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.
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.
'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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.)
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.
