There are many, many reasons I cannot support Huckabee in a primary situation, regardless of his being an “Evangelical Christian” (remember, so was Jimmy Carter). I have included several links as well at the bottom of this note.

1) Governor Huckabee is NOT well versed in foreign policy

“I may not be the expert that some people are on foreign policy, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.”

This is NOT the time for a neophyte in foreign policy

· Huckabee stated in a major foreign policy speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies:

o “American foreign policy needs a change in tone or attitude”

o “This administration’s bunker mentality has been counterproductive”

o “[The administration has] done a poor job of communicating and consulting with other countries”

o He compared the US to a bully

o “Our strategic interest as the world’s most powerful country coincide with our moral obligations as the world’s richest country” (tax here and spend abroad)

o He accuses the administration of “proceeding down only one track with Iran: armed confrontation.” This is the kind of rhetoric you’d expect from DailyKos bloggers, not a
Republican presidential candidate

· Huckabee supports shutting down Guantanamo Bay to placate international critics of it

· From an editorial in National Review: (emphasis added)

“This is the kernel of Huckabee’s foreign policy. He wants to anthropomorphize
international relations and bring a Christian commitment to the Golden Rule to our affairs with other nations. As he told the Des Moines Register
the other day, ‘You treat others the way you’d like to be treated. That’s to me the fundamental issue that has to be re-established in our dealings with other countries.’

“This is deeply naïve. Countries aren’t people, and the world is more dangerous than a Sunday church social. Threats, deception, and — as a last resort — violence must play a role in international relations. Differences cannot always be worked out through sweet persuasion. A U.S.
president who doesn’t realize this will repeat the experience of President
Jimmy Carter at his most ineffectual.”

2) Governor Huckabee is NOT a fiscal conservative

“[Huckabee] says he’s pro-family. If you’re raising taxes on the families of Arkansas, causing wives to go out and get jobs to make ends meet, that’s not pro-family.” - Former Arkansas State Representative Randy Minton (R)

Can we say tax and spend conservative?

· The Cato Institute gave Huckabee an “F” for his final term as governor on its Fiscal Policy Report Card—lower than 15 of the 21 Democrat Governors: “Huckabee’s leadership has left taxpayers in Arkansas much worse off.” His overall grade as governor was a D.

· In 2003, Huckabee called a special session of the legislature to push for a tax increase to make up for spending shortfalls.

· Huckabee refused to consider a Republican proposal to cut spending and use general improvement funds (i.e., legislative pork) to make up for the budget shortfall.

· Huckabee called a 2^nd special legislative session in 2003 to pass a nearly one-cent state sales tax increase—also expanding the sales tax to include previously exempted services

· During Huckabee’s term, Arkansas showed a net tax increase of $505 million

· During Huckabee’s term, the average Arkansan’s tax burden grew over 47%

· Governor Huckabee raised more taxes in 10 years in office than Governor Bill Clinton did in his 12 years

· During Huckabee’s term, state spending more than doubled (from $6.6 billion to $16.1 billion)

· During Huckabee’s term, the state added about 8,000 full-time workers, a 19% increase

3) Governor Huckabee is NOT strong on immigration laws

"I would say that Huckabee comes from the same perspective on the issue that George W. Bush came from — that out of a strong sense of compassion, he tries to identify with someone who comes to the United States, even if they came illegally," said Steven A. Camarota, research
director for the Center for Immigration Studies.

Compassion is a wonderful Christian principle; however, it should not be an excuse for ignoring our laws

· Huckabee’s human services liaison Robert Trevino pushed for legislation to provide driver’s licenses for illegals—it was understood by legislators that he acted with the governor’s blessing

· Huckabee opposed a measure to require proof of citizenship to vote

· Huckabee supported a bill that offered illegal immigrants in-state tuition rates and made them eligible for the same merit-based scholarships to Arkansas state colleges and universities as legal citizens

· Huckabee opposed a bill that denied some state benefits to illegals and required proof of citizenship to vote—he called the measure “un-American….inflammatory….race-baiting and demagoguery.” He added that the bill “inflames those who are racist and bigots and makes them think there’s a real problem. But there’s not.”

· Huckabee criticized federal agents for a recent crackdown on illegals, saying that it wasn’t fair to the
innocent family members of those targeted in the operation.

· Huckabee promoted an “open door” policy on immigration as he addressed the League of United Latin American Citizens

4) Governor Huckabee is NOT tough on crime

"I would not deny that my sense of the reality of redemption is a factor," the former Baptist pastor said in a radio interview with KUAR in Little Rock. "And I don't know that I can apologize for that because I would hate to think of the kind of human I would be if I thought people were beyond forgiveness and beyond reformation and beyond some sense of improvement."

Redemption is also a wonderful Christian principle, but it should not override the proper punishment given out by a jury and a court

· Huckabee granted over 1,000 clemencies and commutations of criminals as governor

· Huckabee released more criminals than the combined total of every border state to Arkansas

· Huckabee issued more than double the clemencies of his three predecessors combined

· Huckabee ignored the requirement to notify victims’ families and explain the reasons for those clemencies. He said to fully explain his reasoning would cost millions of dollars and “take money away from education and Medicaid and other things.”

· Prosecutors say Huckabee was more inclined to release or reduce the sentences of prisoners if he had direct contact with them or was lobbied by those close to him

5) Governor Huckabee is NOT a strong supporter of public school reform

The New Hampshire chapter of the National Education Association (NEA) has endorsed Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee for the upcoming Primary elections. This is the first time in memory that they have recommended a Republican (in 2004 they endorsed Howard Dean)

This is worrisome as well

· Huckabee has consistently opposed virtually all proposals for education reform, including school choice vouchers

· When the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that Arkansas’ public school funding was “inequitable,” Huckabee took the ruling as a mandate to raise taxes in order to once again increase school funding…which he did

6) Governor Huckabee may have questionable ethics

Judicial Watch, a non-partisan group dedicted to fighting government
corruption, listed Huckabee among their Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians of 2007. Huckabee was one of only three Republican politicians to make the list.

Another potential problem

· During his term, Huckabee accepted 314 gifts valued overall at more than $150,000

· The Huckabees set up “wedding registries” at local department stores as he was leaving office—State ethics laws prohibited Huckabee from receiving gifts of more than $100 with an exception for “wedding gifts”

7) Governor Huckabee is seen as very beatable by the DNC

Democrat National Committee officials have already been quoted as saying that they see Huckabee as “easy kill” and refer to him as “the glass jaw — and they’re just waiting to break it.”

Can you still support him?

· The DNC has issued over 200 attack press releases on Republican candidates—only 4 on Huckabee, the last one coming 10 months ago

· From the Drudge Report 12/11/2007:

o Democrat party officials are avoiding any and all criticism of Mike Huckabee

o The DNC has told staffers to hold all fire, until he secures the party's nomination

o In the last three weeks since Huckabee's surge kicked in, the DNC hasn't released a single press release criticizing his rising candidacy

o The last DNC press release critical of Huckabee appeared back on March 2^nd

o 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)
Governor Mike Huckabee – 2% (4)

o "He'll easily be their McGovern, an easy kill," mocked one senior Democrat operative. "His letting out murderers because they shout 'Jesus', his wanting to put 300,000 AIDS patients and Magic Johnson into isolation, ain't even scratching the surface of what we've got on him."

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=12430

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071130/NATION/111300094/1002

http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2005/06/30/News/323746.html

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8838

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZjM3Zjg5NWYxOGRkNzdmOWY3ZTU4ODQ2OGEyMzRkZmU

http://defeathuckabeeinva.wordpress.com/2008/01/03/from-a-conservative-evangelical-politically-active-father-of-four-in-arkansas/

Is anyone reading?

Except, of course, my brother, two sisters, mom, and maybe Charissa?

I don't think this is right for me right now...too much going on. I will likely bid adieu for now...

SCHIP Expansion ala Pelosi, Reid, et al

Let me simply say that I agree with President Bush's veto of this expansion...The program itself is a positive program and is achieving its purpose, expanding it in the way that the Democrat party hopes to is a backdoor way toward socialized medicine. I do not trust the government to run 1/7 of our economy...they do a poor enough job with the extra-Constitutional "duties" they have already usurped from the States and from the people.

Are the Republicans Really Doomed?

Conventional Wisdom--Democrats will win the White House in 2008 in a landslide, increasing their majority in the House and picking up the seats needed to end the filibusters in the Senate.

Just makes you want to hide under a rock--I would say leave the country, but that is a Liberal reaction...after all, where would a true conservative go? Anywhere else in the capitalist world is much more Socialist than the US...we really have no choice but to stay (even with Hillary riding a Socialist wave into the White House)! I just wish the whackos that suffer from BDS (see last post--Bush Derangement Syndrome) would have been true to their word and left... we would be so much better off without them...

So, is the CW correct?

There are many reasons why I believe that it may not be a fait accompli--thank the Good Lord--however, I will look at just one now. My homestate of Ohio, in all of its purple splendor!

The magic number is 17...

Seventeen electoral votes switch, we have a tie in 2004, more than 17, Dems win.

So, let's look at the map. Which states are likely in play? Well, let's start with the ones which are most unlikely to move:

DEMS
The following 9 states had at least a 10 percentage point Democrat lead in 2004 (in declining order): DC, MA, RI, VT, NY, MD, CA, IL, and CT
Total: 146 EVs

The following 6 states had between a 4 and 10 percentage point Democrat lead in 2004 (in declining order): HI, ME, WA, DE, NJ,and OR
Total: 44 EVs

REPS
The following 22 states had at least a 10 percentage point Republican lead in 2004 (in declining order): UT, WY, ID, NE, OK, AK, ND, AL, KS, TX, SD, IN, KY, MS, MT, GA, SC, LA, TN, WV, NC, and AZ
Total: 183 EVs

The following 5 states had between a 4 and 10 percentage point Republican lead in 2004 (in declining order): VA, AR, MO, FL, and CO
Total: 66 EVs

THESE WILL NOT BE IN PLAY!!! (there are two possible, but unlikely, exceptions, both of which are not good for Dems--if Guliani is the nominee NJ and CT could be in play )

That leaves 9 states that were within 3 percentage points of switching
MN +3D, 10 EV
PA +2D, 21 EV
MI +2D, 17 EV
WI +1D, 10 EV
NH +1D, 4 EV
NM +1R, 5 EV
IA +1R, 7 EV
OH +2R, 20 EV
NV +3R, 5 EV

Republican states on the brink carry 37 electoral votes--but OHIO is the only one that matters. Even if the Dems keep all the states they carried in 04 and pick up NM, IA, and NV...they can only get an electoral tie (a whole new analysis needed here...).

Now, a Guliani nomination puts PA into play big time, and a Romney nomination puts NH into play as well...so, the chance for an electoral tie is minimized.

It comes down to Ohio--the Buckeye State. On the surface, this seems to be great news for the Democrat party. The Republican brand name there has been badly harmed--and is compounded by the State party's self-inflicted wounds. The combination led to a near-Democratic sweep in 2006 (the Republican candidate for State Auditor was the lone GOP winner statewide, and he took less than 51% of the vote).

So, why am I so optimistic at this point in time (and it is way to early to say that this is difinitive)? Well, I recently read about some polling in Ohio. According to the National Review Online Campaign Spot (emphasis added):

"Rasmussen's latest numbers in Ohio have some bright spots for Thompson, and generally a better outlook for the GOP than one might expect:
Forty-eight percent (48%) of Ohio voters have a favorable opinion of Clinton while 50% have a negative view. On the Republican side, McCain is viewed favorably by 54%. Favorables for both Giuliani and Thompson total 53% while Romney earns positive reviews from 43%. Just 38% have an unfavorable view of Thompson while negative ratings for the other GOP candidates are in the low-to-mid forties . . . Rudy Giuliani and John McCain both “lead” Clinton in Ohio by a statistically insignificant two percentage point margin. Fred Thompson is tied with the Democratic frontrunner while Clinton leads Mitt Romney by eight points. If the Republicans have managed to keep Ohio as competitive today as it was in 2004 (when Bush won by just over 2%), the party is in much better shape than anyone - even the most wild-eyed optimists - have imagined.

Hmmm...

I'll let you ponder this...of course, this is so early as to not really matter much at this point. However, I do believe that the Democrats do not have a lock...Hillary's negatives are just too high. I cannot see how someone with such high negatives can gain enough support to change the electoral map.

Bush Derangement Syndrome

In a recent post ("On Genocide and Subterfuge of Democrats" ), my dear brother weighed in with his opinion. John and I will rarely agree on anything (as anyone that knows us will testify); however, I believe that he has contracted a severe case of "Bush Derangement Syndrome" (the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency—nay—the very existence of George W. Bush--see Wikipedia Bush Derangement Syndrome) .

I really have a hard time understanding BDS...

Yes, I admit, I was very critical of the Clinton administration from 1993-2001; however I was able to see President Clinton as a human being (seriously flawed)--not some Incarnation of Evil. I disagreed with many of his policies and viewpoints, but they were just that, disagreements--not some devious plan to undermine the Constitution. Heck, I ameven able to give him props on some things (of course, I believe that most of these that would make a list would be ones that he was dragged kicking and screaming to after the "Republican Revolution of 1994").

My brother's latest incantation--"C'mon...this president wants nothing more than to keep this war going so that he can line the pockets of his friends and family. He is a coward and should be brought up on war crimes." Hmmmm....

Evidence? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Line the pockets of his friends and family. How does the war do this?
Oh, wait...I forgot...
The magic word--HALIBURTON!

Brought up on war crimes...hmmm which war crimes are these? Be careful when answering--most laws of war pertain to REGULAR military (ie uniformed members of a state militia).

Two recent submissions to the list of BDS show me it is alive and well:

During a debate on SCHIP expansion Thursday, Representative Pete Stark (D-CA) showed symptoms of BDS when he said the following on the House floor: "You don't have money to fund the war or children. But you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement."

ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS (of course he apologized yesterday).

And my new favorite: The reaction of the federal government to the wildfires in California compared to the reaction to Katrina shows that the administration is racist!

Really, seek some treatment...

Post-Season Blues

On Wednesday the Indians were up three games to one with one more at home...

--The Tribe had not lost three in a row since mid-August
--In the 65 times that there has been a 3-1 lead in a LCS, only 10 times had there been a comeback
--Momentum was on our side, we just needed to win one--ONE LOUSY GAME

Thirty BoSox runs later...

Good Grief!!

Now on top of The Drive (Browns--1987), The Fumble (Browns--1988), The Shot (Cavs--1989), and The Move (Browns--1996), The Bouncer (Indians--1997), comes a new entry: The Collapse.

It has been 10 years since our last trip to the big dance in 1997, and 59 years since we won the Fall Classic--only the Cubbies have waited longer.

On the positive side, we are a young team in ascendency--we should dominate the Central for the next few years. Maybe 60 years of waiting will be it...

For now, I am just left with the four immortal words (sour tasting as they are)...

What?


You think I am talking about

"There's always next year"


No...the four words echoing through Public Square, the Terminal Tower, across E. 9th Street, through the Jake, across the Cuyahoga and above the wide expanse of Lake Erie--

LET KENNY RUN HOME!!!

Dammit!

On Genocide and the Subterfuge of the Democrats

On October 10, the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee voted 27-21 passing House Resolution 106 (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.res.106:), recognizing the Armenian Genocide of 1915 (more information can be found at http://www.genocide1915.info/).

On the surface, this seems to be the right thing to do. After all, man's inhumanity to man should be subject to the light of truth and it is through our full understanding of history that we may avoid the doom of repetition.

However...

Did you know that there is a long history of our recognition of the Armenian Genocide, including resolutions from Congress, statements of presidents (including the current President), and diplomatic actions in the UN (see findings in the resolution, especially #2, 3, 9-13, 17, 20-25, 27-29).

So...

Why is the House once again bringing this to the floor over 80 years later?

Answer, they are using the suffering of the Armenian people in the past as a strategy to undermine the war in Iraq. What an inhumane use of such a terrible part of history--to forward their subterfuge and deceitful actions. They are unwilling to address their grievances directly (see last post on Hate Crimes) because they fear the electorate, so they find some backdoor way to do what they want...be damned who or what they use and the moral depravity they show in the use of these people.

The current Turkish government does not recognize the Armenian Genocide--BIG DEAL!!! It is generally accepted and recognized throughout the world, and also by former regimes of the Turkish government. The post-World War I Turkish Government indicted the top leaders involved in the `organization and execution' of the Armenian Genocide and in the `massacre and destruction of the Armenians' and in a series of courts-martial, officials of the Young Turk Regime were tried and convicted, as charged, for organizing and executing massacres against the Armenian people.

The US government does not recognize its part in genocide either--in fact, we only signed the international treaty on genocide--the CPPCG (Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide)--with the proviso that no claim of genocide could be brought against the US at the International Court of Justice without its consent. Under the definitions of the CPPCG, the US Government is guilty of the Genocide of Native Americans. I see no resolution in the House to recognize this...

So, the current regime does not recognize the genocide--why bring it up now and put pressure on Turkey?

Answer: The Dems don't like the war in Iraq, but are unwilling to cut funding (the only option available to Congress after a declaration of war that does not take a 2/3rds majority. The other options--peace treaty (2/3 of Senate) and impeachment (1/2 of House, but 2/3 of Senate needed for removal) take super majorities that ARE NOT POLITICALLY VIABLE AT THIS TIME), so we will act with subterfuge and damage the war effort another way.

This is a dishonorable way to undermine the war effort. It is morally reprehensible to use the victims of such a crime in order to get their way. If this passes the House and causes Turkey to rescind its cooperation in the logistical support for the war, the blood of countless soldiers will be on the hands of the Democrats.