Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/28/huckabee.foreign.policy/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITI CS/12/28/huckabee.foreign.policy/index.html</a> Well, you never know when you're going to get bit, and the assassination of Benazir Bhutto has exposed Mike Huckabee as a wannabe. When asked for a reaction to Bhutto's death, Huckabee said: "In light of what happened in Pakistan yesterday, it's interesting that there are more Pakistanis who have illegally crossed the border than of any other nationality except for those immediately south of our border." He went on to say that Americans might "look halfway around the world and say, 'How does that affect me?' ... We need to understand that violence and terror is significant when it happens in Pakistan, [and] it's more significant if it can happen in our own cities. And it happens if people can slip across our border and we have no control over them." "The immigration issue is not so much about people coming to pick lettuce or make beds, it's about people who could come with a shoulder-fired missile and could do serious damage and harm to us," Huckabee said, "and that's what we need to be worried about." Hoo boy. As the article relates: "Huckabee's foreign policy credentials have been under a microscope since the candidate admitted that he was unaware of an intelligence report that Iran had suspended its nuclear weapons program earlier this month." The article is chock full of Huckabee screw ups. One more gem: "Huckabee said 660 Pakistanis entered the country illegally last year. When asked by a reporter the source for that statistic, Huckabee appeared unsure, saying, "Those are numbers that I got today from a briefing, and I believe they are CIA and immigration numbers." The Huckabee campaign later said the figure came from a March 2006 report by The Denver Post. But the Border Patrol told CNN on Friday that it apprehended only "a handful" of illegal immigrants from Pakistan in 2007. The number of illegal immigrants from Pakistan deported or apprehended is not mentioned in the latest report from the Department of Homeland Security/Office of Immigration Statistics. In 2005, the nation did not make the list of the top 10 sources of illegal immigrants. The previous year, Pakistan was the last country listed, but no specific numbers were given." Especially troubling is this spin: But CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said the debate over whether Huckabee has command of the nuances of the Pakistan crisis would have little impact on his support. "Mike Huckabee is a populist. His comments on Pakistan reflect a populist understanding of the crisis, which, is to say, not much," Schneider said. "Sure, the political establishment is snickering, but I doubt that his misstatements bother his supporters much." Sorry, Bill, not this time, not again. What's the saying? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me? This is Bush II all over again. The last thing this country needs is another jackass without a grip world affairs in the White House. No newly elected president gets to learn, and learn poorly, on the job this time around. Another quote in the article has an aide saying Huckabee touched in illegal immigration in his response, because he was playing to the male GOP Iowa voters, in other words, telling them what he thought they wanted to hear. Pandering for votes. Huckabee should already know all these things by heart. If it's too much for him to remember, then get the hell out of the race. The last thing we need is what we've had since 2001. <a href="http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/multimedia/bushism_fool_me_once.mp3" target="_blank">http://politicalhumor.about.co m/library/multimedia/bushism_fool_me_once.mp3</a>
Originally Posted By jonvn He's a right wing religious idiot who thinks the bible is the best way to run the country. So what can you expect, enlightened thought? The problem is that there are a lot of basically near retarded individuals in this country who think like he does, and wants a theocracy here and little else. So he will get their votes. Meanwhile, the press does almost nothing to expose the ineptly inappropriate nature of this person, and the rest of the jerks running. They're far more concerned about $400 haircuts.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: My goodness, jonvn, when it comes to politics, I must say you're quite right. You actually share the same view point that my sisters and I have about this Huckabee character. He's an evil hypocrite and not even very intelligent.
Originally Posted By DAR Right wing religious idiot? Near retarded individuals? An evil hypocrite and not very intelligent? It's nice to know that tolerance is alive and well in this country.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Hey, let's see a defense of Huckabee rather than an insult. Can you do it?
Originally Posted By woody You should start over with a better argument. Your last paragraph doesn't deserve a response.
Originally Posted By Maxxdadd There are many in this country who now believe that if someone shows a display of Christian faith, that they are weak in the brain, or religious idiots. America is great, in that it provides the right of free speech from virtually any faith or creed. That's good when it is done respectfully, and sad when it is done in hurtful ways. Calling someone retarded or a person an idiot, tying it to their religious views, is the sad version. I am not a supporter of anyone in this race, but I think it may be helpful if we could come up with a definitive list of the issues we face, and then take each candidate and "fill in the boxes" regarding their stand on each issue. On some candidates, that's can be a challenge, because they often change their positions, depending on who asked the question. As for Huckabee, I believe you will find that many of his positions are pretty easy to nail down. From the long post above, I don't think it is much of a stretch to say he opposes an open border between the US and Mexico. From what I can harvest from other web sites, He is pro-life, For a more equitable tax system, such as a flat tax rate, Strong on Agricultural and Oil Industry support to reduce dependence on foreign oil, and would like to see a revamping of the Educational system. If that's what you like, then Huck is the berry for you. I don't know if that comprises a defense for him... lots of people disagree with those positions... But I think it may be a more helpful representation of his positions than just labeling him as a religious idiot.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "Your last paragraph doesn't deserve a response." And yet, you did.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "As for Huckabee, I believe you will find that many of his positions are pretty easy to nail down. From the long post above, I don't think it is much of a stretch to say he opposes an open border between the US and Mexico." His position on immigration isn't the point here. It's his utter lack of a grasp on something as urgent as Pakistan and his programmed response that included the subject of immigration in his answer. His aide even admitted that Huckabee isn't adequate on foreign policy, which IS the point here. He needs to already be up to date on all things related to foreign policy, given the state of the world. If this guy gets to be president, I'd rather he learn the economy on the fly than what to do about Al Qaeda. That approach will keep us all alive a lot longer and frankly, I don't want any part of a candidate who is just now starting to learn.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 For the record, I don't think Huckabee has any business being president, but I agree that terms like "religious idiot" and "evil hypocrite" don't do much to advance the tone of debate. <I don't think it is much of a stretch to say he opposes an open border between the US and Mexico.< Well, every candidate of both parties says this. "We need to strengthen border security" is sort of the safe, "apple pie" thing to say now, and they all do. Huckabee, however, has actually said some rather humane (even, dare I say it, Christian) things about the immigrants already here, which has gotten him attacked from other Republicans seeking to demagogue the immigration issue. I don't know if you've seen the Romney attack ads being aired in Iowa and NH, but they attack Huckabee as being "soft" on immigrants. That's another reason this recent statement of Huckabee's comes off so badly. Apart from being misinformed on Pakistan, it seems a pretty blatant attempt to counter the recent charges and pander to those who think he might be too "soft."
Originally Posted By jonvn "Right wing religious idiot?" Yes. "Near retarded individuals?" I was being kind. "It's nice to know that tolerance is alive and well in this country. " I have no tolerance for this sort of politician or his supporters. They are dumbing down the political discussion in this country, can't run the government, and have made a mess of things. Oh, and by the way, their ideas are impractical and unrealistic. Otherwise, yeah, they're fine. And people whose trolley doesn't run to the top of the hill are their biggest suppoters.
Originally Posted By jonvn "There are many in this country who now believe that if someone shows a display of Christian faith, that they are weak in the brain, or religious idiots." No, he's a religious idiot because that's how he behaves. In this country, these politicians seem to feel a need to wear their beliefs on their sleeves. In Europe if you pulled this sort of stunt, you'd be disgraced and out of office.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< "In light of what happened in Pakistan yesterday, it's interesting that there are more Pakistanis who have illegally crossed the border than of any other nationality except for those immediately south of our border." >>> Even if it were true, why would it be interesting in light of the assassination? If the President of Mexico were to be assassinated, would that be "interesting" in light of the immigration situation, or would one have nothing to do with the other?
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: jonvn, for once you have the full support of all 3 Cauldron girls. Sometimes one HAS to reveal the ogres for who they are--even if it does involve name calling. Jesus, himself, resorted to this when over-turning the merchant tables who were selling the wares within a Synagogue. The vultures running America into the ground deserve far worse than mere name calling. They're criminals leading the sleeping sheep astray and it's only getting worse. If jonvn is the only one who can see this, then we fear for the rest of you. ORGOCH: Sure do! Better wake up an' smell the brew befer it's too late!!
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Yet Barack Obama’s offer to meet without precondition with leaders of renegade nations such as Cuba, North Korea and Iran is given a pass instead of being portrayed ( by anyone but Hillary ) -as foreign policy naive also -- because he is part of the peace and love party. Neither is a foreign policy genius -- and they are not alone in this next race on that count. However if Obama supporters were characterized as such idiots - ooh boy, all heck would break loose. Why I am glad I don't vote straight party - but getting harder and harder to be a moderate - cutting thru all the rhetoric already starting from both sides. I am not a Huckabee supporter - but his stances on issues are really very clear - his web site ( I visited all the major candidates websites ) - doesn't leave anywhere near as much wiggle room on issues as some others. At least i appreciate that. There are some things I agree with him on, and some I likely could never agree on - therefore he won't get my vote -- but rather than rip anyone who supports him as somewhat retarded - ( which btw would be fairly easy to do for almost any candidates supporters ) - maybe focusing on the issues would be the right course -- that's it for me -- done with this conversation and likely will stay out of most of the "Bush sucks" type threads ripping............ IF the current presidency has taught us anything, it is that the country will somehow survive no matter who is in the White House.
Originally Posted By barboy "IF the current presidency has taught us anything, it is that the country will somehow survive no matter who is in the White House." Don't be so sure about that---we haven't received the bill yet.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: Indeed! As a matter of fact, my sisters and I predict that you Americans are on the brink of some eye-opening disasters about to unfold.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <Yet Barack Obama’s offer to meet without precondition with leaders of renegade nations such as Cuba, North Korea and Iran is given a pass instead of being portrayed ( by anyone but Hillary ) -as foreign policy naive also -- because he is part of the peace and love party.> I'm not sure I'll vote for him, but I think Obama got a bit of a bum rap on this one. As I recall the debate, Obama was asked if he'd meet with those leaders in the first year of his term. He said yes. Hillary - very shrewdly - responded by saying she would not do so without preconditions. This was then spun as Obama saying he'd do so without preconditions, but I believe the whole preconditions thing was cannily inserted by Hillary and wasn't even in the original question.
