Posts Tagged ‘Mike Huckabee’

This is a commentary by George Will. He discusses how things like Huckabee’s verbal garbage are a bad thing for the GOP. It seems like it should be obvious, but it has come to George Will have to remind people that acting like a crazy person is bad.

If pessimism is not creeping on little cat’s feet into Republicans’ thinking about their 2012 presidential prospects, that is another reason for pessimism. This is because it indicates they do not understand that sensible Americans, who pay scant attention to presidential politics at this point in the electoral cycle, must nevertheless be detecting vibrations of weirdness emanating from people associated with the party.

Will then discusses Huckabee and Gingrich still talking about Kenya for some reason.

To the notion that Obama has a “Kenyan, anti-colonial” worldview, the sensible response is: If only. Obama’s natural habitat is as American as the nearest faculty club; he is a distillation of America’s academic mentality; he is as American as the other professor-president, Woodrow Wilson. A question for former history professor Gingrich: Why implicate Kenya?

And I really liked the close:

So the Republican winnowing process is far advanced. But the nominee may emerge much diminished by involvement in a process cluttered with careless, delusional, egomaniacal, spotlight-chasing candidates to whom the sensible American majority would never entrust a lemonade stand, much less nuclear weapons.

Enjoy the insanity.

Adam Feser

I wrote earlier this week about The Daily Show’s coverage of a bill to provide health funding to 9/11 first responders. It hasn’t passed because Republicans had to get rich people tax cuts. It seems horrible to make first responders a pawn, only to be used to get what you want, but they did it.

Now they’ve passed the tax cuts, and still no action has bee taken. The media has largely ignored the issue. Nothing is getting done.

So Jon Stewart dedicated pretty much all of his last show of the year to the bill. He first crushed the media and Republicans for their inaction. Then he allowed four actual first responders, all suffering from diseases contracted as a result of their heroic actions. Some dying. It was a bold move to get coverage for the issue, and it seems to be working (at least to get some press).

There is nothing more powerful than watching dying men discuss senators bitching about working the week after Christmas (like everyone else). It is sickening to behold. It’s the second video, and it’s must-see.

It is also worth noting that Mike Huckabee came on and voiced his support for the bill. He stated that Republicans should hurry up and pass it. Here’s that video:

I guess I just don’t get how this isn’t a bigger deal. Not only do I think it’s bullshit that Republicans are filibustering this bill, I also think it’s baffling that Democrats haven’t raised a bigger fuss over it. You should be able to absolutely embarrass anyone against this bill, yet it isn’t happening. Republicans once made Democrats look like asses for disagreeing with things like torture. But Democrats won’t even go the extra mile for first responders. It’s extremely puzzling in a way that also makes me furious.

One of my favorite takes on the media’s negligence on the issue comes from Eric Otner, former producer on “Good Morning America” who worked as a medic on 9/11 (from the NY Times):

“In just nine months time, my skilled colleagues will be jockeying to outdo one another on 10th anniversary coverage” of the attacks, Mr. Ortner wrote in an e-mail. “The sad thing will be that the wall-to-wall coverage will be little more than window dressing with little true consequence. They’ll make us feel patriotic and tearfully grateful as they sidebar a piece or two on the plight of the rescue workers who still seem to be dying broke, ill and in need of basic benefits.”

“When that happens, this is the moment that I’ll remember,” he wrote. “It’s when the press was needed most, when sunlight truly could disinfect, and my colleagues just aren’t there. This is not a partisan issue… this is a clear case of right and wrong, and basic responsibility. It’s the reason many of us got into the business to begin with… expose injustice and question those who allow it to exist.”

Couldn’t have said it any better. And I hope history remembers what has (not) happened.

Enjoy the Republicans claiming this as a victory when they finally sack up and pass it.

Adam Feser

I wouldn’t expect Mike Huckabee to attend a conference full of crazies like this one. I expect it from Bachmann and Franks (both also attended), but I wouldn’t have guessed Huckabee would attend.

There were talks on gay extremism, Obama’s fascism/communism, Obama’s birth certificate, how the UN is a huge threat, anti-Islam rhetoric, North American Union conspiracies, Obama’s hatred of white people (including his grandmother, I guess?), etc. I could see this being interesting to attend just for a good laugh, but not if you’re a self-respecting politician (or a sane one – Bachmann’s excused).

It’s hard to respect criticism when much of it comes from places and people like this. Republicans need to denounce garbage like this before any criticism loses all credibility.

Enjoy the insanity.

Adam Feser

NY Magazine on why folks like John Bolton, Bill Kristol, Cliff May, Mike Huckabee, etc. go on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He’s smart and enjoys a discussion on the issues. It’s all to easy to write him off because he has a liberal perspective, but these guests appreciate him because he allows them to speak their opinions. I’ve always thought Stewart was one of the best interviewers on television, and this only reaffirms my belief. Some of the guests feel he is even better than right-wing pundits who have them on only to support their own positions. I thought it was interesting. Bill Kristol goes on all the time and has even recommended that Sarah Palin do the Daily Show. Below are some of the videos with conservative guests, which often run long and can only be seen in their entirety online. I figure you can enjoy these regardless of political belief. If you enjoy these videos, you can go to thedailyshow.com and find similar interviews (Lynne Cheney is an interesting one).

Bill Kristol on July 27, 2009 discusses issues like health care (Stewart catches him at one point).

John Bolton on July 29, 2009 discusses things such as Iran.

Cliff May on April 28, 2009 discussing torture (full interview in three parts). My note: This was a passionate interview. In it, May, at one point, got Stewart to call Harry Truman a war criminal (and gave May kudos for getting him to say that). Jon later took that back.

Mike Huckabee on June 18, 2009 discussing abortion (full interview in three parts). It was even Huckabee’s idea.

Enjoy the spirited but respectful debate.

Adam Feser

Mike Huckabee appears upset with several Republicans. In his book, Do The Right Thing: Inside the Movement That’s Bringing Common Sense Back to America, Mike “names names.”  I wonder why he would tout what I assume is his movement when it couldn’t make it out of the primary (I thought Obama was the common sense move), but Huckabee thought it was necessary.  I wonder if he could have even called it a movement if not for the Colbert Bump.  It appears he had more in mind than telling the story of the movement that’s bringing common sense back to America (might want to reconsider the name).  Huckabee calls out Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, John Hagee, and some others for various things.  This certainly is not going to help bring the GOP together.  His beef with Hagee is that he couldn’t get a straight answer about who the Lord told him to endorse. Here is a link, and there may be more to come:

Huckabee’s Revenge

Enjoy the coming onslaught of Christmas song parodies in horrible advertisements.

Change is a-comin’
Adam Feser