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Huckabee's Record    [ Andrew Stuttaford ] There's still no sign that Mike Huckabee is going to release the text of the sermons he gave as a pastor — curious behavior, to say the least, from a candidate who has chosen to make his religious beliefs a central part of his campaign.   Other aspects of the governor's record, are however, more easy to ferret out. Here's Cato's Michael Tanner on some of them:   On its annual governor's report card, Cato gave Huckabee an "F" for fiscal policy during his final term, and an overall two-term grade of "D." Only four governors had worse scores, and 15 Democratic governors got higher grades, including well-known liberals like Ted Kulongoski of Oregon, Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, and Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania. But Huckabee doesn't just embrace big government in the form of big taxes. He truly appears to believe that if something is a good idea it should be a federal government program. For example...

Below you will find some information about Governor Huckabee’s troubling record on illegal immigration, his key immigration endorser’s assessment of that record as a “disaster,” and the following on the record quote from spokesman Kevin Madden:.   “Mike Huckabee is known as someone who is very witty, but his record of using taxpayer dollars to provide tuition breaks to illegal immigrants is no laughing matter.  At a time when the American people are looking for leadership that will deliver stronger border security, it is clear that Mike Huckabee’s weak posture towards illegal immigration is entirely at odds with many grassroots Republicans who want stronger enforcement.”   -Kevin Madden, Romney for President campaign spokesman     NO LAUGHING MATTER: GOV. HUCKABEE'S TUITION BREAKS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS "A DISASTER"     The No Laughing Matter!:  A serious look at Governor Mike Huckabee's recor...

New Court Battle with FEC over Hillary Clinton Film Washington, D.C. — As it prepares to release its hard-hitting political documentary, Hillary: The Movie, Citizens United, a grassroots advocacy organization, led by election law attorney James Bopp, Jr., today filed suit against the Federal Election Commission, arguing that issue-oriented television ads are protected by the First Amendment and should not be subject to disclosure requirements under McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. At issue are sections of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act ("McCain-Feingold") that imposed a blackout period before elections on television advertisements that mentioned the name of a federal candidate -- "electioneering communications." Earlier this year, the United States Supreme Court, in Federal Election Commission vs. Wisconsin Right to Life, ruled that groups could not be prohibited from running "genuine issue ads" during the blackout period, but the FEC has i...

Why I Decided to Support Mitt Romney By Michael Novak   National Review beat me to it, alas, but I have been deciding to come out publicly for Mitt Romney for some days now. I have been supporting him privately for weeks, though I was trying to avoid supporting anybody publicly.   But the attacks upon Romney's religion have been a last straw. They are just not fair. I remember his father's campaigns and what an upright man he was — and no one even breathed a word against him because of his religion. ... Over two public generations now, the Romney family has given us examples of upright, decent, warm lives, given to public commitment even though they did not have to be. ... Someone has to protest, in the name of Christianity itself, that spreading bigotry and hatred for the sake of winning a political campaign is wrong. I for one don't want to let this issue of bigotry and suspicion pass by without protest — and without open support for its victim. The least America...

Fox News' Frank Luntz: "When we do these debates, usually there is some sort of a split in how people react in terms of winners or losers. We do not have a loser this time, but clearly, Mitt Romney was the winner." (Fox News' "Live," 12/12/07)   ·        Luntz: "When Mitt Romney talked about education, it was an absolute home run. Romney's communication of education talked about his background and it was very effective in his presentation." (FOX News' Post-Debate Coverage, 12/12/07)   ·        Luntz: "[Romney] united both elements of the Republican Party.  And not only was his language effective, but they thought that the job that he did was very well-communicated." (FOX News' Post-Debate Coverage, 12/12/07)   ·        Luntz: "It was a very good day for Mitt Romney – very effective." (FOX News...

Frank Luntz at Fox News reviews Governor Romney's answer on education and deems it "an absolute home run" according to his focus group's dial testing.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AchGxcvPbQ4   FRANK LUNTZ: When Mitt Romney talked about education, it was an absolute home run. He united both elements of the Republican party, and not only was his language effective, but they thought that the job he did was very well communicated.  Let's take a look:   GOV. MITT ROMNEY: We've made the same effort in our state, actually before No Child Left Behind was passed. We test our kids. We have high standards. We teach them in English, English immersion. We say to be successful in America, you've got to speak the language of America. We also put in place incentives for kids to do well. For those that take the graduation exam, which you have to take to get out of high school, we say that you're going to get, if you score in the top 25 percent of the test, a four...

DESCRIBE HUCKABEE'S RECORD ON EDUCATION   RHETORIC:   Huckabee Claimed To Have The Most Impressive Education Record. HUCKABEE: "I had also the most, I think, impressive education record." (Iowa Public Television/The Des Moines Register, Republican Presidential Candidate Debate, Des Moines, IA, 12/12/07)   REALITY:   According To The National Assessment Of Educational Progress, Arkansas Ranked Below Average In All Four Major Criteria In 2007 – Mathematics And Reading In Both Grade 4 And In Grade 8. (U.S. Department Of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, http://nationsreportcard.gov , Accessed 11/23/07)   In 2007, Massachusetts Ranked 1st With An Average Score Of 252 By Fourth Graders On The National Assessment of Educational Progress Mathematics Exam. ( U.S. Department Of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, http://nationsreportcard.gov , Accessed 11/23/07)   ·      ...

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 Hitting Huckbottom Posted by: Hugh Hewitt  at 8:41 AM Huck asks in this Sunday's New York Times Magazine, "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?" No word yet on whether the former Arkansas governor asked if the Jews killed Jesus or if Catholics pray to Mary as a god. When your campaign is in trouble, it is better to focus on the trouble and fix, not set it ablaze. If asked about this I hope Governor Romney responds that "It is unfortunate that Governor Huckabee wants to turn a Republican primary into a theological shout down, but I won't be participating.  Questions about Mormon doctrine can be addressed to Church officials.  I'm not sure what kind of endorsement he is seeking with that sort of remark, but I am content to get the endorsement of the editors of The National Review." Update : Dan Riehl has more.   As does Article VI Blog.

  Tuesday, Dec 11, 2007 THE WASHINGTON TIMES TAKES A LOOK AT GOVERNOR HUCKABEE'S RECORD "Mike Huckabee" The Washington Times Editorial December 11, 2007 ... "Now that Mr. Huckabee has reached first place in Iowa polls, those days are over. His 10 ½ years as Arkansas governor and his conservative credentials are now relentlessly scrutinized, and Mr. Huckabee is under fire for substantial increases in taxes and spending by the Club for Growth and the CATO Institute. Numbers USA, a research and advocacy organization which opposes illegal immigration and monitors politicians' records on the issue, is sharply critical of his record as governor." ... "But the overall thrust of his record appears to be big-government liberalism. As governor, this included such things as: signing a sales-tax increase; supporting an Internet sales tax; opposing repeal of a sales tax on groceries and medicine; signing bills raising taxes on gasoline and cigarettes; an...

National Review editor Rich Lowry on the magazine's endorsement today of Mitt Romney Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 8:21 PM Read Article & Comments (0) Trackbacks Post Your Comments HH: We lead off with a newsmaker today, National Review endorsing Mitt Romney on a cover story that has sent shock waves across the Republican national primary electorate. Joined now by the editor of National Review, Rich Lowry. Rich, good to have you, thanks for joining me.   RL: Hey, Hugh, thanks for having me.   HH: Take me inside first the process by which National Review arrived at its endorsement.   RL: (laughing) I don't know, Hugh. It's a really tightly held process here. It's like selecting the Pope. We can't reveal too much, but…  HH: How many people got a say in this?  RL: Well, it's our senior editors, our publisher, our president and our Washington editor and myself. And we've been talking about it the last two weeks or so, ju...

By ANDREW DeMILLO, Associated Press Writer The U.S. shouldn't try to kill Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Mike Huckabee declared when he first ran for office. No women in combat anywhere. No gays in the military. No contributions in politics to candidates more than a year before an election. His statements are among 229 answers Huckabee offered as a 36-year-old Texarkana pastor during his first run for political office in 1992. In that unsuccessful race against Sen. Dale Bumpers, Huckabee offered himself as a social conservative and listed "moral decay" as one of the top problems facing the country. Now that he's a front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, he's being asked anew about some of the views and comments he expressed in the survey by The Associated Press. Over the weekend, he said he wouldn't retract answers in which he advocated isolating AIDS patients from the general public, opposed increased funding for finding a cure and said homosex...

DEMS HOLD FIRE ON HUCKABEE; SEE 'EASY KILL' IN GENERAL ELECTION Tue Dec 11 2007 10:27:53 ET **Exclusive** Democrat party officials are avoiding any and all criticism of Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee, insiders reveal. The Democratic National Committee has told staffers to hold all fire, until he secures the party's nomination. The directive has come down from the highest levels within the party, according to a top source. Within the DNC, Huckabee is known as the "glass jaw -- and they're just waiting to break it." In the last three weeks since Huckabee's surge kicked in, the DNC hasn't released a single press release criticizing his rising candidacy. The last DNC press release critical of Huckabee appeared back on March 2nd. [DNC Press Release Attack Summary: Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) – 37% (99 press releases) Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-NY) – 28% (74) Senator John McCain (R-AZ) – 24% (64) Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) – 8% (20) Go...

By LIBBY QUAID WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, asks in an upcoming article, "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?" The article, to be published in Sunday's New York Times Magazine, says Huckabee asked the question after saying he believes Mormonism is a religion but doesn't know much about it. His rival Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, is a member of the Mormon church, which is known officially as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The authoritative Encyclopedia of Mormonism, published in 1992, does not refer to Jesus and Satan as brothers. It speaks of Jesus as the son of God and of Satan as a fallen angel, which is a Biblical account. A spokeswoman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Huckabee's question is usually raised by those who wish to smear the Mormon faith rather than clarify doctrine. "We believe...

Today, Governor Romney has earned the endorsement of National Review, one of the most respected conservative publications in the nation.   Here is their endorsement:       Romney for President   NATIONAL REVIEW By the Editors http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YmMxYTUyYzA1YTk2YzE5NGVmNjc0OGFjYWJmNzMzNjI=&p=1   Many conservatives are finding it difficult to pick a presidential candidate. Each of the men running for the Republican nomination has strengths, and none has everything — all the traits, all the positions — we are looking for. Equally conservative analysts can reach, and have reached, different judgments in this matter. There are fine conservatives supporting each of these Republicans.   Our guiding principle has always been to select the most conservative viable candidate. In our judgment, that candidate is Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts. Unlike some other candidates in the race, Romney is a full-spectrum conservative...

MODERATOR: The next question is for Governor Romney. The same thing: Why has the Hispanic support for Republicans declined? ROMNEY: You know, I think Republicans went to Washington with the expectations of the whole world that we would change Washington. And in many respects, as has been said by many people, Washington changed Republicans. And when Republicans act like Democrats, America loses. Republicans spent too much money, and we let down our ethical standards. And so, Hispanics, along with other people in this country, want to see change. I (inaudible) the Republican Party can connect with Hispanic voters, like other Americans, because there are some peculiar connections between our party and the Hispanic people. One, Hispanic Americans serve in the military and care about our military. We salute them for their service right now. And we'll strengthen the military. If I'm president, I'm going to add at least 100,000 troops to our military. Secondly, Hispanic A...

I leave you with this, from the LA Times's report on the Dumond case. The left wants to believe Huck went to bat for Dumond because one of his victims was related to Bill Clinton. The truth seems to be something different: [Pastor Jay] Cole, meanwhile, was working to help DuMond. Cole said he talked to "probably a hundred people" about his hope of winning DuMond's release, turning foremost to the evangelical community. He said many evangelicals were encouraged that DuMond had claimed a religious conversion, and that many joined Cole in writing to Huckabee about DuMond's situation. The clincher, he said, was their belief that DuMond had been "saved."

The evidence is mounting and it's becoming clearer and clearer that Huckabee is guilty of religious nepotism to the exclusion of a safe society. You probably saw my post about the fact that rapist turned murderer Wayne Dumond was paroled largely because Huckabee and Dumond's pastor believed that he had been "Born Again" But now there's more disturbing evidence: Gov. Huckabee probably never read the confession of a demented killer named Glen Green before he made the monster eligible for parole. Green's confession is so depraved, its sadistic details so scary that no sane, responsible adult would consider him for parole. If the governor didn't read the confession, he is guilty of dereliction of duty. But if he read the confession and still considers Green deserving of parole, he's certainly unfit to hold office. Who would free a madman who beat an 18-year-old woman with Chinese martial-arts sticks, raped her as she barely clung to life, ran over her...

http://www.newsweek.com/id/74472/output/print The man he is now trailing in Iowa is smooth on the campaign circuit, appealing to conservative Christians without alienating other kinds of voters. How long this will last is an open question. Huckabee the front runner is only now beginning to face new scrutiny. A speech he gave in 1998 is likely to come up again. Addressing Southern Baptist pastors gathered at the Salt Palace Convention Center, Huckabee, then governor of Arkansas, said that he "got into politics because I knew government didn't have the real answers, that real answers lie in accepting Jesus Christ into our lives … I hope we answer the alarm clock and take this nation back for Christ." More detailed coverage at the time it happened is here: http://www.ardemgaz.com/prev/jonesboro/afhuckabee08.asp Side note:  Many will remember that this 1998 meeting of Baptists in Salt Lake City where Huckabee spoke had the intent of proselytizing Mormons to become ...

Faith in America by Mitt Romney "Thank you, Mr. President, for your kind introduction. "It is an honor to be here today. This is an inspiring place because of you and the First Lady and because of the film exhibited across the way in the Presidential library. For those who have not seen it, it shows the President as a young pilot, shot down during the Second World War, being rescued from his life-raft by the crew of an American submarine. It is a moving reminder that when America has faced challenge and peril, Americans rise to the occasion, willing to risk their very lives to defend freedom and preserve our nation. We are in your debt. Thank you, Mr. President. "Mr. President, your generation rose to the occasion, first to defeat Fascism and then to vanquish the Soviet Union. You left us, your children, a free and strong America. It is why we call yours the greatest generation. It is now my generation's turn. How we respond to today's challenges will defi...