Romney and AIDS

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 different issues today, the United States has a history of rising to meet even greater challenges. Indeed, we need not look to ancient history, but only to the courage and determination of our parents and grandparents to see a stark contrast with the confusion and infighting of Washington today. Just over 60 years ago, we were in the midst of a global war that would take the lives of tens of millions. The outcome was far from certain. General Dwight Eisenhower drafted a short note before the D-day landings at Normandy accepting full responsibility "in case of failure."

The invasion did not fail. Yet no sooner had we defeated fascism than we were engaged in a 50-year struggle with communism. Those whom the journalist Tom Brokaw memorialized as "the greatest generation" made the tough choices that allowed us to prevail in these struggles. And it was not just our Washington leaders who were decisive. In the 1940s, Americans rationed and saved, and mothers and daughters enlisted to work in factories. Together with the GIs who returned home, they built this country's prosperity and fueled a sense of optimism. In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, America pursued learning and innovation to lead the world in space, technology, and productivity -- outcompeting the Soviets and driving them to an economic bankruptcy that matched their moral bankruptcy.

In the aftermath of World War II and with the coming of the Cold War, members of "the greatest generation" united America and the free world around shared values and actions that changed history. They unified U.S. military and security efforts, creating the Department of Defense and the National Security Council. They rethought U.S. approaches to the world, building the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Peace Corps. They forged alliances, such as NATO, that magnified the power of freedom and created a world trading system that helped launch the greatest expansion of economic and political freedom and development in history. Our times call for equally bold leadership and for a renewed sense of service and shared sacrifice among Americans and our allies around the world.

Romney and AIDS

"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

Wrap your mind around this...

...

 

The republican party is thinking about electing a guy who calls the Club for Growth, the Club for Greed...

 

What can we do to save our party

 

Who is John Galt?

Fred Criticizes Huckabee on Iran

Posted on December 7th, 2007
By Sean Hackbarth in Iran

In Columbus, OH Fred had a few words to say about Mike Huckabee's lack of knowledge about Iran and the National Intelligence Estimate:

"Not only is Iran the major long-term threat to our country, the nuclear program is the most important part of the Iran consideration. For a presidential candidate not to know that and not to keep up with that is very surprising," said Thompson.

"These are the kinds of things I've been talking about all of my life. Now, if the American people have other priorities, if they want someone who smiles a lot more than I do, or someone who is a better quipster than I am, who has no experience in these areas, that's for the American people to decide."

UPDATE: Yesterday on MSNBC Huckabee found an excuse as to why he didn't know about the NIE:

HUCKABEE: Well, I don't blame my staff. It is a situation where a report was released at 10:00 in the morning, the president hadn't seen it in four years and I'm supposed to see it four hours later.

Think Progress notes the following:

1) The NIE was released the previous day, not that morning. The NIE was released to the public in the early afternoon on Monday, December 3rd. The dinner where Huckabee was asked about the NIE took place on the evening of Tuesday, Decemeber 4th.

2) Huckabee had more than "four hours." According to the timeline above, Huckabee could have learned about the NIE anytime overnight or during the course of the next day if he had picked up a newspaper. Hotline notes, on the same day Huckabee said he hadn't heard of it, the Iran NIE "not only dominated the Democrats' debate here in town but also prompted a presidential press conference in response."

3) Bush couldn't have seen the report "four years" ago. The NIE was initially completed only a year ago, thus Bush couldn't have had "four years" to see the report. While the intelligence community did eventually learn that Iran shut down its nuclear program four years ago, that knowledge didn't come to the intelligence community until this past summer.

Mike Huckabee should be a little more thoughtful before looking for a clever quip.

Huckabee Released One Felon Every Five Days

Mitt Fans,

 

Slick Willy--who occasionally posts at NY for Mitt--put together a wonderful story:

 

It drives home the point that Huck released a felon about every five days!  Below are a few key paragraphs:

 

Huckabee's Very, Very Poor Judgment: Released One Felon Every Five Days

 

Earlier this week I posted a story about Gov. Huckabee influencing the parole board to release convicted rapist Wayne DuMond from prison and DuMond's subsequent two rapes/murders. In addition to making me sad, the story convinced me that Huckabee's judgment is a big problem. 

 

These numbers are staggering. To put them into context, on average, Huckabee was prematurely releasing 70 felons a year. Or, one felon every five days.

Do you really believe he knew their cases and history as well as the jury that put them behind bars? Do you really believe he studied the data well enough to truly be informed about each of these decisions? Impossible. Where was his respect for the legal/criminal process the founders created?

But then again, how could he be expected to do all that homework? Between fighting for the rights of illegal aliens, raising the taxes and out-spending the liberals where would he find time to read tedious pleas from victims of the felons he was forgiving?

 

Slick Willy did a fine job.  This is a weak spot for Huck that we need to magnify.

 

Neal

--
NY for Mitt
http://nyformitt.blogspot.com/

Red State Huckabee Reading

Huckabee Fundamentally Reshaping American Politics by RainbowRepublican

This is my greatest fear. As someone who is both a social conservative AND an economic conservative, I've always suspected that the South American model of social conservative/economic populist could possibly catch fire in the United States and have the same detrimental economic consequences as they have experienced in South America.

If elected, Mike Huckabee would be that fear realized.

Like many of the wannabe conservatives... by jforFRED

Huckabee is putting on a show, fooling people into thinking he is someone he is not. He is receiving a free media ride right now because he is a good talker. Without funny one-liners at the last debate, he was a non-issue. It would be nice to see him respond to a question with something other than a sermon or a joke. I've been critical of Romney's flip-flopping (he did give a good speech today) and of Guiliani's reference to 9-11 or New York on every issue (I still admire his leadership.)

Though a strong Fred Thompson supporter, I'll take Mitt or Rudy any day right now over Huck. Are voters really fooled into thinking that this guy is anything other than a comedian with a theology degree? Early in this campaign, despite my obvious support for Thompson, I was able to find something positive about all the other top tier candidates. I've yet to find anything about Huck. (other than the party line of taking him over Clinton any day.) If voters are concerned that America will have trouble voting for a Mormon for president who is doing his best to prove he will not govern as a Mormon, what will America do with a candidate who seems to be nothing without his Bible?

Separation of church and state still should mean something.

www.fred08.com

The first (and last) Fred08 link on my site!

Gopher holes by David Ribeirao

Mike Huckabee reminds me of the gopher that lived in my backyard for a few months. For quite a while there was only one hole with the dirt piled around. Every once and a while the cute little gopher would poke it's head out and we didn't really mind having him around. Then it actually became kind of fun to see him poke his head out of the hole, it made us smile. Then I woke up one morning and there was another pile of dirt, the next day another, and so on until there was dirt all over the place.

Long story short - we finally poisoned the gopher and got rid of the dirt.

 

 

Larry Kudlow and Mike Huckabee

LK: Regarding Governor Huckabee, Governor Huckabee is a very interesting guy who is not running as the kind of traditional, free-trade, cut taxes, limit government, supply side conservative. He is not. And we walked through a whole bunch of things on trade and China and taxes, and also, he just blurted out CEO pay, which he violently disagrees with. And in fact, he said he would…he doesn't want to regulate it, but he said at one point he would regulate CEO pay as a last resort. 

HH: Oh. 

LK: I thought that was very important. He's very biased against China trade. He's skeptical. He says the middle class is in trouble. He didn't acknowledge the prosperity. I really asked him about today's excellent jobs report, and the general prosperity we're enjoying. He didn't want to go there.  

HH: You know, Larry, last night I watched Glen Beck as I was preparing to give a speech. I'm told it was a replay of a Huckabee interview. But what I heard last night, he was talking about the ruling class in America. 

LK: Yeah. 

HH: You know that's populism, Huey Long yahooism.  

LK: Yeah. 

HH: That's not the Republican Party. 

LK: Nope. It's interesting to me, because I mean, I said are you a pessimist, I say you sound pessimistic on the campaign trail. And he said I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist. And I think he's the only candidate, Hugh, who is acknowledging these middle class anxieties, almost reaching out to them. He doesn't have a solution except to curb trade. But he's really playing to that, in that sense, just like the Democrats are. And the thing is, you have to look at this in a serious vane, because he's doing so well in the polls. I mean, it would seem that the more his message gets out, the better he's doing. And I find that quite troubling, but I think that's the reality. I'm going to look at the tape of my interview tonight, because as you know, it's awfully hard when you're on the spot, I've got producers in my ear… 

HH: Right. 

LK: And I want to look at the whole thing. I didn't dwell on his sales tax hikes and all that in Arkansas, because he's already answered those charges, and he's been beaten up. I was interested in what his future policy was, and it's very vague. The reality is his future policy is very vague.