Huckabee and the Fear of His Ability to Win

Our recent article about the rise of Huckabee nationally, and the Republican party’s fear of his ability to win, is just the beginning of a political shift in the country. Mainstream America is sick and tired of politicians selling them down the river, negative campaigning, and politics as usual – Huckabee stands out as someone bucking the system. From our previous article, one commenter called him a socialist, another basically said he’s a lock for the nomination.

Both are wrong.

Part of Huckabee’s appeal is that he’s not a business-as-usual candidate. He hasn’t gone negative, and his message appeals to voters. His final standing in the nomination process is likely to come down to money – the more he has, the farther he’ll go. If he can match Romney’s millions ($17.5 million of which came from Romney himself), he’ll likely be able to go toe-to-toe with answers for Romney’s attacks, already called “false and misleading”.

The real issue isn’t Huckabee himself, it’s the message people are tired of politics as usual and want a change in attitude. Democrats were elected to end involvement in Iraq and failed to do so; after a change of leadership in Congress, has anyone on Main Street noticed a change? Likely not. People are tired of the political fighting and negativity – it’s time for a positive message, and not more of old “I feel your pain”.

Media Analysis of Election Coverage – Who’s Fair and Balanced?

The Center for Media and Public Affairs released an analysis of Election news coverage. It turns out if you want the most balanced news, you’ll watch FOX NewsChannel. They rate almost 50-50 split positive/negative coverage on both Republicans and Democrats. The major networks were not nearly so balanced, treating Republicans more negative than Democrats.

Hunger in Oregon – A Christmas Request

Our normal focus is on politics, but as any reader knows part of Constitutional Conservatism is charity and taking care of your fellow man. At this time of year, one of the worst ignored problems is people who don’t have enough food; while most of us worry about buying the right presents, some just worry about feeding their family.

This ought not to be, and we have the power to improve the situation.

Oregon ranks as one of the worst in the country for what’s called “food insecurity” (better known as hunger), and in Oregon one of the worst areas is Linn County. An organization helping in this area is Linn Benton Food Share, serving both Linn and Benton Counties in Oregon.

Another part of Constitutional Conservatism is personal responsibility; you must be careful your charity dollars are used most effectively. Linn Benton Food Share received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator (a group which rates charities), and has for the last four evaluations. In short, that places them in the top 4% of charities rated by Charity Navigator.

They are not a United Way agency, so most of their support comes from individuals. They can use money, volunteer time, or you can work with a food drive. Whether you support them or another charity group, please remember the downtrodden in our society and help out. Nobody in this nation should go hungry.

Merry Christmas, and God bless you.

Is Huckabee for Real?

GOP Maverick Breaks with Republican Elites

Huckabee’s surge in Iowa and nationally sends shock waves through Republican establishments as a new editorial in the Washington Post by EJ Dionne describes the Washington establishment paranoia about Huckabee.

The Huckabee surge represents a break with what has been standard operating procedure within the GOP for more than a generation.

Romney appears to be the Republican Elite pick for the nomination, but his flip-flopping is legendary, as various reports demonstrate. He was pro-choice before he was against it (even donating money and appearing at a planned parenthood rally). He wanted to be a bigger supporter of gay rights than Ted Kennedy – until he changed his mind. He and his father marched with MLK – but only in his dreams. And on and on. (Cue the theme song from the old TV show flipper…)

Romney’s flip-flops make John Kerry look like Mount Rushmore. No matter what side of an issue you’re on, you can count on Romney to support it, and be against it. The country rejected John Kerry in part because of his infamous flip-flops – and Mr. Romney is orders of magnitude worse.

Romney’s supporters say he’s just changing positions as new information comes to light, and he’s growing as a candidate should. Really? Look at the latest flip-flop about how he was with his father when he marched with MLK; the only problem is it never happened, as reported by CNN.

During his recent speech on faith, the former Massachusetts governor told his audience how he had witnessed his father, George Romney, marching with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Romney repeated the claim that his father, who was the governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969, had marched with King on NBC’s Meet the Press last weekend …
But Romney never did witness his father march with King, as the campaign now acknowledges.

He’s flipped on abortion, gay-rights, and now historical events.

Romney has his millions and the support of Republican Elites. As the SS Romney takes on water and begins to list to the side will he be able to patch the holes with his millions and buy the presidency? His attack ads against Huckabee have been labeled “Misleading and false” (see references); he’s gone negative in the campaign in part to stem Huckabee’s surge, and in part to take the focus off his infamous flips and flops.

“If it was all about the money”, Huckabee said recently, “then we might as well put the presidency up on eBay”

Select Your Presidential Candidate

Here’s something interesting – a web site which asks your views on 10 or so questions, then matches your results with the views of the presidential candidates giving you a rating score for each one. We don’t know how accurate it is, but it’s interesting anyway.

Select a Candidate

Romney’s Attack Ad False and Misleading

As Mitt Romney’s campaign continues to take on water, he’s gone negative in his battle to regain the top spot. But negative attacks can work for or against a candidate, and in this case we wonder what the effect could be since reports now come in Romney’s ads are not exactly correct. Of course, bending the truth is an art form in politics, but as Mr. Romney is known as a flip-flopper already, does he really want to be known as a flip-flopper on the truth? From Newsweek:

Romney attacks Huckabee again with false and misleading claims.

Romney launched another negative ad in Iowa this week, where the Republican presidential candidate has been battling the new front-runner, Huckabee.

The ad says Romney “got tough on drugs like meth” while governor of Massachusetts, but the legislation he supported never passed, and his state’s laws are much weaker than Arkansas’. Convicted meth dealers face both minimum and maximum prison terms in Arkansas that are four times longer than those in Massachusetts.

The ad misrepresents news articles, implying that they supported Romney’s actions as governor when that’s not what the news organizations said. One article, in fact, gave critical views of Romney’s refusal to issue a pardon.

Congress Outlaws Light Bulbs

Passed in the recent Energy Bill the Democrats passed and the President signed is a little-publicized part which outlaws incandescent light bulbs.

One portion of the bill sets new efficiency standards for appliances and will make the incandescent bulb — invented two centuries ago and improved and commercialized by Edison in the 1880s — virtually extinct by the middle of the next decade. The bill will phase out conventional incandescents, starting in 2012, with 100-watt bulbs, ultimately ceding the lighting market to more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs and light-emitting diodes

Please, think of the kids!

Romney Supported Planned Parenthood

In another flip-flop, Romney, who now says he’s solidly pro-life, donated money to planned parenthood.

From ABC News:

ABC News’ Rick Klein Reports: Mitt Romney attended a fund-raising reception for Planned Parenthood in 1994 in conjunction with a $150 donation his wife made to the organization — notwithstanding Romney’s contention that he had “no recollection” of the circumstances under which his wife gave money to the abortion-rights group.

So, if you vote for Romney, do you get pro-choice Romney, or pro-life Romney? His flip-flops make John Kerry look like the Rock of Gibraltar.

From Fox News

Romney acknowledged changing his views in 2004 from supporting abortion rights to opposing abortion. He said he did not entirely betray abortion-rights voters, either, because he did not seek to change Massachusetts abortion laws.

It’s one thing to modify your positions as you grow and learn, but from pro-choice to pro-life? It just happens to coincide with his political aspirations. In his home state, he needed to be pro-choice to get elected, but for national Republican politics, he needs to be pro-life.

But which is the real Romney? Neither side of the abortion debate can be happy with Romney’s multiple stands on the issue as you can’t be sure of what he’ll do if elected – he could end up anywhere on the abortion question.

Mormon Teaching about Satan and Jesus

Do they teach Satan and Jesus are brothers?

After Romney’s statement that they’re “attacking my religion, and that’s really low”, he avoided the question that started it all when a reporter asked – don’t Mormons believe Satan and Jesus are brothers?

In areas like this, don’t fall for the political spin. Do a little research yourself – go to the official Mormon web site (lds.org) and you’ll find the following:

Huckabee and Romney — Is Jesus Satan’s Brother?

This week in politics we’re focused on religion instead of the real issues after Romney’s response “They’re attacking my religion” as reporters asked a question of another candidate about what Mormons believe (it is a silly and irrelevant question, but it certainly isn’t an attack to ask what a religion believes). Are they really attacking Romney and Mormonism? What does the Mormon church teach about the relationship between Jesus and Satan?

Don’t guess or listen to the various parties spin and dodge, go to http://lds.org (the official web site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons as they’re commonly known), and in the search box type in “Jesus Lucifer brothers”, and you’ll find the following question and answer (from “I Have a Question” Ensign, June 1986, 24-27 — currently the first search result, although that may change):

How can Jesus and Lucifer be spirit brothers when their characters and purposes are so utterly opposed?

On first hearing, the doctrine that Lucifer and our Lord, Jesus Christ, are brothers may seem surprising to some—especially to those unacquainted with latter-day revelations …

When our Father in Heaven presented his plan of salvation, Jesus sustained the plan and his part in it, giving the glory to God, to whom it properly belonged. Lucifer, on the other hand, sought power, honor, and glory only for himself. (See Isa. 14:13–14; Moses 4:1–2.) When his modification of the Father’s plan was rejected, he rebelled against God and was subsequently cast out of heaven with those who had sided with him. (See Rev. 12:7–9; D&C 29:36–37.)

That brothers would make dramatically different choices is not unusual. It has happened time and again, as the scriptures attest: Cain chose to serve Satan; Abel chose to serve God. (See Moses 5:16–18.) Esau “despised his birthright”; Jacob wanted to honor it. (Gen. 25:29–34.) Joseph’s brothers sought to kill him; he sought to preserve them. (Gen. 37:12–24; Gen. 45:3–11.)

So there it is, straight from LDS’s web site. Romney may not know the answer about his religion, but now you do.

Election Polls – New Frontrunners (Huckabee, Obama surges)

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination is in single digits again. It’s Clinton at 36%, Obama at 28% and Edwards at 13%.

In the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination, Mike Huckabee attracts support from 23% of Likely Republican Primary voters nationwide and Rudy Giuliani earns the vote at 20% support.

Huckabee now leads in Iowa, Michigan and South Carolina. He’s surged to the front in the last few months as Giuliani and Romney fall away. Some polls have him leading nationally as well.

On the Republican side, it’s down to a three-way battle between Huckabee, Giuliani and Romney. The question is, when will the minor Republican candidates drop out, and where will those supporters go? That could tip the balance.

On the Democrat side, Clinton is now stumping for Hillary.

Alarmed by his wife’s slide in the polls and disarray within her backbiting campaign, a beside-himself Bill Clinton has leaped atop the barricades and is furiously plotting a cure – or coup.

“She’s in big trouble and he knows it,” a top Democratic operative and Hillary Clinton booster told the Daily News.

We don’t necessarily think she’s in as much trouble as reported, but having the best politician ever in your corner can’t hurt. Of course, will Bill Clinton continue to have to rescue her if she’s President? Will Bill really be the one re-elected next year? He may not be officially on the ballot, but he might have the most influence on who the next president is.

It looks like this might just be the most wide-open primary we’ve had in a long time. Of course, polls are subject to change as the process moves along, but it’s interesting right now.

Communism, Libertarianism and Ron Paul

When Ron Paul picked up an endorsement from a Nevada Brothel (“Hookers for Paul”) people were shocked, yet it fits perfectly with the Libertarian position (as do his strange foreign policy ideas). Why are people surprised Ron Paul would pick up such endorsements? Perhaps they don’t understand what Libertarians actually believe and the major flaws in the Libertarian position. Socialists (and many Democrats) have similar issues — both make major errors in understanding the human condition leading to major political problems.

Lane County Gets Federal Money

It looks like the Federal Government will continue with county payments to Lane County (at least for a few years). While it’s still possible The President won’t sign it (but he hasn’t yet seen a spending bill he didn’t like), let’s assume what the Register-Guard reports will occur.

The payments currently provide tens of millions of dollars annually to Western counties, including $40 million this year to Lane County government. The prospect of losing that money prompted counties across Oregon and the West earlier this year to consider cutting basic services and seeking taxes or other ways to raise revenue. Lane County in May proposed an income tax that voters shot down.

The plan is four more years of federal payments, decreasing each year. So now Lane Commissioners have adequate time to address the budget concerns, right?

Ask yourself, which is more likely:

1. Lane County Commissioners plan ahead, reduce expenses, perform their fiduciary duty, and gradually wean off Federal money they know will end … soon.
2. Commissioners do nothing, stick their heads in the sand, continue to spend money like there’s no end in sight, and in a few years ask for a tax increase.

Gee, which will it be? We’ve covered this fiscal disaster for a while, so if we were betting, we know what we’d choose based on passed performance (Hint: They’re still hiring, see for yourself at http://www.co.lane.or.us/jobs/).

Bizarre Abortion News of the Day

Two news items you might have missed in the MSM. First, from Jill Stanek.

Massachusetts is considering a possible ban on spanking where parents wouldn’t be allowed to spank children under 18. Yup, the people’s republic of Massachusetts is ok with abortion, but don’t spank your kid, that would be just wrong.

Combine that tidbit with some news from AP.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas laws allow the killing of a fetus to be prosecuted as murder, regardless of the fetus’ stage of development, but they do not apply to abortions, the state’s highest criminal court has ruled.

So by Texas law it’s not murder to inject a baby with saltwater and suck their brains out.