HUCKABEE CONTRIBUTION MAP

GOAL FOR OCT 31st - $1,034,487 (MET)
GOAL FOR NOV 30th - $2,067,521 (MET)
GOAL FOR DEC 15th - $1,150,000 (MET)

DEC. 27TH: FREEDOM LIVES DAY

Please pledge whatever you can to donate to Gov. Huckabee's campaign on Dec. 27th. Here is the link.

GOAL: 10,000 Pledges
AMOUNT: $100
TOTAL GOAL: $1,000,000

Note: You can pledge more or less than $100..

GOV. HUCKABEE ON LATE EDITION: TOPICS COVERED - FOREIGN POLICY, MITT ROMNEY, GOP HORSE RACE

This one is another great interview of Gov. Huckabee. He came out swinging against Mitt Romney. I like this side of Gov. Huckabee.

MUST WATCH: GOV. HUCKABEE ON NEIL CAVUTO ABOUT FISCAL POLICY

I watched this video and was immensely impressed by how articulate Gov. Huckabee is in the area of fiscal policy. This should really dispel any notion that he is a liberal in the area of fiscal policy. He wants to lift up the poor, but in a free-market and fiscally conservative way. Many fiscal cons listen to him speak about the poor and think he's another John Edwards. Just listen to what kind of policies he is advocating. You will come off impressed as well.

GOV. HUCKABEE'S FOREIGN POLICY PAPER ON THE WAR ON TERROR

Google News and Fox News has articles about this paper but they have just pulled out one sentence where Gov. Huckabee said this:

American foreign policy needs to change its tone and attitude, open up, and reach out. The Bush administration's arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad. My administration will recognize that the United States' main fight today does not pit us against the world but pits the world against the terrorists.

This is certainly not a hit piece on Bush as the news people suggest. I've pulled out some highlights of this 5 page paper that in on the Foreign affairs website. The article will be printed on their January/February 2008 Magazine.

Here are the highlights:

ISLAMOFASCISM

A more successful U.S. foreign policy needs to better explain Islamic jihadism to the American people. Given how Americans have thrived on diversity -- religious, ethnic, racial -- it takes an enormous leap of imagination to understand what Islamic terrorists are about, that they really do want to kill every last one of us and destroy civilization as we know it. If they are willing to kill their own children by letting them detonate suicide bombs, then they will also be willing to kill our children for their misguided cause. The Bush administration has never adequately explained the theology and ideology behind Islamic terrorism or convinced us of its ruthless fanaticism. The first rule of war is "know your enemy," and most Americans do not know theirs. To grasp the magnitude of the threat, we first have to understand what makes Islamic terrorists tick. Very few Americans are familiar with the writings of Sayyid Qutb, the Egyptian radical executed in 1966, or the Muslim Brotherhood, whose call to active jihad influenced Osama bin Laden and the rise of al Qaeda. Qutb raged against the decadence and sin he saw around him and sought to restore the "pure" Islam of the seventh century through a theocratic caliphate without national borders. He saw nothing decadent or sinful in murdering in order to achieve that end. America's culture of life stands in stark contrast to the jihadists' culture of death.

IRAQ

As president, I will not withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq any faster than General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander there, recommends. I will bring our troops home based on the conditions on the ground, not the calendar on the wall. It is still too soon to reduce the U.S. counterterrorism mission and pass the torch of security to the Iraqis. If we do not preserve and expand population security, by maintaining the significant number of forces required, we risk losing all our hard-won gains. These are significant but tenuous..............

Withdrawing from Iraq before the country is stable and secure would have serious strategic consequences for us and horrific humanitarian consequences for the Iraqis. Iraq's neighbors on all sides would be drawn into the war and face refugee crises as a result of fleeing Iraqis. Iraq is the crossroads where Arabs meet Persians and Kurds, and Sunnis meet Shiites. When we deposed Saddam Hussein, we emphasized the potentially dramatic upside of Iraq's centrality in the region: the country could be a prime place to establish democracy and have it spread from. Today, we face the dramatic downside: Iraq's centrality makes the country the perfect place for terrorists to create anarchy and have it spread. Those who say that we do not owe the Iraqis anything more are ignoring what we owe our own children and grandchildren in terms of security..........

IRAN

The Bush administration has properly said that it will not take the military option for dealing with Iran off the table. Neither will I. But if we do not put other options on the table, eventually a military strike will become the only viable one. And nothing would make bin Laden happier than this outcome; he would welcome war between the United States and Iran.......

And I will not waver in standing by our ally Israel. The main difference between these two enemies is that al Qaeda is a movement that must be destroyed, whereas Iran is a nation that just has to be contained.

In order to contain Iran, it is essential to win in Iraq. When we overthrew Saddam, whose regime was a bulwark against Iran, we upset the regional balance of power. Now, we must stabilize and strengthen Iraq not just for its own security but for the security of its neighbors, the region, and ourselves. We cannot allow Iran to push its theocracy into Iraq and then expand it further west....

Another way to contain Iran is through diplomacy. We must be as aggressive diplomatically as we have been militarily since 9/11. We must intensify our diplomatic efforts with China, India, Russia, South Korea, and European states and persuade them to put more economic pressure on Iran.

We cannot live with al Qaeda, but we might be able to live with a contained Iran. Iran will not acquire nuclear weapons on my watch. But before I look parents in the eye to explain why I put their son's or daughter's life at risk, I want to do everything possible to avoid conflict. We have substantive issues to discuss with Tehran.

PAKISTAN

Musharraf's top priority is not the United States' survival but his own, physical and political. Musharraf has done his best to convince the Bush administration that the United States' destiny and his are inextricably interwoven -- after him, the deluge. But this is not true. He has not kept extremists from seizing power in Pakistan; they have not seized it simply because they have not had the strength or the support to do so. He claims that he declared the state of emergency because of the threat of extremism to Pakistan. In fact, he was responding to a threat not to the country but to himself and not from extremists but from Pakistan's Supreme Court, which was about to invalidate his recent reelection.

Whatever happens in Pakistan next, the country's policy toward the United States is unlikely to change significantly. General Ashfaq Kiyani, the deputy chief of staff of the army and Musharraf's most likely successor, is a moderate who wants the military less involved in politics. As prime minister, Sharif would sound more anti-American, and Bhutto more pro-American. But in any event, our problems with al Qaeda and the Taliban will not be magically solved for us. They are our problems, and we must face up to them.

I will assure the Pakistanis that we are with them for the long haul. When the Russians left Afghanistan in the late 1980s, we quickly lost interest in Pakistan. Many Pakistanis fear the same will happen when al Qaeda and the Taliban are no longer around to keep us engaged. They should not. Pakistan, like Iraq, is a regional problem rather than an isolated one. We must use our friendly ties with India to encourage and help it improve its relationship with Pakistan and to push for increased trade and cooperation between the two countries, all to bring greater stability to the South Asian region.

CONCLUSION

"The process will not be quick," Ambassador Crocker told Congress of the progress in Iraq last fall. "It will be uneven, punctuated by setbacks as well as achievements, and it will require substantial U.S. resolve and commitment." Does this sound familiar? To me, the statement could also have applied to the American Revolution, the American Civil War, World War I, or World War II. We paid a heavy price in each of those conflicts, but we prevailed. And we will prevail now. Our history, from the snows of Valley Forge to the flames of 9/11, has been one of perseverance. I understand the threats we face today. When I am president, America will look this evil in the eye, confront it, defeat it, and emerge stronger than ever. It is easy to be a peace lover; the challenging part is being a peacemaker.

WE'RE SORRY TOO FREDDY BOY

'Nuke Gingrich' has written an excellent counter-piece to the Thompson campaign's despicable press release making fun of Gov. Huckabee's apology to Gov. Romney. This is nothing but a desperate plea by the Thompson campaign to gain some attention and get some piece of the pie in Iowa. I think this has probably ruined any chance Thompson would've had with any Huckabee supporters.

I think it is clear if someone like Fred Thompson were to get the nomination then the election results would be Hillary Clinton - 60% , Fred Thompson - 35%. No one wants to vote for old clown over a woman.

Here's Nuke's response:

Mea culpa, mea culpa

In the spirit of political apologies, I want to apologize for saying that Fred Thompson “just might be as dumb as a box of rocks.”

It isn’t fair for me to blame Fred’s forgetfulness on stupidity.

He couldn’t help it. He just plain forgot. I accept that. It can’t be comfortable for the Thompson crowd to have his lapses of memory to be pointed out and held up for public ridicule. (....Read the rest)

ROMNEYS ATTACK AD ON HUCKABEE

LINK TO THE ARTICLE

The most noteworthy part:

But Romney's illegal immigrant bashing is of fairly recent vintage.

In 2004, the Boston Globe reported that Romney was reluctant to veto the tuition proposal – and not at all the certain, sure-footed decision maker portrayed in the ad. At the time, Romney said:

Romney (June 2004): I hate the idea of in any way making it more difficult for kids, even those who are illegal aliens, to afford college in our state. But equally, perhaps a little more than equally, I do not want to create an incentive to do something which is illegal.

Romney wasn't a hardliner on immigration until late in his tenure as governor. As we have written, he took no action to punish the "sanctuary cities" that he now rails against. And while he boasts that he authorized state troopers to enforce federal immigration law, that order came at the end of his term, never went into effect and was overturned by his successor.

None of the specifics presented here are false, but the ad presents a black-and-white contrast that doesn't exist in reality.

Also I wanted to add that Gov. Romney said that he signed a bill that prevented illegals from getting drivers licenses. For the record, Gov. Huckabee did too, but would Romney mention that similarity in the ad? Nope.

Here's the ad I'm referring to:



By the way, he said that he has a pro-life record in Massachusetts. Apparently in his health care plan, $50 dollar abortions were covered. I'm surprised that many media folk are not truly stepping him and fact-checking him. Also I have posted before about how Gov. Romney ran on a pro-choice platform. He promised that he will preserve the woman's right to choose. If he says he had a pro-life record in Massachusetts, does that mean he denigrated his own promise to the people of Massachusetts? Was he pandering to just get elected? Is he doing the same now?
More info:
By the end of his first term in office, Gov. Romney had a whopping disapproval ratings of 59% and approval ratings of 39% (According to Survey USA). Does anyone in their right mind think that he would've won reelection if he had chose to run again? I don't think so.

Here's a news story that talks about his tanking numbers in 2006

New Poll: Romney's Approval Ratings Tanking

BOSTON (CBS4) ― Massachusetts residents are losing the love for Governor Mitt Romney.

A new poll finds that 70% of Massachusetts residents -- and 64% of Republicans -- say Governor Mitt Romney has been doing a fair-to-poor job. The public opinion survey, to be released Thursday, shows that voters are losing faith in elected officials while nearly half of those polled believe the state is "on the wrong track."

While just 43% of Massachusetts residents view Mitt Romney favorably, President Bush fared even worse. Only 28% of those polled said they have a favorable opinion of the President, and an overwhelming 69% of residents have an unfavorable view.

The picture below is the chart of Gov. Romney's approval ratings. Click pic to enlarge.
The picture below is the chart of Gov. Huckabee's approval ratings. Click pic to enlarge.
What's impressive with Gov. Huckabee's approval ratings is that after 11 long years of being Governor (elected twice) and three years before that as Lieu Governor he still registered numbers like 55% approval and 42% disapproval. Usually there is voter fatigue, but it seems like a good number of people in Arkansas still liked him.

MITT ROMNEY FLIP-FLOPPER IN CHIEF LIKE JOHN KERRY

It wouldn't be so bad that Romney change positions if wasn't so Holier-than-thou. He's apparently attacking Gov. Huckabee for not have Reagan principles. This is the same guy who distanced himself as much as he can from Reagan all of his political life till the time he decided to run for President. There was some major remaking and marketing ploy behind the scenes trying to create a new Mitt Romney. A Mitt Romney who is enamored by Reagan, who is strong on life, and is the true republican. Watch these videos below and see whether you agree.


ANTI-REPUBLICAN RHETORIC


ANTI-REAGAN RHETORIC


ANTI-PROLIFE RHETORIC


PLAYING DOWN AND IGNORING ENDORSEMENT FROM MASS. RIGHT TO LIFE


MORE PRO-CHOICE RHETORIC


ANTI-SECOND AMENDMENT


P.S. - GOP attacked John Kerry time and time again for being a flip-flopper. Do they really think they can defend Gov. Romney's flip-flopping efforts? Good luck with that.

HUCKABEE'S MORMONISM COMMENT "DON'T THEY BELIEVE JESUS AND SATAN ARE BROTHERS?"

Zev Chafets of NY Times has written up an 8000+ word article on Huckabee and this part got most of the media attention. The article as a whole is positive.

Chapter 3 also contains the admonition to ‘‘keep sound wisdom and discretion.’’ Huckabee is, indeed, a discreet fellow, but he has no trouble making his feelings known. He mentioned how much he respected his fellow candidates John McCain and Rudolph W. Giuliani. The name of his principal rival in Iowa, Mitt Romney, went unmentioned. Romney, a Mormon, had promised that he would be addressing the subject of his religion a few days later. I asked Huckabee, who describes himself as the only Republican candidate with a degree in theology, if he considered Mormonism a cult or a religion. ‘‘I think it’s a religion,’’ he said. ‘‘I really don’t know much about it.’’

I was about to jot down this piece of boilerplate when Huckabee surprised me with a question of his own: ‘‘Don’t Mormons,’’ he asked in an innocent voice, ‘‘believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?’’

The media has finally succeeded in trapping Gov. Huckabee in 'bigotry'. Maybe not.

Here are the developments of this story:

First, the Huckabee campaign came out with this response:

LITTLE ROCK, AR – A report released tonight cites an upcoming article in the Sunday edition of The New York Times Magazine which quotes former Arkansas Governor and Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee asking a question about the content of the Mormon faith. In fact, the full context of the exchange makes it clear that Governor Huckabee was illustrating his unwillingness to answer questions about Mormonism and to avoid addressing theological questions during this campaign.

“Governor Huckabee has said consistently that he believes this campaign should center on a discussion of the important issues confronting our nation,” said Senior Advisor, Dr. Charmaine Yoest, “and not focus on questions of religious belief. He wants to assure persons of all faith traditions of his firm commitment to religious tolerance and freedom of worship. Governor Huckabee believes that one of the great strengths of our nation lies in its diversity of thought, opinion and faith.”

After the debate, Gov. Huckabee personally apologized to Gov. Romney about this situation. He reinstated the fact that there should be no religious test. Period.

Here is Gov. Huckabee on CNN explaining the whole ordeal.



You might be asking, hmm.. Gov. Huckabee has a theology degree and doesn't know what Mormonism is all about? Well, his degree was in biblical studies and no it isn't true that you suddenly become an expert in comparative religions when you major in a different field of study. Usually people take outside time in learning about other religions, Gov. Huckabee hasn't spent time investigating other religions.

Second, you might be asking - A NY TIMES reporter knows what Mormonism is all about? How is that possible? Well, Zev Chafets is very unique in this regard. He wrote this article defending Romney and Mormonism in the LA Times in Feb 2007. Read the article for yourself.

Who is Zev Chafets? Well here is a short bio: ZEV CHAFETS is the author of "A Match Made in Heaven: American Jews, Christian Zionists and One Man's Exploration of the Weird and Wonderful Judeo-Evangelical Alliance." Clearly, Mr. Chafets specializes in religion and is no typical reporter.

I hope this clears up any outstanding doubts about this issue. Gov. Romney accepted the apology and Gov. Huckabee has said that he would absolutely not talk about Mormonism and he said that no one should/should not vote for any candidate because of their religion.
--------------------------------
UPDATE:
Apparently Mr. Chafets is not willing to corroborate the story. He's not willing to admit it, but he's still hasn't rejected the story.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1207/7357.html

Reached Wednesday in Cooperstown, N.Y., where he’s writing a book on the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Chafets told Politico: “I asked him the question about Mormonism and whether he thought it was a religion or a cult.

“He said it was a religion, and didn’t know much about it. There was a pause. Then he asked his question,” Chafets continued.

“He can spin it any way he wants. It was on the wires and picked up by candidates, and I can’t be accountable for that,” Chafets said, adding, “I hope that the article, as I wrote it, was entirely in context.”

Lieberman [Chafets' editor] said she also understood that Huckabee’s question “was an unbidden response.”

Chafets wasn't clear in his answer on whether he explained what Mormons believe to Gov. Huckabee. I'm guessing the context is this: Just as the article suggests, Gov. Huckabee asked that question and then Chafets answered his question. Then the Governor asked more questions and they had a mini-conversation about Mormonism.

This is how the article presents the story:

I was about to jot down this piece of boilerplate when Huckabee surprised me with a question of his own: ‘‘Don’t Mormons,’’ he asked in an innocent voice, ‘‘believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?’’

So my question is, what happened after that? Did Chafets say anything back? It obviously wasn't a rhetorical question. Did Chafets just smile back and say nothing? Or did he actually go in depth about the Mormon faith which led Gov. Huckabee to ask more questions. Remember that this interview was a 4 to 5 hour conversation over a period of a couple days, so it was not a typical 10 minute interview.

Chafets doesn't want to really get in the middle of this and defend Huckabee because they want this article to get more play in the media for business purposes. It's pretty sad, but thats how the media works. The editors look at the columnists notes and also the person's article and try to make additions/deletions as they see it. This one sentence that Chafets used in the article was basically the trigger point for people buy the entire magazine on Sunday. Very unfortunate.

NATIONAL REVIEW'S DISHONEST ATTEMPT AT SMEARING HUCKABEE'S FOREIGN POLICY

I came across this article by Joshua Trevino. He is one of the co-founders of RedState.com and also has served as a speech writer for President Bush.

He defends Gov. Huckabee's foreign policy and debunks the rhetoric spewed by NRO that Huckabee is similar to Jimmy Carter.

Here is the link to the article: THE ARKANSAN AND WAR.

A quote:

The following list of quotes is a bit long, but it’s important to understand where Mike Huckabee actually stands — as opposed to where the NR Editors tell us he stands:
# “We have to help other governments mount an active counterinsurgency wherever the terrorists are to be found.”
# “We can achieve tremendous bang for the buck with swift, surgical air strikes and commando raids by our elite units, as we’ve recently done with the Ethiopians in Somalia.”
# “The administration has quite properly said that it will not take the military option for Iran off the table. Neither would I.”
# “[T]o contain Iran, it’s essential that we actually win in Iraq.”
# “Another way to contain Iran is through diplomacy, while never taking the military option off the table.”
# “I’ve supported and continue to support the surge in Iraq.”
# “War is about will. Whoever gives up loses. We can’t afford to lose. How we handle this will determine the kind of world that our grandchildren will live in or, for that matter, die in.”

# “The administration plans to increase the Army and Marines by about 92,000 over five years, but we must accelerate that to more like two or three years …. We spend currently just around 3.9 percent of our GDP on defense. Under Ronald Reagan, we spent 6 percent in 1986. We need to return closer to that 6 percent figure if we’re really serious about our options in the world.”

Also, can you imagine Jimmy Carter ever saying this? The NRO folks really need to find some new brains.

HUGE IMMIGRATION ENDORSEMENT: JIM GILCHRIST FOUNDER OF THE MINUTEMEN ENDORSES MIKE HUCKABEE

On the heels of the first attack ad of the primary by Romney on Huckabee's illegal immigration record, Jim Gilchrist, the founder of the Minutemen has come out and endorsed Gov. Huckabee.

LINK

LITTLE ROCK, AR – In Iowa today, former Arkansas Governor and Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee received a major endorsement from Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project.

Huckabee said he was honored to receive the endorsement. “No one can question Jim's commitment to this country and the immigration problem. He has mobilized a group of volunteers to go to the border and draw attention to the issue of immigration. All of us want a policy where people come to this country through the front door, not the back door,” said Huckabee during a morning news conference.

Gilchrist added, "Governor Huckabee actually wrote a plan that I can embrace. I found his ‘Secure America’ plan would open the dialogue and help begin the process of solving the illegal immigration problem.”

Gilchrist, who founded the Minuteman Project in 2004, said he appreciated Huckabee’s plan to secure America ’s borders.

Last week, Huckabee unveiled “The Secure America Plan: A Nine-Point Strategy for Immigration Enforcement and Border Security.” Huckabee said he believes in adopting the best policy ideas to provide a “tough, equitable and comprehensive approach” to dealing with the current immigration crisis.

Huckabee said his goal is to implement a broad-based strategy that commits the resources of the federal government to the enforcement of our immigration laws and results in the attrition of the illegal immigrant population.

A 30-second television ad, called "Secure Borders," began airing in Iowa Monday to educate voters about Huckabee's call for a new immigration strategy, which begins with securing America 's borders.

A copy of the Secure America Plan and his new Iowa ad is available here.

ROMNEY IN 2005: HUCKABEE WOULD MAKE A FINE PRESIDENT

Yet another flip-flop eh?

SW TIMES ARTICLE

WASHINGTON — It’s interesting to see what two years and a suddenly heated presidential race can do to one man’s opinion of another.

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is certainly not as strong a supporter of rival Mike Huckabee as he was in 2005, when the two men were governors of Massachusetts and Arkansas, respectively.

Romney and Huckabee are engaged in a tight battle for the GOP nomination in Iowa. Caucuses there are less than a month away.

The two have battled over Huckabee’s positions on immigration and taxes, as well as Romney’s alleged flip-flopping on social issues.
And with a 2005 assessment of Huckabee in which he said the man would “make a fine president,” it appears Romney opened himself to more flip-flop accusations.

The Arkansas News Bureau reported in August 2005 that Romney said Huckabee would have the support of many Massachusetts Republicans if the Arkansan were to run for president in 2008.

While at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion for a meeting about health care, Romney demurred when asked whether a presidential race was in his future but had nice things to say about his host.

“Who knows what the future will hold?” Romney said in 2005. “Most likely, we’ll all stay as governors or find other offices, but we need to make sure that we have a strong person who can take the baton from President Bush, and Gov. Huckabee is certainly one of those individuals. He’d make a fine president.”

NATIONAL REVIEW BENDS DOWN FOR ROMNEY, DRUDGE HEART ROMNEY

National Review, a former reputable conservative news magazine has come in support of Gov. Romney. It wasn't very surprising, however. There is a good reason why they decided to announce the endorsement now rather than later. Romney's poll numbers have been dropping in early states and he hasn't garnered much support in the national polls. What's mind-boggling is that they don't give any excuses to Gov. Huckabee but embraces all of the flip-flops and previous anti-reagan and anti-republican statements of Romney.

I found an article that showcased the connections between the Romney campaign and NRO.

LINK

Mitt Romney today garnered the support of the right-wing magazine National Review. Romney has donated thousands of dollars in order to support various right-wing causes. In March the NY Times reported that Romney and allied organizations had paid thousands of dollars to The National Review and various Republican causes.


“Mr. Romney gave $5,000 to help sponsor the anniversary dinner celebrating National Review's Web site last October at a Washington steakhouse. Another group called Evangelicals for Mitt also gave $5,000…The magazine and its Web site have written favorably of Mr. Romney.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now on to Mr. Matt Drudge. There is a lot of speculation between the connections between the Romney campaign and Drudge himself. I very wary of individuals who have too much power in their hands and the drudgereport website is a prime example of that.

Here's an article in the NY Observers that explains how Romney and Drudge are connected:
LINK

Something to keep in mind as Matt Drudge continues his effort to take down Mike Huckabee: Huckabee poses the most immediate and serious threat to Mitt Romney.

As John Harris of the Washington Post first reported in October 2006, Drudge has an unusually close relationship with a senior Romney strategist, Matt Rhodes:

Last year, a delegation of RNC officials flew to Miami Beach, where Drudge lives, for a dinner at the Forge steakhouse to introduce the Internet maven to Matt Rhodes, the party's new opposition research director.

During his time at the RNC, Harris suggests, Rhodes was the G.O.P.'s main conduit for funneling potentially damaging research on Democrats to Drudge.

A year ago, Rhodes signed on to Romney's campaign. Since then, Drudge-watchers have noted Drudge's consistent refusal to hype--and in many cases to even mention--negative stories about Romney. But now Huckabee threatens to blow Romney's nomination strategy. Since last week, Drudge has unleashed a torrent of screaming, anti-Huckabee headlines, culminating in today's "exclusive" (which cites one unnamed Democrat) about the Democrats' supposed hope that Huckabee will emerge as the G.O.P. nominee.

Today's exclusive on Drudge was the following "DEMS HOLD FIRE ON HUCKABEE; SEE 'EASY KILL' IN GENERAL ELECTION". It wasn't linked to any particular article, but it was one of those special articles written by Drudge himself.

Jonathan Martin at Politico called the DNC for a comment:

DNC denies Drudge item came from them

I asked officials at the DNC about the item screaming at the top of Drudge today.

Responded Communications Director Karen Finney:

"We always appreciate having our hard work noticed, and we know Mitt Romney likes to feel special, but the truth is we've been tracking Huckabee for over a year. The Romney campaign should take heart in the fact that the Drudge Report is buying their spin hook, line and sinker because nothing in that story came from us."

Romney's camp keeps a close watch on who the Dems are hitting and have boasted in the past about how they are the most popular target.

I have a theory about this. I'm pretty sure the Romney campaign wanted to point out the fact that Huckabee hasn't been attacked so far by the DNC. So Drudge probably got some random DNC official to say something to back up his presupposition.

Now if the so-called exclusive is true, then that means that the DNC is actually scared of the eventual nomination of Gov. Huckabee. They were trying to do some reverse psychology to make the perception that electing Huckabee would be a mistake because they some how have the silver bullet to derail Huckabee's candidacy. That's nonsense of course, because everyone knows which area they are going to attack Huckabee on.

I hate this side of politics..

A THIRD RESPONSE TO A NEGATIVE PIECE BY NEWBUSTERS.ORG

They forced my hand again.. here's the article.

Just because a liberal reporter likes a republican candidate doesn't mean its the end of the world. I think more than anything it shows the cross-over appeal he has.

Chris Matthews loves Giuliani and no one is crying about that.. why the double standard on Huckabee? Anyways, here is my response:

I'm a supporter of Gov. Huckabee. I'm not going to start attacking the rival candidates, but I wanted to clear up the SCHIP issue that Hugh Hewitt, a radical supporter of Romney try to pin Huckabee on. The next day, Gov. Huckabee was invited to an interview with Michael Reagan. Reagan was concerned about Gov. Huckabee's interview with Hugh Hewitt and asked him the same question.

If you all have the curiosity to listen, please listen to this mp3 clip of that day's Michael Reagan Radio Show.

http://hosts.radioam...

He explained he would have vetoed the bill in it’s present form, but he
would not have allowed the bill to come before him in that form because
he would have framed the debate in a way that would have shown what the
bill was all about. The two then got into a discussion about the way
the Republicans have fallen down on the job and let the Democrats frame
the debate about the issues.

I believe Gov. Huckabee explained his reasoning really well. He was against the SCHIP bill that the democrats put up, but he said he wouldn't have let them come out and start attacking republicans as child haters and those who love to fund the Iraq war. He basically said that we can't let the democrats frame the debate.

Hugh Hewitt has zero credibility. He came out with a book on Romney and he has no choice but to support him at any cost.

Let's not get focused on these "Gotcha" moments.

GOV. HUCKABEE ON IMMIGRATION: IMPROVED RATINGS FROM IMMIGRATION GROUP

NumbersUSA has just released an assessment of all the presidential candidates on immigration.
http://www.betterimmigration.com/candid ... _gop1.html

Candidate	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor	Bad	Abysmal
Thompson	5	8	1	2	0	0
Huckabee	5	6	1	3	1	0
Romney	4	6	1	3	2	0
McCain	0	4	3	2	4	3
Giuliani	0	2	3	6	3	2

Gov. Huckabee recently came out with a 9-point Secure America plan.

The Secure America Plan

A 9-Point Strategy for Immigration Enforcement and Border Security

Overview: Implement a broad-based strategy that commits the resources of the federal government to the enforcement of our immigration laws and results in the attrition of the illegal immigrant population.

1. Build the Fence

• Ensure that an interlocking surveillance camera system is installed along the border by July 1, 2010.
• Ensure that the border fence construction is completed by July 1, 2010.

2. Increase Border Patrol

• Increase the number of border patrol agents.
• Fully support all law enforcement personnel tasked with enforcing immigration law.

3. Prevent Amnesty

• Policies that promote or tolerate amnesty will be rejected.
• Propose to provide all illegal immigrants a 120-day window to register with the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services and leave the country. Those who register and return to their home country will face no penalty if they later apply to immigrate or visit; those who do not return home will be, when caught, barred from future reentry for a period of 10 years.

4. Enforce the Law on Employers

• Employment is the chief draw for most illegal immigrants and denying them jobs is the centerpiece of an attrition strategy.
• Impose steep fines and penalties on employers that violate the law.
• Institute a universal, mandatory citizenship verification system as part of the normal hiring process.
• Prevent the IRS and the Social Security Administration from accepting fraudulent Social Security numbers or numbers that don't match the employees' names.*

5. Establish an Economic Border

• Move toward passage of the FairTax.
• The FairTax provides an extra layer of security by creating an economic disincentive to immigrate to the U.S. illegally.

6. Empower Local Authorities

• Promote better cooperation on enforcement by supporting legislative measures such as the CLEAR Act, which aims to systematize the relationship between local law and federal immigration officials.
• Encourage immigration-law training for police. Local authorities must be provided the tools, training, and funding they need so local police can turn illegal immigrants over to the federal authorities.

7. Ensure Document Security

• End exemptions for Mexicans and Canadians to the US-VISIT program, which tracks the arrival and departure of foreign visitors. Since these countries account for the vast majority of foreigners coming here (85 percent), such a policy clearly violates Congress' intent in mandating this check-in/check-out system.
• Reject Mexico's "matricula consular" card, which functions as an illegal-immigrant identification card.

8. Discourage Dual Citizenship

• Inform foreign governments when their former citizens become naturalized U.S. citizens.
• Impose civil and/or criminal penalties on American citizens who illegitimately use their dual status (e.g., using a foreign passport, voting in elections in both a foreign country and the U.S.).

9. Modernize the Process of Legal Immigration

• Eliminate the visa lottery system and the admission category for adult brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens.
• Increase visas for highly-skilled and highly-educated applicants.
• Expedite processing for those who serve honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces.
• Improve our immigration process so that those patiently and responsibly seeking to come here legally will not have to wait decades to share in the American dream. Governor Huckabee has always been grateful to live in a country that people are trying to break into, rather than break out of.

*This policy will be drafted to comply with the final federal court decisions on this issue.

Note: This plan is partially modeled on a proposal by Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies. ("Re: Immigration: Ten Points for a Successful Presidential Candidate," National Review, May 23, 2005.)

ROMNEY CAMPAIGN'S DIRTY TRICKS ON HUCKABEE (not working)

Matt Lewis of Townhall has come out with a new article about the Romney campaign coalition of bloggers and columnists to spew out anti-Huckabee news.

These kind of tricks and Romney's fake optimism and conversion is what is causing the recent downturn of support. He has spent tens of millions on ads and related events, all in vain. Gov. Huckabee has spent 1/20th of what Romney has. I think that speaks for itself.

The Romney campaign is also behind the recent rumors that Huckabee is somehow trying to promote anti-Mormon bigotry. Foxnews and others like Hannity, Krauthammer, are coming in defense of Romney and strongly against Huckabee. Matt Drudge who has connections within the Romney campaign constantly post anti-Huckabee articles, which is truly sickening. HotAir.com has come up with constant anti-Huckabee pieces and has unfairly engaged in 'gotcha' politics. Remember, these are the same people who riled against the Liberal Media when they did the same kind of dirty tricks on Pres. Bush.

Fred Thompson's campaign is not overlooked either, it is well known that they are into similar things. If I have learned one thing, I have realized how shady most of these 'dependable' conservatives are.

Here is Matt Lewis' article:

As a senior aide to Sam Brownback, Rob Wasinger knows first-hand what it's like to challenge Mitt Romney from the Right.

Though Brownback's campaign never caught fire, his credentials as a social conservative leader from the Mid West meant he was an early Romney rival. Operatives on both sides have admitted to me that the two campaigns simply didn't get along, and that they often traded barbs on the trail. (In the past, I've written about the contentious rivalry between Brownback and Romney.)

In a phone interview with me today, Wasinger echoed what I've heard other operatives say to me off the record -- that he believes Romney's campaign is behind many of the recent attacks on Mike Huckabee:

"They've got a scorched-earth strategy, and it's not surprising they are now going after Huckabee," Wasinger told me.

According to Wasinger, the Romney campaign is a disciplined and efficient operation that effectively uses blogs and opinion leaders to disseminate negative information regarding Romney's opponents:

"They roll out these surrogates to attack other candidates ... They are particularly sensitive to anyone who questions Mitt's conversion," he tells me.

Unlike ever before, candidates on both sides are utilizing bloggers and surrogates to spread their message. During a typical GOP debate, my blackberry is deluged with press releases, attacks, and up-to-the-minute rebuttals from the candidates. But while campaigns use the new media to spread their positive message, the medium is perhaps even better at advancing a negative narrative.

I can personally attest to the fact that all the major Republican campaigns, from time to time, leak negative stories to bloggers. I suspect this is true of the other side, too. Why do bloggers often bite? Sometimes because they already like the candidate, but often it's because it's a win/win: The campaign gets an attack without their finger prints on it, and the blogger gets some juicy information that (hopefully) nobody else in the world has ...

And Romney's team has clearly been at the top of their game, cultivating some of the best bloggers in the nation to help advance their message. On a large scale, Romney communications strategist Matt Roades is famously close to Matt Drudge -- that's obviously the nuclear option. But Romney has other blog allies, including MyManMitt, and these bloggers have obviously ratcheted up attacks on Huckabee in recent days.

Romney Communications Director Kevin Madden says the Romney campaign has focused on a positive message, but acknowledges the Romney campaign isn't afraid to show a sharp distinction between the candidates: "We won't hesitate to draw contrasts with other campaigns. Where there are big differences on big issues, it is important to inform the voter on those differences," he tells me.

PREMIERE: MIKE HUCKABEE FOR COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF

Created by my brother - http://www.joelpro.com

UPDATE: The Huckabee campaign posted this Ad on their blog. Many thanks :)

Rett Hatcher of Race2008 also posted this Ad on their website.

TAXES AND IMMIGRATION: RESPONSE TO ROMNEY'S ATTACK ON HUCKABEE ON THE SITUATION ROOM (11/26/07)

Mitt Romney is at it again. This time he's attacking Huckabee, saying that Huckabee is no Reagan. Obviously Romney was always a great admirer of Reagan (NOT) and he was a supporter of Reagan-Bush policies in the '80's (NOT). I will allow Romney to tell you that himself, watch the video below.


MORE RESPONSE:

FISCAL:
Joe Carter wrote an article on Reagan and attacks by club for growth. This is pretty relevant to this blog post as well.

http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/004053.html

Quote:

After being elected Governor of California in 1967, Ronald Reagan reneged on a campaign promise and signed into law the single biggest tax increase in the state's history: $1 billion. (At the time, the total state budget was only about $5 billion. Adjusted for inflation and population growth, the increase in today's dollars would be $10 billion.)

If the Club for Growth had been around in 1980, Reagan might not have become President. The influential fiscal conservative group would surely have done everything in their power to prevent the Gipper from gaining the nomination. They would have attempted to derail Reagan's campaign just as they are now doing to Gov. Huckabee.

More Articles on this topic:
An Endorsement of Mike Huckabee: http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/004044.html
The CFG's Hypocrisy on Earmarks: http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/004079.html
Rebutting NRO's Editorial: http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/004093.html
Hucks Army collection of data: http://forum.hucksarmy.com/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=755 (Membership required)
Huckabee vs Romney (Tax Burden): http://forum.hucksarmy.com/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=746 (Membership required)
Huckabee's response on WSJ: http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110010794
Campaign's response to the Nursing Tax: http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Blogs.View&Blog_id=563
Hucks Army research on Tax Hike Video: http://forum.hucksarmy.com/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=1667

ON IMMIGRATION: Don't forget Reagan's Amnesty plan of 1986. The border wasn't built under Reagan, nor the illegal immigration situation was solved. I'm not saying that it was a good thing, nor am I saying that Huckabee is going to do the same. I'm just laying out the Reagan record.

There has been a lot of talk about Gov. Huckabee's proposal on allowing children of illegal immigrants who have attended an Arkansas school for at least 3 years and met all academic requirements for graduates to receive an in-state tuition rate for attending any college in Arkansas.

Here is the text of the bill, that didn't pass:
http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/ftproot/bills/2005/public/HB1525.pdf

WHEREAS, there are children of undocumented immigrants who have lived in Arkansas most of their lives; and
WHEREAS, most of these children have spent their formative years in Arkansas elementary and secondary schools; and
WHEREAS, many of these children have proven their academic ability by graduating from an Arkansas high school; and
WHEREAS, many of these children are precluded from accessing an affordable college education because they do not qualify for in-state tuition rates or state-supported scholarships; and

WHEREAS, educational opportunities should be offered to all children so they may contribute to the future economic viability of Arkansas,

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
As Engrossed: S3/31/05 S4/11/05 HB1525
04-11-2005 19:35 KAC234
SECTION 1 1. (a) This act shall be known as the “Access to Postsecondary Education Act of 2005”.
(b) Any tuition rate that is granted to residents of Arkansas shall be granted on the same terms to all persons, regardless of immigration status,who have attended a secondary educational institution in Arkansas for at least three (3) years and who have either graduated from an Arkansas high school or received a general education diploma in the state.
(c) In addition to the requirements under subdivision (b) of this section, a student without documented status shall file an affidavit with the state-supported institution of higher education stating that the student has an intent to legalize his or her immigration status.
(d) The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall promulgate the rules necessary for implementation of this act.

Obviously, this might be a turn off to those who thinks this is amnesty. I beg to differ, because there is a lot of qualifiers for this bill. Gov. Huckabee has not flip-flopped on this issue, nor has rephrased his support in anyway and I admire him for it. Gov. Huckabee has explained the logic behind why he supported this proposal: It is better to encourage people to become tax payers than tax 'takers'.
On the other hand, Act 2210 of 2005 was signed into law by Governor Huckabee. The legislation made it illegal for a driver’s license to be issued to anyone who could not prove legal residency in Arkansas. http://roebuckreport...

Gov. Huckabee is strongly for building the border, also he's against blind amnesty. Here is a very detailed article about Gov. Huckabee's position on immigration on MikeHuckabee.com. I would encourage you look at the other top-tier candidates and you would see that a bunch of these candidates are clearly pandering to far right for votes. I can bet you none of these guys wouldn't do anything different than Huckabee.

UPDATE: Gov. Huckabee has come out with a 9-point Secure America plan. Very strong plan.

I wrote this on another post but I decided to place a copy of it on this post since we are on the topic of immigration:

SIDE NOTE:

How come these conservatives aren't attacking Romney nor Rudy on immigration? Why just Huckabee? I think it's very clear that Rudy was for sanctuary cities in NYC and Thompson has no real record to judge from (so he can pretty much claim anything he wants). Here is Romney's past statements and his record in Massachusetts when it comes to illegal immigration and how he has flip-flopped on this issue (like many others).

Romney Supports McCain-Bush Immigration Bill, Saying They Are "Quite Different" From Amnesty. According to the Boston Globe, in November 2005 Romney spoke "approvingly of efforts by McCain and Bush to solve the nation's immigration crisis, calling them 'reasonable proposals.[Boston Globe, 3/16/07]

Gov. Mitt Romney expressed support yesterday for an immigration program that places large numbers of illegal residents on the path toward citizenship… 'I don't believe in rounding up 11 million people and forcing them at gunpoint from our country,' Romney said. '[T]hose that are here paying taxes and not taking government benefits should begin a process towards application for citizenship, as they would from their home country.[Lowell Sun, 3/30/06]

I really think the conservative media is not doing their job in revealing the past positions of the candidates they like. They know it will hurt their favorite candidate. Recently, Huckabee has become a real threat to the republican establishment and so all of them are all out on him. I hope the American people will see through the usual convoluted politics and get to know Gov. Huckabee for who he truly is.

On a personal note, It takes a lot of our time and energy as volunteer bloggers for Huckabee to respond to all of these unfair charges. I only wish most of these conservative columnists would spend the time in doing proper and fair research.

RESPONSE TO ANOTHER NEWSBUSTERS.ORG ARTICLE ON HUCKABEE - AND OTHER COMMENTS UNDER IT

Yes, the second day of the row, the exposer of Liberal Media Bias has come against Gov. Huckabee again! This time criticizing his empathy towards those who aren't doing so well financially. Some call it being a 'populist'. Also, some rival campaign supporters attacked Gov. Huckabee on his theological degree and tried to make the point that he is not qualified enough to be President. Some said he should run for a Baptist pastor.

Again, I humbly took on the task again of setting the record straight.

MY RESPONSE
I don't know how an attack piece on Huckabee comes under "Exposing and Combating Liberal Media Bias."

If one would look at this in an intellectual and strategic point of view, what Gov. Huckabee is doing is very shrewd and effective. There is nothing wrong with having a populist rhetoric. Huckabee is offering free-market, conservative solutions to these real issues.

Let's use that classic story of giving someone fishes vs. teaching them how to fish. There is nothing wrong for a person to say, hey I understand what you are going through, but the best way for you to get fishes regularly without depending on anyone is by learning how to fish.

The democrats say, hey I understand what you are going through, let me constantly provide you fishes for the rest of your life.

We as conservatives lack empathy, and we can use that to our advantage to get the common folk to understand why we are very adamant on individual responsibility. There must be a combination with the head and the heart in how we communicate.

If one thinks Gov Huckabee is no different than the democrats, you haven't done your homework. I suggest you all listen to the debate between Gov. Huckabee and Sen. McCain on healthcare. If Gov. Huckabee was a liberal he would've said let the government fully fund healthcare. Go check it out for yourself.

http://www.aarp.org/issues/dividedwefai ... bcast.html

Also on taxes, Gov Huckabee is for the Fair Tax (http://www.fairtax.org). Anyone with an decent IQ score knows that the fair tax is not a liberal tax policy. He has also signed the no new taxes pledge by Norquist, unlike some other candidates.

Finally on his educational background. If Gov. Huckabee was currently a pastor of a church without any kind of executive experience, you have a point. He has proven how he can lead an entire state and do it effectively. No one accuses him of being incompetant. He has been the Lieu. Govenor of Arkansas for 3 years, then Govenor for close to 11 years. While being Governor he served as the Chairman of the Southern Governors Association and also the Chairman of the National Governors Association.

Also he served in other leadership positions including president of the Council of State Governments, state co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority, and chairman of the Southern Governors Association, the Southern Regional Education Board, the Southern Growth Policies Board, the Southern Technology Council, the Southern International Trade Council and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission.

As former chairman of the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission, Huckabee worked with the 37-state coalition to develop energy policy and lobby Congress on energy matters, such as the regulation of oil and gas production.

Now what did Romney do as a one-term Governor of Massachusetts?

Note to NewsBusters: Please stick with your motto and focus on the liberal media and democrats.

RESPONSE TO NEWSBUSTERS.ORG ARTICLE ON HUCKABEE - AND OTHER COMMENTS UNDER IT

LINK TO ARTICLE

NewsBusters.org is a respectable website whose motto is "Exposing and Combating the Liberal Media Bias". I decided to set them straight. Some people were complaining about candidates of not being Reagan-like. I thought I should also set them straight too about Reagan's record. Don't get me wrong, I admire Reagan a lot, I just don't deify him as the God of Conservatives.


MY RESPONSE:

The real media bias here is that ABC turned this interview into propping the center-right positions of a republican candidate and making him look like a liberal.
I am a supporter of Gov. Huckabee and what is being missed in the media, both in the MSM and especially in conservative websites like newsbusters.org is his conservative positions. I really don't believe that an unfair attack on a fellow republican should be the purpose of this website.
Let me go into detail about illegal immigration: If anyone honestly want to learn Gov. Huckabee's positions on Illegal immigration you can go here. He is very strongly against illegal immigration. http://www.mikehucka...

Do you want more assurance? Act 2210 of 2005 was signed into law by Governor Huckabee. The legislation made it illegal for a driver’s license to be issued to anyone who could not prove legal residency in Arkansas. http://roebuckreport...
On the tuition breaks, the governor only supported the measure that applied to those who met the academic qualifications and applied for legal citizenship. The measure didn't pass. Governor Huckabee stressed that any student would simply be treated as any other graduate of an Arkansas High School, and not given any special consideration.

UPDATE: Gov. Huckabee has come out with a 9-point Secure America plan. Very strong plan.

I really want to challenge my fellow friends who commented here about candidates not being Reagan-like. Reagan was a human being and he too wasn't perfect on conservative issues. For example, Reagan had no choice but to raise taxes in California, and Reagan approved blind amnesty to everyone and he didn't do anything to build the border. Let's not forget that. We claim to be conservatives and under the Reagan and Bush 43 administrations the national debt went up big time. What Reagan was known for was his sunny optimism and his ability to connect with all Americans, hence the term Reagan democrats came into existence.

Gov. Huckabee is not for blind amnesty and he has said time after time that the border must be built and that is the first solution to the problem of illegal immigration. He is correct in stating that the problem of illegal immigration is due to the failure of the federal government in building the border. Someone above commented about someone breaking in a house = to illegals crossing the border. You know what, there is no door, its an open field that anyone can cross through easily. Let's build the border and then discuss what happens to those who came here illegally.

Democrats are set to win congress next year and most republicans are just twittling their thumbs. It's almost like we are letting them win. Very unfortunate.

SIDE NOTE:

How come these conservatives aren't attacking Romney nor Rudy on immigration? Why just Huckabee? I think it's very clear that Rudy was for sanctuary cities in NYC. Here is Romney's past statements and his record in Massachusetts when it comes to illegal immigration and how he has flip-flopped on this issue (like many others).

Romney Supports McCain-Bush Immigration Bill, Saying They Are "Quite Different" From Amnesty. According to the Boston Globe, in November 2005 Romney spoke "approvingly of efforts by McCain and Bush to solve the nation's immigration crisis, calling them 'reasonable proposals.[Boston Globe, 3/16/07]

Gov. Mitt Romney expressed support yesterday for an immigration program that places large numbers of illegal residents on the path toward citizenship… 'I don't believe in rounding up 11 million people and forcing them at gunpoint from our country,' Romney said. '[T]hose that are here paying taxes and not taking government benefits should begin a process towards application for citizenship, as they would from their home country.[Lowell Sun, 3/30/06]

Nov 20th unofficial grassroots fundraising drive for Gov. Huckabee

Message from HucksArmy.com

There has been a great deal of discussion on the Huck's Army Forums regarding the November 20th Fundraising goal. Some positive, some negative. Huck's Army would like to go on the record in saying that we admire and respect those who have made it happen.

Though some of us remain personally opposed to "donate later" fundraising goals in general, we all encourage you to donate what you can on November 20th. There are a number of unaffiliated organizations that have picked up this story, and as such, failure now would be a disservice to the Mike Huckabee campaign.

We won't pretend to be able to raise as much in one day as another candidate, but this is an opportunity to show that our grassroots army has gained enough momentum to help push the campaign past its November fundraising goal.

We are all striving to support Mike Huckabee. We may have different tactics for accomplishing that goal, but it is imperative that we ultimately work together to do what is necessary to help Mike win. In our opinion supporting the November 20th effort would serve Mike well.

Even if you don't register on the site, making a donation on Tuesday, November 20th via MikeHuckabee.com would help the effort immensely. Be sure to use Donor Code 160. Let's repeat that: Be sure to use Donor Code 160.

Please continue to encourage your friends and family to make ongoing donations to Mike Huckabee, and encourage them to make their best donation on Tuesday, November 20th.

So, head over to November 20th - For The Children today and register your support. Even if you can't quite afford $100 we encourage you to sign up to give what you can. Every dollar counts.

Together we can "Take a Stand for the Future" and turn Governor Huckabee into President Huckabee. Faith. Family. Freedom. [Grassroots].

Let's Roll,
Huck's Army

Mike Huckabee Ad: Chuckhuckfacts or HuckChuckFacts

Hands down, the funniest Ad ever run. Gov. Huckabee isn't going away, he's in it to fight: with Chuck Norris.

Possibly the best Chuck Norris fact I've seen:
Little known medical fact: Chuck Norris invented the Cesarean section when he roundhouse-kicked his way out of his mothers womb.

Please donate to Gov. Huckabee's campaign here (click on Contribute)

Huckabee up to 21% in IOWA!

(click on pictures to see an enlarged version - CREDIT to Drudgereport.com)

CBS POLL

Justin Thoughts Growing up - Change of Name.

I have been struggling to find a good name for my blog and I was only able to come up with Justin's Thoughts. Egh..

Well, now my blog has a new name: THE THOMAS REPORT. It sounds pretty serious, as it should. Time to grow up, yes even for me.

Huckabee a fiscal liberal, tax hiker from Arkansas? Rebuttal by Joe Carter

Joe Carter from evangelical outpost makes a very good defense of Gov. Huckabee's economic record in Arkansas. It's a must read!

http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/004053.html

Updated:
Here's another great post explaining every tax increase in its fuller context by Right Smart Blog

VISIT EVANGELICALSFORMIKE.COM!

There is a new blog in town: http://www.evangelicalsformike.com/

Here you can find the latest news in endorsements, and other articles that emphasize the importance of why those evangelicals of all colors and stripes can find the qualities of an ideal candidate in Gov. Huckabee.

Visit the blog frequently!

Mitt Romney waffles and flip flops - Romney Deception (updated)

I would let the video speak for itself.

In the meanwhile, read this well written article about the Romney Deception.
Also this article from Gregg Jackson
National Review's critique on Romney Healthcare plan
MSNBC's coverage of Romney's 'change' on positions

Huckabee surging: Genuine grassroots online website - Hucksarmy.com

The number of Huckabee supporters is growing and is getting stronger by the day. One thing you find in common in supporters like me is the undying support of our candidate Gov. Huckabee. Recently, a few awesome supporters decided to come together and start a genuine grassroots campaign for Gov. Huckabee from scratch.

The website is www.hucksarmy.com

There you can join a community of 500 supporters (and growing) and discuss the latest news on Gov. Huckabee, read about the truth against each false accusation leveled at him, and finally watch archived videos of the Governor on the campaign trail and also in national news.

I had my doubts in the beginning, but now I'm the biggest fan of Hucksarmy.com. I post articles on there on a daily basis and sometimes I forget the fact that I have to update my own blog.

Take a look at the website, read the articles on the forum and decide for yourself if you want to join!

Answering the criticisms of Gov. Huckabee - A rebuttal

Steve Deace, the evening drive-time guy on WHO radio in Des Moines is a strong supporter of Gov. Huckabee. He like many others took a step back when he heard the criticisms against Gov. Huckabee and looked at the entire evidence. He is still a strong supporter.

I ask those who are interested in Gov. Huckabee but have reservations to listen to this.

http://www.whoradio.com/cc-common/podcast.html

Gov. Huckabee too soft on illegal immigration? The truth about his stance on immigration

UPDATE: Gov. Huckabee has come out with a 9-point Secure America plan. Very strong plan.

There is a lot of false criticism leveled at Gov. Huckabee for his stance on illegal immigration. These articles below should be able to clear up any suspicion that he's soft on that issue.

http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Newsroom.Article&ID=82

Truth Squad: Immigration Facts

November 02, 2007

Immigration Facts

- The Governor opposes and will never allow amnesty.

- Governor Huckabee believes that securing our borders must be our top priority and has reached the level of a national emergency.

- The Governor supports the $3 billion the Senate has voted for border security. This money will train and deploy 23,000 more agents, add four drone planes, build 700 miles of fence and 300 miles of vehicle barriers, and put up 105 radar and camera towers.

- In this age of terror, illegal immigration is not only an economic issue, but also a national security issue.

- Governor Huckabee opposed the amnesty bill that was attempted to be rushed through Congress this summer, and opposed the misnamed DREAM Act, which would have put us on the slippery slope to amnesty for all.

- Governor Huckabee opposes and will not tolerate sanctuaries for illegals.

- Governor Huckabee opposes giving driver's licenses to those who are illegally in our country and supports legislation to prevent states from doing so.

- Governor Huckabee believes illegal aliens who try to vote or try to apply for welfare benefits should be arrested.

- Governor Huckabee will stop punishing cities which try to enforce our laws and protect the economic well-being, physical safety, and quality of life of our citizens.

- Governor Huckabee opposes and will not tolerate employers who hire illegals. They must be punished with fines and penalties so large that they will see it is not worth the risk or profitable.

- Governor Huckabee opposes the economic integration of North America that would create open borders among the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

- Governor Huckabee will never yield one inch of American sovereignty.

- Governor Huckabee will take our country back for those who belong here. No open borders, no amnesty, no sanctuary, no false Social Security numbers, no driver's licenses for illegals.

It has been reported that Mike Huckabee supported benefits for illegals immigrants while he was Governor of Arkansas.

Governor Huckabee never supported benefits for illegal immigrants. In Arkansas, illegal immigrants do not receive welfare benefits or food stamps. Governor Huckabee has always, and will always be supportive of the laws and regulations of the country.

It has also been said that Mike Huckabee was in favor of providing college scholarships for illegal immigrants while he was Governor.

The governor only supported the measure that applied to those who met the academic qualifications and applied for legal citizenship. The measure didn't pass. Governor Huckabee stressed that any student would simply be treated as any other graduate of an Arkansas High School, and not given any special consideration.

Critics say that Governor Huckabee's motives behind opening a Mexican consulate office in Little Rock was to court illegals to come work in Arkansas.

The Mexican consulate provided Arkansas businesses with access to Mexico and opportunities to expand their markets, and would help further ensure that immigrants from Mexico are legal and better able to secure legal documentation. At the same time, the office would open up opportunities for Mexican investors to invest money with Arkansas partners, which would help create more jobs in the state.


Second, Doug Matayo, a former Arkansas State Legislator defends Gov Huckabee's policies on immigration.

http://roebuckreport.blogspot.com/2007/11/exclusive-former-ark-state-legislator.html

Mike Huckabee: Protecting the integrity of state documents
By Doug Matayo

Act 2210 of 2005 was signed into law by Governor Huckabee. The legislation made it illegal for a driver’s license to be issued to anyone who could not prove legal residency in Arkansas.

Over two years before the controversy swirling over New York Governor Spitzer’s desire to allow illegal aliens to receive state documentation in the form of a state issued driver’s license, as Mike Huckabee’s floor leader, I sponsored and we passed legislation to stop illegals from getting licenses. Huckabee signed it into law.

Huckabee recognized this issue is about INTEGRITY. The integrity of the state to issue documents that are authentic and to avoid fraudulent attempts for people to receive state benefits they are not entitled too. Also this will cut down on voter fraud since a license cannot be issued to a non-resident (and state issued ID is typically produced at the polls to verify identity). But some of Huckabee’s detractors are still not happy with Huckabee’s immigration stances.

In a Wall Street Journal article, a former Republican legislator – Randy Minton – stated Huckabee was for amnesty, sanctuary cities and open borders. Apparently, Mr. Minton wasn’t paying attention when Matayo and Huckabee moved Act 2210 forward to keep all non-legal residents of Arkansas from getting state issued identification. Apparently, Mr. Minton didn’t read the papers when Huckabee signed into law legislation which allowed state troopers to partner with the Department of Homeland Security to arrest illegal immigrants and enforce federal immigration law. Obviously, Mr. Minton isn’t letting these facts get in the way of his continual personal and vitriolic attacks on Mr. Huckabee.