McCain wants to play nice with terrorists, Huck wants to pardon everybody, and it’s Giuliani who is a RINO? Rudy will personally torture high value terrorist suspects on live TV in prime time, and would probably personally conduct executions. Voting for a fool merely because he agrees with your theology is an abomination and no less than Martin Luther realized this. Rudy is hardline where it matters and he will appoint justices and officials that are solid on guns and the economy.

How is discussing Huckabee’s record a “gotcha” story?

By the context and manner in which it is discussed.

This isn’t a very difficult thing to understand and it certainly is “rational” to call for LEGITIMATE discussions about the candidates record. I’ve made that very clear in my posts. What I object to is the way Huckabee and Romney, in particular, are being raked over the coals by those who are attempting to force Rudy on us. Things like the Dumond case are dredged up while Rudy’s explanations on why he should appeal to social conservatives are being left behind.

I’m not satisfied with Rudy’s assurances about where he stands on the issues but none of that discussion is going on because of all the hysteria that a Mormon might become President and employs a company that employs illegals….or an Arkansas governor calls himself a Christian leader and has a record of granting clemecy. There needs to be balance in this time of debate and dialogue.

Sorry if you think it irrational to expect more discussion about SCOTUS appointments than lawn care services but that’s just me. I’m sure there is an audience for the gotcha discussions but I’m simply not going to play that game.

I have no idea what you want here, but it doesn’t seem very rational.

Now, he’s the national front runner, and we’ve only got a short time before the election.

Esthier on December 6, 2007 at 9:43 AM

His campaign is on the upswing in a race that looked like the only options were which social liberal from the Northeast was going to be forced down the throats of conservative voters……but that hardly makes him the national frontrunner (on the basis of a couple polls).

I can’t help but note that you completely dismissed the substantive portion of my post and, instead, concentrated on telling me why it’s perfectly acceptable to pile on Huckabee. Maybe in your zeal to be snarky you missed this part:

What is a valid concern and question is how Huckabee views the legal system and capital punishment. I suspect that the minister in him doesn’t agree with harsh sentences. Is this an indication that Huckabee, like Carter, would be soft when it comes to issues like national defense or border security? I suspect that it does. That debate/dialogue is far removed from this constant drumbeat of “gotcha” stories designed specifically to discredit Huckabee

I don’t want a President that is soft on crime but I want to base my decision on something more than gotcha stories making the rounds before the primaries even begin. Care to make any sort of comment about THAT?

Not piling on? I’d hate to see it when the candidates are intentionally treated unfairly! Story after story, day after day, of nothing but rampant speculation and insinuation without any sort of substantive “proof” that the candidate is as evil as presented!

Give me a break. This guy was a relative unknown until the recent debate and was left alone completely while all the other candidates had stories like this brought out.

Now, he’s the national front runner, and we’ve only got a short time before the election.

The other is a belief in “redemption.”

And that’s why he scares many of us.

It’s one thing to believe in redemption. It’s another to put innocent lives at risk for that belief.

It’s my opinion that if a government can’t keep its people safe, then that government is completely useless.

I think the comparison of clemency by state is absurd. Each state has its own laws, own processes. Each case has its own particular set of circumstances. Commutations and pardons are not akin to letting all the killers go free as has been implied in much of the coverage of the Dumond case. It simply isn’t relevant to lump all this stuff into a single number and declare that Huckabee must be the Devil’s spawn because his number is higher than everybody elses!

What is a valid concern and question is how Huckabee views the legal system and capital punishment. I suspect that the minister in him doesn’t agree with harsh sentences. Is this an indication that Huckabee, like Carter, would be soft when it comes to issues like national defense or border security? I suspect that it does. That debate/dialogue is far removed from this constant drumbeat of “gotcha” stories designed specifically to discredit Huckabee for reasons that are not evident on the surface. We need an honest debate on the candidates not this sub rosa campaigning for particular candidates by character assassination and absurd comparisons of “what the other governors were doing!”

I’ll end with this one final thought that relates to the Dumond case. Whatever role Governor Huckabee had in the process is somewhat irrelevant when the state’s parole system is clearly flawed. The parole board’s granting parole on the basis that Dumond would leave the state is absolutely outrageous. If Dumond wasn’t a threat, why would he have to leave the state? Perhaps some of that clemency shown by Huckabee was based on a broken judicial system and nothing more.

Now who is Dicky Morris going to schlep for? I hope not Fred.

That last guy better make his peace, ’cause Chuck Norris will not be denied…

Huck may well whip out the WWJD defense, but it won’t work.

If Huck goes up in the polls, get ready for the “soft on crime” attack ads.

Huckabee isn’t a conservative… he’s a religious progressive.

Lehosh on December 5, 2007 at 11:15 PM

Agreed

Having a conscience is one thing, having a guilty conscience that forgives murderers or proposes to spend American tax-dollars on things like college-tuition for illegal immigrants -is another thing, entirely
Medicated on December 5, 2007 at 10:55 PM

Well said

Guilt is the life force of liberalism. Responsibility is the foundation of conservatism

Clue to the guilt driven liberals who want to give away the store in my name, it is your guilt, not mine. I take responsibility for my own sins. You answer for yours. I will pay a policeman to shoot you if your sins hurt others but I won’t pay to sop up your guilt. Anyone who wants to give away my beloved country to sop up their guilt is my enemy. This is my home. Do not mess it up Huckster.

FloatingRock on December 5, 2007 at 11:24 PM

No, as much of a liberty minded guy as I am, the rest of his record is awful, I don’t need to embellish his record to show he’s a baaaaad choice.

I’m really not trying to pile on the guy.

Good job AP. Keep up the good work of “not piling on”. With friends of Huck like yourself, I’d hate to meet his true enemies.

Oh yeah, I forgot…Huck deserves every bit of the scorn directed at him. His soul will undoubtably direct him to forgive and forget, unlike the voters, who will never forget.

I still think he looks like an uglier Kevin Spacey.

At the rate at which the revelations about his record are coming, I’d be surprised if Huckabee hangs on to even a third of the support he’s getting right now from most-Christian-flavor-of-the-month voters by the middle of January.

Watch for Huck’s social con support to dry up in the coming weeks and for Iowa to go to Romney without any serious competition from Huckabee.

First rule of holes, governor. Allahpundit provides an outstanding timeline of this piece by Murray Waas. The Waas story is long, so grab a cup of coffee and start reading. I think AP is right – if Huckabee had admitted……

Huckabee isn’t a conservative… he’s a religious progressive.
Lehosh on December 5, 2007 at 11:15 PM

I second that. At NRO, Jonah Goldberg has taken to describing him as a rightwing progressive, which is also accurate. He is definitely more in tune with William Jennings Bryan than Ronald Reagan.

Also, this talk from commenters (and others) about him being OK for VP, please remember something. An elected VP is presumptively the next nominated candidate from the party. Do we really want to go through this all over again in 8 years?

Goodnight, Huck.

GOA seems to like him, and they’re pretty absolutist on 2A issues.

Bad Candy on December 5, 2007 at 11:01 PM

Considering Huck’s soft spot for criminals I’m surprised he’s a strong second amendment supporter… not that it changes my opinion of him.

Huck and Rudy are the two leading Republican candidates, not RINOs. Perhaps it’s you who is out of step with the party.

Big S on December 5, 2007 at 10:57 PM

Having two liberal parties is a scary thought, but you may be right. I only hope that it’s a short lived response to the tumultuous times we live in and that at some point in the not too distant future, before it’s too late to preserve America, people will realize that Conservative principles are the only thing that can save us from a cruel and dangerous world.