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