a pardon granted by the Governor and "parole" is done by a board of appointed officials that the Governor has no control over. In fact, Governor Huckabee DENIED DuMond's request for "Clemency" four times. Just the opposite of what this film implies.
So, after a brief search, I came back to this link, HA! Huckabee and clemency video, from the Fred Thompson News blog, where I had already commented in direct response to this exact same comment. I had also followed a link to the pro-Huckabee blog of the origianl author who left this verbatim iteration of the comment. The only difference was that on my blog the commenter's name is listed as "Michael" and on the other it's listed as "Andrew." I actually exchanged emails with "Andrew" who was unwilling or unable to explain why he supports a dishonest liberal like Mike Huckabee. He also did not return an email requesting an answer to the question of whether this is a Huckabee talking point or just a remarkable coincidence.
So, for now, the mystery remains whether Huckabee's campaign is sending out talking points for blog comments or whether this is one of the most remarkable coincidences in history. I'm leaning toward the former.
As for the comment itself, I will reprint some of what I wrote about it in response to "Andrew".
"...to your assertion that DuMond shouldn't be lumped in with these others, Huckabee's actions belie this. While he did not technically grant DuMond clemency, this is only because when he originally attempted to do so there was so much public outcry that he decided to pressure the parole board into letting him go, instead, which he was successful at accomplishing. So, while you are technically correct, it is more than fair to include DuMond in that list because Huckabee took an active role in having him released."
As for the numbers Huckabee released, the 6 surrounding states have a combined population of 16.41 times higher than that of Arkansas, yet, Huckabee saw fit to grant clemency to more criminals than all of them combined. That is a remarkable figure. With Huckabee supporters acting like Wayne DuMond is the only bad egg in the lot, their argument sinks further with more and more revelations about the number of repeat offenders to whom Huckabee granted clemency, as in the case Victims Voice released, today.
My Response to the Huckabee Talking Point in the Post Above
Interesting analysis, but I happen to know a little bit about the subject. Let me put the number of clemencies that Huckabee granted in perspective. The 1,033 he granted were more than all 6 neighboring states combined and all 3 previous governors combined, which includes Bill Clinton.
The 6 neighboring states are Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Of those states, not one is smaller than Arkansas. They have a combined population of 45,615,837, which is 16.41 times larger than that of Arkansas, meaning that Huckabee granted clemency to far more people when compared to proportion of population than he should have.
Another way to analyse this is that Mike Huckabee granted a clemency every 4 days for over 10 years, which is also shocking.
Now, to your assertion that DuMond shouldn't be lumped in with these others, Huckabee's actions belie this. While he did not technically grant DuMond clemency, this is only because when he originally attempted to do so there was so much public outcry that he decided to pressure the parole board into letting him go, instead, which he was successful at accomplishing. So, while you are technically correct, it is more than fair to include DuMond in that list because Huckabee took an active role in having him released.
I never saw anything about this from AP, Arkansas News, or the Arkansas Times, which surprises me. This is big news and it illustrates a big problem with employers who are exploiting illegal aliens as a cheap labor supply, which also depresses wages for citizens. Groups like the Arkansas Friendship Coalition are backed by Big Business that has a vested interest in perpetuating a cheap labor supply.
Acambaro was actually harboring illegal aliens and, from what I understand, paying them in cash at wages well under the minimum wage. Where are all the compassionate members of the Friendship Coalition? I thought they cared about the plight of these poor illegal immigrants. Apparently, not. They want to keep them as an underclass.
A friend said that to me recently. I have to agree. It wasn't a year ago that Newt was my great hope. I spent a lot of time refamiliarizing myself with him. I didn't like what I found.
It came to the fore this week when he tangled with the real leader of the Conservative Movement, Rush Limbaugh. BIG MISTAKE. Not just because he upset the wrong guy, but because he put his brand of "more effective" government conservatism up against Rush's real, smaller government conservatism. In the bright lights of Ronald Reagan's hand-selected heir Newt crumbled. Newt's ego and anger were perceptible. Newt demonstrated that he thinks it's the government's role to fix problems that don't exist and to fix problems that aren't the business of government. Newt suggested that we give tax incentives to companies that reduce carbon emissions, illustrating not only that he doesn't listen to Rush Limbaugh but that he doesn't know that global warming is a hoax designed to control people and raise taxes. Apparently, Newt is unaware of the fact that the much bally-hooed ice core samples do not prove that climate is driven by carbon, but that the opposite is true, with an average of a 600 year lag time between temperature rises and carbon rises.
Rush pounced on this and gave a passionate and eloquent lecture. He demonstrated who was the Jedi master and who was the Sith lord. I know that's a bad and corny analogy, but it's true. Newt's ego is the size of an imperial cruiser, maybe even the Death Star. After all, he's an intellectual. He's a college professor. But Rush ran rings around him. In Star Wars terms, which I should stop using, btw, Rush did the Kessel Run in 12 parceks around Newt.
Newt exposed himself as something other than a real conservative. For his own sake, he shouldn't have come on with Rush. It was clear that he thought he'd charm or outsmart Rush. It blew up in his face and exposed his true nature to the largest audience of conservatives that exists.
With that said, I came across this interesting column from David Sanders, which must have been written without the benefit of hearing Rush and Newt clash. It is, however, very insightful about Newt's designs on the White House. Unfortunately, for Newt, and fortunately, for us, he exposed his true nature.
Here's the link to the confrontation between Rush and Newt.
FLIP...FLOP---Huckabee and the Smoking Ban---It's All Smoke and Mirrors
How can you trust this guy?
Here in Arkansas people cannot smoke on private property, thanks to Mike Huckabee. He pushed a law, based on phoney science, to ban smoking cigarettes, cigars, and pipes, all legal products, in private businesses that allow patrons under the age of 21. He has claimed that his is a conservative position because taxpayers supposedly have to pay for the health care of 2nd hand smoking "victims". Despite the fact that the study cited was not based on science, many legislators were scared into supporting Huck's nanny state bill.
Now, Huckabee supposedly doesn't support a federal ban. In a statement to The Hill, "Huckabee said that if Congress presented him with legislation banning smoking in public places, he would sign it, because he would not oppose the overwhelming public support that such a congressional vote would reflect. However, since such sentiment for federal legislation doesn’t exist at this time, and since he has said that the responsibility for regulating smoking initially lies with the states, the governor believes that this issue is best addressed at the local and state levels.”
This is surreal. Huckabee complains that Mitt Romney flip flopped on some issues, as if he hasn't. Now he's flip flopping, sort of, on this. I say sort of because he's just showing that he doesn't have a spine. He still supports a nationwide ban on smoking, which was clear in the video above. It's also clear that he wasn't saying that he'd only support it if and only if there was popular support. Even if there was, why would that make it okay.
Just like his Meltdown when he supposedly swore of "negative" campaigning by showing a "negative" ad, Huckabee is trying to get credit for not supporting a ban when he still does support it.
This is just one more example of Huckabee's duplicity.
Huckabee Continues to Play on Anxieties About the Economy, Now...But When He Was Governor Arkansans Had to Tighten Our Belts
In his concession speech after his devastating Michigan loss, Mike Huckabee continued his mantra that "people are hurting".
This continued appeal to anxieties made me think of something I've been saying a lot, lately. When Mike Huckabee was governor he made Arkansas families, like mine, tighten our belts instead of making the state government tighten its belt. He has continued to claim, falsely, that the state supreme court forced him to raise taxes, but the truth is that he could have made the state government suck up the cost. Instead, he couldn't fathom how the state could do without a dime. Now, on the campaign trail, Huck keeps moaning for the plight of Americans. But back then our plight never crossed his mind. We were an endless supply of money for his number one concern...state government.
Sorry, Jimmy, You Can't Play with Your Cap Guns, Anymore
If an Arkansas legislator gets his way, the state law will be changed so that kids won't be able to play with realistic toy guns. Despite the fact that over the last century that tens of millions of kids have played cops and robbers only a handful have been in accidental shootings.
So, because of one tragic incident all the little boys in the state will be punished. There's no mention of the fact that the boys who have been shot were pointing the toy guns provocatively.
Rep. Otis Davis, D-Earle, has a personal connection to a boy who was killed in such an accident. I can understand his reaction. It's an emotional reaction, though, that doesn't fix the problem of irresponsible behavior.
Most boys know better than to point toy guns at police officers, especially in the dark. I can remember the last time a story like this tragic shooting made the national media. It was almost 20 years ago. In that situation, a boy pointed a laser tag gun at a police officer. I don't know if you remember this, but laser tag guns were not very realistic looking, but it didn't matter because the boy pointed it at an officer in the dark.
The real lesson is to teach our kids not to point their toy guns at police officers or adults, especially in the dark. When told by an officer to put it down, do it.
I can tell you this much, if this silly law, which won't prevent what it's trying to prevent, kids can still do what I did...buy a can of black spray paint.
Rep. Davis has the best of intentions, I'm sure, but this is a draconian idea. It won't accomplish its goal. If a kid points an orange toy gun at an officer in the dark, it could still be mistaken for a real one. The only way to solve this problem is to take the route of personal responsibility. Kids aren't stupid. When my parents told me not to point toy guns at adults or police officers, I listened to them. Apparently, tens of millions of other kids listened, too.
I was sent this link to a very well-reasoned and documented case why conservatives cannot support Mike Huckabee. Expect to see a strong turnout of democrats for Huckabee today in Michigan.
Here's the link to another great thread from Free Republic.
After the media told us that Huckabee was going to beat Mitt Romney in Michigan, he finished in a very distant 3rd place, with Romney finishing with 39% and McCain with 30%.
Also, exit polls show that Huck's grip on evangelicals is much weaker than in Iowa. He's been losing ground steadily since Iowa. This loss of ground has been accelerated greatly by Fred Thompson surge in South Carolina following his strong showing in the SC debate, where he dismantled Huckabee.
Now don't get me wrong. I like Wilfred Brimley. His support for folks with the diabeetus is inspiring. I'm glad to see he's a Republican, too, but he can't compete with Chuck Norris as far as cool goes. I bet Chuck Norris could probably scare the diabeetus out of someone or just kill the diabeetus.
Too bad neither can do anything about the fact that their candidates are RINOs.
Latest Rasmussen South Carolina Poll: Fred Surging, Huck Sinking
Fred has come out of nowhere in South Carolina in the latest poll, while Mike Huckabee has seen a precipitous drop. Looks like the folks in South Carolina are figuring out who the real conservative is.
HotAir.com, which has been kind enough to link a number of my posts has linked to David Sanders' column about Huckabee referring to conservatives in Arkansas as "Shiites", a reference to militant Islamists. Again, I note that not all Shia are militant Islamists, but this does illustrate another shortcoming in Huckabee's understanding of foreign policy and his view of real conservatives.
Potty Humor: "Fred Needs Medamucil"---Whatever Happened to Huckabee Swearing Off "Negative" Campaigning?
Mike Huckabee supposedly swore off "negative" campaigning, but in response to Fred Thompson talking about Huck's record he said that Fred needed some "Medamucil". Huck went on to insult Fred as being unable to operate without someone writing clever lines for him. That statement is even more ridiculous given that Fred was addressing real issues and Huckabee is the person who was only able to respond with childish potty humor, which was obviously a prepared line.
This is remarkable not just because it's a personal attack, but because it's the best Huck could do to respond to accurate descriptions of his record. Note that Huckabee didn't refute anything Fred had to say. He wasn't able to do so in the debate, either. Instead he did an imitation of Bill Clinton, when he was unable to deny that he raised our taxes by half a billion dollars. All he could say was that he "raised hope"...
Seriously? Taking away an average of $1,800 from every man, woman, and child doesn't sound like a way to "raise hope". It sounds like a way to strifle hope.
I need to note that this song was written and produced by Dave Elswick, who is Central Arkansas's #1 local talk show host. His show airs at 2 p.m. on KARN News Radio, which is 102.9 FM and 920 AM.
At this point, I don't know who the singer and musicians are, but they did a great job, as well.
The website is for KARN is http://www.karnnewsradio.com/ . You can listen to Dave live online from 2-6 p.m. weekdays.
Originally posted Saturday, January 12, 2008 at 3:43 p.m.
Mike Huckabee's first book was called Character is the Issue. The irony of that title is striking, this from a man who claims to be the "Christian Leader" in the Republican field.
There's no denying that he makes a big show of his faith, but when it comes time to put his money where his mouth is he doesn't walk the talk.
Over the course of the campaign I, and many others, have documented a remarkable pattern of intentional deception, lying repeatedly about his liberal record. Last week, he made a big show about how noble he is, by claiming that he refused to resort to "negative" campaigning, also known as looking at a candidate's record. He then proceeded to show his own "negative" commercial, in the now-successful hopes of getting it played for free. He never demanded that it be removed from the air and has, in fact, continued to repeat the charges in it, as have members of his campaign, who have continued to engage in other negative attacks.
This came to a head with the debate Sunday night, in which Mitt Romney pointed out that Huck's campaign chairman Ed Rollins had threatened to knock his teeth out. Huck has since disavowed this comment, as if he had no idea that anyone associated with his campaign was engaged in a practice he supposedly had sworn off. Huckabee is either lying again, or he is remarkably under-informed.
For Mike Huckabee character is the issue, his lack of it and his use of it as a campaign slogan, nonetheless.
Here's a link to an interesting story about Huck's Meltdown.
Fred Thompson, speaking in reference to Mike Huckabee's record and policy positions had the following to say, “that’s not the model of the Reagan coalition; that’s the model of the Democratic Party.”
Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright stated the other day that President Bush is "one of the worst (presidents)" in history, this from a lady who helped give nuclear secrets to the Chinese and the North Koreans and turned a blind eye to the UN Oil for Food scandals. Yeah, she has a lot of credibility. I suppose she also thinks Bill Clinton is a great president.
Statement from Lois Davidson, Mother of Killer's Victim, in Response to Huckabee
Lois Davidson, whose daughter Carole Sue Shields was raped and killed in 2000 by a criminal whose release from prison was championed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, issued the following statement today in response to Huckabee's contention in a television interview that her story was being "exploited" for political purposes:
"Last night, Mike Huckabee accused me of being exploited and used for political purposes. I assure you, Mr. Huckabee, I am not being exploited. I am fully aware of the actions I have taken in attempting to inform the public of your role in my daughter's rape and murder. I have spent over 7 years thinking about this.
"I am not a dupe. But you, Governor Huckabee, were duped time and again by convicted felons who once released from prison by you began hurting people again.
"Mr. Huckabee, I am not a victim. However, my daughter was a victim. She was raped and murdered by a serial rapist that you wanted freed from prison. Please be honest about the role you played in releasing my daughter's killer."
Huckabee's dismissal of Davis came during an interview on the Hannity and Colmes television program following a Republican debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Davidson's story is the subject of an ad aired in South Carolina this week focusing on Huckabee's dismal record on the rights of crime victims. The ad was developed and paid for by Victims Voice, an Arkansas-based victims advocacy group and can be viewed on the Victims Voice Web site at http://www.victimsvoice527.com/.
The 60-second ad from Victims Voice tells of how Shields was raped and murdered in 2000 by Wayne Dumond, a former inmate in Arkansas prisons whose release was championed by Huckabee. After his release, Dumond relocated to Missouri, where he raped and killed Shields and is believed to have killed another woman. Dumond died in prison in 2005.
Victims Voice is a non-profit 527 launched in December 2007 to expose the Mike Huckabee record of releasing hardened criminals from prison. During his 10 ½ years as governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee released over 1,000 criminals from Arkansas prisons. That total is more than that of the previous two Democratic governors combined, one of whom was Bill Clinton.
"Gov. Huckabee's suggestion that Lois Davidson is being 'exploited' is deplorable, and his callous dismissal of Ms. Davidson as a political pawn is shameful," said Keith Emis, director of Victims Voice. "According to all published reports, Huckabee played a key role in supporting Dumond's release, but now he's trying to run from his record. How many more women must die or live in fear before Mike Huckabee is held accountable for his actions?"
Despite naysayers who have bought the media line that Fred Thompson can't win and is too this or that or not enough this or that, Human Events, one of the original conservative publications, has endorsed Fred Thompson, who is the only consistent conservative in the Republican race.
"...which of the candidates is most representative of the fundamental conservative principles we believe in. The answer is Fred Thompson."
The results are in and nearly everybody agrees that Fred Thompson dominated last night's debate.
Frank Luntz, who does focus groups for Fox News, was very surprised to see the crowd he had gathered shift from 2 Fred supporters to nearly the whole crowd, with all of them proclaiming that Fred won the debate.
Here are some more opinions from put together by Fred's website:
Jim Geraghty:
Winner: Thompson. This performance was so commanding, I wanted his last answer to echo back to the lights in the back of the auditorium, blow out all the lamps and spotlights, for the theme to “the Natural” to play, and for him to trot around the stage in slow motion while sparks showered down in the background.
Jonathan Martin:
Fred drops a daisy cutter on Huck. Truth told, he unleashed so much oppo that I didn’t have a chance to catch it all. But he did say Huck’s comments on the Bush administration’s “arrogant bunker mentality” were reminiscent of the “Blame America first crowd” before ticking off hits on taxes, Guantanamo, Huck’s support from the NEA and his support for a national smoking ban. There were others, too, but Fred was on a roll.
“That’s not the model of the Reagan coalition; that’s the model of the Democratic Party,” Thompson concluded, winning lusty applause and “Oohs” from the studio audience.
Marc Ambinder:
This was Fred Thompson’s second strong debate in a row; it’s as if he realized there was a real campaign and that he had real talent to bring to bear in a way that makes him look good and his opponents look silly.
The Caucus:
Mr. Thompson rocks tonight.
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Thompson Roars
Trailhead:
Thompson butts in on a question about the Reagan coalition so he can rattle off a litany of attacks on Huckabee. He thinks we have an “arrogant foreign policy,” says Thompson. “He thinks Guantanamo should be closed” and the prisoners brought into the American court system. “He has the endorsement of the NEA.” “He said he’d sign a bill to ban smoking nationwide.” And so on. He makes Huckabee sound so reasonable!
The Maritime Sentry:
The big winner tonight was Fred Thompson. Most of the other candidates stuck with the usual rhetoric that we have heard before, but not Fred Thompson. He was articulate and detailed, no matter what question was asked of him. He completely wiped the floor with Mike Huckabee by simply pointing out Huckabee’s far left agenda should he win the Presidency. Really none of the other candidate stood out.
The Post and Courier political ticker:
It took 30 minutes, but the first applause and slam came when Fred Thompson went after Mike Huckabee, saying he is not even close to being a Reagan Republican.
Bad News For Huck...Immigration is the Number One Issue in South Carolina
I've brought you a lot of these stories, like how Mike Huckabee pushed to give drivers licenses, college scholarships and in-state tuition to illegal aliens, like how he called those of us who wanted to stop giving taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal aliens bad Christians and racists.
Below I've listed a few links to those stories.
Here's the link to video I posted of Huckabee's 2005 State of the State Address asking the legislature to give in-state tuition and college scholarships to illegal aliens.
Here's the link to the story about Huckabee supporting drivers licenses for illegal aliens.
Here's the link to a story about Huckabee calling us "race-baiters".
Here's the link to the story about South Carolina.
Illegal Immigration Update: Anchor Babies---Huckabee Was For It Before He Was Against It
I was shocked the other day to read that Mike Huckabee was proposing a to run an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to end the practice of granting citizenship to all babies born in the U.S., despite their parent's legal status. This is from the guy who has famously said that "we don't punish children for the sins of their parents", in reference to his push for college scholarships and in-state tuition for illegal aliens in Arkansas.
The promise, which Huckabee didn't have the integrity to keep, was made to Jim Gilchrist, the founder of the Minutemen Project, who has endorsed Huckabee. No word yet on whether Gilchrist is upset with Huck's flip flop. It's not likely since Gilchrist has conveniently been able to ignore Huckabee's pro-illegal alien record.
No sooner had I picked my jaw up off the ground than Huckabee flip-flopped on his position, stating that he didn't support the idea anymore, reverting to his pro-illegal alien position.
Here's the link to the story from when Huckabee was for it and here's the link to the story when he decided he was against it.
This isn't the first time Huckabee has been for something before he was against it, which seriously calls his judgment into question. Remember that he was supposedly for "negative" campaigning before he was against it...although, that's not true on either end. He has always said he was against "negative" campaigning, but regardless his campaign still engages in "negative" campaigning. Please note that Huckabee doesn't call what he does "negative", now that he's disavowed it. Accurately describing his record, however, is what he considers to be "negative".
Sir Edmund Hilary passed away today at the age of 88. Hillary Clinton famously claimed that she was named for Sir Edmund, not realizing that his name only had one 'l' and that he became famous more than five years after she was born. Sir Edmund became famous in 1953 when he was the first man to climb Mount Everest. Here's the link about his passing and here's the link about Hillary's blunder.
I probably won't be able to bring you any analysis about tonight's debate until tomorrow because the internet is on the blink at my house, but this should be telling to see how Huckabee and McCain fair as the two most pro-illegal aliens candidates in such a heavily anti-illegal alien state.
I just got an email that Keith Emis, the founder of Victims Voice, will be appearing on Little Rock's big talk station KARN with host Dave Elswick at 4 p.m., today. Here's a link to the station's website. You can listen live online or tune in to 102.9 FM or 920 AM, if you're in Central Arkansas.
The Wall Street Journal is the first major media source picking up the story about Victims Voice, a 527 which is telling the story of Victims of criminals Mike Huckabee helped get out of prison. They have produced a commercial, which I have posted below, featuring Lois Davidson, whose daughter was murdered by Wayne DuMond, whose parole Mike Huckabee secured.
Victims Voice: Arkansas 527 to Air Ads in South Carolina
From Victims Voice:
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VICTIMS VOICE TO BEGIN AIRING COMMERCIALS TONIGHT IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
"IF NOT FOR MIKE HUCKABEE... MY DAUGHTER WOULD BE ALIVE TODAY,"
LOIS DAVIDSON, MOTHER OF CAROL SUE SHIELDS
Victims Voice will begin airing a new television ad across South Carolina during the Republican presidential debate tonight in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The ad features Lois Davidson, the mother of rape and murder victim Carol Sue Shields, discussing Mike Huckabee's role in releasing Wayne Dumond from prison. Dumond raped and murdered Carol Sue Shields and another woman after then-Governor Mike Huckabee helped Dumond get released from prison.
Victims Voice was started to expose the Mike Huckabee record of releasing hardened criminals from prison. During his 10 ½ years as governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee released over 1000 criminals from Arkansas's prisons. That is more than the previous two Democratic governors combined, one of whom was Bill Clinton. "Carol Sue Shields was raped and murdered because Mike Huckabee wanted Wayne Dumond released from prison," said Keith Emis, the director of Victims Voice. "The American voter needs to know the consequences of Mike Huckabee's reckless prison release policies," Emis continued.
Victims Voice is a non-profit 527 corporation. It was started to educate the public about Mike Huckabee's record on crime and punishment. You can view the commercial on the website
David Sanders' latest column reminds me of something I'd almost forgotten. Mike Huckabee used to call those of us in Arkansas who opposed his tax increases "Shiites", as in Islamic extremists. I note that not all Shiites are not extremists. This is just one more example of Huck's lack of foreign policy understanding.
This is one of Sanders' best columns, ever. Here's the link.
In Mike Huckabee's Lunchroom: Sorry, Nathan, You Can't Have any Cupcakes
A reader recently relayed a story to me about his young son being upset with Mike Huckabee because our former governor's nanny-state policies prohibited school kids from bringing cupcakes and candy to in-school birthday parties.
When I was in grade school, a birthday during school was cause for celebration because the birthday kid's mom was going to bring cupcakes for the whole class. Mike Huckabee, who famously lost a bunch of weight, decided that Johnny and Susie shouldn't be allowed to have candy and cake for their birthday parties, putting a new spin on taking candy from a baby.
Mike Huckabee has been making a big deal lately claiming that he's a "big 10th Amendment guy", but he's already stated that he'd like to see a FEDERAL ban on smoking in private businesses, as he did in Arkansas. As I said above, he also banned school children from having cakes and candy at school birthday parties. He also banned soft drinks and junk food from vending machines at public schools in Arkansas.
Now schools in Greenwich, Connecticutt have banned desserts altogether. This is just the kind of big government "conservatism" that Mike Huckabee pushed on us in Arkansas and that he wants to force on us as president. Mike Huckabee's brand of "conservatism" is one based on the belief that government should tell people how to live their lives for their own good, which isn't conservatism, at all. Mike Huckabee, like a typical liberal doesn't believe that people can be trusted to make their own choices and take responsibility for themselves.
Mike Huckabee said, the other night, that he supported the Surge when Romney didn't...well, it turns out that's not the case. Why not? He lies about everything else.
Rush's Response to Huck's Kool-Aid Drinking Callers
You have to read the transcript, which I've linked below, to believe the remarkable depths of derangement Huck's supporters have reached. They are truly out of touch with reality. In frustration, yesterday, Rush agreed with their stupidity that raising taxes by half a billion dollars, giving in-state tuition, and releasing over 1,000 criminals was the new definition of Conservatism. Here's the link.
Huckabee on Hannity and Colmes, Again...Calls Liberalism Americanism
Huckabee Redefines Liberalism to Mean Americanism
Enviroment, hunger, disease, poverty...those are the issues that Mike Huckabee thinks we, as Republicans, should be better "Americans" about. "I'm a conservative, but I'm not mad about it..." That's one of Huck's favorite lines to insult conservatives. It's typical of his class warfare rhetoric on the campaign trail. It's not just rhetoric, though. It's a window into the philosophy of Mike Huckabee. He sees government as the answer to these problems and supposed problems. Another Huckabee Lie Continuing his recitation of democrat talking points, Huck danced around questions about his insults of President Bush, acting as if he never said them. This is one more Mike Huckabee lie to add to the long list. He says, "it's ridiculous. I never said that," in answer to Alan Colmes request to explain his insult. He continues, saying that he never mocked the president. That's an absolute lie...Claiming that he's read more National Intelligence Estimates than the President, is a typical, democrat swipe at the president supposedly not knowing what was going on in the world.
Well, Mike, you're caught, again. Really, this is getting old. If you'd stop saying and doing dumb stuff, you wouldn't feel compelled to lie so much. But, alas, it's your way. Here's the link to the New York Times Caucus blog story quoting your insult of the president.
Huck on Romney's Denial of Clemency...How Does that Justify Letting over 1,000 Criminals Go Free?
Mike Huckabee recently tried to make a case out of the fact that Mitt Romney refused to grant clemency to anyone as governor of Massachusetts, citing the case of young man who was convicted of a crime but later served honorably in Iraq. He wanted to become a police officer, but Romney would not grant him clemency.
Okay... I probably would have granted him clemency, but what does that have to do with Huckabee granting clemency to over 1,000 convicted felons, including 12 murderers? How does that exonerate Huckabee?
It doesn't. It's just one more example of Huckabee going "negative" while claiming not to, as well as an example of him acting as if his record doesn't have any bearing on the discussion.
At a New Hampshire Church on Sunday Mike Huckabee preached that we, as believers, are Christians soldiers, as in the song I learned as a youngster. Later that day, he appeared in a debate where he repeated many of the same lies he's been telling all campaign season. Among them are his claims that he raised taxes because the Arkansas Supreme Court said so...not true...and that his support for a bill to give in-state tuition and college scholarships only affected about 30 students (as in the Arkansas Challenge Scholarship-(ACS))...also, not true.
Lie about Half a Billion Dollars in Tax Increases
Regarding his tax increases, he has refused to make a 'yes' or 'no' answer to the question of whether he raised taxes by half a billion dollars. He went further, though, claiming the supreme court required him to do so. It's not like this is a new criticism, so this response isn't puzzling. It's clearly a lie. The supreme court required the state to provide a more "equitable" education to all Arkansas public school students. It did not proscribe the method to accomplish this. Huckabee could have made state government tighten its belt, but he preferred to make us, the taxpayers, tighten our belts.
This contention is further wrong because his tax increase in relation to the supreme court decision is just one of several. It doesn't address his fuel tax increase and multiple other taxes, including his income tax hike (that one inspired by this video I released in which he literally begs the Arkansas legislature to raise any tax) and others, both of which he has also been lying about.
Lie about Scholarships and In-State Tuition for Illegal Aliens
As for his claims that the HB1525, of the 2005 session, he is absolutely lying. This bill did not involve the Arkansas Challenge Scholarship, which is the scholarship to which he has continually referred, referencing requirements such as being drug and alcohol free, minimum GPA and ACT scores, and attending Arkansas schools from kindergarten, which is not required by the ACS. In its original and final version it offered in-state tuition to illegal aliens who had attended 3 years at an Arkansas high school... Here's the link to my original post, complete with video of the Huckster begging for in-state tuition for illegal aliens and links to contemporary news stories and the text of the bill. Again, Mike Huckabee, the Christian soldier candidate is lying.
In his sermon, Huckabee says that as good Christian soldiers "you obey the orders." Huckabee often quotes Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment, but dealing with God's 10 Commandments, I guess he doesn't think the 9th Commandment (thou shalt not lie) is one that he has to obey. Here's the link to the story about Huck's latest sermon. Huckabee is starting to remind me of a cross between Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
This is one of the most fascinating pieces I've read in a while, comparing Huckabee to European Christian Democrats. They, like Huckabee, use their faith to justify bigger government as a moral government. Huck's rhetoric and actions as governor are nearly identical to Christian Democrats.
An example is his populist message. He continually employs class envy, coupling it with wearing evangelical religiousity on his sleeve. He's probably tapped into something, too. There are a lot of evangelical Christians today who do not understand that Biblical commands to care for the poor are a personal edict, not a governmental one.
As I mentioned earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court is going to hear a case regarding requiring voters to show a photo ID before they can vote.
"Some of the elderly don't have a state issued ID. Some people have never driven, that may include people with disabilities, the poor and minorities," says Rita Sklar of the Arkansas chapter of the ACLU.
Really?
There might be some pregnant women, too. You left them off. Even if we paid to give them all photo IDs Sklar would still oppose this because she's being disingenuous. Her goal, like that of the democrat party, is to maintain the status quo, where people can vote as many times as they wish.
Rush just said that he thought Fred and Romney did the best, last night. He's been getting all kinds of grief from Huck's kool-aid drinkers today, who think that what they've heard about Huckabee in the last 8 weeks outweighs what he did for 10 years.
Work in Progress: Breaking Down Huckabee's "Negative" Ad
All of this hubub has left one very important thing unnoticed. What about the actual content of Huckabee's ad? Having watched it several times, it's apparent that he didn't actually have a coherent commercial produced. I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't cost nearly as much as he claimed.
First, his ad says that he was going to set the record straight about "negative" attacks against himself and "War Hero" John McCain. After that point, he never mentioned himself or John McCain or their respective records.
The ad merely recites various unflattering portions about Mitt Romney's record. One that stands out is the statement that Mitt Romney never executed anyone, leaving the listener with the impression that Romney refused to use the death penalty. This is just one more deception by Huckabee, though, given that Romney was governor of Massachusetts, a state which hasn't used the death penalty in decades. It also ignores that Romney is the first Massachusetts governor to try to bring back the death penalty.
Huckabee finished the ad by saying "If a man is dishonest to obtain a job, he'll be dishonest on the job."
That might be compelling if Huckabee had demonstrated ANY dishonesty on the behalf of Romney in this ad or at any other point.
More irony, Mike Huckabee said he had a change of heart on Monday, which is why he supposedly decided not to run this ad on paid tv. But I just ran across this story from the day before his Meltdown press conference, reporting that on Saturday he had already denounced negative ads. Of course, he recorded the ad on Sunday. Here's the link.
It's not surprising, though, because even in his speech on Saturday, he was going "negative" by his definition even as he claimed that he wouldn't go "negative." I've been putting "negative" in quotation marks because Huckabee's definition of "negative" is to tell the voters what another candidate has said and done... Maybe I drink a different kind of "Jesus juice", but I always thought that someone's record was an important thing.
Huck's pitiful attempt to convince us that we had a change of heart is even more transparent and embarrassing given that Huck's whole campaign has supposedly been based on his "vertical" campaign ploy in which he was supposedly going to transcend the "negative" politics of the past.
Fred is solid. He just is. The press don't like him, and too much time is spent on superficial observations, but he has clearly given a great deal of thought to very big issues.
And why can't Huckabee address a specific challenge about his tax and spending record without immediately asking Romney to discuss his? Does this sound like Huckabee is actually proud of his "conservative" record?
Huckabee, after three ducks, now suggests that he raised taxes because of a court order...Huckabee and McCain clearly think they are troubling issues for them with Republican voters because they refuse to be honest about their big-tax records. We shouldn't discount this.
So He's Like Putin? So, Time Magazine named Huckabee one of the top five governors in the country. Why is that? They named Putin Person of the Year. I wouldn't brag about Time's endorsement.
Huckabee Loses Huckabee was asked about foreign policy and gave a long evasive answer. He was asked by Romney directly about his tax increases, and he ducked each time. On the issue of illegal immigration, he speaks about sealing the border and getting tough when his record speaks to the opposite. I think he's the big loser tonight.
"You Make Up Facts Faster Than You Talk" Nice Romney line, and he asks—firmly, but not unpleasantly—a question that Huck couldn't answer about the $500 million net tax increase in Arkansas.
...flailing on foreign policy. Not saying anything wrong really, but it's very rhetorical and feels about an inch deep.
After having lost in his contention for the Nobel Peace Prize, which went to Algore for promoting his Global Warming hoax, Rush has been named as Human Events Man of the Year.
Rush is the golden voice of freedom and the standard bearer of the Conservative Movement. Rush was handed that mantle by President Reagan and he has carried it with honor and greatness.
I'm excited to read this. Mark Levin has the announcement on the link. Here's the link.
UPDATE: Just tuned into Rush and he's on a tear about how liberal Mike Huckabee is and how he is continuing to refuse to answer about raising half a billion dollars in taxes on us in Arkansas. The Huckster finally lied, saying that the supreme court forced him to raise taxes. That is absolutely not true. Many of his tax increases occurred years before and the supreme court didn't require a tax increase, just equal spending in Arkansas's public schools, which could have been done by budget cuts, within schools or the general budget.
Also, Rush is echoing what I've been saying for a while, that the media wants Huckabee to win to destroy the Conservative Movement.
This is a few days old, but it's interesting to see how loose alliances are being formed back and forth, mostly against Romney. There are loose alliances against Huckabee, too. Here's the link.
Fred Thompson Endorsed by New Hampshire Citizens for Life
Fred is adding to his long list of key pro-life groups who are endorsing him, which is helping him pick up steam. Going into New Hampshire and South Carolina he is continuing to gain ground under the radar of the mainstream media who is pushing him Huckabee on us.
A side note, New Hampshire Citizens for Life is the official affiliate of National Right to Life.
The pundits seem to agree with my evaluation that Fred Thompson won tonight's debate. The format was, by far, the best I've ever seen. It allowed candidates to interact like I've never seen them. It allowed Fred to choose set his own tone and avoid the squabbling of the other candidates. He looked presidential, not like a smooth politician, but as a leader who is thoughtful, principled, and in control. With that, I've culled a few interesting responses to the debates, which universally agreed that Fred did very well.
Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic very favorably reviewed Fred's performance:
On points, Fred Thompson won the debate. Every answer was thoughtful and well-crafted...his performance tonight tells me his mind is not elsewhere.
Michelle Malkin did a running analysis of the debate and is much more thorough.
Thompson succinctly shoots down oil company demagoguery from WMUR anchor. What about their profits? Fred: "take note of their profits. I take note of their losses. It’s supply and demand."
So far, I’d say Fred Thompson is doing well for himself. He’s shown humor and is engaged and seems relaxed.
Describing Fred as the "One Adult", Peter Robinson of National Review had the following to say:
...in my judgment Fred Thompson turned in a very fine performance, the more effective for proving underplayed. The others fought, bickered, attempted to demonstrate their brains. Naturally enough, they commanded the viewer's immediate attention. But did they look like chief executives of a great nation? Or like candidates for a student council? Thompson stood, in effect, to one side, quiet and dignified, speaking less often, perhaps, but with cogency and principle. Thompson alone conveyed a sense of gravitas. He looked, spoke, and comported himself like a president. If (as I expect) Romney fares badly in New Hampshire, Thompson will be the obvious choice for conservatives. He's going to prove an easy man to rally around.
Fred wins. He said the least but what he said was most worth listening to. He managed to come across as the sage in the race, too wise to get into the fray but not above smacking the kids around when he has to.
As I was saying, the format was the best I've seen. It was an opportunity for a natural debate to occur without forced statements, timelines, which lead to canned responses. Regardless of the format Fred did very well, but it also aided him by allowing him to control the tempo and demonstrate maturity and thoughtfulness that the other candidates, especially Huckabee, severely lacked. Andy McCarthy of National Review had the following to say:
Rich and Mark Steyn are right, and I was wrong. I always think it’s strange when the great athletes talk about letting the game come to them. But that’s how this format worked for Fred, and when called on he did great. I thought his explanation of healthcare economics was staggeringly good — I don’t see how you could do it better in this format. And when he went into trial lawyer mode, cross-examining the other candidates, he did in the effective way — no screaming, but pressing (patiently but insistently) for an answer. Very nicely done.
Fred Thompson Places Strong 2nd in Wyoming Caucuses
While everybody was talking about Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina Wyoming held its caucuses today. Mitt Romney placed 1st, followed by Fred Thompson, who finished a strong 2nd.
Typical Huckabee...Insults Someone Else When He's Caught in a Mistake or a Lie
That's what he did when he was caught unaware of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which was the biggest news of that day. Instead of just saying, 'you caught me' and admitting that he didn't know much about foreign policy, he insulted President Bush as not knowing anything about foreign policy. Mike Huckabee insults a man who has more foreign policy experience and understanding than Huck has experience judging fat people.
Mike Huckabee is apparently going to appear with David Letterman to let everybody know that Christians are cool. I assume he'll want to rock it out with Paul Shaffer, too.
As I have said before, Huckabee doesn't want this race to be about issues because his record is so abominable. He wants it to be about personality and identity politics. If he can be perceived as cool, as he surely was with this fat Elvis impersonator, and talk like John Edwards, in the terms of a vapid, shallow populist, he thinks he has a chance of skating on discussions of his record.
Again, Huck will be appearing on the day before voters go to the polls, this time on Monday night, the day that New Hampshire voters go to the polls.
Global Warming Strikes New Hampshire with SNOW!!!!
Global Warming is out of control! This week it caused record snowfall in New Hampshire, exceeding the previous record from 1876, when Global Warming was probably still in it infancy, what with all those coal plants and steam locomotives causing the Earth to warm so much that it snowed.
As I was saying about Fred's appearance on Cavuto, he did a great job on MSNBC with Norah O'Donnell. I'll be posting the video of him on Cavuto later in the weekend. Hopefully then I'll have some good news from Wyoming.
The news has barely said anything about it, but Fred Thompson came out of nowhere last night and finished 3rd in Iowa.
He appeared on Your World with Neil Cavuto today and was great. He seemed energized and ready for South Carolina. He made a strong case that the Republicans want a real conservative.
As of right now, he's raised over $86,000. Look for a strong showing in South Carolina, but also in Wyoming, which holds its caucuses tomorrow. Fred just received the endorsement of the Wyoming Right to Life. Here's the link.
Here's a link to Jim Geraghty for National Review about the Wyoming Caucus.
ArkTimes Blog Begrudgingly Admits We're Winning in Iraq, Sort Of
I ran a post, recently, pointing out that liberals, Max Brantley in specific, aren't talking about the War on Terror anymore, because we're kicking butt and taking names. Here's a link to my earlier post.
Per their usual practice, they're changing the subject, acting like they never said anything about it. It reminds me of "jobs, jobs, jobs", John Kerry's promise that he would talking about jobs and the economy in the '04 election. He promptly dropped that issue as job creation skyrocketed.
The list goes on and on. Liberals graze from one issue to the next. They try to make something stick and when it doesn't they move on to something different.
Today was a big day, though, for Max. He admitted, in a very roundabout way, that we're winning in Iraq. "Repubs can claim the war is going swell..." That's true. Thanks for noticing. I know it pains you to see your country winning a war. You'd think someone was pulling his teeth. He goes on to do exactly what I said above...change the subject.
"...but another disaster is underway, rising unemployment and punishing financial markets."
Okay.
There was a time when 5% unemployment was considered full unemployment and a stock market over 12,000 was considered impossible, but Max is in the business of finding things he can blame on the President and Republicans, so he's trying to make something out of nothing.
I will go into more depth, but Mike Huckabee was just on the Sean Hannity radio show lying up a storm.
He, again, lied about his record on tax increases, claiming that we, the people of Arkansas, voted for the fuel tax, when he had signed it into law months before we got to vote on a bond increase.
Otherwise, he did not answer Hannity's question of whether he had raised half a billion dollars in taxes. I am starting to see a pattern, as well, where he answers question in such a way that his immediate answer sounds like he's saying 'no' and then he says something different. He's in effect making it sound like something he did never happened, to give the impression that he's denying it, then goes on to disagree with something completely different.
He also lied about Jim Holt and illegal alien issues. Specifically, he repeated his lie that his bill to give illegal aliens in-state tuition and scholarships required illegal aliens to be in Arkansas the from 1st grade, have a certain GPA and grades, and be drug free. Huckabee is absolutely lying, again...
Huckabee dodged a number of questions about his record and Hannity eventually let him skate on most and moved on to others.
I'll get into more details when I can get the audio or a transcript.
David Sanders in the Wall Street Journal on Huck's Brand of Religious Left
David Sanders is really taking off as a commentator, having recently been published in National Review and The Wall Street Journal, two of my favorite publications.
His latest column is a fascinating look into how Huck's theology makes him a big government. Huck is afflicted with a dangerous and heretical strain of evangelical theology that removes responsibility for the individual to be charity and hands it to the state.
"...no one has articulated the message of the religious left more effectively than Mr. Huckabee."
Those of us in Arkansas have seen for years how Huckabee has used his faith to bludgeon us to accomplish his big government goals. Read Sanders' WSJ column to see how this works out in Huckabee's world view.
Huckabee's Campaign Chairman Still Going "Negative"
I guess Mike Huckabee doesn't consider his campaign chairman or other people he pays to be part of his campaign, because I was under the impression that he had disavowed "negative" campaigning.
Last night after Huck's victory, where Huckabee bragged about not going "negative", Ed Rollins, his campaign chairman, trashed Mitt Romney in an interview with Fox News. This is a remarkable oversight by Huckabee, that I don't think is an oversight. Rollins just can't help but go "negative". He even attacked Fox's Chris Wallace for supposedly running down Huckabee. Rollins, apparently, considers asking Huckabee about his record to be an attack.
I have an idea, Huckabee shouldn't be allowed to brag about any part of his record because he considers it to be a "negative" "attack" if people talk about the rest of his record.
Townhall.com has an intesting anecdote about Rollins flying off the handle at an Iowa diner. Here's the link.
I've already brought you the story of Jim Bob Duggar going "negative" on Romney on behalf of Huckabee. Here's the link.
Aaron Sadler has an interesting story about Huckabee denouncing dirty tricks for Arkansas News, which is ironic given that Ed Rollins is the king of dirty tricks and trash politics. Here's the link.
Arkansas's New Democrat Governor is More Conservative Than Huckabee
Out of the blue, Mike Beebe is suggesting that the state might cut back services in order to cut more taxes. Here's the link.
This is a huge embarrassment for Mike Huckabee who said it wasn't possible to cut spending to avoid raising taxes. Beebe, our democrat governor, is suggesting that we could cut spending in order to CUT taxes!!!
Jay Barth has been on the road in Iowa and has an interesting post this morning about who Republicans will coalesce around to oppose Huckabee. His suggestion is Fred Thompson, who made a surprise 3rd place showing last night after only spending a few weeks there, a story which has been completely ignored by the media.
The real story is Obama dismantling Hillary. Heck, even John Edwards beat her.
Obama's victory speech was like something out of a movie. His politics may be terrible, but his style has to have Hillary quaking in her boots. The New York Post has an interesting article about the Clinton Machine losing its deathgrip on the Democrat Party. Here's the link.
Huck Spent Months In Iowa...Of Course He Won
As for Huckabee winning Iowa, if he hadn't won it would have been an embarrassment. He better win a state he spent 99% of his time in for months. He couldn't afford to do much else, so he decided to run on his special brand of "Jesus juice" in one small state. He's riding on perception as if Iowa matters otherwise. If Iowa was on Super Tuesday, nobody would notice.
Aaron Sadler has comments for Arkansas News. Here's the link.
As Rush Limbaugh said on Fox News after the Caucus results, Huckabee hasn't had to deal with issues, yet. Once the rest of the country starts paying attention, they won't like what they see.
Yesterday Rush said Huck is no Reagan and he's dead on. Here's the link.
Proving that the economy isn't a zero sum pie, revenue is still going up, despite what liberals say has to happen after a tax cut. Max is scrambling to explain it as something else, but the point is that revenues are up when his pseudo-economics would have demanded that they go down.
Jason Wiest has the story for Arkansas News. Here's the link.
In Huck's embarrassing press conference on New Year's Eve he made a big point that all of these "negative" and "dishonest" "attacks" couldn't encapsulate his 10+ year record...
Right so what are we supposed to think when he runs 30 second ads telling us that he cut taxes 94 times, or anything else he claims? Who is the person being dishonest when Huckabee brags about cutting taxes 94 times when, in actuality, he raised a net $505 million in taxes? He's trying to trick people into thinking that he was a tax cutter when he was a huge tax raiser.
So, apparently, the only way to encapsulate his career is if you're Mike Huckabee misrepresenting his own record...
This is from an old friend and offers some interesting things to ponder before folks go to the caucuses in Iowa, today.
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Dear Friends,
Over the last month or two, Mike Huckabee's astounding rise in national and early-voting-state polls has been the focus of much discussion. Apparently, this rise is in large part attributed to evangelical Christians in general and homeschoolers in particular. As an unabashed member of these groups, I feel an obligation to inform my fellow evangelical homeschoolers. I realize that Mr. Huckabee has been endorsed by Michael Farris of HSLDA and PHC. But I also know from Dr. Farris that it was due to his being very impressed with Huckabee's speech at the " value voters debate" in mid-September. Huckabee was so bold and eloquent when speaking about his faith that apparently Dr. Farris was sold on him on the spot. I fear that this is the case with many Christians and homeschoolers. They are supporting Huckabee because of how out-front he is about his faith, and because of some key endorsements he has received.
Unfortunately, there is much more to Mike Huckabee than this. His 10-year record of governance, and even his current policy, is a mixed bag of some good and an equal or greater amount of bad. I am very supportive of Christians running for office and being very open about their faith in doing so; in fact, I believe that assisting Christian leaders in the political process is God's life calling for me. There is a point at which, however, a candidate crosses the line from his faith guiding his policies and campaign to one where his faith is his campaign; I believe Mike Huckabee has crossed this line and is using his faith for political purposes. His policies on homosexuality and abortion are strong, and I applaud him for that. On fiscal, foreign affairs, immigration, crime, and other policy issues, as well as ethics, however, he has a very poor record/current policy statement. The mainstream media has been fairly positive in its coverage of Huckabee for most of this year, based on his media-friendly nature, eloquence and humor in his speeches, and perhaps a fascination with the faith so many in the media don't understand. As he has risen in the polls recently, the media realized that he could actually stand a chance of winning the nomination, and have begun examining him seriously in an attempt to prevent such a dedicated evangelical from taking the White House. Notably, the DNC has refrained from attacking Huckabee much because they see his record makes him easily defeatable in the general election. I would be more than happy to discuss Huckabee with anyone, so please let me know if you have any questions. For the sake of disclosure, I am wholeheartedly supporting Fred Thompson's campaign, as I have since long before he announced his candidacy. He has a consistent pro-life, limited government, federalist, and pro-military record. He was also the first candidate to offer solid, detailed policy proposals for immigration, tax reform, social security reform, and other critical issues facing our nation today. I would be happy to answer any questions you have regarding him as well. I leave today for Iowa to help the Thompson campaign until the Caucus on the 3rd. Please read my essay, which is attached, and the links below to learn a few of the reasons why I, as a Christian, conservative, and homeschooler, strongly favor Fred Thompson over Mike Huckabee. Thank you for your time, and may God bless you in the coming new year! In His service, Daniel Davies Religion-mandated big-government? And . . . Huckabee signed a law placing more restrictions on homeschooling? Also . . . .Huckabee received $35,000 in consulting fees last year from one of the world's largest embryonic stem cell research companies?
UPDATE: Founder of Free Republic Endorses Fred Thompson
Jim Robinson, the founder of FreeRepublic.com, the largest online community for conservatives, announced today that he is endorsing Fred Thompson for president.
Speaking of endorsements, Morton Blackwell, the founder of Leadership Institute, the #1 grassroots training school for conservatives, has also endorsed Fred Thompson. Blackwell, worked for the Reagan White House and is close with all of the prominent alums from the Reagan Administration.
Follow the link to Hugh Hewitt's blog on Townhall.com to read a well documented explanation of why you shouldn't support Mike Huckabee from another Arkansan. If you are willing to think about who you'll support, consider what we as Arkansans think.
I have said many times, I have only seen 3, count 'em 3, Mike Huckabee bumper stickers in all of Arkansas. Over the holidays I talked to my friends about Huckabee, not just politically savvy people, and not one of them said they were supporting Huckabee. I can honestly say that I only know about a dozen Huckabee supporters who aren't members of his family in the whole state.
Echoing the same sentiments I expressed on New Year's Day in my "A Time for Choosing" post, the Ottumwa Courier, of Ottumwa Iowa, has endorsed Fred Thompson.
Huck Stands by "Negative" Ad on Hannity and Colmes
Appearing on Hannity and Colmes, the other night, Mike Huckabee continued his practice of going "negative" on Mitt Romney while bragging that he wasn't going to go "negative".
Again, the ad is played and Huckabee didn't object. He was very eager to play it, on New Year's Eve, so much so that he played it 3 times without sound, before he finally got it played with sound. If his reason that he just wanted to prove that it existed was true, he didn't need to play it with sound.
Again, he claims that Mitt Romney is lying, but offers no proof, as he did in his ad, which purported to do so, but actually only talks about Romney's record.
Huck also said that he wanted to see if it would work not to go "negative", or at least to appear not to, since he's gotten the ad played all over for free.
One more time, this begs the questions. What happened to his "vertical politics", which he's been touting since day one, supposedly stating that he'd never go "negative"? Why didn't he simply announce that he wasn't going to run any "negative" ads? Why didn't he just advise the media that they could ask the television stations who already had the ad if it existed, as he mentioned at one point in his Meltdown press conference?
The answer is that Huck didn't have the money to run the ad and wanted to do it on the cheap while being about to claim that he's so noble. Huckabee is so despicable and transparent. It's truly a sickening display.
L.J. Bryant, D-Newport, is apparently having some success fundraising. Bryant is running for Tommy Dickinson's seat. Dickinson is term limited. Here's the link.
I'll try to keep up with interesting news as it comes my way. If you come across any, feel free to email me. Be sure to check out the letter I've linked from a fellow Arkansan who has done yeoman's work in drafting a very thorough and fair assessment of why so many Arkansans can't support Mike Huckabee. The post is 2 down from this one.
To all the naysayers: Peter Robinson, for National Review's "The Corner", is covering the almost uncovered story of what John Zogby calls "a late-breaking surge" by Fred Thompson.
Fred has indeed surged to 3rd in Iowa, out of nowhere, and back into 1st in South Carolina, pretty good for a supposedly lazy bum who doesn't want to be president. The real story is that conservatives have been waiting for a real conservative.
How's this for positive campaigning? I already brought you the story about former State Representative Jim Bob Duggar campaigning for Huckabee in Iowa. This makes it all the more important who is paying for his trip given that Huckabee supposedly disavowed "negative" campaigning, including, I would assume, the claim that Romney wanted to do abortions for $50 in Massachusetts.
Now, Ed Rollins, Huckabee's national campaign chairman says he wants "to knock out" Mitt Romney's teeth. Rollins goes on to act as if the ad he produced with Huckabee in any way disputed supposedly dishonest statements made by Romney and others.
Rollins, who helped Bill Clinton become president by working for Ross Perot, went on to say that it wasn't possible to take down the FIVE placards and ONE banner before the press conference because it started at noon and they only had AN HOUR's notice after Huck supposedly changed his mind. It literally would have taken one person 30 seconds to take all six of those items down. If Huckabee really didn't want to go "negative" he would have demanded that they be taken down, just as he wouldn't have needed to play the ad he was so eager to play. Let me remind you that he played it without sound at least three times before he finally got it played with sound. He had long since proven that it existed. That clearly wasn't his purpose.
Huckabee wanted to get the ad run for free while appearing to be above "negative" campaigning.
"I just realized that this is not how we run our campaign in this state," Huckabee said. Well, apparently, it is. And it's interesting anyway that Huckabee claims to be running a "positive" campaign, but won't rule out going "negative" in other states.
If Mike Huckabee doesn't want his campaign to go "negative", it's time to repudiate Jim Bob Duggar and send him home. He shouldn't be continuing to go "negative". He should be demanding that the media hand over all copies of his commercials.
Surprise, surprise, though. He's not doing that. He's continuing to go "negative", because that's what he intended to do all along.
Politico has been keeping us updated on the situation between Rush Limbaugh and Mike Huckabee. Today, Rush made it quite clear that Huckabee isn't a conservative and that we should be wary of supporting him. Coming from the Voice of Conservatism, that's pretty significant. As someone who's been saying that for a long time and a fan of Rush, I'm very glad to hear it.
David Sanders' latest column gives more details about the Victim's Voice commercial of Lois Davidson talking about her daughter.
I'm just dying to hear what kind of justification Huckabee's rabid supporters have for this. I suspect I won't hear anything, though. By now, they have their fingers firmly planted in their ears.
Again, Mike Huckabee is being deceptive. He did cut about 90 taxes as governor, but the balance between his tax cuts and his tax increases left me and other Arkansas taxpayers with a net increase of half a billion dollars, that's billion with a B.
Balanced Budgets Are Required by the Arkansas Constitution
He, again, brags about always balancing the budget, but neglects to mention that he didn't have a choice. Arkansas's constitution requires the state government to balance its budget. Huckabee is eager to take credit for it, but every governor since that became part of our constitution has balanced the budget.
So, what we have here is just one more attempt by Mike Huckabee to deceive the voters into thinking he was fiscally conservative, when the conservative Cato Institute gave Huckabee a D- for his fiscal record.
A study, just released, states that there is no statistical evidence that requiring voters to show photo identification to vote reduces vote turnout among poor and black people. This has been claimed repeatedly by opponents of legislation to require photo IDs.
Arkansas legislators who proposed legislation requiring voter ID say they're heartened by this study.
Apparently, they think all you need to vote is a warm body. Having witnessed vote fraud and fraudulent voter registration before, I don't quite understand why this is so hard to understand. The most adamant opponents, no doubt, are aware of and perhaps even responsible for voter fraud.
Opponents claim that poor and black people cannot afford government photo IDs, which remains a remarkable and unproven statement. In Missouri, advocates of a similar measure offered to have the state subsidize photo IDs, but this, somehow, wasn't persuasive. The reason it wasn't compelling is that opponents of such measures have a vested interest in continuation of vote fraud.
Rob Moritz with Arkansas News has the story. Here's the link.
ABC News has the story about the Supreme Court hearing the issue. Here's the link.
Did I miss something? When did Jim Bob trade his integrity to be on Huckabee's team? I'm dying to know what Jim Holt, his long-time friend, whom Huckabee assailed so viciously as a racist and bad Christian, thinks about his friend supporting Huckabee.
Having known Jim Bob for a long time, I'm flabbergasted. Let me make this clear, I'm not saying that I think Jim Holt is a racist or a bad Christian. I'm pointing out that Huckabee did and that Holt's friend Jim Bob has somehow seen fit to support Huck despite that.
Jim Bob is in Iowa, apparently, tailing Mitt Romney and shilling for Mike Huckabee. I wonder which character quality he's trying to teach his kids with his support for Mike Huckabee...
Since Jim Holt was also assailed by another Huckabee shill, Gilbert Baker, I'd love to know who is paying for Jim Bob to tour Iowa. I assume it's Huckabee. I don't know how Huck can stomach associating with a man who mentored such an evil Christian as Jim Holt. Again, I'm being facetious about Jim Holt being an evil Christian.
44 years ago Ronald Reagan gave his famous speech, "A Time for Choosing". Fred Thompson just gave his.
It is time...time to choose whether we want to support a candidate who is a real conservative, who can unite the conservative base, and win.
Every other Republican in the race is at odds with one or more parts of the conservative coalition. This year we need a candidate who can unite all of the base if we're going to have a shot at winning against Hillary.
To all the naysayers, consider that Mike Huckabee was a joke two months ago. We all thought he didn't have a chance. I know I did. It took a leap of faith for him to overcome the fact that he was a liberal Republican nobody.
There's a reason why the media is pushing Mike Huckabee and running down Fred Thompson. If they thought Fred was a bad candidate for us, they'd be pushing him.
It takes faith from us for Fred to win. He can win. I believe.
Fred Thompson is my candidate. I have chosen. He is the only consistent conservative in the race and it's time to stand up and say so.
Peter Robinson of National Review seems to have had a similar response.
"This is reminiscent of Reagan’s talk to the people of North Carolina in 1976. Simple, straightforward, modest production values—just the candidate in front of an American flag and an Iowa flag—but (to use the word again) compelling. Reagan’s 1976 talk enabled him to recover after a string of primary defeats, winning in North Carolina, then going on to come within a handful of delegates of wresting the nomination from Ford. Will Thompson’s talk move voters in Iowa? Does his campaign have the money to get it on the air? Throughout the state? Or even in a few of the most important markets? Beats me. But we have here a serious man, making a serious case—and doing so in the context of a campaign that has otherwise descended into mere caterwauling.
"Even at this late hour, I wouldn’t count Fred out."
Each of us has to choose. We have to choose to believe. We have to choose to believe that it's important to stand up for basic conservative principles and support a candidate who can unite us behind them.
We have to choose not to believe the constant negative assault from the media and others. There is a constant barrage that Fred is this or that or not enough of this or that. The stakes are too high to resign our choice to a poll or a negative statement some friend or the media makes.
America is at a crossroads. We face an enemy today who wants to kills us just because of who we are. We face a resurgent Soviet Russia, that, like China, North Korea, and Iran, is arming itself and girding itself for a new Cold War. Combined with the threat of terrorism, our peril has never been greater. Hillary Clinton is not the leader to prepare us for this coming storm.
We face a change in the balance of the Supreme Court. The next president will nominate at least two new justices. The new justices will decide if Roe v. Wade stands or falls. If Hillary is elected, it will be a generation before we have another chance to overturn the worst Supreme Court decision in history. Millions of unborn children are depending on what we do.
We face an economic precipice. President Bush's tax cuts will expire in the next few years, right about the same time that the first baby boomers retire. Social Security and Medicare, already on the brink, will plunge us into the greatest fiscal crisis we've experienced since the Great Depression.
We can choose to believe that we have a say, that the American Experiment hasn't ended, that we, as Americans, aren't subject to the whims of polls or the media. Each of us can choose whom we support and what we believe in.
We can choose to fight, today, so we won't have to say that we were just marking time.
Today marks the beginning of a new year. We can choose to stand up and say, I'm a conservative and I'm for Fred Thompson.
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David Limbaugh has a similar and superb column about Fred. Here's the link.
Having crashed and burned at his press conference, yesterday, Mike Huckabee has just given a new, staged appearance, this time with a friendly audience. Instead of a room full of reporters whose job is to be objective, Huck filled the room with his kool-aid drinking fanatics who apparently don't care that he claimed yesterday that he didn't want to go "negative" and then proceeded to play his "negative" ad for the national media.
During his Mulligan speech Huck said, "the pundits think (he's) crazy," ignoring the fact that he wasn't being magnanimous, but duplicitous.
One of the truly remarkable things in this video is that a number of people in the audience can be heard saying, "amen", repeatedly, as if he's what he's saying is God's Word. This is typical, I surmise, of Huck's hardcore supporters. It's sad, though, that these folks aren't interested in the fact that Mike Huckabee has been lying over and over again, including this most recent episode when he claimed he didn't want to go "negative" and then went "negative".
It's obvious that Huckabee knew that he had derailed, yesterday, when the press corps laughed en masse at his transparent hypocrisy. This video won't get nearly as much play, but Huck is trying to rewrite what happened yesterday.
Sanders' Latest...On the State of Conservatism as Evidenced By the Current Crop of Candidates
I have, at times, found it necessary to disagree with David Sanders, who is Arkansas' leading conservative columnist. Today, I only have one disagreement: his listing of the conventional wisdom that Fred Thompson lacks drive and determination as a shortcoming on par with the other candidates' incomplete conservative credentials...
The column is supposed to be about the flaws of the Republican candidates, namely the holes in their conservative armor. That being the case, he should have left Fred out and, perhaps, mentioned that Fred is the only consistent conservative in the race. David was trying to be fair, but I don't see how Fred fits into that list based on the often repeated misperception that he's lazy or unmotivated. As I'll discuss in a future post, Fred is not unmotivated. He is simply a different breed of cat who is a breath of fresh air, in that he isn't driven by an overwhelming, ego-centric drive to be president.
Otherwise, I highly recommend this column, because it's an important topic and offers Sanders' usual brand of well-reasoned commentary. We need to consider the effects on the Conservative Movement of selecting a candidate who has gaping gaps in his conservative credentials, a la all of the candidates other than Fred Thompson...
The most interesting part in this column in Sanders' fascinating interlude with William F. Buckley. It, alone, makes the column worth reading. I hope David will take the opportunity to go into greater depth about his enviable opportunity to meet with Buckley.
Huckabee Commercial Claims Negative Campaigning and Untrue Accusations...What Untrue Accusations?
It's all the more interesting given Huckabee's bizarre press conference yesterday that, with his earlier ad accusing Romney and other candidates of being dishonest, Huckabee hasn't offered a single refutation of anything his opponents have supposedly lied about.
At one point during his debacle of a press conference Huckabee finally said that he wasn't going to respond to the supposedly dishonest things being said about him. He went on to say that you can't sum up his 10+ years as governor in a 30 second commercial. Maybe that's the way he looked at Wayne DuMond. It's not fair to sum up DuMond's nearly 50 years by one incident that only took an hour or so...
I know that's an extreme example, but isn't that what Huckabee is saying? We shouldn't judge him by the specific things he did as governor because he did other things, too...
Nobody's saying that every day of Huckabee's tenure of governor was filled with evil acts. Even Wayne DuMond, a brutal rapist and murderer, spent most of his time living a ho hum life. It was the rape and murder that the jury judged him by.
Likewise, we, as free-thinking Americans, judge politicians by the specific things they do. It isn't "negative" as Huckabee insinuates, in the sense that it's mudslinging. It's a fair and important part of the process to see if a candidates words match up with his actions. In Huckabee's case, they don't.
He's unwilling to admit that. I don't like many of the things that Mitt Romney did as governor, but he doesn't pretend like they didn't happen. In several cases, he's admitted that he was wrong. Huck's ego would never let him do that. He always has a rationale. 'It's for the kids', 'the supreme court made me do it', 'I was up against a democrat machine', '2 years wasn't long enough to enact the program (even to mail in the application)', 'there's a difference between being racist in Arkansas and controlling our border on the federal level'... Of course, I'm paraphrasing, but he always, in these cases, did the wrong thing, the liberal thing, because he 'didn't have a choice'. It was somebody else's fault.
So here we are today, New Years Day 2008, and Mike Huckabee, who has supposedly turned over a new leaf, is standing by his accusation that Mitt Romney and others are lying about his record, but he is unable and unwilling to say how.
The answer as to why he hasn't proven that we're all liars is that we're not. He can't disprove any of it. He did raise our taxes by half a billion dollars. He did pardon or commute over 1,000 criminals. He did run Arkansas as a Sanctuary State, pushing for college scholarships, in-state tuition, driver's licences, and other benefits for illegal aliens. He did prohibit the State Police from joining the 287(g) program.
Feel free to disprove any of that, Mike. I dare ya...
Oh, here's the ad that Romney in which Romney is supposedly being dishonest...Everything in it is true, as I've documented on many occasions.
“If a man’s dishonest to obtain a job, he’ll be dishonest on the job,” said Mike Huckabee's late, great "negative" ad, in regard to Mitt Romney's supposedly dishonest ads. The great irony is that it's "Christian Leader" Mike Huckabee who is the candidate who's being dishonest.
He's been whining that Romney is being dishonest, but has yet to give any proof. That ought to be pretty easy to do. He could go point by point if Romney was lying. But, remarkably, Huck hasn't offered any evidence of specific dishonesty.
All of this came to a head yesterday in a hilarious episode in which Huck announced that he had decided that God didn't want him to go "negative", saying, “...if you gain the whole world and lose your soul, what does it profit you?” He then proceeded to play the very "negative" ad that he said he wasn't going to air.
Also, remarkable, given that God told him not to go "negative" is that Huckabee said he wasn't going to rule out running "negative" ads in other states.
"It's never too late to do the right thing...," Huckabee said at one point and then said that he wouldn't run the ad "in paid media" in "this state"... So am I to assume that he's happy to run it in other states and for free?
The truth is that Huck isn't going to run the ad because he probably doesn't have enough money, so he thought he'd generate a little free publicity by pulling this stunt. Little did he know how comical and hypocritical he would appear.
After announcing how noble he was the press gaggle almost laughed him out of the building when he told them that he was going to show them the ad. The discomfort of the situation was palpable.
A very important note is that Huckabee, insulting the reporters in the room as cynical, claimed that he was running the commercial for them to prove that it existed. Because of technical difficulties, though, the reporters saw it several times over several minutes without sound, which should have been sufficient to prove that it did, indeed, exist, if that had been his real purpose. As bizarre as his rationale was, he was bound and determined to play the commercial with sound in front of the cameras.
So Huckabee didn't want to go "negative"... When asked why he had 5 signs around the room on easels, which criticized Romney's record, for the reporters to see and a huge banner behind him reading "Enough is Enough", though, his response was that the room had been set up earlier that day, as if one staffer couldn't have taken down the banners and signs in literally 30 seconds. This whole gambit was too clever by half. It was a pitiful, transparent ruse to get the media to run the commercial for him for free so he could look noble.
Also of interest, this commercial is very poorly constructed as far as the message goes. He claims in the beginning that he's going to set the record straight about himself and John McCain, and then says absolutely nothing about either. He just goes "negative", as he would call it, about Mitt Romney... It's almost as if he didn't waste his time coming up with a coherent commercial because he wanted to poison the water through the media and continue his pattern of making unsubstantiated claims and not backing them up.
There is so much more to say about this. More as it develops. For now, Huckabee has melted down. I'll be really surprised if he's able to recover from this derailment.
The New York Times Caucus blog has some interesting analysis from the scene. Here's the link.
The Hill also has some interesting coverage. Here's the link.
Ron Fournier has superb coverage for the AP. Here's the link.
Now don't get me wrong. I like Wilfred Brimley. His support for folks with the diabeetus is inspiring. I'm glad to see he's a Republican, too, but he can't compete with Chuck Norris as far as cool goes. I bet Chuck Norris could probably scare the diabeetus out of someone or just kill the diabeetus.
