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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...

McCain has voted to give social security benefits to immigrants who were here illegally - even if they are now in Mexico. This was a big deal and I thought FReepers would have a long enough memory not to forget. Sen. McCain voted in favor of a motion to table the Ensign amendment (SA 3985) to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 . The Ensign amendment (submitted for himself, Sen. Santorum, and Sen. Inhofe), would have prohibited the payment of Social Security benefits based on quarters of coverage earned by an individual who has not at some point had a valid Social Security number. This would have addressed part of the problem of aliens getting Social Security credit for work performed while they were illegally present in the United States (aliens who came in on temporary work visas, but overstayed their visas, would continue to get credit for all work performed, including after they became illegal). The motion to table the Ensign amendment passed by a vote of 50...

The King of Clemency: the Serious Consequences of Huckabee's Leniency John Aravosis at AMERICAblog.com has the story. He's had the story up since Wednesday. I don't know how this has not gotten out! The author starts with this case of Eugene Fields. EUGENE FIELDS: JAILED FOR DWI IN 2003, SENTENCE COMMUTED IN 2004, ARRESTED FOR DWI IN 2006: Eugene Fields Sentenced to Six Years For Fourth-Offense DWI. Eugene Fields was originally sentenced in August 2001 for his fourth DWI and began serving his six year sentence in May 2003, after the state Court of Appeals upheld his conviction. Previous convictions against Fields were in 1996, 1998 and 1999. [ www.myeyewitnessnews.com , 4/13/06; Associated Press, 4/14/06, 2/25/04, 2/27/04] This guy has a real problem! His fourth DWI! Let him sit it out for six years. 2004: Huckabee Commutes Fields' Sentence, Saying Keeping Fields in Prison "Serves No Further Purpose." Huckabee said through a spokesman, ...

… Anyone who says that they believe in Jesus, and doesn't mention atheist along as one of the 3 best parts of America's "faith tradition" is "propping up bigots"… I know it sounds like I am exaggerating, but that is exactly what Ms (assumption) Walsh says. She uses these two facts 1. Romney mentioned that he believed in Jesus Christ, 2. Romney did not mention atheist in his speech about RELIGION, and so he is "propping up bigots"… Listen to the hatred directed at Romney for these two unforgivable sins: Romney, "reduced to a faith litmus test" Said; "God bless America" at the end of his speech (which of course Bill Clinton also said at the end of his speeches) Presented an "arbitrary world-religions spectrum" (is their a non arbitrary world-religion spectrum) "dispatched American nonbelievers with a sentence" Lets think about this logic for a second, because it is the same logic everyone on hot air is...

Excerpts from An Open Letter to Iowa Voters by Matt A. “There are many issues to be considered in this election, and for many voters, including myself, social issues, including abortion and gay marriage, are high on that priority list. Because of this, many voters in your state have recently turned to former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as their favorite candidate, believing that his strong Christian background and Socially Conservative positions would help to make him a capable, strong, and trustworthy leader on these and other important issues. I believe that these voters are making a very serious mistake, and that the results for both the nation and the party could be extremely severe.” “I don’t dispute Gov. Huckabee’s record or opinions on Social Issues, and, if they were the only issues at state in this election, I can say that he would probably be my first choice as well. However, the reality is that there are other issues that must be considered, issues that are no less impo...

Saturday, Dec 01, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Romney Press Shop (85) 288-6390 Boston, MA – Today, Governor Mitt Romney issued the following statement on World AIDS Day: "On World AIDS Day, we are reminded of the importance of America 's commitment to fighting one of mankind's most deadly infectious diseases. Around the world, over 33 million people are living with HIV/ AIDS . In 2007 alone, 2.5 million people became infected with HIV and another 2.1 million died from AIDS . To strengthen our fight against HIV/ AIDS and bring hope to those afflicted with this disease, we need strong executive leadership that can build on President Bush 's groundbreaking efforts. "As President, I will mobilize our civilian instruments of power to address HIV/ AIDS , poverty and other challenges across Africa by empowering a single U.S. official with the responsibility and authority to lead all of America 's civilian efforts in the region. I will funda...

July 23, 2003 ROMNEY CELEBRATES NEW CHAPTER IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING Signs legislation that provides flexibility in meeting housing goals Governor Mitt Romney today celebrated the signing of a new law that will allow MassHousing to continue to make loans to finance affordable housing in the Commonwealth. Within weeks, the quasi-public agency was poised to come up against its legal debt cap for rental housing, which would have prevented it from making any new loans for mixed-income rental housing developments. "This new law will allow MassHousing to finance mixed-income homes without interruption," said Romney. "We must work harder, and be smarter, to increase the state's housing supply and have it affordable to those across a broad range of incomes." While MassHousing had additional lending capacity to make loans to first-time home buyers, the measure signed by Romney allows MassHousing to combine two separate debt limits for rental housing and home o...

A GENERATION'S LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP Today's challenges are daunting. They include the conflict in Iraq, the resurgence of the Taliban, and global terrorist networks made even more menacing by the threat of nuclear proliferation. While Iran's leaders relentlessly pursue nuclear weapons capabilities and spout genocidal threats against Israel, the world largely stands silent, unable to agree on effective sanctions even as each day the danger grows. Genocide ravages Darfur even as the world stands frozen. In Latin America, leaders such as Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez seek to reverse the spread of freedom and return to failed authoritarian policies. AIDS and potential new pandemics threaten us in an interconnected world. The economic rise of China and other countries across Asia poses a different type of challenge. It is easy to understand why Americans -- and many others around the world -- feel so much unease and uncertainty. Yet although we face fundamentally differen...

"In this era of fiscal belt-tightening, we need to ensure that Massachusetts continues to lead the nation on public health issues - from AIDS prevention to bioterrorism preparedness ." Governor Mitt Romney, 01-16-2003 Press Release "If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague.... It is difficult to understand the public policy towards AIDS. It is the first time in the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have not been isolated from the general population, and in which this deadly disease for which there is no cure is being treated as a civil rights issue instead of the true health crisis it represents." Governor Mike Huckabee, 1992 Questionnaire for The Associated Press