comMITTed to Romney!

Before you pull the lever for John McCain on Super Tuesday, please consider the following information first. As a Mitt Romney supporter, I would prefer to convince people why they should vote for my candidate, rather than against John McCain. However, I’ve tried this approach for the past 18 months, but people haven’t been able to get past his religion or the false impression that he’s a flip-flopper. As governor, Romney never contradicted a position he campaigned for in 2002 and while he did change his stance on abortion, he upheld his campaign promises throughout the end of his term. You can trust that the stances he is taking for America (which are decidedly different than the needs of Massachusetts in 2002), will be consistently adhered to while he is in office.

McCain on the other hand consistently changes positions, or blatantly lies about his record and the records of others. As accounts continue to surface about his private dealings with fellow legislators, staffers, and other private individuals, it is abundantly clear that John McCain is concerned about the one thing he’s always been concerned about—himself.

Perhaps you’ve resigned yourself to the “electability” argument, and believe that John McCain is the only Republican who could win in November. McCain will be the first one to tell you not to trust polls that come out 6 months before an election (just look at last July’s polling data for McCain). Additionally, you give the Democrats too much credit. As the economy and budget woes worsen, neither Hillary Clinton nor Barak Obama has any credibility to solve this impending crisis. On this issue alone, John McCain would be much easier to beat than Romney since he can’t run effectively on the economy. If we nominate John McCain, it will be like nominating Bob Dole all over again (and he was supposed to be the most electable at the time).

For all you know, everything I have just said could simply be made up charges for political reasons. So I ask you to take a look at the whole picture of John McCain’s life and his accelerated advancement through the naval ranks—in spite of his poor record and actions unbecoming of a Naval officer. As you read the following story of McCain’s Naval record, compare this with Mitt Romney and answer the following questions:

· Both had influential fathers, what did this give them in life?
· Both were accepted to prestigious universities, what did they do with that opportunity?
· Both had careers that ended in high-profile positions. How did they get there?
· How do their personal and family lives compare?
· What kind of people do they associate themselves with?
· What have these two candidate shown that they are good at?

More »

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It’s still the economy

There, I said it. Last night’s debate once again proved that McCain and Huckabee have no sense on the economy. Are you kidding me? A cap and trade system with no limit to the taxes it imposes on the U.S.? Who does McCain represent, anyway? Mitt continues to show that despite good sounding proposals from the other candidates, his knowledge of the economy trumps their half-baked solutions. Want to solve global warming? McCain’s approach taxes U.S. citizens without a cap for a problem we’re only a part of. Want to stimulate the economy? Huckabee’s solution of using infrastructure projects sounds good, but as Mitt points out, they take years to develop. These are insights that McCain and Huckabee couldn’t come to on their own, suggesting their programs as President would continue to have similar flaws. As usual Mitt’s responses were the most thoughtful, substantive and intelligent. For me, in my relatively few 41 years, I saw Reagan take office with little foreign policy experience and end up winning the cold war. McCain’s Vietnam experience was 30-40 years ago and not as relevant now. Mitt would be a fantastic commander-in-chief. But I’m not ready to see John McCain try to run an economy he barely understands, taking risks with my pocket-book along the way while collecting his government salary and living off his wife’s riches. Mitt’s lived in the real economy and has had to perform in a real job, as well as in government. He’s lived in both worlds; McCain has lived in one, out of touch with me and mine.

Kudos to My Wife

Kudos to my wife for finding the following useful information pre-Super Tuesday:

1. Someone on a Canadian website calls it like it is for U.S. Republicans and their choice of Mitt vs. Mac. This person isn’t even a Mitt fan, but recognizes the choice of McCain would be disastrous. If you’re a Republican reading this, whether conservative or moderate, think about John McCain essentially having free-reign to sign bills into law that a liberal Democratic Congress sends to his desk. Do you think he’d stick with Republican ideals? I really don’t think so as his record indicates otherwise.

2. The National Review seems to remain a voice of reason on Mitt vs. Mac. McCain’s coronation is pre-mature. Sure we would have liked to have had Florida, and we’d have been saying the same things about our being a front-runner if we’d won. But the truth would have been, as it is now, that Mitt’s leading in a number of Super Tuesday states, and the race is unlikely to be decided even afterward. See this link for recent analysis from National Review Online.

Super Tuesday: Who Wins Your Confidence?

With 23 states and, as I recall, a thousand or so delegates up for grabs Tuesday, McCain’s “imposing” lead is how many? Twenty-eight whole delegates, according to CNN. This race is not about those delegates, but about winning the 40X that amount available Tuesday. And even then, the GOP nominee still won’t be decided. This cite is from USA Today:

There will be more than 1,000 Republican delegates at stake on Feb. 5, enough to give a candidate a substantial boost toward the 1,191 needed to win the nomination — but only if one man emerges victorious in numerous states.

“I think you could have two or three viable (GOP) candidates” following Super Tuesday, said Ohio Republican Chairman Robert Bennett.

“Somebody’s going to have some big wins, but you’re going to go into March 4, and you’re not going to have an apparent (GOP) nominee,” Bennett said.

So the race is still up for grabs.

If you’re a California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, etc. etc. voter voting this Tuesday, and you’re choosing between Mitt and Mac, think about who’d you rather have trying to stem the tide from a Democratic Congress: Mitt Romney, the consistent choice of the conservatives in every state so far, or John McCain, choice of the liberals.

Don’t think it matters? Remember the recent debate about expanding SCHIP, the welfare program Congress wanted to expand by multiple billions of dollars? Democrats in Congress passed it, but who stood in the way? President Bush. Without his veto pen, we’d be looking to foot that tax bill now when it’s become clear that tax rebates are required to stimulate the economy, and not huge welfare projects that increase the deficit. When the next bill comes to the desk of the President, and we know it will come, are we confident McCain would vote according to Republican principles? If you think so, think again: McCain was one of two Senators to vote against the Bush tax cuts (McCain admits he was wrong, but if he’d had his way the economy would have been tanked); illegal immigration (McCain supported a permanent residence for illegals, and now only partially admits he was wrong and has assumed Mitt’s position on securing the border); campaign finance reform (he’d do it again); global warming (bad approach, and he’s a co-author). It’s nice to admit when you’re wrong, but it’s even better not to be wrong in the first place on issues that will cost us billions. On issues as complicated as the economy, and even on national security, we need an intelligent man who can figure out what to do before he forms an opinion.

We are not alone.

All us Mittsters, and those who feel they align with Mitt but aren’t sure about voting for him due to the press’ coronation of McCain, should realize that there are a lot of people out there that are looking at Mitt vs. Mac for the first time, whether because they left Fred or Giuliani, because they realize Huckabee isn’t going to win (just look at the Ron Paul-like marginalization of Huckabee in last night’s debate) or whether they just can’t stomach McCain and his liberal past, and Mitt will win among principled Republican voters. Let’s also remind ourselves of the hundreds of thousands that have already voted for Mitt: the total number of voters who have decided 1st vs. 2d in Iowa, NH and FL has been very small. I’d be interested in seeing what the current popular vote count is (the difference between McCain and Mitt is not large). And if we work to get Mitt more delegates than McCain on Super Tuesday, McCain’s 28 delegate lead will recede into memory.

No Scaling Back Now

Some reporting went on this morning about Mitt scaling back advertising, but the National Review pointed to this article at Yahoo to the contrary.

McCain Stole Florida

For those of you first-time readers, you should realize that John McCain’s apparent momentum (all of 5% of the voters in Florida) was the result of what many have reported to be dirty politics. In 2000 McCain got am-Bushed in South Carolina with lies and innuendo. The people who did it to him worked for George Bush, and now work for McCain. And they pulled a similar trick last weekend: they purposefully distorted Mitt’s record supporting the surge and as Massachusetts governor. Issues aside about the actual record (both issues are Mitt strengths), many media outlets have continued to ask McCain about this (including in the debate last night) because it takes a real contortionist to come up with an argument that McCain was using “straight talk,” and Mitt of course called McCain on it. The media then said the fight was getting “nasty,” but in reality it was Mitt responding to lies about his positions. The resulting swing, based on McCain’s untruth’s and the public’s perception of the race getting ugly, turned some in McCain’s favor. Of course it’s ugly to call someone dishonest, but it’s even uglier if that claim is true. In addition there were reports of lots of mis-deeds reported elsewhere on this site. Bottom line: don’t be fooled by the reported “momentum.” The margin of victory wasn’t significant, conservatives are voting for Mitt, many when faced with Mitt vs. Mac are repulsed by the latter, and, last but not least, the most qualified candidate is still Mitt Romney, who hasn’t resorted to the sorts of dishonesty as McCain has.

Huckabee Supporters’ Coming Crisis of Conscience

If you’re a Huckabee supporter, I believe you have a real crisis of conscience developing. Should you support Mike, who represents your views on social issues but is unlikely to get beyond Tuesday, or do you bet on Mitt or Mac. With McCain’s less than solid record on social issues (other posters help me out here), you may want to consider whether you’d be comfortable with McCain as the candidate. Mitt may be your only choice for a real, pro-life, pro-family, anti-gay marriage candidate. It’s been nice to have Mike in the race I’m sure, as he probably looks like folks you know and see in church on Sunday. But who’s closer to your real ideals, Mitt or McCain? I believe it’s Mitt, and would encourage you to really think about who you’re voting for Tuesday. Damaging Mitt for Mac’s gain is counter-productive to your real concerns, and I believe it’s time to switch horses. It looks like Fred Thompson’s supporters have come our way, and it’s likely many Rudy supporters (though not all) will move to McCain. Who are you most like? Conservative Fred, or socially liberal Rudy? Notwithstanding our candidates’ disagreements, we’d welcome you into the fold.

What you can do to help win

Super Tuesday isn’t about Mitt, it’s about us. He carried the load in the “retail politics” states of Iowa, New Hampshire, etc. But now we need to get out in our own areas with signs, buttons, phone calls and reach out to everyone we know to pull them into Mitt’s fold. So, no. 1, get out and vote. No. 2, make those calls if you’re in the campaign. Talk to friends. If they’re pro-Mitt, or supported Fred, Rudy or Huckabee, tell them they have a choice: Mitt vs. Mac, and they need to choose who they really want. Let’s go.

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H/T: Arkjournal

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I first saw this at Evangelicals for Mitt.

Rush crushes McCain and Clemency Huck on many, many topics.

Rush virtually endorses Mitt by default.

P.S. Swing by NY for Mitt to see a bunch of other YouTube videos we’ve found this afternoon.

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…most wanted corrupt politicians.

Here’s what they say:

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-NY): Giuliani came under fire in late 2007 after it was discovered the former New York mayor’s office “billed obscure city agencies for tens of thousands of dollars in security expenses amassed during the time when he was beginning an extramarital relationship with future wife Judith Nathan in the Hamptons…” ABC News also reported that Giuliani provided Nathan with a police vehicle and a city driver at taxpayer expense. All of this news came on the heels of the federal indictment on corruption charges of Giuliani’s former Police Chief and business partner Bernard Kerik, who pleaded guilty in 2006 to accepting a $165,000 bribe in the form of renovations to his Bronx apartment from a construction company attempting to land city contracts.

Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR): Governor Huckabee enjoyed a meteoric rise in the polls in December 2007, which prompted a more thorough review of his ethics record. According to The Associated Press: “[Huckabee’s] career has also been colored by 14 ethics complaints and a volley of questions about his integrity, ranging from his management of campaign cash to his use of a nonprofit organization to subsidize his income to his destruction of state computer files on his way out of the governor’s office.” And what was Governor Huckabee’s response to these ethics allegations? Rather than cooperating with investigators, Huckabee sued the state ethics commission twice and attempted to shut the ethics process down.

I don’t know this group, but you can’t argue with what they’ve outlined above.

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The following comparative was compiled by David Bradford and is published here with his permission. He dubbed it “The Governor Game” — This is a very challenging exercise, so concentrate and you might figure it out.

1. One Pardoned Zero criminals during his term as governor; the other Pardoned or commuted the sentences for 1033 Criminals in his state.
2. One is endorsed by 68 current or past members of Congress - the other is endorsed by 4.
3. One kept spending increases during his term in office to a low 2%; the other increased spending in his state 140% from $6 Billion annually to $16 Billion.
4. One says that illegal aliens should not have tuition breaks that allow them to have lower tuition than citizens; the other as Governor supported a failed measure that extended in-state tuition and scholarships to the children of illegal aliens.
5. One is widely acknowledged as one of the most successful businessmen in America; the other was a paid minister and worked for a televangelist before becoming a politician.
6. One has wide-spread support across a number of American Constituencies; the other has the wide-spread support of one - the Evangelical movement.
7. One spent years in volunteer service leading a worldwide effort to rescue the 2002 Winter Olympics, the other has not served in any similar capacity.
8. Both served for 12 years as leaders of their respective Churches - one took zero salary for his years of service; the other was paid.
9. One took zero salary for his years in Government service; the other took full salary, gifts, and more (for which he was fined).
10. Only one has a chance of beating Hillary or Obama in the “blue” seaboard states that will be critical to win in the next election and demonstrated his electability in the most liberal of States—Massachusetts. The other will not be taken seriously in any of the critical blue states.
11. One has shown respect for the other candidate’s faith and beliefs; the other has used less than subtle methods, to criticize the faith of the other candidate, while at the same time conspicuously elevating his own religion above others.
12. In recognition of his outstanding leadership, one was elected by his fellow Governors as Chairman of the Republican Governors’ Conference; the other was not.

Need I give you the answer to David’s game challenge?

~ Vic

Help Governor Romney get his message out — PLEASE CONTRIBUTE NOW, HERE

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”

— Helen Keller, American social activist, public speaker and author (1880-1968)

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How about when you fire the Director of State Police for not “helping” with the cover up of a grotesque act by your son?

What do you call that? (”Corrupt” comes to mind as an appropriate description)

Some people feel that this story is about David Huckabee’s freakish behavior. One can argue the extent to which that is relevant here (I personally would prefer not to have this kind of drama around the White House or representing the Republican Party).

What hopefully is clear, however, is that the real story is the cover up and firing of a senior law enforcement official for playing ball. Can you imagine what Huck might do if he gets a hold of the Justice Department?

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I left the words below as a comment back on 12/9 in response to this post over at Iowans for Romney. I’ve reprinted below as I think it highlights the serious judgement issues I see in Huckabee.

What many well-intentioned Christians don’t realize is that ultimately forgiveness is between God and the transgressor and what’s at stake is eternity.

To let a murderer/rapist go free in the name of Christ under the principle of “forgiveness” is a travesty. The Governor does not have the right to “forgive” a violent felon and whether they spend their life behind bars or in the outside world is frankly irrelevant to the question of salvation.

I am very fearful of a man who gets these sorts of concepts confused. Huckabee’s judgement is completely suspect.

Romney rejected all requests for clemency while governor (over 100 of them). That is the right approach unless there is proof positive evidence of wrongful conviction (i.e. the guy didn’t do it). For jailhouse conversions and being “born again” we should rejoice for the man’s soul and he should be thankful that he can serve out the rest of his term at peace with himself. Keeping him in prison won’t keep him out of heaven.

Please help put Mitt over the top!

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I had heard rumors of this story for a couple weeks, but now there’s confirmation in Newsweek.

As Mike Huckabee gains in the polls, the former Arkansas governor is finding that his record in office is getting more scrutiny. One issue likely to get attention is his handling of a sensitive family matter: allegations that one of his sons was involved in the hanging of a stray dog at a Boy Scout camp in 1998. The incident led to the dismissal of David Huckabee, then 17, from his job as a counselor at Camp Pioneer in Hatfield, Ark. It also prompted the local prosecuting attorney— bombarded with complaints generated by a national animal-rights group—to write a letter to the Arkansas state police seeking help investigating whether David and another teenager had violated state animal-cruelty laws. The state police never granted the request, and no charges were ever filed. But John Bailey, then the director of Arkansas’s state police, tells NEWSWEEK that Governor Huckabee’s chief of staff and personal lawyer both leaned on him to write a letter officially denying the local prosecutor’s request. Bailey, a career officer who had been appointed chief by Huckabee’s Democratic predecessor, said he viewed the lawyer’s intervention as improper and terminated the conversation. Seven months later, he was called into Huckabee’s office and fired. “I’ve lost confidence in your ability to do your job,” Bailey says Huckabee told him. One reason Huckabee cited was “I couldn’t get you to help me with my son when I had that problem,” according to Bailey. “Without question, [Huckabee] was making a conscious attempt to keep the state police from investigating his son,” says I. C. Smith, the former FBI chief in Little Rock, who worked closely with Bailey and called him a “courageous” and “very solid” professional.

Huckabee called Bailey’s account “totally untrue” and described him as a “bitter” exemployee. “I asked him to resign because he had so alienated the entire state police,” he said. “It had nothing to do with my son.” Brenda Turner, Huckabee’s then chief of staff, and Kevin Crass, the Huckabee family lawyer, also disputed Bailey’s account, although both acknowledged talking to him about the dog killing. “I asked him, ‘Is it normal for the state police to … investigate something that happened at a Boy Scout camp?’ ” Turner says. “We wanted the same treatment that anybody else would get.” (Animal cruelty in Arkansas is a misdemeanor, not a felony.)

The details of the incident remain murky. The Animal Legal Defense Fund got an anonymous fax that summer alleging that David Huckabee and another youth had been involved in the hanging of a stray dog at the camp on July 11. A local animal-rights activist, Joyce Hillard, later contacted the camp director. Notes of Hillard’s report to the defense fund read, “Boys confessed & were fired. Dir. is making excuses, saying dog was sic & boys were putting him out of his misery.” (The director told NEWSWEEK only that a stray dog was “put down” and that the counselors were fired for violating the Scout credo to be “kind.”) The father of the other counselor was quoted by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette in August 1998 as saying that his son found the dog “hung over a limb and choking.” David Huckabee did not respond to requests for comment. (In April of this year, he was arrested—and paid a fine—when he forgot to remove a loaded gun from his carry-on luggage at Little Rock airport.) His father told NEWSWEEK that his son did not engage in “intentional torture.” “There was a dog that apparently had mange and was absolutely, I guess, emaciated.” A campaign official says David “regrets” the incident and notes that he later made Eagle Scout.

I’ve said it about Rudy, and I’ll also say it about Huckabee. Do we really want this kind of drama representing our party and potentially in the White House?

Contrast that with the Romney boys.

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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness….”

Sounds like these words were written during a presidential campaign! As we watch polling numbers shift with the wind, fickle voters are struggling to identify a candidate to support in the approaching primaries. In the current age of wisdom and foolishness, voters have two criteria they can use as a basis for their decision–words and actions.

Some voters like to judge based upon what the candidates are saying–or have said at some point in their political lives. Wise people prefer to make decisions based upon what the candidates have actually done. Actions don’t lie, they can be misinterpreted, but the actions themselves are much more reliable than rhetoric. With this in mind, let’s compare Governor Romney’s actions with Governor Huckabee’s actions–starting well before either of them were candidates for anything.

Similarities:

Both attended private religious universities for undergraduate studies and both were very successful students. Romney attended Brigham Young University where he was the valedictorian of his graduating class. Huckabee on the other hand graduated magna cum laude from Ouachita Baptist University.

Both went on to pursue advanced degrees, Romney in Business and Law from Harvard, Huckabee in Theology from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Both served in religious leadership positions for approximately 12 years. Romney as a Bishop and Stake President (similar to a pastor and catholic bishop respectively), while Huckabee served as pastor of several churches after working for a televangelist.

Both ran for senate in the early 90’s and lost to the incumbent. Huckabee ran in ‘92 and Romney in ‘94.

During the 90’s, both ran as moderate Republicans to appeal to the demographic of their respective states. Romney ran with a pro-choice (status quo) approach to abortion while Huckabee’s campaign advisor, Dick Morris (of Clinton fame), had this to say about Huckabee.

“Morris said the mistake Republicans always make is that they are too much of a country club set. What we wanted to do was run a progressive campaign that would appeal to all Arkansans.’” Morris elaborated, “So we opened the campaign with ads that characterized Mike as more of a moderate whose values were the same as those of other Arkansans.”

Both candidates share many conservative positions and have acted on behalf of those positions including their collective defense of marriage as the union between a man and a woman.

While their paths share many similar milestones, their journeys were far from identical.

Differences:

During their respective tenures as religious leaders, Huckabee was paid a salary for his service while Romney’s service went unpaid. Same thing with their respective tenures in political office. Romney refused a paycheck, while Huckabee combined his government salary with many of the other “benefits” that are often available to politicians in powerful offices. Some of these benefits include $40,000 from a political action committee paid for “speaking fees” to Huckabee. As governor, Huckabee dipped into the $60,000 maintenance budget for the governor’s mansion to supliment his income for which he was fined $1,000 by the state ethics commission. Then there were the “gifts” Huckabee recieved as Governor worth more than $130,000. And when it was all said and done, they even tried to take the furniture with them.

You’d have to say that one of these two candidates truly served the people of his state and congregations, while the other was served by the people of his state and congregations.

Continuing the comparison, Governor Romney faced a huge 3 billion dollar deficit when he entered office. To solve the problem, Romney cut taxes and goverment spending and left the state with almost 2 billion in surplus. Huckabee on the other hand faced shortfalls as well but his response was dramatically different.

He is seen here virtually begging the legislature to raise any number of taxes to overcome the shortfall. Three of his tax increases include raising taxes on gasoline, diesel fuel, and nursing home beds. By the time his tenure was complete, Arkansas debt obligations had increased by 1 billion dollars and while he cut $378 million in taxes, he also increased taxes by $873 million for a net increase of over $500 million in new taxes. You’d think with those kind of tax increases, the state would have been in better shape in the end, but unfortunately, Huckabee also approved increases in state spending each year by almost 12% per year (140% over 12 years). By the way, under Romney, spending increased approximately 2%.

Character Matters:

We could write a book detailing the differences between the actions of Governor Romney and Governor Huckabee, but we’ll stop here for now. Speaking of books, Mike Huckabee’s recently released a book with the following title:

Character Makes a Difference: Where I’m From, Where I’ve Been, and What I Believe.

It’s ironic that he left out the phrase: “What I’ve Done”. Because when it comes to character, there’s really no better indicator. That’s OK though, because actions are what Mitt Romney talks about in his book, “Turnaround”, which tells the story of the 2002 Olympics.

As someone smarter than all of us once said, “By their fruits ye shall know them”. It’s easy to talk the talk, but only one candidate has walked the walk, and that’s Mitt Romney.

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I often wonder how Mike Huckabee can know well the Bible teaching that truth is established by two witnesses and yet tell the world outright that four witnesses are lying about him. As they say in the south, “That dog won’t hunt.”

I have been wanting to give my opinion about this story for some time now, but I don’t have time. This is a very important story I think, and much for what is not written or known.

The excerpts of this article are below. I take a presumptuous approach in that I do not include all the details of the crimes as those are widely known now. To read this in-depth article online, click just below:

Parole officials: Huckabee pushed rapist’s release — By Richard A. Serrano, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 8, 2007

My opinion is that Gov. Huckabee made a huge mistake in this decision by going with his gut and not his mind. Of course, I can never know that nor can another; it is just my opinion. Additionally, from everything I have read on this, I don’t believe Huckabee is being completely candid and forthright.

I think he got caught up on the event, he had the power to make a decision, and he succumbed to the pressure of many. That is just my opinion.

Additionally, I think he had his pastor’s hat on when he made the decision and not his governor’s hat [emphasis below is mine]:

Pastor Jay D. Cole had two close friends. One was an inmate in the Arkansas state penitentiary. There, the minister would sit with Wayne DuMond “and pray and read the Bible.” For a while, the prisoner’s wife even lived in Cole’s home.

Cole’s friendship with Mike Huckabee ran deeper, back to when Huckabee was the youngest-ever head of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. The two men produced Bible lessons on videotape. “We worked heavily with him when he got politically involved too,” Cole said.

This next quote is Huckabee’s reply to allegations that he made direct requests to the parole board to have DuMond released:

“I did not ask them to do anything,” he said.

Three board members recalled it differently. They said Huckabee raised the issue of DuMond’s release, asking to discuss the matter with them in a closed session. They said his religious beliefs, and the influence of the evangelical community from which he came, drove him.

“We felt pressured by him,” said board member Ermer Pondexter. “I felt compelled to do it. . . . It was a favor for the governor.”

Looking back, she added, “I regret it.”

Parole board member Deborah Springer Suttlar said Huckabee did not mince his feelings about DuMond: “He wanted him out.”

Huckabee said at the news conference that he was unnerved by accounts from parole board and other critics that he played a larger role in DuMond’s release.

Cole, the minister who befriended DuMond, said: “The governor felt compassion for Wayne. He was sorry for him. So, I asked the governor to help. I asked him if anything could be done. And Mike had a lot of people on his neck trying to get him to get Wayne released.”

“Many of them,” Cole added, “were in the Christian community.”

The story of the convict, the preacher and the governor who wants to be president rings with Gothic details — rape and castration, a corrupt county sheriff and state politics. Finally, there is murder.

DuMond was sentenced to life in prison for rape, plus 20 years for the kidnapping. Clinton ignored his pleas for parole or a sentence reduction.

Once in prison, DuMond said he found religion.

“I became his spiritual director,” Cole said. “He was a nice fella, and it was hard to believe he could have done what he was accused of doing. And Wayne claimed to be saved. So, we’d sit and talk and pray for two hours

Cole, meanwhile, was working to help DuMond. Cole said he talked to “probably a hundred people” about his hope of winning DuMond’s release, turning foremost to the evangelical community. He said many evangelicals were encouraged that DuMond had claimed a religious conversion, and that many joined Cole in writing to Huckabee about DuMond’s situation.

The clincher, he said, was their belief that DuMond had been “saved.”

“All of them thought Wayne was innocent,” said Cole. “And the governor knew about it. We talked about it together. But Mike was very careful. He was cautious about saying too much. In an elevated position like governor, you’ve got to be careful.”

The rape victim, Ashley Stevens, became enraged. She and prosecutor Fletcher Long met with Huckabee at the Capitol. They warned him that DuMond would strike again.

At one point in the meeting, Stevens recalled, she stood up, put her face next to Huckabee’s and told the governor: “This is how close I was to DuMond. I’ll never forget his face, and you’ll never forget mine.”

The meeting ended, and Long, a Republican, could tell the governor was unmoved: “Most of what I think about him would be unprintable. His actions were just about as arrogant as you can get.”

The prosecutor added that Huckabee and Arkansas evangelicals were conned by DuMond’s contention that he had been “saved” — a common ruse by prisoners.

“If you’re religiously converted,” Long said, “how do you go out and kill two women in Missouri?”

Prosecutor Dan White of Clay County, Mo., the man who put him away for good, said: “The world’s a better place without Wayne DuMond in it.”

~ Vic

Please help Gov. Romney get his message out — PLEASE CONTRIBUTE HERE

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As we come down to the final hours before Mitt Romney delivers the most important speech of his political career, I am stunned by the depths to which some elements in the body politic are willing to sink in attempting to scuttle the Romney candidacy.

My emails have been loaded with articles sent by other pro Romney bloggers who have been keeping us abreast of the headlines from across the internet that have ranged from silly to salacious.

In any presidential election, the stakes are always very high. It’s just the nature of the office and the depth and breadth of the policy making that helps to shape the direction of the country that causes these elections to be so hard fought.

This election seems different to me. The tone is different, their is a certain desperation to the attacks on Gov. Romney. It is a shame that such a decent man and his family have to endure the vitriolic language and the personal nature of the accusations.

It is with this in mind that I wanted to talk about a article in the NY SUN that looks at an election from the early part of the twentieth century, when the Irish Catholic Al Smith was running for president. We sometimes get so caught up in the minutiae of the current campaign, that we need to be reminded that past elections also had their fair share of mudslinging and in the case of Al Smith, anti-Catholic bigotry.

Here’s the way they spoke about my church back then.

The Christian Century thundered that it could not “look with unconcern upon the seating of a representative of an alien culture, of a medieval, Latin mentality, of an undemocratic hierarchy, and of a foreign potentate in the great office of the President of the United States.”

The article then takes a look at the strategy of Mike Huckabee that involves him running as the candidate of the Evangelical right, with the very strong insinuation that the Almighty has endorsed the former Gov. of Arkansas.

Asked to explain why he was enjoying a surge in support with such meager resources, Mr. Huckabee invoked one of Christ’s miracles. “Feeding five thousand people with two fish and five loaves,” he said, adding, for those who did not grasp the import of the allusion, that there was “no human explanation for some of what’s happened.”

Later, he compared the primary process to the search for King David. “It’s almost like when the prophet was looking for a king. He came down, looked through all of Jesse’s sons … and said, ‘Is this all you got?’ Jesse said, ‘Well, I got this one kid over here, he’s kind of a ne’er do well … everybody thinks [he has] got the best shot. [The prophet] said, ‘Well let me check him out,’ and that was the one that ended up getting the nod.”

Comparing yourself in the same gasp to both Christ and King David, and implying that you are somehow both the Chosen One and a giant killer, is an audacious, some would say sacrilegious, gambit, but it appears to be paying off. The latest Iowa poll by the Des Moines Register suggests Mr. Huckabee is now the clear leader, ahead of former frontrunner Mr. Romney by five points.

Mr. Romney’s dilemma is that to explain his lifelong adherence to Mormonism would prove to be every bit as unpopular as not explaining his devotion to Mormonism. Yet he must somehow defuse Christianity as the issue driving Iowa voters into Mr. Huckabee’s fold.

The article ends with this extremely silly sentence.

“The keynote speech tomorrow is not only the most important of Mr. Romney’s life, it may well prove to be his last.”

While many on the left may fervently wish it proves to be his last speech, logic and past achievements would lend credence to the much more likely scenario, that “The Speech” will be one more address in a long line of addresses that will culminate in the Inaugural Address.

~~John Cronin~~

Romney’s Final Speech?”“>

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Do we really need another man from Hope as our President?

From WorldNetDaily: —–>Huckabee offered ‘no-cost’ deal for Mexican Consulate - Developer confirms role, legislator raps ex-governor for using taxpayer funds for illegals.

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Click here to read the entire article online:
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IMMIGRATION GROUP: HUCKABEE A ‘DISASTER’ — The Washington Times — by Stephen Dinan

Groups that support a crackdown on illegal aliens haven’t settled on their champion in the race for the White House, but there’s little doubt which Republican scares them most — former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

“He was an absolute disaster on immigration as governor,” said Roy Beck, president of NumbersUSA, a group that played a major role in rallying the phone calls that helped defeat this year’s Senate immigration bill. “Every time there was any enforcement in his state, he took the side of the illegal aliens.”

“Huckabee is the guy who scares the heck out of me,” said Peter Gadiel, president of 9-11 Families for a Secure America, a group instrumental in fighting for the REAL ID Act that sets federal standards for driver’s licenses.

Some leaders said Mr. Huckabee reminds them of President Bush, who pushed for legalization of illegal aliens and a new supply of foreign guest workers, despite his base calling for better border security and enforcement.

“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.

Mr. Huckabee yesterday defended his record, but he said if voters are looking for the toughest guy, he’s not their man.

James J. Boulet Jr., executive director of English First, which wants to make English the official language of the government, said Mr. Romney had the best official record on that issue, opposing bilingual education during his term as Massachusetts governor.

Both Mr. Romney and Mr. Thompson have said they wouldn’t create a new pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens, and Mr. Romney also has hinted he wants illegal aliens to go home through attrition.

As for Rudolph W. Giuliani, several leaders said his record as New York mayor was worrisome — he ran a sanctuary city, which means the identity of illegal aliens was kept from authorities in some cases — but they are impressed with his tough border-security position.

Readers of this blog: Just remember that political polls vary by polling entity and that polls are lagging indicators. In my opinion, the polls you are seeing today showing Huckabee as a close second to Governor Romney or pressing him for the number one slot, are based on the soft news Huckabee was getting two to three weeks ago. News like what you just read above will be reflected in polls a week, two weeks, three weeks from now. And remember that the deadline is coming up very soon in Iowa for absentee ballots to be turned in.

~ Vic

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I initially posted this at NY for Mitt, but love to share this kind of news with a wider audience.

Tony Allen-Mills, writing for a paper based out of the UK, has this to say about Mike Huckabee:

THE knives are coming out for Mr Nice Guy. A surprising surge of support for Mike Huckabee, the former Republican governor of Arkansas who had long seemed a rank outsider in the 2008 presidential race, has turned him into a target six weeks before voting in Iowa.

“National media folk rave about what a nice guy Huckabee is,” said Quin Hillyer, a former editorial writer at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper. “If only they did a little home-work they would discover a guy with a thin skin, a nasty vindictive streak and a history of imbroglios about questionable ethics.”

Vindictive streak, eh? Doesn’t sound like Mr. Nice Guy to me.

Huckabee has portrayed himself as a competent administrator with impeccable antiabortion credentials who nonetheless appealed to liberal voters with his education and healthcare programmes in Arkansas. Yet last week the focus was on his record of alleged ethical lapses. During his 14-year career as governor he became embroiled in 14 official investigations and was fined five times for breaches of state rules.

Most of the complaints against him concerned alleged infringements of rules on political campaign spending, notably when he failed to report that he had paid himself $14,000 to be his own media consultant in a 1992 campaign and did not disclose that he and his wife were the owners of a two-engine plane hired by his campaign for $43,000 in 1994. He was fined $1,000 by the state ethics commission.

Come on, Huckabee. Stay above reproach and get the ethics together!

A little more:

The article by Max Brantley, editor of a Little Rock newspaper, claimed Huckabee had spent public money on a dog kennel, dry-cleaning, stockings for his wife and meals at a fast food restaurant. When he left office last January the governor also became embroiled in a row over a “wedding registry” set up for friends to help furnish his new home, even though he and his wife had been married for 34 years.

Huckabee’s critics have labelled him “tax-hike Mike” for his free-spending record in Arkansas.

More on Mike’s problems:

The main obstacle for Huckabee, apart from the sleuths sniffing around his Arkansas past, is his lack of campaign funds and full-time staff to carry him into the February primaries.

He has so far raised little more than $2m, roughly what Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama collect from their Democrat supporters in a weekend.

When his record gets examined fairly, we’ll see Mike slip. His rise was primarily a result of Fred’s sudden collapse.

Once the former “Fred-heads” consider what they’d really get with Mike as President, many will go with our man Mitt.

One last thought, if Mike weren’t a Baptist preacher, where would he be in the polls? He’d likely not have received this recent “unearned” support in Iowa. His record alone is less than remarkable. It’s bad.

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