Ready

This afternoon, Romney for President launched another new television ad, "Ready." 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpoPRA3pFjg

 

The ad highlights the very important choice voters will have to make when it comes to electing a candidate ready to make tough decisions.  In Arkansas, Governor Mike Huckabee increased state spending, backed in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants and granted over 1,000 pardons and commutations.  Governor Huckabee's attacks on the Bush administration's foreign policy has been called "ludicrous."  In Massachusetts, Governor Romney took a different course.  He held spending down and granted zero pardons.  There is a clear difference in leadership.    

 

The ad will begin airing today as part of the campaign's rotation in Iowa. 

 

Script For "Ready" (TV:30):

 

GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY:  "I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this message."

 

ANNOUNCER:  "Two good men.

 

"But who is ready to make tough decisions?

 

"Mike Huckabee?  Soft on government spending.  He grew a $6 billion government into a $16 billion government.

 

"Backed in-state tuition benefits for illegals, and granted 1,033 pardons and commutations, including 12 murderers.

 

"His foreign policy?  'Ludicrous,' says Condoleezza Rice.

 

"Mitt Romney held spending down below inflation.  Cut taxes.  Zero pardons.

 

"The difference? Strong leadership."

 

 

AD FACTS: Script For "Ready" (TV:30):

 

GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY:  "I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this message."  ANNOUNCER:  "Two good men.  But who is ready to make tough decisions?  Mike Huckabee?  Soft on government spending.  He grew a $6 billion government into a $16 billion government."

 

·        Under Governor Huckabee, State Spending More Than Doubled From $6.6 Billion To $16.1 Billion. "During Huckabee's 10 years as governor, state spending more than doubled, from $6.6 billion to $16.1 billion in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006. Higher education and public schools got big increases, as did social services." (Daniel Nasaw, "Home Turf Not Rock Solid For Huckabee," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/4/07)

 

ANNOUNCER:  "Backed in-state tuition benefits for illegals, and granted 1,033 pardons and commutations, including 12 murderers."

 

·        Governor Huckabee Fought For A Bill Which Granted In-State Tuition Breaks For Illegals. "Other than the highway plan, the only bill in the governor's 21-bill legislative package that failed to win legislative approval was a proposal to make the children of illegal immigrants eligible for state-funded scholarships and in-state tuition to Arkansas colleges. After passing the House relatively early in the session, the bill faltered in the Senate where it was amended to remove the scholarship provision but fell just short of passage Tuesday and Wednesday. Huckabee said his office worked throughout the day Wednesday for the two Senate votes needed to pass the bill. 'I don't understand the opposition to it, I just honestly don't,' Huckabee said. 'It hurts me on a personal as well as a policy level to think that we are still debating issues that I kind of hoped we had put aside in the 1960s, maybe at the latest the 70s, and yet I understand people have deep passions about things usually they don't fully understand.'" (Melissa Nelson, "Governor Touts Successful End To Legislative Session," The Associated Press, 4/13/05)

 

·        Governor Huckabee Granted 1,033 Pardons And Commutations, More Than Twice As Many As His Three Predecessors COMBINED. "As governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee had a hand in twice as many pardons and commutations as his three predecessors combined. … Huckabee granted 1,033 pardons and commutations in his 10 1/2 years as governor of Arkansas. The acts of clemency benefited the stepson of a staff member, murderers who worked at the governor's mansion, a rock star and inmates who received good words from their pastors. … During his years as governor, Huckabee granted clemency an average of about once every four days. Huckabee's successor, Mike Beebe, has issued 40 so far this year, fewer than one a week. Bill Clinton, Frank White and Tucker granted 507 clemencies in the 17 1/2 years they served as governor." (Andrew DeMillo, "Huckabee Pardons Under Scrutiny," The Associated Press, 12/10/07)

 

·        Governor Huckabee Commuted 12 Sentences For Murderers. "During his tenure, Huckabee has been criticized for his use of the clemency powers. Through April, the total sentence commutations issued by Huckabee were 146, including 12 for murderers, according to records at the secretary of state's office. A clemency can be either a sentence commutation or a pardon for someone who has already discharged his sentence, such as in Richards' situation." (Seth Blomeley, "It's A Gas, Gas, Gas: Rocker Seeks Pardon For '75 Fordyce Arrest," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 7/19/06)

 

ANNOUNCER: "His foreign policy?  'Ludicrous,' says Condoleezza Rice."

 

·        Secretary Of State Condoleezza Rice Said Huckabee's Criticism Of Bush Foreign Policy Was "Ludicrous." "After first saying 'I don't have time to comment on other people's comments', Rice took on Huckabee, head-on during an end-of-year State Department press briefing. 'The idea that this is a go-it-alone policy is just simply ludicrous.  And one would only have to be not observing the facts, let me say that, to say that this is now a go-it-alone foreign policy,' Rice said." ("Rice: Huckabee Foreign Policy Criticism 'Ludicrous'," ABC News' Political Radar Blog, http://blogs.abcnews.com, Posted 12/21/07)

 

ANNOUNCER: "Mitt Romney held spending down below inflation.  Cut taxes.  Zero pardons.  The difference? Strong leadership."

 

·                    Club For Growth: Governor Romney "Imposed Some Much-Needed Fiscal Discipline On A Very Liberal Massachusetts Legislature." "[O]n balance, he imposed some much-needed fiscal discipline on a very liberal Massachusetts Legislature." (The Club For Growth, "Mitt Romney's Record On Economic Issues," Press Release, 8/21/07) 

 

·                    Governor Romney "Attempted To Cut Down On Government Spending By Streamlining Many Duplicative And Wasteful Elements On Beacon Hill." "To his credit, Romney attempted to cut down on government spending by streamlining many duplicative and wasteful elements of Beacon Hill. ... Governor Romney successfully consolidated the social service and public health bureaucracy and restructured the Metropolitan District Commission. Romney even eliminated half of the executive branch's press positions, saving $1.2 million." (The Club For Growth, "Mitt Romney's Record On Economic Issues," Press Release, 8/21/07)

 

·                    Governor Romney Turned The Legislature's Proposed Capital Gains Tax Hike Into A Tax Refund Instead. "Romney was more successful when he took on the State Legislature for imposing a retroactive tax on capital gains earnings. After a bloody fight, Romney succeeded in passing a bill preventing the capital gains tax from being applied retroactively, resulting in a rebate of $275 million for capital gains taxes collected in 2002. Governor Romney also signed legislation that provided property tax relief to seniors and legislation establishing a two-day tax-free shopping holiday in 2005." (The Club For Growth, "Mitt Romney's Record On Economic Issues," Press Release, 8/21/07)

 

·                    As Governor, Romney Denied All Requests For Pardon And Commutation. "During the four years Romney was in office, 100 requests for commutations and 172 requests for pardons were filed in the state. All were denied. 'Governor Romney's view is that it would take a compelling set of circumstances to set aside the punishment and guilt resulting from a criminal trial,' said Romney aide Eric Fehrnstrom, who added he was not familiar with Circosta's case. 'The power to pardon should only be used in extraordinary circumstances.'" ("Romney Touts Record Of Never Granting Pardons," The Associated Press, 6/12/07)

today's tragic events in Pakistan

Today, Governor Mitt Romney issued the following statement on today's tragic events in Pakistan:
 
http://www.mittromney.com/News/Press-Releases/Pakistan_Statement_12.27
 
"We are still learning the details of today's tragic events in Pakistan, but this is a stark reminder that America must not only stay on high alert, but remain actively engaged across the globe.  Pakistan has long been a key part in the war against extremism and radical jihadists.  For those who think Iraq is the sole front in the War on Terror, one must look no further than what has happened today.  America must show its commitment to stand with all moderate forces across the Islamic world and together face the defining challenge of our generation – the struggle against violent, radical jihadists.
 
"At this difficult time, our thoughts and prayers go to the family of Benazir Bhutto, and to all the people of Pakistan who are fighting against extremist forces that would commit such heinous acts as the whole world has witnessed today." 
 
And here is a video and transcript of Governor Romney's comments a short time ago at a media availability in Nashua, NH:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6eqT1UNsOE
 
Governor Mitt Romney:  "This points out again the extraordinary reality of global, violent, radical Jihadism.  We don't know who is responsible for this attack, but there's no question but that the violence that we see throughout the world is violence which is not limited to Iraq and Afghanistan, but is more global in nature.  And this type of loss of life points out again the need for our nation and other civilized nations of the West and of the Muslim world to come together to support moderate Islamic leaders and moderate Islamic people and to help them in their effort to reject the violent and the extreme. The world is very much at risk by virtue of these radical, violent extremists, and we must come together in an effort, in great haste and with great earnestness to help overcome the threat of the spread of radical, violent jihad."
 
Reporter:  "Governor, is there any possibility that General Musharraf might have been involved…"
 
Governor Romney:  "At this stage, we don't know the nature of this particular attack, and in time we'll find out.  And so at this stage, we can only speculate as to what might have been the source of this particular attack.  Of course, attacks have been occurring over the past several weeks in Pakistan, and the turbulence there certainly flows from the instability associated with northwestern Pakistan and the Taliban and Al Qaeda forces in that part of the country.
 
Reporter:  "Given that instability there, does it make you reconsider General Musharraf's decision to declare martial law and to understand better why he did that perhaps?"
 
Governor Romney:  "I believe it was a mistake.  I believe as well that martial law was principally imposed by him to protect himself from a political challenge and a challenge from the Supreme Court and others and believed that it was not a productive course for his nation."
 
Reporter:  "Have the United States put too much trust in General Musharraf?"
 
Governor Romney:  "I don't know that we can assess the political process that has been under way in Pakistan to determine exactly where we put our greatest support.  Obviously, we have also encouraged a political process which included Madame Bhutto and Mr. Sharif.  We have had interest in seeing a progression toward more democratic leadership and governance in Pakistan.  Our nation was disappointed with the declaration of martial law, as has been pronounced by the President.  So I don't know that we could make that assessment at this stage."

How is the "attack" false?

Jabs Sharpen in Final Week Before Voting
  Email this Story

Dec 26, 6:11 PM (ET)

By DAVID ESPO

(AP) Republican presidential hopeful, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 2nd from right, at Robie's... Full Image

MT. PLEASANT, Iowa (AP) - The most wide-open presidential race in a half century pushed unpredictably into a decisive new phase Wednesday, the rhetoric a bit more pointed and the appeals a tad more urgent in the final run-up to the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.

"This is crunch time," said former Democratic Sen. John Edwards, and he spoke for all.

In a race without front-runners, a brief Christmas lull yielded quickly in both early-voting states to a new round of subtle digs, outright criticism, fresh TV ads and stepped-up efforts by independent organizations.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, surprise leader in the Republican pre-caucus polls, bagged an Iowa pheasant with a .12-gauge shotgun and said caucus-goers on Jan. 3 should take notice.

(AP) Former president Bill Clinton, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.,... Full Image

"Maybe it will show that I certainly understand the culture of being outdoors," he said. It was a not-so-subtle jab at his leading rival in the state, Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor once proclaimed himself a lifelong hunter, but later conceded he had shot only "small varmints" and did not have a gun or a hunting license.

Romney's political quarry for the day was Arizona Sen. John McCain, seemingly staging a comeback in New Hampshire. Romney accused his rival of flip-flops on immigration and tax cuts.

"The point is that under his bill, that he fought for, everybody who came here illegally could stay forever. And does he still believe that or does he not believe that?" Romney said on a radio program from New Hampshire.

"And likewise on taxation. He said, well now he's for making the Bush tax cuts permanent. Well, does he admit he was wrong in voting against them before?

McCain responded quickly.

(AP) Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., sporting a 'Vote For Me" name tag talks... Full Image

"I know something about tailspins, and it's pretty clear Mitt Romney is in one," said the former front-runner. "It's disappointing that he would launch desperate, flailing and false attacks in an attempt to maintain relevance."

How is the "attack" false? McCain has been both for and against amnesty. McCain has been for and against the bush tax cuts. McCain has been for and against the death tax. Which is it McCain? But because McCain is in bed with the media, they will never question him or call him names...

Republican presidential hopeful, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 2nd from right, at Robie's General Store in Hooksett, N.H. Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter)

From a Fred Thompson website

Here is a link to a Fred Thompson website, with a great image... I just wish it was a little bigger...

+=

Alright, who has photo shop?

From Jeff

Do we want to choose a nominee that has the media plugging and defending them?  If they're in need of it now to rise in the polls do you think they'll get it during the general election?   NO!  The Media, will support the Dem. The same media that is pumping McCain in NH and elsewhere is going to drop him if he's the nominee.

 

Rather, how about having a candidate that's been routinely savaged by the media with personal character attacks, gross distortions of his record, and misleading propaganda.  Which do you think will have a better chance in the general election . . . the one who's a frontrunner DESPITE the MSM coverage or the one(s) that are challengers BECAUSE of the MSM coverage? McCain always said that the media is his base..., NH is just the latest proof. NH is just a microcosm of this phenomenon.

Red State post #1 recommended

Date: Dec 26, 2007 12:15 PM
Subject: Red State post #1 recommended

ANd that's without alerting folks here.

 

http://www.redstate.com/blogs/joe_johnson/2007/dec/25/re_mitt_romney_health_care_and_jeff_emanuels_redhot_posting

 

Thomas Sowell

   

December 26, 2007, 0:00 a.m. Unpromising Times Primary elections and secondary candidates. By Thomas Sowell ... His talk about poor children going to bed hungry may rouse the far left in his party but in fact the lowest-income people are even more obese than the rest of us, not that the facts make the slightest difference to Senator Edwards. As an attorney, Edwards conned millions of dollars out of gullible juries, using junk science to create the impression that it was the fault of doctors when babies were born with birth defects. Republicans, as usual, seem to have more people who would make good presidents than people who would make good presidential candidates. Unfortunately for them, we have elections instead of coronations. ... The only candidate of either party who truly looks presidential is Mitt Romney. It was unfortunate that Mike Huckabee and others have tried to make his religion an issue. John F. Kennedy was supposed to have taken that issue out of politics — and Huckabee's bringing it back in ought to disqualify him for a shot at the White House, even aside from Governor Huckabee's wholesale pardons of criminals and his raising taxes. Romney and Giuliani are both articulate Republicans — and it is rare for the Republicans to have two at one time. Some presidential election years they haven't even had one. If Romney's and Giuliani's track records in office matched their ability to talk, either of them could unite and lead their party to victory. But that is no small "if." When it comes to articulation, no one can beat Barack Obama. He can even convince people that he has new ideas, when in fact they are old 1960s ideas that have failed repeatedly, ever since that irresponsible decade. John McCain seems to be having a little resurgence but it is hard to believe that Republicans are so desperate as to support a man who joined with far left Democrat Russ Feingold to restrict free speech in the name of "campaign finance reform" and with Ted Kennedy to sponsor a bill giving amnesty to illegal immigrants. Then there is Hillary Clinton, formerly known as "front-runner" Hillary Clinton or the "inevitable" candidate Hillary Clinton. It is painful to watch her trying to act human and it would be even more painful to see the Clintons back in the White House that they disgraced in so many ways. She might even be shameless enough to put him on the Supreme Court, where he could ruin the law of the land, as many of his own judicial appointees are already doing in the federal courts. As for the other candidates in both parties, the big question is why anyone takes them seriously as candidates to lead the nation at a time of huge dangers that terrorists will end up with nuclear weapons, whether from Iran or Pakistan. This nation has come back from unpromising times before. Let's hope that we have not already used up all our luck. © 2007 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC. — COPYRIGHT 2007 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.

---

National Review Online - http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MDllMTU2YmMxNjg2YzM4ZDQ3MDk5ZTNlNTcyMmE1MTU=

A case of clemency that's easy to explain

It hasn't been apparent to me why Mike Huckabee favored the release from prison of Wayne Dumond, a patently dangerous rapist who, once released, committed murder. By contrast, it's easy to see why Mike Huckabee wanted to help Eugene Fields after he was convicted in 2003 for driving while intoxicated for the fourth time in less than five years. Fields, after all, was a wealthy developer and major donor to the Arkansas Republican Party. Moreover, according to the New York Times, Fields had Richard Bearden, a former executive director of the state's Republican Party with close ties to the Huckabee administration, backing his bid for clemency.

Huckabee obliged in early 2004, when he announced his intention to grant clemency to Fields. The announcement meant that the public had the right to comment. Naturally, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) urged Huckabee not to give Fields, a serial offender, yet another chance. Teresa Belew, MADD's local executive director, made her comments public. This was her right and, given the political "juice" behind Fields, it was also the sensible move.

Huckabee responded to Belew with the harsh petulance (and arguably the "arrogant bunker mentality") to which the political world has recently become accustomed. According to the Times, Huckabee sharply criticized Belew for going public with her criticism of Huckabee's notice of intention to free Fields. In addition, he questioned MADD's motives, stating the organization was simply trying to fan "the flames of controversy that have been stirred in this case by the unusual curiosity of certain media members."

For full story:

http://www.powerlineblog.com/

GWR & MLK

55 February 1967

Article George Romney: Holy and hopeful William Vincent Shannon PDF IMAGES See also: Career as governor of Michigan ; Career As Presidential Hopeful ; Romney, George W.; 1963-1969; N1968; The Republican Party . . . than in any comparable period in Michigan's history," Romney asserts. When the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King marched in Detroit three years ago, Romney marched with him. He is proud that he helped . . . George Romney: Holy and hopeful by William Vincent Shannon 55 William v . . .

From Jeff

http://www.harpers.org/media/pages/1967/02/pdf/HarpersMagazine-1967-02-0...

"When the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King marched in Detroit three years ago, Romney marched with him. He is proud that he helped write a state constitution that has the most comprehensive civil-rights guarantees in the nation, including open occupancy in housing."

This was written in 1967 . . . this is hardly something that Mitt ROmney made up.  Chris Matthews owes Romney an apology big time.

From David

A very favorable Op-Ed piece at NewsBlaze compared Romney to Reagan.  Don't let the title of the piece worry you; John Lillpop has nothing but good things to say about Romney:

"Fact of the matter is that Mitt Romney is the most conservative candidate running for the White House. He is also the most experienced and qualified, a fact attested to by his service as the governor of liberal-infested Massachusetts, and by his enormously successful personal finances."

"No other candidate comes close to matching his qualifications for taking over the Oval Office'

"Best of all, Romney is intelligent, articulate, and an eternal optimist. He is a contemporary clone of Ronald Reagan, but in sacred underwear."

Here's the link: http://newsblaze.com/story/20071223154749lill.nb/newsblaze/OPINIONS/Opinions.html.

 

RFC: Request for Cartoon

What happened to that cartoon guy...

 

Can we make a political cartoon similar to this one, with Huckabee, the populist swallowing the republican party?

 

Bryan as Populist swallowing the Democratic party; 1896 cartoon from the Republican magazine Judge.

Drawing The Line Between Church And State

A Closer Look At The Long History Behind Politics and Religion In America

Dec. 23, 2007

 

(CBS) "In God We Trust" is right there on all our coins and currency. To find the phrase "Wall of Separation," however, you must go not to the Constitution or the Bill of Rights, but to a letter President Thomas Jefferson wrote to Connecticut Baptists in 1802. His words have guided us ever since, but what, in practical terms, do they mean? Our Cover Story is reported now by Martha Teichner:

Eleven days and counting before their state nominating caucuses, it's understandable that some Iowa Republicans may be having trouble separating politics and religion.

The battle between Mitt Romney, the Mormon, and Mike Huckabee, the Baptist preacher, has defined the race.

 

But even the possibility that a candidate's brand of faith could become a kind of presidential litmus test worries as many, if not more, Americans than it reassures - among them, Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek.

"We are veering very close to violating the article in the Constitution that says, there should be no religious test for federal office," Meacham told Teichner.

Meacham is the author of " American Gospel," an attempt to put the tension between God and politics in historical perspective.

 

American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation

"You have 46% of Evangelicals, in a poll that Newsweek did in Iowa, saying that Romney's Mormonism makes them less likely to vote for him," said Meacham. "That, in and of itself, is a very dangerous battle to have because it pushes religious affiliation to the center of debate in a country that has done very well when it has kept that kind of religious debate to the sides, or off the table altogether."

The living embodiment of that notion of separation is the neighborhood of Flushing, in the New York City borough of Queens.

Here you'll find every nationality imaginable - every religion. Within a few blocks, there are churches, a Quaker meeting house, Buddhist temples, synagogues, a mosque. As a sign of how mixed-up everything is, in front of the Queens public library, the Christmas tree and the Menorah were sponsored by the Chinese Businessmen's Association."

(CBS)

All of which makes what's inside that much more remarkable. It's called the Flushing Remonstrance (pictured, left) , on loan from the New York State Archives, signed December 27, 1657 - 350 years ago this week. It is a bold, historic declaration of religious freedom.

Professor Kenneth Jackson, who teaches New York history at Columbia University, described the significance of the remonstrance:

"This is one of the really great documents of American history that's preserved by the archives. It's the first thing that we have in writing in the United States where a group of citizens attests on paper and over their signature the right of the people to follow their own conscience with regard to God - and the inability of government, or the illegality of government, to interfere with that."

In 1657, Flushing was a farm village, and like Manhattan, part of New Netherland, a Dutch colony governed by Peter Stuyvesant. Stuyvesant persecuted followers of religions other than his own Dutch Reformed Church. When he barred Quakers from Flushing, thirty local citizens, none of them Quakers themselves, petitioned Stuyvesant, claiming the ban violated Dutch custom.

"It's just elegantly and eloquently written," Jackson said. "They say, 'We desire, therefore, in this case, not to be judged, least we be judged. Neither to condemn, lest we be condemned, but rather let every man stand and fall to his master.'"

 

Peter Stuyvesant, no man to be trifled with, fined the petitioners and threw them in prison until they recanted - but there's more.

An important part of this story is the role played by a man named John Bowne, who lived here. Bowne allowed the Quakers to meet in his home. He was arrested, jailed, and sent to Holland for trial. The outcome was not what Peter Stuyvesant expected - Bowne was exhonerated.

 

And the principles set forth in the Flushing Remonstrance - essentially, freedom of worship and the separation of church and state - became practice.

"It didn't just come out of thin air, the First Amendment to the Constitution. We believed this already, in 1791, so it could become the cornerstone of the Bill of Rights," Jackson said.

Remember, most of the original 13 colonies had established churches and actually taxed citizens to support them. The end of that led to an explosion of religious fervor.

"In other words," Teichner asked Jon Meacham, "the separation of church and state enables the tolerance of someone else's religion?"

"Absolutely," Meacham agreed. "The separation of church and state is like oxygen to the fire of religious liberty."

So if you thought the tug-of-war between religion and politics is something new, think again.

"Religion has always been a weapon in the political arena," Meacham explained. "In 1800, there were advertisements that said you could have Jefferson and no God … or Adams and God." (

Meacham cited another example: "In the Civil War, President Lincoln was presented with a proposed amendment to the Constitution to declare our allegiance to independence and Jesus … and in a brilliant parliamentary move, he referred it to a Congressional committee from whence it never emerged."

And another example, "Theodore Roosevelt, in 1908, was defending William Howard Taft, who was a Unitarian being attacked by William Jennings Bryan's supporters who were evangelicals who believed that Unitarians were not Christian."

And of course, lately, Teichner observed, we've been reminded of John F. Kennedy's famous speech.

On September 12, 1960, Kennedy said, "I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute. Where no Catholic prelate would tell the President, should he be Catholic, how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote."

Kennedy's self-defense to Houston ministers was that year's chapter in a long history ... Mitt Romney's speech was this year's.

In his speech , Romney said, "the founders proscribed the establishment of a state religion, but they did not countenance the elimination of religion from the public square. We are a nation under God, and in God, we do indeed trust."

The two speeches, 47 years apart, show how the conversation about what Jefferson called the "wall of separation" has evolved.

"Americans have tested that wall in every possible way," Meacham told Teichner. "We've run trucks up against it, we've thrown firecrackers at it, and the wall has stood pretty strongly. And it requires, I think, constant vigilance."

Because, as history and the First Amendment tell us, the relationship between government and religion is as fragile as it is strong.

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/22/sunday/main3641753.shtml

Conservative Icons Speak out Against Huckabee . . . please add to this LIST!

It might be useful to list out those important conservative stalwarts that have spoken out against Huckabee lately (those that haven't endorsed another candidate at least):

Please

Rush Limbaugh:

Bob Novak:

Condileeza Rice

Peggy Noonan

Charles Kruthammer

Michelle Malkin

Fred Barnes

George Will-- ( these comments too on a TV news show)

Laura Ingraham:

David Limbaugh

Kim Strassell :

Pat Buchanan

Mitt Romney :)

Sean Hannity (kind of)

Michael Reagan

Glenn Beck   (semi "reconciliation" ---- but then he's still not too impressed )

Matt Drudge:
 . . . it's obvious that he has a bone to pick with Huckabee. 

Jim Geraghty

Tony Blankley

Ann Coulter:

Rich Lowry:

Dean Barnett:

Mark Hemningway

Austin Hill

Tom Bevan

Kathryn Jean Lopez

Frank Gaffney

Peter Wehner

Hugh Hewitt

The Editors of National Review  (Oh yeah, this one too)

Larry Kudlow On Mike Huckabee

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Larry Kudlow On Mike Huckabee

Posted by: Hugh Hewitt  at 9:52 AM

I closed my interview with CNBC's Larry Kudlow yesterday (transcript here ) with a question about Mike Huckabee's economic populism.  Larry's response:

[W]hen I had Governor Huckabee on, what was it, last week or the week before, I had a bout with him. I went at it. He wants to, if need be, have government regulate salaries. I think he's crazy. I don't think he understands the free market business system. He's not good on taxing, he's not good on spending, he's not good on free trade. In other words, all the prosperity factors seem to be Mr. Huckabee's weakness. I don't think he understands it. He's just out of tune with all measures of free market, supply side economics. You know, it isn't his religion, and I admire his religion. I personally am a man of faith. I regard myself as an Evangelical, the fact is. But it's not his religion, it's his positions. Condi Rice came out of the State Department. Hell, I haven't seen her in about a month or two. She came out and attacked him because of his navet on dealing in international affairs with Iran and others. He doesn't seem to understand power politics, and that we are in a jihadist global war.  

Was it all planed?

I don't believe in conspiracy theories, but it is working out well...

 

Maybe too well?

 

http://fwcon.wordpress.com/

Mitt Romney: Simply Brilliant

Imagine Mitt Romney sitting with a bunch of reporters. He says, "You know, I have always been for civil rights, even back in the 60's. I saw my father march with Martin Luther King, Jr."

What would happen? Do you think the old media would trumpet this across the front pages?

Of course not. If the old media ran with that story, not only would it help Mitt, but it would help the Republican Party by demonstrating that in the 60's, only the republicans were united behind the civil rights movement. The democrats were split. So since it would help republicans, the story was tanked, if it was ever started.

So what does Mitt do? He gives a speech on national TV, a speech that was supposed to be about his religion. (Note how every time Mitt came out and said it wasn't about his religion that the media drummed it up even more.) In the speech he declares that he saw his father march with Dr. King. It was a minor statement, but an important one. It was a statement that everyone heard. But otherwise, it was a forgettable statement.

But it gets better. See, someone in the media uncovers that maybe this isn't true. After all, the historical records don't show that Dr. King ever marched in that area. When confronted, Mitt shows weakness, and starts to backpedal. "Aha!" the old media thinks. "We got him cornered–let's go in for the kill." The old media runs with the story, blaring it across the headlines: "Mitt is a liar. He didn't see dad march with King."

And then it gets better. See, Mitt did see his dad march with Dr. King. So did a whole lot of other people, people who marched as well. One by one, the real story comes out, piece by piece the lead story in the old media is thoroughly trashed.

Most importantly, the big issue that was supposed to take Mitt down–gets the message he wanted out in the first place. Now, when people think Mitt, they will think: "Wasn't he the guy that claimed to see his dad march with Dr. King?" and then, "Oh yeah, and they thought he didn't but he really did!"

Folks, Mitt is slick, and he is slicker than der Schlickmeister himself. He just used the old media to trumpet something he wanted to get out and publish far and wide. He just changed the discussion from "Didn't mormons prohibit the blacks from getting the priesthood?" to "Didn't Mitt march with Dr. King?"

This reminds me of how both Reagan and Bush would regularly make fools out of the media. It is so subtle you can easily miss it, but it is obviously there. It reminds me of Governor Romney telling a reporter, "No, I represent the people; you represent your newspaper." He is that kind of guy, witty, smart, and brilliant.

This is why I support Mitt over Thompson. I have yet to see Thompson do anything like this. This is what you need beyond the issues and the principles: you need someone that can deliver.

• Mike Allen (Politico.com)
• Hugh Hewitt

What do you think?

From Jeff

From John King on a bus in Iowa.  Sure he cut some taxes (raised far more), but how does he get away with claiming that he cut spending?

$6.7 Billion to $16 AR state budget over his tenure . . . OVER THREE TIMES THE RATE OF INFLATION.  So me the "cut spending" record Huck!

Just another Huckabee lie (I can't see any other explanation, can you?)

Jeff

PS  Bonus material:  Huck said that he's not sure if he actually wrote the words "arrogant bunker mentality", but he "owns them now." - - - a wimpy attempt to blame a speech writer for that gaffe.  However he also said nearly those same words over two months ago. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQitn77AXvo&eurl=http://www.mymanmitt.com/mitt-romney/

Also, Huck complained on that bus that he's pretty sure that Rice didn't read his whole essay, because if she did, she wouldn't be criticizing it (the same thing he said about Romney's critiques).

I loved Charles Krauthammer's response to that.  "So essentially Huckabee's saying: 'I wish she would have read that article that I didn't write'" . . . Man that's an instant classic!

Here's the laundry list of country clubs where Huckabee is a member

Chenal Valley Country Club
Little Rock Club
Pleasant Valley Country Club
Country Club of Little Rock
Maumelle Bass Club
Old Fishing Club.

"Governor Graft"

http://caucuscooler.blogspot.com/2007/12/cooler-exclusive-governor-graft.html
 
COOLER EXCLUSIVE- "Governor Graft"

The Cooler has obtained documents that show Mike Huckabee received $378,000 in consulting fees during 2006, while he was still governor of Arkansas.
 
Most noteworthy, $17,500 came from Novo Nordisk, one of the world's largest embryonic stem cell researchers. It seems that when money is at stake Huckabee may be able to look past his supposedly fervent opposition to this procedure

He also received speaking fees and honoraria from churches while Governor.

It is certainly calls into question whether or not it is appropriate for a Governor to be taking a consulting fee from interest groups, as Huckabee did, when issues surrounding that interest group could come across his desk.

The consulting money was funneled through an organization called 12 stops, a group created in 2004 to handle Gov. Huckabee's book deals. With all the attention Senator Obama received for running a separate PAC and potentially funnelling money from maxed out donors through that PAC, it calls into question whether Huckabee may have done the same.

You can view a full list of Huckabee "donors" here.

Developing...

Rice rejects Huckabee criticism

ASSOCIATED PRESS

http://www.star-telegram.com/464/story/373403.html

WASHINGTON -- In a brief foray into politics, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday denounced comments by a leading Republican presidential candidate that the Bush administration's foreign policy is arrogant and unilateral.

 

"The idea that somehow this is a go-it-alone policy is just simply ludicrous," she said at a State Department news conference. "One would only have to be not observing the facts, let me say that, to say that this is now a go-it-alone foreign policy."

 

Her remarks came in response to a question about criticism from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who has surged in the polls to become a front-runner in the upcoming Iowa caucuses for the GOP presidential nomination. Huckabee recently said the administration's foreign policy was characterized by a "bunker mentality."

 

Rice did not mention Huckabee by name in her response and at first declined to respond, saying dismissively: "Look, I don't comment on other people's comments. I don't have time, all right. I really don't have time to worry about this."

 

But she then launched into a vigorous defense of the administration's multilateral diplomatic efforts on Afghanistan, North Korea and Iran, and pointed to improving ties with traditional allies in Europe, some of which were strained by the Iraq war.

 

"We have right now probably the strongest trans-Atlantic relations ... I would say in a very long time," Rice said, noting in particular Britain, France and Germany.

 

"We're working with allies in Europe, Russia and China on Iran. The (NATO) alliance is mobilized together in Afghanistan," she said. "We had 50-plus countries at Annapolis to launch the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. We're working together with allies in Lebanon.

 

"I can go on and on and on and on," Rice concluded. "And so, I would just say to people, look at the facts.

 

Condi would make such a great president/ vise president...

 

I wish she would have ran... It is probably too late for her to be president, but she would make a great vise president... but who knows if she wants it?

Coulter on Huckabee: Stupid and easily led

American Pastoral

American Pastoral
Mike Huckabee preaches to the choir, but not everyone's singing along.

Friday, December 21, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST

I didn't see the famous floating cross. What I saw when I watched Mike Huckabee's Christmas commercial was a nice man in a sweater sitting next to a brightly lit tree. He had easy warmth and big brown puppy-dog eyes, and he talked about taking a break from politics to remember the peace and joy of the season. Sounds good to me.

Only on second look did I see the white lines of the warmly lit bookcase, which formed a glowing cross. Someone had bothered to remove the books from that bookcase, or bothered not to put them in. Maybe they would have dulled the lines.

Is there a word for "This is nice" and "This is creepy"? For that is what I felt. This is so sweet-appalling.

I love the cross. The sight of it, the fact of it, saves me, literally and figuratively. But there is a kind of democratic politesse in America, and it has served us well, in which we are happy to profess our faith but don't really hit people over the head with its symbols in an explicitly political setting, such as a campaign commercial, which is what Mr. Huckabee's ad was.

I wound up thinking this: That guy is using the cross so I'll like him. That doesn't tell me what he thinks of Jesus, but it does tell me what he thinks of me. He thinks I'm dim. He thinks I will associate my savior with his candidacy. Bleh.

The ad was shrewd. The caucus is coming, the TV is on, people are home putting up the tree, and the other candidates are all over the tube advancing themselves and attacking someone else. Mr. Huckabee thinks, I'll break through the clutter by being the guy who reminds us of the reason for the season, in a way that helps underscore that I'm the Christian candidate and those other fellas aren't. As a break from the nattering argument, as a message that highlights something bigger than politics, it was refreshing.

Was the cross an accident? Please. It was as accidental as Mr. Huckabee's witty response, when he accused those of questioning the ad of paranoia, was spontaneous. "Actually I will confess this, if you play this spot backwards it says 'Paul is dead, Paul is dead, Paul is dead,' " he said. As Bill Safire used to say of clever moves, "That's good stuff!"

Ken Mehlman, the former Republican chairman, once bragged in my presence that in every ad he did he put in something wrong--something that went too far, something debatable. TV producers, ever hungry for new controversy, would play the commercial over and over as pundits on the panel deliberated over its meaning. This got the commercial played free all over the news.

The cross is the reason you saw the commercial. The cross made it break through.

Mr. Huckabee is a telegenic presence, fluid and unself-conscious. The camera is his friend. It is not the potential exposer of his flaws but the conduit by which his warmth and intelligence can be more broadly known. This gift, and seeing the camera this way is a gift, carries greater implications in American politics than, say, in British politics. In Britain, public persona is important, as Tony Blair showed, but there you rise up in the parliamentary system. You have to learn to play well with the other children. You have to form alliances, handle a portfolio, create coalitions, lead within the party and then the country.

In American politics you don't have to go through that grueling process. You can be born on TV. Some candidates for president have a closer relationship with the makeup woman at "Hannity" and the guy who mics you up on "Meet" than they do with state party chiefs and union leaders. Experience, background and positions can be trumped by killer spots or a dominating debate performance.

This is some of Mr. Huckabee's power. There's the fact that he's new, and the fact that Americans are in a funny historic moment: The lives they lead are good, and comfortable, but they sense deep down that the infrastructure of our good fortune is in many ways frail, that Citi may fall and Korea go crazy and some nut go kaboom. In such circumstances some would think a leader radically different--an outsider, a minister, a self proclaimed non-establishment type--might be an answer.

Mr. Huckabee reminds me of two governors who became president, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Like Mr. Clinton, he is a natural, charming, bright and friendly. Yet one senses something unsavory there, something not so nice. Like Mr. Bush, his approach to politics seems, at bottom, highly emotional, marked by great spurts of feeling and mighty declarations as to what the Lord wants. The problem with this, and with Bushian compassionate conservatism, which seems to have an echo in Mr. Huckabee's Christianism, is that to the extent it is a philosophy, it is not a philosophy that allows debate. Because it comes down to "This is what God wants." This is not an opener of discussion but a squelcher of it. It doesn't expand the process, it frustrates it.

Mr. Huckabee is clever. He puts forth his policies, such as they are, based on a faith-based understanding of public policy, and if you disagree with his policies, or take a hard shot at them, or at him, he suggests the reason is that you look down on evangelicals. This creates a new fissure in a party already riven by fissures. He has been accused by some in the conservative press of tearing the party apart, but it was being torn apart before he got on the scene. His rise is not a cause of collapse but an expression of it.

He plays the victim well. Others want to "trip him up," but he'll "get my message out there." His foes are "Wall Street-Washington" insiders, elitists. On the "Today" show he said his critics are the type who never liked evangelical Christians. When one of them runs, these establishment types say " 'Oh my gosh, now they're serious, they don't want to just show up and vote, they actually would want to be part of the discussion and really talk about issues that include hunger and poverty and things.' "

This is a form of populist manipulation. Evangelical Christians have been strong in the Republican Party since the 1970s. President Bush and Karl Rove helped them become more important. The suggestion that they are a small and abused group within the GOP is strange. It is as if the Reagan Democrats, largely Catholic and suburban, who buoyed the Republican Party from the late '70s through 2004, and who were very much part of the GOP coalition, decided to announce that Catholics have been abused within the party, and it's time for Christmas commercials with floating Miraculous Medals.

Does Mr. Huckabee understand that his approach is making people uncomfortable? Does he see himself as divisive? He's a bright man, so it's hard to believe he doesn't. But it's working for him. It's getting him his 30 points in Iowa in a crowded field.

Could he win the nomination? Who knows? It's all a bubbling stew on the Republican side, and no one knows who'll float to the top. In an interview this week with David Brody of CBN, Mr. Huckabee said people everywhere were coming to him and saying, "We are claiming Isaiah 54 for you, that the weapons formed against you will not prosper."

Prayer is powerful. But Huckabee's critics say he's a manipulator with a mean streak and little knowledge of the world. And Isaiah 54 doesn't say anything about self-inflicted wounds.

Ms. Noonan is a contributing editor of The Wall Street Journal and author of "John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father" (Penguin, 2005), which you can order from the OpinionJournal bookstore. Her column appears Fridays on OpinionJournal.com.

 

Did a Huck Ally Really Slam Rush Limbaugh?

Thursday, December 20, 2007

I'd really like to know which "prominent DC-based Huckabee ally" told Mark Ambinder that...

 "Rush [Limbaugh] doesn't think for himself. That's not necessarily a slap because he's not paid to be a thinker—he's an entertainer. I can't remember the last time that he has veered from the talking points from the DC/Manhattan chattering class. If they were praising Huckabee, he would be too... Also, I have to think that he's dying to have Hillary in the White House. Bill Clinton made Rush a megastar. Having another Clinton back in power would make him the Leading Voice of the Opposition once again."

Really? Rush Limbaugh is part of the DC/Manhattan chattering class?

Hey, if Rush Limbaugh isn't "red state enough" to question Huckabee's conservative street cred, who is?

12/20 02:49 PM

"blending Jimmy Carter's ostentatious piety with Nixon's knack for oblique nastiness"

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/GeorgeWill/2007/12/20/retro_campaigning Retro Campaigning By George Will Thursday, December 20, 2007 ... On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee's role in the '70s Show involves blending Jimmy Carter's ostentatious piety with Nixon's knack for oblique nastiness. "Despicable" and "appalling" evidence of a "gutter campaign" -- that is how The Eagle-Tribune of Lawrence, Mass., characterized this from Sunday's New York Times Magazine profile of Huckabee: "'Don't Mormons,' he asked in an innocent voice, 'believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?'" Imagine someone asking "in an innocent voice" this: "Don't Jews use the blood of gentile children to make matzoth for Passover?" Such a smarmy injection of the "blood libel," an ancient canard of anti-Semitism, into civic discourse would indelibly brand the injector as a bigot with contempt for the public's ability to decode bigotry. Huckabee's campaign actually is what Rudy Giuliani's candidacy is misdescribed as being -- a comprehensive apostasy against core Republican beliefs. Giuliani departs from recent Republican stances regarding two issues -- abortion and the recognition by the law of same-sex couples. Huckabee's radical candidacy broadly repudiates core Republican policies such as free trade, low taxes, the essential legitimacy of America's corporate entities and the market system allocating wealth and opportunity. And consider New Hampshire's chapter of the National Education Association, the teachers union that is a crucial component of the Democratic Party's base. In 2004, New Hampshire's chapter endorsed Howard Dean in the Democratic primary and no one in the Republican primary. Last week it endorsed Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary -- and Huckabee in the Republican primary. It likes, as public employees generally do, his record of tax increases, and it applauds his opposition to school choice. Huckabee's role in this year's '70s Show is not merely to attempt to revise a few Republican beliefs. He represents wholesale repudiation of what came after the 1970s -- Reaganism.

George F. Will, a 1976 Pulitzer Prize winner whose columns are syndicated in more than 400 magazines and newspapers worldwide, is the author of Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball.

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this is not a sibling that you just aren’t having a good time with

Frank Gaffney has been cited by Mike Huckabee as one of the two guys he gets foreign policy advice from, the other being The New York Times' Thomas Friedman.  Here's my exchange with Gaffney on yesterday's show ( transcript here):

HH: Since you're one of the unofficial advisors to Mike Huckabee, I want to play for you a little Huckabee quote from, concerning Iran. Cut number five. He made this in a speech earlier this year. 

MH: We haven't had diplomatic relationships with Iran in almost thirty years, most of my entire adult life. And a lot of good it's done. Putting this in human terms, all of us know that when we stop talking to a parent or a sibling, or even a friend, it's impossible to resolve the difference to move that relationship forward. Well, the same is true for countries.   

HH: What do you think, Frank Gaffney? 

FG: Well, for the purposes of setting the record straight, Hugh, I want you and your audience to recall that the other guy he mentioned in this New York Times Sunday Magazine interview as advising him was Tom Friedman of the New York Times. And that sounds a lot more like Tom's advice than my advice. I think that's cockamamie, and in fact, I had an hour and a half, I think, conversation with Governor Huckabee a couple of months ago over breakfast, and this was one of the main points on which I tried to educate him, that this is not a sibling that you just aren't having a good time with. This is a country run by megalomaniacs bent on an apocalyptic outcome, who believe that bringing about a world without America is their god-given obligation. And you know, just talking with them, you know, can't we all get along, Rodney King style, is not a prescription for a serious foreign policy, I'm afraid. 

ARKANSAS' PRIMARY DRUG OF CONCERN

"ARKANSAS' PRIMARY

DRUG OF CONCERN"

As Meth Became A Crisis In Arkansas, Gov. Huckabee

Reduced Sentences For Makers Of The Drug 

"It's not our goal to just lock people up. ... It is our goal to unlock their hearts, minds and souls so while they're here they can learn the skills that most of us take for granted." – Gov. Mike Huckabee (Traci Shurley, "Work Starts On Site For Parole Violators," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 8/9/03)

AP: "Huckabee Criticized For Meth Bill":

The Associated Press: "Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee can find plenty of parallels between his native Arkansas and Iowa when it comes to methamphetamine: Both are small states battling increased use of the drug through stricter laws. But Republican presidential rivals Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson are tagging Huckabee as soft on crime because of a 2005 Arkansas law he signed as governor that gave some meth offenders more credit for good behavior. Instead of serving only 70 percent of their sentences, they'd only have to serve at least half if they behaved." (Andrew DeMillo, "Huckabee Criticized For Meth Bill," The Associated Press, 12/20/07)

Meth Became A Crisis In Arkansas When Huckabee Was Governor:

DEA: In The Last Ten Years, Meth Has Become Arkansas' "Primary Drug Of Concern." "Methamphetamine: In less than ten years, methamphetamine has grown from a problem limited to the Southwest and Pacific regions of the United States to Arkansas' primary drug of concern. The state is encountering locally produced methamphetamine as well as the importation of methamphetamine produced in Mexico. Not only does the state's rural landscape provide an ideal setting for illicit manufacturing, but the wide availability of precursor chemicals also contributes to the ease of manufacturing methamphetamine. Criminal groups are acquiring thousands of cases of pseudoephedrine via wholesalers and use sophisticated schemes to illegally ship, at a considerable profit, pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine producers." (DEA Website, "Arkansas 2007," http://www.usdoj.gov/, Accessed 12/2/07)

At The Same Time, Gov. Huckabee Signed Legislation Reducing Sentences For The Makers Of Meth:

Huckabee Supported A Measure To Reduce Mandatory Minimums For Methamphetamine Makers. "Methamphetamine makers could shorten their mandatory time in prison with good behavior under legislation approved Tuesday by the Arkansas House. The bill, by Sen. Jim Luker, D-Wynne, is part of a legislative package intended to help control the state's burgeoning prison population and is supported by state prison officials, the state prosecutors' association and Gov. Mike Huckabee." (Melissa Nelson, "Arkansas House Approves Bill To Reduce Mandatory Prison Time Of Meth Offenders," The Associated Press, 3/8/05)

The Bill Lowered Mandatory Minimums For Meth Manufacturers From 70 Percent Of A Sentence To Only 50 Percent Of A Sentence. "Senate Bill 387 repeals a 1997 law requiring those convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine, among other crimes, to serve at least 70 percent of their sentence. Approved by a unanimous vote in the Senate and by a 56-32 vote in the House, SB 387 allows those inmates to serve half of their sentence if they've earned 'good time' for good behavior." (Arkansas House Of Representatives, "Prison Crowding And Saving Teachers' Insurance Plans Gain House Approval," Press Release, http://www.arkansas.gov/, 3/11/05)

- In 2005, Gov. Huckabee Signed The Sentence Reductions Into Law. "Also Monday, Gov. Mike Huckabee signed into law legislation allowing imprisoned methamphetamine abusers serving time under the state's mandatory 70-percent rule to shorten their sentences with good behavior." (Melissa Nelson, "Senate OKs Higher Ed Funding Formulas," The Associated Press, 3/21/05)

Huckabee Was Recently Confronted By His Support For Weaker Sentences:

Huckabee Said He Was Against "Putting People In Unnecessarily Long Sentences When There Really Was No Call For It." STEPHANOPOULOS: "Why did you sign a bill that your local paper called a relief bill for meth manufacturers?" HUCKABEE: "Well, they called it that but it was actually making sure that we had reasonable, responsible policies and prison terms. We were hard on drug offenders and drug dealers. But here's what we also tried to do. To balance being tough on drug dealers, tough on crime, but also being a little bit kinder to the taxpayers and not putting people in unnecessarily long sentences when there really was no call for it. Our prison director, I think said it best. He said, we lock up a lot of people we're mad at not just the people we're afraid of. So, we didn't coddle criminals. But what we did do, in many cases of non-violent drug offenders was create drug courts which created a different pathway so that people who had not committed a violent crime, who were drug users, who didn't have previous offenses, went into rehab and that cost w about $4 a day versus incarceration of some $43 a day." (ABC's "This Week," 12/2/07; www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv648uLzKyo)

Huckabee Admitted He Supported Weakening Penalties For Criminals Caught Running Meth Labs. STEPHANOPOULOS: "I understand not the drug users, but these were drug dealers here." HUCKABEE: "Well, and we didn't make this -- what you have to understand is that the significant difference was some of the penalties for these people could be up to life, and they still had that potential if they continued to manufacture drugs, but it was an adjustment in what had been an overreaching law that had previously passed." (ABC's "This Week," 12/2/07; www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv648uLzKyo)

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette Attacked Lower Sentences For Meth Makers:

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: "Call It The Relief Bill For Meth Manufacturers." (Editorial, "A Perk For Drug Dealers," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/16/05)

The Bill Was Criticized Because It Reduced Sentencing For Meth Manufacturers Sentences, Not Meth Users. "This was a bad idea two years ago when the Department of Correction pressured the Ledge to back away from the 70 percent rule. It still is. Because the rule isn't aimed at the poor souls who wind up in jail only because they've used meth and got caught. The prisoners who would benefit by the Ledge's favor are the dealers-the source of the plague, the ones who cook up the drug and spread it around. These are the folks who prey on addicts lower down the drug chain. These are the manufacturers and merchants of so much misery in Arkansas." (Editorial, "A Perk For Drug Dealers," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/16/05)

Although The Bill Cited Overcrowding As Reason For Its Passage, Meth Manufacturers Represented Only A Small Percentage Of The Prison Population. "There's no big economy to be achieved by passing SB 387. That's because these dealers represent only a tiny fraction of the prison population. The big growth in the number of prisoners results from having to jail all those drug addicts who violate their paroles, or the terms of their probations, by falling back into their old habits. Now there's a problem that needs fixing. But the Ledge won't adequately fund probation and parole departments, leaving the drug-addicted poorly supervised-and prime candidates for a return to prison." (Editorial, "A Perk For Drug Dealers," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/16/05)

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Said That It Created A Prison "Revolving Door." "It made no sense two years ago to spin the prisons' revolving door even faster, and it makes no sense today. The Ledge needs to think about all this again, if it thought about any of this the first time, and be given a chance to change its mind." (Editorial, "A Perk For Drug Dealers," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/16/05)

from the Bard

Oh! What do we need in a president?

With so many options some think the task tough

To figure out which in the crowd measure up

It's not mine to say which of those we see here

Will stand straight and tall or fall on their ear

But one thing I think is quite obviously clear

The leader we want works in honorable ways

who clearly can see by the night or by day

And chart a fixed course and never will stray

From doing each tiniest thing they did say

His or her character never will be

Put up for bids on the highest paid fee

But will endeavor with all honesty

To act in all ways to keep our land free

Who do I think it should be?

I admit it is easy to think I'd be stuck

With the slinging of mud and the rottenest muck

To know which to keep and which we could chuck

But I think with much prayer and a little good luck

The people will know the saint from the schmuck

And at least they will say " let's chuck Huck!"

‘Vanity Fair’ Makes New Giuliani Ad Seem Even Nuttier

'Vanity Fair' Makes New Giuliani Ad Seem Even Nuttier

It's not all Spitzer for Vanity Fair: The current issue also contains a towering Rudy profile, "A Tale of Two Giulianis," by Michael Shnayerson (whose sister Maggie is now the longest-serving editor at Gawker). In a lower-key fashion than last week's dueling Newsweek and Village Voice features on Rudy's supposed terror ties, Vanity Fair delivers a series of excellent mini-scoops on the man's business practices. Case after well-researched case shows Giuliani peddling bits of his 9/11 reputation to just about any taker, from foreign governments to "typical denizens of the penny-stock world — dreamers and the occasional scam artist." Shnayerson follows Giuliani's paid-up crusade for the makers of OxyContin, first as a lobbyist, then a lawyer; his shilling for Nextel; etc. More disturbingly, he then catches Rudy putting plugs for his clients into his political speeches, which are then reported as legitimate news. The choicest tidbit, however, is the one where the author quickly settles a personal score.

Giuliani also failed to disclose his consulting contract with a Florida entrepreneur named Hank Asher when in 2004 he talked about him to a magazine writer who was profiling Asher. In fact, the writer was this writer, and the magazine was Vanity Fair.

Not only is the profile more coolly damaging than VF's summertime hatchet job on Judith Nathan — its cumulative effect is devastating. Newsweek and the Voice focused on Rudy's sinister-sounding but ultimately murky connection to a world of which few voters have a clear picture (and we are all tainted: Got a Citicard? A Saudi prince is the biggest shareholder in Citigroup). Shnayerson, by contrast, methodically builds a portrait of a fundamentally flawed and avaricious character, a man happy to sell his perceived integrity not just to the highest bidder, but to every bidder. The newest Giuliani TV ad (above) promising to "stand up" to "dictators" and "tyrants" might not have the same ring coming from someone who's been paid by Qatar, China, Venezuela, and countless machers in need of a cred boost. —Michael Idov

A Tale of Two Giulianis [VF]

Related: Rudy Has Seen the Enemy and He Is … Us [NYM]

From Kyle

I had so many comments on my Fair Tax post that I wanted to respond to some of the points made:

First, several people made the point that Europe has a Value Added Tax (VAT) that is more than the 10% figure that I quoted. All of the research that I read made a distinction between the VAT and a national retail sales tax like the Fair Tax. This distinction is based on the mechanics of the tax. The value added tax looks at what a firm adds to the value of a product where a national sales tax is an excise tax levied at the point of sale. The end result looks similar because the VAT is passed on to the consumer. However, the VAT requires firms to report the value added at each stage of production. A national retail sales tax does not require any such reporting other than that the national rate has been applied. The figure I used looked just at those countries using a national retail sales tax and did not include those countries using a VAT.

Second, several readers expressed frustration at the current tax system and argued that we are essentially paying the same rate as what the Fair Tax would impose. That may be true, but I don't understand how that merits scrapping the current system. If the Fair Tax does the exact same thing, why should switch? The tie goes toward stability, does it not? People have planned, not just in the short term, but in the long term for the tax benefits of the current system. Revolutionizing the way we tax would upset the expectations of a millions of Americans and businesses. Thus, doing something that drastic requires not just generalized frustration, but serious injustice. Generally, I think that frustration with the current tax system has made people over-eager to do something else. I don't deny that the current system has its flaws. Indeed, it should be flatter and simpler. However, taking the extreme position of overhauling what we have and disturbing the expectations of those who are paying taxes seems unwise to me.

More rebuttals to come

re: "Rod Dreher"

I agree with Rod Dreher, to a point 

 

But Rod needs to understand a lot of us were freaking out...

 

I thought we were doing "Rudycide", after all our complaining about BIll Clinton's ethics...

 

Rudy would have made Clinton look like Romney, in comparison.

 

The part that I agree with Rod Dreher about is how surprising it was (I know I'm going to sound like Mike Huckabee) that the New York/ Washington DC republicans embraced Rudy!

 

I think I agree with Rod Dreher...

 

But two wrongs don't make a right... Just because the economic conservatives didn't freak out, when some threw the social conservatives under the buss, doesn't mean we should throw the economic conservatives under the buss now...