A vote for Governor Mike Huckabee is still a vote for real hope and real change as well as "for (the) GOP's future."
I
n the general election, would you vote for the dirty old man or the clean and young one? The senator who's been in Washington, District of Crooks for over a quarter century or the one who still uses a map like normal people to find his way around it? The senator from an extremely lawless-border state or the one from the Land of Lincoln? The cad who cheated on and dumped one of his wives because he didn't like the way she looked after she was mangled in a car crash or the man who's stood by the only wife he's ever known, through thick and thin? Someone born in a foreign country or someone born in the good ol' U. S. of A.?
Texans and Ohioans, that's the choice you'll be giving Americans this November if you vote tomorrow for Juan MqQain'tGonnaWinNothin'.
But you still have a choice and a chance to give us all a much better one.
Mike Huckabee, the former Republican governor of a Southern state, is the only candidate who can win in the general election against a sitting Demoqrat senator from a northern state. The only candidate who has actual executive-branch experience, including in time of war.
A President Huckabee would protect our freedom of speech, including restoring our right to speak out against 25-year incumbents like Juan MqFeingold before elections.
Juan MqQennedyMqAmnesty would continue to do nothing except babble on and on about "needing to restore trust."
[MqQain has] proven his dislike for conservatives and would gut us at every opportunity. Why do I say that? Because of three decades of experience as a Republican California Senator and a fifty year activist in the conservative movement. I have first hand, in-their-face experience with elitist RINO's (Republican in Name Only) office holders. They are biblically ignorant, power hungry, status seeking egotists who have no difficulty aiding their liberal Democrat colleagues whenever their arms are politely twisted. The one thing they have in common with liberal Democrats is their dislike for all conservatives, especially those who are Bible-believing. McCain, as president, would stifle the voices of elected Republican leaders and try to legislate the conservative movement out of existence.
The last four out of five U.S. Presidents have been governors, and there is a reason for this: the challenges facing our nation require steady, experienced, executive management. As governor of Arkansas for 10½ years, I delivered on my promises to cut taxes 94 times, reduce welfare by half, reform health care for children and our education system, and transform our transportation infrastructure. My record of results, achieved with a Democrat legislature, gives a meaningful viability to my candidacy.
There are millions of Republicans from across this country who have yet to be heard from. Clearly we were disappointed by the results in Wisconsin, but I look forward to campaigning hard in Texas and Ohio this week — and taking my case before the good people of those states.
Huckabee's victories in Louisiana and Kansas, and his virtual tie with McCain in the controversial Washington state race, demonstrate his proven ability to garner votes....
If Huckabee can secure enough (Romney delegates as well as McCain-wary conservatives' support), he could become a serious challenger to McCain's dominance. Nowhere was this scenario more aptly demonstrated than with McCain's campaign itself: Resurging from near bankruptcy over the summer of 2007 to his current front-runner status. It isn't over until it's over.
Although his chances are slim, there is much merit in the Huckabee candidacy. Even if he does not secure nomination, Huckabee's continued presence sends a message to McCain that he and the Republican Party cannot afford to ignore.
Mr. Weston hasn't reached voting age. Yet he knows more about this vital election than most citizens who have.
He shames those "professional" yabberers whose petty shallowness is no more amply displayed than by their so-called complaint that the name Huckabee is too "funny sounding."
Washington. Now that's a funny sounding name if there ever was one. What's its meaning? A town where everyone goes to do their common washing? Obviously, no one with such a menial, hickish name could ever amount to anything, much less be accepted by a sophisticated American public.
Lincoln. That's even worse. It means "lake colony," for goodness' sakes. Whoever has this name better not think of running for dog catcher, much less anything higher, lest the knowing crowd brand both it and him too ridiculous to ever be what they consider "viable."
Roosevelt. Huh? With that comical name you'd be lucky if you can run fast enough from a beating on the playground. Running for public office with it? To quote our beloved sneering non-hoi polloi: You must be joking.
The idea of a U.S. president having any of these names is almost as ridiculous as that of a handful of backward colonies belonging to the British empire at its very height, all having the unprecedented presumptuousness to believe they could ever be — foolish as it may sound — "free and independent states."
Please click "Contribute" in the image below, while remembering these facts:No Demoqrat senator has ever beaten a Republican Governor in a presidential election. Also, no sitting Republican senator has ever won one besides Warren Harding in 1920, who later died in office.
When added to the responses in Part I and Part II given by the three-term State Governor who doesn't have a Washington, D.C. address but actually works for a living, and the very-señior señátor who does but soon won't be able to remember what it is, the ones that both give here clearly show why the former is much better qualified to be president than any permanent member of Qongress, and why the whole country will be much better off the day voters at last compel the latter to instead fill out this type of questionnaire, appropriately answering "AZ(tlán)" under the heading New Address.
I
n its final four questions, the American Conservative Union asks each candidate for his take on the meaning of our nation's sovereignty and how to protect it, on the conduct of our foreign affairs and diplomacy and how that conduct relates to energy, the environment, and America's economic future, and on the general strategy of our executive branch for governing America and how to implement it.
To the ACU's seventh question — "Describe your view of the meaning of American sovereignty. How would your administration approach issues related to preserving and protecting American sovereignty in the 21st century? Please provide specific examples related to such things as the World Trade Organization, the United Nations, UNESCO, international treaties, etc." — Governor Mike Huckabee (R-USA) responds,
I will never relinquish one iota or one inch of our sovereignty. I was the first presidential candidate to oppose the Law of the Sea Treaty. I don't have much faith in the U. N. except for some humanitarian missions. I oppose the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, the North American Union, and the Kyoto Treaty. I will never appoint judges who rely on foreign case law in reaching their decisions.
The bleakest contrast imaginable to the above "never" is Juan Shamnesty MqGorianDiscipleel Tercero (D-$oro$)'s weaselly response, that "putting any element of American sovereignty at risk only when the gains from doing so greatly outweigh the actual and potential costs and with appropriate safeguards" is just fine by him. Then jUaN Sovereignty's-negotiable MyFriends says, "We should start bringing democratic peoples and nations from around the world into one common organization, a worldwide League of Democracies." Nope, no New World Order Soros to see here. Move along, MoveOn along.
But before doing so, ACU would like each candidate to "describe the principles on which your Administration would conduct foreign affairs and diplomacy, relating specifically to your philosophy of the National Security Council, the State Department, as well as military affairs and the Pentagon."
My foreign policy would be based on my clear understanding that we cannot negotiate with the Islamofascists or appease them, we must eliminate them. Our biggest challenge in the Arab and Muslim worlds is the lack of a viable moderate alternative to existing repressive regimes and the extremists seeking to overthrow them. We can't "export" democracy as if it were Coca-Cola or KFC, but we can nurture moderate forces in all these countries where terrorists seek to replace modern evil with medieval evil. This moderation may not look like or function exactly like our system, it may be more of a benevolent oligarchy, it may be more tribal than individualist, but both for us and for the people of those countries, it will be better than either the dictatorships they have now or the theocracy they would have under the radical Islamists. My goal is to correctly calibrate a course between maintaining stability and promoting democracy. As for the existing terrorists, I will use the CIA and our special forces to track down and eliminate terror cells all over the world with swift, surgical air strikes and commando raids.
I want a strong National Security Council, rather than one in the pocket of either State or Defense. I don't want an administration where the State Department dominates the Defense Department or vice-versa. My generals will be independent advisers to me, always free to speak without fear of retribution or dismissal. I will give great weight to those with mud and blood on their boots, rather than the civilians in silk suits and ties. If I ever have to undertake a large invasion, I will follow the Powell Doctrine and use overwhelming force. The notion of an "occupation with a light footprint" that was our model for Iraq always struck me as a contradiction in terms. I will increase the size of our active armed forces and not rely so heavily on our National Guard and Reserves, whom we have worn out. We have to stop using our active duty forces for nation building. The State Department should be in charge and coordinate with the relevant departments, like Energy, Housing, Education, Treasury, Justice, and Transportation.
I will put a renewed emphasis on consultation with our allies and diplomacy with friends and foes — I believe in having conversations with our enemies. The wisdom of Sun-tzu from almost 2,500 years ago is relevant today: keep your friends close and your enemies closer. All of us know that when we stop talking to a parent or a friend, it's impossible to accomplish anything, impossible to resolve differences and move the relationship forward. The same is true for countries.
Consultation with allies and diplomacy isn't enough for quarter-century member of Qongress Juan Save-the-whalesy MqTreeHugger. He's still struck on his "new world global order." Of course, he tells us, "When we fight a war, we must fight to win." Sun-tzu's Michael Corleone's response: "Well... Duh!"
Speaking of trees, hugged or otherwise, the ACU is curious to find out "what principles would your administration adhere to in the realm of energy, the environment and America's economic future? How would your administration relate those principles to the philosophy and issues described in your responses to questions #7 and #8 above?"
Energy independence has become a national security issue, it is part of the war on terror. None of us would write a check to Osama bin Laden, slip it in a Hallmark card, and send it off to him. But that's what we're doing every time we pull into a gas station. We're paying for both sides in the war on terror — our side with our tax dollars, the terrorists' side with our gas dollars. The first thing I will do as President is send Congress my comprehensive energy plan. We will achieve energy independence within ten years of my inauguration.
We have to explore, we have to conserve, and we have to pursue all avenues of alternative energy: nuclear, wind, solar, hydrogen, clean coal, biodiesel, and biomass.
While I want to reduce our dependence on oil, I especially want to reduce our dependence on imported oil as fully and quickly as possible. WeneedtogetoilandgasfromANWRandourcontinentalshelves. We need safe, clean, and economical nuclear power. I would provide loan guarantees to get our nuclear industry going again and ease the process for getting these plants licensed and built.
I support the increase in fuel economy standards to an average of 35 MPG by 2020, which the Senate passed, but the House did not consider. We need more flex-fuel cars that can run on biodiesel or on E85, which is 85% ethanol, and the pumps to serve them. Right now we have six million such vehicles, but only 2,000 pumps for those fuels in a country with 170,000 gas stations. We need more hybrids and more work on hydrogen cells.
I support the requirement that 15% of our electricity be generated by renewable energy by 2020, which the House passed, but the Senate did not. About half our states already have such renewable energy standards. I would expand these standards to provide for "alternative energy" rather than "renewable energy" because that would include all "clean" sources, letting us add clean coal and nuclear to the mix. That would keep prices down for consumers, be fair to parts of the country that, for example, don't have a lot of wind, and allow us to raise the standards to an even higher percentage and do it sooner.
I believe that we must be good stewards of the earth, and I support "cap and trade" of carbon emissions, but at a reasonable level that does not adversely impact our economy. I believe that some allowances should be given out and some should be auctioned off to ease the burden on businesses. IamopposedtoacarbontaxandtotheKyototreaty.
Señior citizen señátor Juan SaveAÑWRy MqQain'tGonnaDrillÑowhere,Ñosiree III (D-Polar Bears) is a Church of Gorebull Waaalarming zealot and would never allow anyone to ever drill for any oil anywhere near his precious little "Pristine®" Arctic National Wildlife WildSnow-n-Ice Refuge — a.k.a. "a flat, treeless, almost featureless plain where the temperature can drop to -40 degrees Fahrenheit" as well as at least "the second-largest oil field ever discovered in the United States." In Señor MqGreenian's words, "The barriers to nuclear energydrilling in ANWR are political not technological." He should know, seeing how ol' MqQlimate-Change MqQain has been the leading builder in al-Qongress of those barriers.
Finally, the ACU asks, "describe your general strategy for accomplishing your objectives and goals for governing America."
I am a conservative, but I'm not angry at anybody. I believe that I would be able to work well with Congress to find the common ground that will take all of us to higher ground. The American people want action on the issues they discuss around the dinner table — issues that don't focus so much on left or right, but in lifting all of us up. I call this "vertical politics," and having practiced it both as Governor and as Chairman of the National Governors Association, I am confident I can practice it as President. I also would communicate more effectively and more often to the American people, both in general and specifically about the war on terror. I don't believe the Administration has done an adequate job explaining the theology and ideology behind Islamic terror or convincing us of their ruthless fanaticism.
In light of how openly afraid the Bush administration is of even the risk of offending any sympathizer, excuser, or more-overt supporter of fanatical Muslim terrorism, the Governor is right. That, more than anything else, is what our next president must change.
Just don't except Juan MSM-Sycophancy MqQain'tGonnaHarmNoTerrorist III (D-"World Opinion") to ever change it.
All of America already knows the only general stragedy Señor MqQain would ever promote is the same one he's been promoting all throughout his over 25 years in Qongress: promoting Señor MqQain.
It's MqQain-Voted Twice Against President Bush's Tax Cuts (Like Any "Good" Progressive Liberal Moonbat Would), MqQain-Global Warming: A Top-III Priority, MqQain-Close Down All Gun Shows, MqQain-Never Held Any Executive Office In His Life.
It's MqQain-Bow To World Opinion, MqQain-Treat All Mass Murdering Terrorists Extremely Well, MqQain-Hundred Years In Iraq.
It's MqQain-Failures, MqQain-Hurt America.
It's MqQain-Of, By, And For Just Solely MqQain III (D-MqQain).
Fortunately for this land we love, Republicans and all other Americans still have an alternative to choosing yet another looooong-timer member of Qongress. Yes, we do.
Live blogging Virginia, Maryland, and District of Columbia returns. (All times Eastern)
MarketWatch's Robert Schroeder, VA (unofficial R "9:44AM" / D "10:00AM") — VA's 2,472 precincts w/ 2,416 R (97.73%) & 2,415 D (97.69%) reporting, 4,466,215 active voters w/ 475,342 R (10.64%) & 972,964 D (21.78%) turnout:
Wed. 10:36 AM
VA
MD
DC
97.7%
025%
???%
Huckabee
39.68 188,648
28
17
MqQain
50.86 241,783
56
68
Paul
04.78 22,724
??
??
Obama
63.73 620,126
60
75
Qlinton
35.30 343,534
37
24
(MarketWatch) Clinton's deputy campaign manager, Mike Henry, resigned on Tuesday night, the Washington Post reported. That resignation came just days after Clinton replaced her longtime campaign manager Patty Solis Doyle. In another sign of the intensity of the competition between the two Democratic rivals, she also recently loaned her campaign $5 million.
RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 12 (UPI) — Barack Obama racked up another primary win Tuesday in Virginia, while John McCain Juan MqAmñesty won with a smaller margin on the Republican side.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee did well among religious and social conservatives, winning 43 percent of the vote to about 48 percent for McCain MqWrite-In-Here-We-Come with two-third of the votes counted, The Washington Post reported. [Governor] Huckabee also won more than half the independents, undermining the Arizona Aztlán señator with a group that is usually one of his strengths.
VA (unofficial R) — R-voter turnout 382,072 (8.554%) of 4,466,223 R+D+other active voters:
8:54 PM:VA unofficial R — still stuck at "8:27PM" and "62.86%" precincts reporting. Since total Republican-voter turnout is 223,601, that means roughly 83,000 votes remain uncounted. Governor Huckabee is trailingbyonly7,424votes (98,586 to MqQain's 106,010).
Maryland Result Reporting Timeline Starting at approximately 10 pm on election night, unofficial polling place results will begin to be reported by the local boards of elections once all precincts in that county have reported. * Election Night Polling Place Results - Tuesday, February 12th * Absentee 1 - Thursday, February 14th * Provisional - Tuesday, February 19th * Absentee 2 - Friday, February 22nd * Certification of Offical Election Results - no later than Tuesday, March 18th
ecure the border, in Juan ShAmnesty MqQuarter-Centery-in-Qongress III (D-AZtlán)'s view, means talk about securing the border while doing nothing at all to secure the border. In the meantime our nation's border remains unsecured, but Señor Señior Señátor — who will be 72 years old on Election Day, or nearly the same age as Bob Dole was when he badly lost the 1996 election — remains secure in his cushy Senate job to do some more... talking. Then again, what else would you expect from someone who has never held any top executive-branch office, either federal or state or even local, but has been a long-time Washington Insider who's gotten nothing at all changed for the better?
ike Huckabee, on the other hand, has held a state's top executive-branch office for 10 years — that of Governor, the same office held by the last four candidates who were elected President of the United States from outside the Washington, D.C. Beltway. Someone who's actually gotten things changed for the better —
I think that raising taxes at the federal level is probably the last thing on my agenda. Because the problem at the federal level is spending more than it is lack of revenue. But what I would do, even more importantly, is change the very tax structure, which I think would have more to do with just igniting the economy. I believe in getting rid of the current tax on productivity, whether it's productivity on work, wages... both on corporations and individuals. Also eliminate capital gains and tax on savings and dividends and inheritance. And we go to a consumption tax, completely.
who won for his state's citizens the first broad-based tax cuts in its history; who turned his state's $200 million deficit into an $850 million surplus; who cut his state's welfare role in half; who protected his state's institution of marriage from the reach of unelected social-engineering liberal judges (but I repeat myself); who protected the right of his state's citizens to keep and bear arms; who limited his state's awarding of punitive damages to $1 million in civil cases; who protected his state's gun manufacturers from frivolous lawsuits; who improved the national rank of his state's schools from 49th to 8th; who eliminated the marriage penalty and doubled the standard deduction and childcare tax credit for his state's citizens; who repealed all capital gains taxes on home sales for his state's citizens as well as lowered by a quarter their capital gains tax rate and expanded their homestead exemption; who established for his state's citizens tax-free medical care and college tuition savings accounts; and who won for his state's businesses and citizens a free trade agreement with our country's long-time ally South Korea (while Juan MqQain was voting in favor of "free" trade agreements with long-time adversaries China and Vietnam) — so much so, in fact, that even ultra-liberal Time magazine had to concede Mike Huckabee was among the Top 5 Governors in the nation.
Governor Huckabee also signed the Numbers USA "No Amnesty" Pledge as well as immigration-reform hero Senator Jeff Session's "True Immigration Reform" Pledge. (25-Year-Member of Congress Juan Amnesties-R-Us MqQain III hasn't signed either of them.)
Governor Huckabee has signed the Americans for Tax Reform's pledge not to raise taxes, too, and has vowed to totally replace the hideous IRS with the universal-prebate Fair Tax. (25-Year-Member of Congress Juan Taxcuts-Rn't-Us MqQain III hasn't signed any such pledge or made any such vow).
So it should come as no surprise that Paul Weyrich, Moral Majority co-founder and former Mitt Romney supporter, has now endorsed Governor Mike Huckabee:
I believe that the voters in this Republican nomination contest — here in Virginia and across the country — deserve a real choice. And Governor Huckabee is clearly the conservative alternative. He is the best choice, and he is my choice. So I am voting for him on Tuesday, here in Virginia.
I don't buy the idea that John McCain is a true conservative. Nor do I buy the idea that Mike Huckabee should get out of this contest. The people in the Potomac area — Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. In addition, we have many important states coming up, including my home state of Wisconsin. Folks in all those states deserve a choice a real choice.
I had been a supporter of Mitt Romney, but now I am very glad that Governor Huckabee has decided to stay in the race. I appreciate that he is staying in, just as I appreciate that Governor Huckabee and Senator McCain are not going at each other's throats — a vigorous debate about important issues is the healthiest thing possible for the Republican Party.
Governor Huckabee has articulated some very clear differences with Senator McCain: on immigration, on McCain Feingold, and also on the McCain Lieberman global warming scheme. Mike Huckabee is much more solid on the social issues, including right to life. Yes, Senator McCain says that he has a right to life record, but he can't be supportive of embryonic stem cell research and have a clear right to life record, because the right to lifers, including me, want to protect all life, from conception of natural death.
Governor Huckabee is also good on marriage, insisting that it be limited to one man and one woman. Unfortunately, Senator McCain refused to vote for the marriage amendment.
These are important differences.
By voting for Governor Huckabee, people will be telling Senator McCain and the Republican Party establishment that they better accommodate these conservatives and their heartfelt beliefs, or else they the GOP will not be able to win the general election this November. Like Governor Huckabee, I have great respect for Senator McCain, but he and his Republican Party backers have to make sure that they accommodate the base of the Republican Party.
If they don't, Senator McCain may find that the conservative grassroots won't turn out to vote this November. I know my fellow conservatives. I have been active in the conservative movement since 1960. I was an early supporter of Barry Goldwater, and I was a delegate for Ronald Reagan in 1976 and 1980. And so I remind all the Washington DC-oriented political strategists that outside-the-beltway conservatives don't have to vote for every candidate if they don't want to. They can stay home, or they can skip over some candidates. That is a very real possibility this year. I have had hundreds of people that have contacted me, telling me, "I can't vote for McCain." I hope that Senator McCain will accommodate those people, for the sake of the conservative movement, as well as the Republican Party. But to repeat: I am voting for Governor Huckabee.
The Republican Party must reach out to social conservatives, like me, and so Mike Huckabee is solid. But Mike Huckabee also appeals to working people. The Republican Party by and large ignores the concerns of these people, especially when they are hurting. Governor Huckabee is the only candidate who has consistently reached out, during this campaign, to those who are hurting. It's great for the GOP hierarchy to say that the fundamentals of the economy are sound. But it's even more important to concentrate on real people, and to look for sound conservative solutions. Mike Huckabee is one of them by his own background, and so naturally he listens to them. By voting for him, millions of ordinary Americans will make their voice heard, loud and clear.
I call upon all my fellow conservatives to get out and support Governor Huckabee. A big vote for him is the best way to send a message to Senator McCain and the Republican Establishment that this is an election, not a coronation.
In Part I, the contrasts shown between the outsider Governor's responses and those of the Washington DC-insider señior citizen señátor were both stark and bleak. Well, hold on to your trunks, fellow Republicans. They're about to get even more so.
H
ere's the meat of the matter. Each candidate's "philosophy of what it means to be a conservative President."
In answer to the American Conservative Union's fourth question — "What is conservative governance in your view and how would your philosophy manifest itself in your principles, policies, plans, and priorities as President?" — Governor Mike Huckabee (R-USA) responds,
To me conservative governance means following the "original intent" of the Founding Fathers, it means recognizing that Jefferson won the debate with Hamilton, and that we want very strong, energetic, innovative states, with government both as limited as possible and as close to the people as possible. The states should not usurp functions that can be handled locally, and the federal government should not usurp functions that can be handled by the states. An important part of being a conservative President for me would be strengthening federalism. Conservative governance also means an emphasis on personal responsibility and letting the free market function unencumbered, so that Americans have tremendous opportunity, but not a guaranteed outcome. It means smaller, more efficient government; lower government spending; lower taxes. It means keeping the government out of our lives and letting families keep as much of the money they earn and make as many of their own decisions as possible. It means allowing younger workers to have personal Social Security accounts. It means getting entitlements under control.
Nice and specific.
Then, after reading the other candidate's, we see how that meat has long since dried up on the bones of señior citizen John McCain Juan ShAmnesty MqQuisling III (D-MEX), who's painfully made clear that his idea of "limiting the reach of government" doesn't include, for him, giving his federal government the "right" to impose itself between us and our once-legal aspirations to freely speak out before our elections against decades-long backstabbing incumbents like himself. No philosophy of "government that governs least governs best" need ever apply when it comes to his abridging our right of speech — "free exercise of the rights and responsibilities of liberty" be damned. Neither does it apply at all when he wants to have practically unlimited government imposition on and abridgment of our rights of assembly and engagement in lawful commerce whenever we hold any gun shows. In MqBackstabber's MqWorld, government that governs most governs best for him then. These render the remainder of Juan Skipout MqQain't's response no more than another laundry list of empty platitudes.
The contrasts further widen with the answers to the fifth set of questions — "What are the most important governing principles that you would rely upon as the framework for your presidency? Describe how those principles would guide your decision-making process in conducting the affairs of the nation as President. Relate each of your governing principles to the U.S. Constitution and the vision of the Founding Fathers."
Governor Huckabee's:
I believe that our rights come from God, not from our government; that the people should retain as much power and be left alone as much as possible; that the federal government should not do what can be done at the local or state level; that our government belongs to the people, not the lobbyists and special interests; that government at all levels exists to serve the people and not the other way around; that we must respect the separation of powers and no branch should usurp the authority of another; that my greatest responsibility is to protect the American people from all threats; that the free market, low taxes, and minimal regulation are the keys to economic growth and prosperity; that Americans are owed equal opportunity, but not an equal outcome; that we are a culture of life and recognize that each individual has intrinsic value and worth; that we are only as strong as our families; that we owe a huge debt to those who have given their lives for this country to protect the freedoms and way of life for which they sacrificed.
I would weigh all of my decisions in the context of those principles to assure that I am doing the right thing and not the popular or expedient thing. I will always err on the side of protecting life, strengthening our families, and protecting our citizens and our country from possible threats to their safety.
The Founding Fathers shared my vision that our rights come from God. I share their concern that we never become victims of tyranny, and I will scrupulously honor the separation of powers and checks and balances they conceived for us and will staunchly defend all of our individual rights, including the Second Amendment, which some don't take as seriously as our other rights. I will appoint judges who will uphold the original intent of the Founding Fathers and preserve their wisdom.
Señior citizen of Aztlán Señátor MqFraud, on the other hand, when he's not skipping out on over half our Senate's votes, can't get past his particular brand of "respecting" even our First Amendment. That is, with his outright breach of all the "personal, political, and economic freedoms" that our Founding Fathers meant for it to protect.
Next the ACU asks, "Discuss your philosophy of and vision for the federal government in the 21st Century — its structure, personnel, operations and functions. What are the innovations you envision to modernize and restructure the federal government in keeping with the governing principles you described in your response to question #5 above?"
Governor Huckabee's response:
The federal government must be as small and efficient as possible. We must cut and consolidate by ruthlessly ferreting out unnecessary or duplicative functions and positions. Appointees must be chosen entirely on their credentials and not their crony connections, they should inspire and raise the morale of those who work under them by their dedication and professionalism. I strongly support reviving the line-item veto in a way that will pass constitutional muster.
Then the Governor does what none of señátor Juan "F*ck You!" MqBadtemper's fellow Washington DC-insider politicians ever bothers to do. He specifically tells us how:
I would always question whether some of the functions the federal government performs should be done by government at all and whether some of those functions that should be performed can be returned to the states and localities. For example, if states want tougher standards to protect their chemical plants from a terror attack, I would not support the federal government pre-empting those standards. I wouldn't walk into the Oval Office and assume that the government I find is the government we should have. I would always seek to eliminate and to consolidate. I would have outside experts review each department because no cabinet secretary is ever going to tell me that his budget should be cut. I would make certain that the government has the same resources as our top corporations — that the FBI, for example, finally has the state-of-the-art computer system that it needs to face 21st century threats.
When Congress put FEMA in the Department of Homeland Security, they moved its director too far down the food chain. I will restore FEMA to cabinet status, so that the Director reports directly to me. I will reassess and strengthen the focus and mission of the Department of Homeland Security. The Department brought together 180,000 people from 22 agencies. Its size and structure are unwieldy and inefficient. We must create a leaner structure with a passionate esprit de corps dedicated to identifying threats and foiling attacks.
I will fight to enact the Fair Tax, a simple tax on consumption, which would eliminate all existing federal taxes, personal and corporate, and eliminate the IRS. The Fair Tax will reward productivity instead of punishing it. The Fair Tax will lower the lifetime tax burden on all Americans: single or married; working or retired; rich, poor or middle class — no more tax loopholes for those with high-priced lawyers and lobbyists, no more tax evasion by the underground economy. The Fair Tax will take embedded corporate taxes out of the prices we pay, so everything we buy will be cheaper.
This reform is needed to make us competitive globally, so that instead of exporting our jobs and even whole industries, we will export our goods. Other countries rebate taxes on their exports, giving their products an advantage of about 18% on the world market compared to our goods. We are the square peg trying to fit into the round hole of international trade. The rest of the world isn't going to change — it's time that we do. Under the Fair Tax, trillions of dollars that have been moved offshore for tax reasons will come home. American companies will be far less likely to move overseas and foreign companies will be far more likely to come here, hiring Americans to build and work in their new plants. We can become the world's tax haven.
What would the septuagenarian señátor for the North American Union, Juan "Say No To Borders" MqFluke do? Why, he'll make sure that bureaucrats "issue public progress reports" — as if we don't have enough of those; he'll "rely on... a free and informed citizenry to help me" — although he never bothered paying any attention to them before; and he'll make bureaucrats behave less bureaucratically — and the leprechauns among them will all turn in their pots of gold at the end of the rainbow and start driving hay-efficient pink unicorns to "work," too.
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won the Louisiana Republican primary on Saturday, notching up another Southern victory in his bid to become the party's presidential candidate in the November general election, CNN projected early Sunday.
T
he 20 delegates from Louisiana "will attend the Republican National Convention officially unpledged" since no candidate received over 50%. TheGreenPapers.com:
If a candidate receives a majority (more than 50%) of the statewide vote, that candidate is allocated 20 delegates.
Otherwise, the 20 delegates will attend the Republican National Convention officially unpledged to any candidate. These delegates will be elected at the State Convention [on Saturday, February 16] where the participants at the State Convention will alone determine if presidential preference is to be a factor in such choice and, if so, how it is to be applied.
Washington state officials have paused the counting with 83% of the total tallied. They will resume and finish the count later this morning.
Update (10:10 AM)
"Romney's conservative support has switched to Huckabee." AP:
Huckabee wins two, McCain wins [if you call ~25% of the vote a "win"] one
Washington (AP) [Septuagenarian señátor from Aztlán] John McCain Juan Shamnesty MqQain III has flunked his first ballot test....
A persistent [Governor] Mike Huckabee beat him in two of the three GOP contests Saturday. The preacher and former Arkansas governor captured nearly 60 percent of the vote in the caucuses in Kansas.
[Governor Huckabee] also won in Louisiana, although McCain MqQain scored a narrow victory [~25% of the vote's a "victory"?] in Washington state....
Exit polls yesterday show McCainMqQain remains very unpopular among Republicans who consider themselves very conservative.... Saturday's vote indicates most of [Governor] Romney's conservative support has switched to [Governor] Huckabee.
It's obvious that had Governor Willard Mitt Romney dropped out before South Carolina instead of lingering on and siphoning off votes from Governor Huckabee, the latter would've handily won South Carolina (Governor Huckabee almost beat Señior [citizen of Ari- Mexizona] Señátor MqQain there, coming within 3 percentage points of doing so), may have won Florida, and certainly would've easily won Missouri (8,000 votes were all that El Ol' MqQain "won" by) and who knows how many other states.
It's also obvious the señior señátor from Aztlán cannot win in the South, where an energetic and youthful Senator Barack Hussein Obama is already very, very strong, and where Governor Huckabee has repeatedly beaten him.
Clearly the Geriatric Gringo™, even with his illegal-alien "voting" block, would hand the Republican Party its worst presidential defeat since Juan Shamnesty MqQain III's birth over 70 years ago.
For the good of the party, Señior Señátor MqQain should gracefully drop out of the race now before he does even more damage to the GOP.
Reuters — 62% for Governor Huckabee, 22% for señior citizen (of Aztlán) Señátor MqQain.
Huckabee wins Kansas Republican presidential race
OVERLAND PARK, Kansas (Reuters) - Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won the Kansas contest on Saturday to choose a Republican U.S. presidential candidate, chalking up another victory after a strong showing in the South earlier in the week, U.S. media projected.
Today at 10 AM is the Kansas GOP Caucus. We need your support. Please caucus for Gov. Huckabee today and bring your friends, family and neighbors (they must be registered Republicans) to the Caucus.
The caucus will be called to order at 10:00 AM. Johnson, Shawnee, and Sedgwick county will begin check-in at 9:00 AM. Check-in will begin at 9:30 AM everywhere else.
Bring your state issued photo ID (like a driver's license) to the caucus in your county or the caucus location in your congressional district that is most convenient for you.
If you have your voter registration card, bring it with you. Showing your voter registration card will speed up the check-in process.
Be prepared for lines during the check-in process. Each voter will have to have their registration verified. Plan to arrive prior to 10:00 AM to allow time for check-in.
Remember, in order to participate, you have to be a registered Republican by January 25, 2008.
Houston Chronicle: Dr. James Dobson on Thursday "criticized McCain El MqQain for his support of embryonic stem cell research, his opposition to a federal anti-gay marriage amendment and for his temper and use of foul language. He said he'd sit out the presidential election if McCain El MqQain were the nominee."
And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
Genesis 4:8-12
But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
I am endorsing Gov. Mike Huckabee for President of the United States today. My decision comes in the wake of my statement on Super Tuesday that I could not vote for Sen. John McCain, even if he goes on to win the Republican nomination. His record on the institution of the family and other conservative issues makes his candidacy a matter of conscience and concern for me.
That left two pro-family candidates whom I could support, but I was reluctant to choose between them. However, the decision by Gov. Mitt Romney to put his campaign "on hold" changes the political landscape. The remaining candidate for whom I could vote is Gov. Huckabee. His unwavering positions on the social issues, notably the institution of marriage, the importance of faith and the sanctity of human life, resonate deeply with me and with many others. That is why I will support Gov. Huckabee through the remaining primaries, and will vote for him in the general election if he should get the nomination. Obviously, the governor faces an uphill struggle, given the delegates already committed to Sen. McCain. Nevertheless, I believe he is our best remaining choice for President of the United States.
More from the Houston Chronicle:
By ERIC GORSKI AP Religion Writer
Dr. James Dobson, Founder of the Focus on the Family [and] one of the nation's most prominent evangelical Christian leaders, backed Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee's presidential bid Thursday night, giving the former Arkansas governor a long-sought endorsement as the Republican field narrowed to a two-man race....
In a statement first obtained by The Associated Press, Dobson reiterated his declaration on Super Tuesday that he could not in good conscience vote for John McCain Juan El MqBackstabber, the front-runner, because of concerns over the Arizona senator'sNation of Aztlán señator's conservative [sic(k)] credentials....
[Dr.] Dobson called [Governor] Huckabee on Thursday before issuing the endorsement, said Gary Schneeberger, a [Dr.] Dobson['s] spokesman....
[Governor] Huckabee had long sought [Dr.] Dobson's endorsement, believing he is the best fit to advance [Dr.] Dobson's conservative, moral world view. Until now, [Dr.] Dobson had never endorsed a GOP presidential hopeful during the primary campaign....
[Dr.] Dobson is easily the biggest-name evangelical endorsement [Governor] Huckabee has earned....
John Green, a senior fellow with the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, said [Dr.] Dobson's endorsement can help [Governor] Huckabee in upcoming Southern states — Louisiana votes Saturday....
"Dr. Dobson is well known for sticking to his guns. It doesn't surprise me this late in the game he would make an announcement like this because it fits in well with what he's been saying. He really doesn't want a moderate Republican nominee, he wants a conservative."
[Dr.] Dobson emphasizes that when he endorses candidates, he is doing so as a private citizen and not as a representative of Focus on the Family, a tax-exempt organization he founded. His endorsement of Huckabee was to be e-mailed to 110,000 people through Focus on the Family Action, a separate entity that is allowed to be more politically active, Schneeberger said.
Click "Contribute" in the image below, while remembering this fact:No Demoqrat senator has ever beaten a Republican Governor in a presidential election.
Bonus fact:No sitting Republican senator has ever won a presidential election besides Warren Harding in 1920, who later died in office.
ny answer to the American Conservative Union's first quesiton — "Why do you want to be President?" — is always and unavoidably fraught with platitudes, so it's not as helpful as the second — "What is your mission statement for America and the three most important goals you intend to achieve as President?"
Governor Mike Huckabee's answer:
America's mission is to retain our military, economic, and moral supremacy. To retain our military supremacy, we must increase the size of our active armed forces and increase our defense budget back up to the 6% of GDP it was under President Reagan. We must continue with the anti-missile defense system and fight nuclear proliferation and acquisition of any nuclear materials and knowledge by terrorists.
Señior Señator Juan MqQain's, still stuck in the platitudinal deliveries of his first answer, isn't as particular. While Señor Amnesty (D-MEX) generally says he wants to make us more secure, Governor Huckabee (R-USA) specifies how.
With regard to America retaining her economic supremacy, Governor Huckabee continues to be specific:
We need to reform our tax system by abolishing our existing personal and corporate tax system and moving to the Fair Tax, which will make our businesses more competitive overseas, bring home trillions of dollars that have moved off-shore for tax reasons, and bring foreign investors here. We need to reform our education system to give our students the knowledge, skills, and creativity they need for the jobs of this century. We need to reform our health care system to move from an employer-based system to a consumer-based system that will free our businesses from the burden of health care costs, focus on prevention rather than intervention, and allow Americans to own their health care. I want to lead the technological breakthroughs that will allow us not only to end our dependence on fossil fuels and clean up this planet, but also sell those technologies all over the world.
Euthanize the IRS. Modernize our education. Individualize our own health care. By contrast, Señior Señator MqQain wants to euthanize mistrust, modernize entitlements, and individualize handouts.
Governor Huckabee continues:
To retain our moral supremacy, we must champion our culture of life, which stands in stark juxtaposition to the terrorists' culture of death, and we must protect and strengthen our families.
Señor Open Borders, meanwhile, is more worried about a "worthy political process."
The next set of questions — "Describe your education and preparation to serve as President. Who and what have informed your intellectual preparation to be President? What has practically prepared and informed you to be President?" — also yields a contrast between the specific and the vague.
Right off the bat Governor Huckabee can name more than a few who've informed his intellectual preparation:
Phyllis Schlafly, Paul Weyrich, Howard Phillips, Francis Schaeffer, C. S. Lewis, Thomas Sowell, George Will, and William F. Buckley, Jr.
Señor Keating V's, on the other hand, has been informed by Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan, and Ronald Reagan. Oh, and also Ronald Reagan.
As for his particular preparation to be our next president, Governor Huckabee points to a wealth of specifically relevant, hands-on experience:
Being Governor provides the best preparation for being President because it's executive experience. In Congress, you can pass the buck 535 times, no one is really responsible for anything. As a Governor, you have to lead, you have to balance budgets and provide services to your people. I led the effort to reform our education, economic, and health systems to gain high-paying jobs, high-achieving schools, and high-quality health care, all with a legislature that was overwhelmingly Democrat.
Although Señor MqQain emphasizes the fact he heard a speech in 1974 by — you guessed it — Ronald Reagan, Governor Huckabee provides much more substantive evidence of personal top-executive leadership:
I cut taxes 94 times, including the first broad-based tax cuts in Arkansas history. I eliminated the marriage penalty and capital gains on home sales. I doubled the standard deduction and the child care tax credit. I left office with a surplus of almost $850 million, setting the stage for additional tax cuts. I led the successful effort to amend our state constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. I make Arkansas only the third state to adopt "covenant marriage." I passed all the pro-life legislation I could — banning partial birth abortion, requiring parental notification, requiring informed consent before an abortion, requiring the option of anesthesia for the baby during an abortion, allowing a woman to give birth and leave her baby safely at a hospital, and making it a crime to injure or murder an unborn baby.
As Chairman of the National Governors Association, I had the opportunity to change national policy. When I became Chairman, Medicaid spending had passed spending on elementary and secondary education to become the largest single item in state budgets. Through patient but persistent negotiation, I got the governors to agree unanimously on a plan and then got the plan through Congress. Our plan didn't just save the taxpayers money, it made basic care available to more people and gave the states more authority to design and administer their programs, since we know the needs of our citizens better than the federal government does. Also during my chairmanship, the National Governors Association took my Healthy Arkansas Initiative and turned it into the Healthy America Initiative, promoting wellness and health care savings through good nutrition, exercise, avoiding tobacco, and maintaining proper weight.
Hurricane Katrina prepared me to be President because it gave me experience in crisis management, when I directed the rescue and relief of 75,000 people. As Governor, I had dealt with severe ice storms, tornadoes, and other emergencies within Arkansas, but Katrina was a major national disaster, one of the worst in our history. The scale and scope of that undertaking was the type of challenge I will face as President, and I met that challenge. Even though these people were displaced by a hurricane, the results were the same as if Al Qaeda had blown up the levees, so it was experience relevant to coping with a terrorist attack as well.
We had plenty of state facilities, like armories we could have used — big, cavernous, impersonal places — but to me that wasn't housing people, that was warehousing them. In looking for alternatives, I thought of our church and scout camps, which had just closed for the season, and I invited their leaders to my office to ask if they would re-open for us. Not a single one said no. I had a clear vision of how I wanted to welcome and care for these people: they were beyond hungry, thirsty, dirty, and exhausted, they had been traumatized and dehumanized, and we brought them back to life. I have been tested, and I have proven my ability to provide creative, decisive, and effective leadership during a major catastrophe. My crisis management ability is one of the reasons Time magazine named me one of America's five best governors.
Governor Huckabee successfully led the State of Arkansas for over a decade. The largest thing Señor Class Warfare has ever managed to lead, besides a committee in Qongress, is the Replacement Air Group training squadron in sunny Jacksonville, Florida for three years.
The above are just the first three sets of American Conservative Union questions. Answers to the remaining seven, which draw an equally stark contrast in experience and abilities between the State Governor and the Señior Señator, will be covered in future parts.
to the "Huckabee Wants To Be Veep Because We Just Know So Because We're So Bloody Smart We Can Actually Read Bloody Minds Now Or, More Likely, We Figure By Starting This Bloody Rumor We'll Bloody Sink Him Good Now"™ vicious- and desperate-sounding professional blatherers in the media especially.
I
pledge—
That if either Juan Shamnesty "MqMy MqFriends" MqQain MqQennedy III of Arizona Aztlana or Willfraud Mitt-Mott Rhoney of Massoqueeretts is chosen the Republican presidential nominee, I will, on November 4, write in on my ballot the names of John David Ashcroft of Missouri and Condoleezza Rice of the District of Columbia, respectively, for President and Vice President of the United States of America;
That I will not forget either the fact no sitting Republican senator has ever won a presidential election besides Warren Gamaliel Harding of Ohio, who died in office, or the fact no Republican governor from a Northeastern state has ever won one at all;
That I will vote in the general election for Michael Dale Huckabee of Arkansas if and only if he is chosen the Republican presidential nominee;
That I will vote for John David Ashcroft of Missouri if, by some miracle, the Republican Party comes to its senses and instead choses him its presidential nominee; and
That I will vote for only the most conservative Republican candidates in the upcoming congressional and state primaries.
Huckabee wins Georgia, third-largest Super Tuesday prize
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) has surprised pundits by winning four states on Super Tuesday, picking up three wins in the South, where he was expected to run strongly, and capturing West Virginia.
Huckabee was declared the winner in Georgia shortly before 11 pm EST, grabbing the third biggest Republican prize of Super Tuesday. The Peach State trails only California and New York in number of delegates awarded. Huckabee’s victory will give him at least 30 of the state’s at-large delegates as well as the bulk of 39 delegates awarded on the basis of performance in each of its 13 congressional districts.
Huckabee also won in Alabama, Arkansas, and West Virginia, outpacing one-time frontrunner Mitt Romney (R), and he was leading in Missouri and Tennessee.
In the three-candidate GOP race, Huckabee got 36.2 percent of the vote. U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona received 29.8 percent and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had 24.5 percent.
Update (10:00 PM)
Obama also wins Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, and Kansas. (Reuters).
Update (10:20 PM)
Obama wins Connecticut, North Dakota, and Utah. (Reuters).
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