Sotomayor, The Huck Man and Funny People

-As I'm writing this, the honorable Judge Sonia Sotomayor is in the process of being confirmed. It should go down without a fight. As a conservative, I will note that I, for one, will choose not to care about this today. Sotomayor, as controversial as she's been, is a very qualified Judge who I believe will be fair. We have to pick our fights, and this is not one of them. She's going to be confirmed anyway, so why fight it? Especially with the growing population of hispanics that are beginning to make up a decent chunk of the electorate.  Let's use our resources to fight deficit spending and healthcare reform, not this. 

-The Huck Man (my new nickname for Mike Huckabee....because, you know, we're practically best friends. I mean, I shook his hand at a book-signing) is still "flying under the radar", apparently. This, for reasons I can't even fathom. What else can the man too? He's been the most popular candidate in the polls (Fox, CNN, Washington Post, etc.) by FAR. He's also been leading or one point off the top in every poll I've seen including many other GOP Internet polls. Yet for some reason, he slips pollsters minds while they are polling for Mitt and Palin. (They might as well test Jeb Bush and Ron Paul as well. Let's just forget the frontrunner, eh?)

-As I was watching Al Franken deliver his Sotomayor love letter in the hearings today, I just thought, "What is he doing in public office?" He looks, and acts, like he should be in the cast of "Funny People", not in the US Congress. But there he sits. 

-Halfway through Glenn Beck's "Common Sense". Beck is very cynical and a little loud (much like his show), but brings up some excellent points. One thing you find out about Glenn very fast is, although he is a big-conservative, he's not a big-republican. He equally hates all politicians. Although his book, thus far, is at times cynical and pessimistic, it should be read by all Americans, regardless of political affiliation. I think democrats would be surprised to hear that Bush takes more shots than Obama in this book. 

-BREAKING NEWS: OFFICIALS TO OBTAIN SEARCH WARRANT FOR JACKSON'S DOCTOR'S HOUSE. 

BREAKING NEWS: JACKSON'S DOCTOR GOES OUT TO LUNCH.

Is anyone else tired of the day-to-day soap opera that unfolds on every major news network, highlighting Michael Jackson's death? Ok, he died. It's sad, and I expect it to be reported. His funeral is a big deal, and I don't mind hearing about that. It's a homicide? Ok, interesting. But do I really want a line-by-line reading of his will or a daily account of his doctors? NO! It's getting out of hand. GET IT TOGETHER, PEOPLE!! There are still important events happening, like, gee....I don't know, the confirmation of a Judge to the Bench! Or how about America's gradual path to SOCIALISM! Pull yourselves together. 

-Michael Vick is back to the NFL. Sad story....

-Can we (and by We, I mean the people) STOP asking to see President Obama's birth certificate? Nobody likes a sore loser. The man's American. And guess what? HE'S CHRISTIAN!! Because he has dark skin and a funny name we now can't believe he's an American? We can do better than that. 

The Permanent Campaign

"There's only two things that stop things from getting done in Washington: Money and Politics."

Fact: the men and women who travel through the many checkpoints and, eventually, into the most coveted office space in America (the West Wing), have more power to bring real change to the world than most everyone else will in a lifetime. 

Question: Why don't they?

Each election year, you hear about "changing Washington" (or something similar) from each politician more than you can stand. And it never fails, just as every year MLB analysts will pick the Cubs to win the World Series, that people buy into this idea of "changing politics in Washington.

The Cubs haven't won a World Series in 100 years....and counting. 

My problem with all of this, is the voters. It's US. Don't blame the politicians. They are doing what they do best--getting elected. They hire political strategist like Barack Obama has loony-left connections. The politicians do their part, and the same thing the politicians have always done-- they promise this, they promise that, then they do what they want. Who's stopping them? We certainly aren't. Since when did the criteria for being President become who was getting the most media attention or who was most attractive? Elections need to wind back a few hundred years to a precedent set by our founding fathers. A man was elected not by wealth or family, but on personal merit. Can we say the same about today? In an age where a Presidential election is a race for who can get the most TV time or say the right things, where is the love for the issues?

Politicians never stop running for office. Thus, my title, the "Permanent Campaign." It seems governing, the very thing they were elected to do, has been pushed aside. In a battle to sway public opinion and beat the other side, political advisors have become equally as important as the Secretary of State or the National Security Advisor. Politics is always in the way. Let me prove it to you.

Imagine with me, for a moment, that President Obama, after working out and preparing for the day, strolls into the Oval Office refreshed with a blessing of 6 hours of sleep. His advisors tell him he's needed for an urgent issue. The administrations "money people" have been crunching numbers and found that the best way to get out of this economic crisis would be to cut taxes and stop his spending immediately and admit their mistake. What do you think President Obama would do? Cut taxes? Heck No!! There's an election in three years, are you nuts!? How's he going to win the democratic base after cutting taxes? Let's say the "money people" even manage to convince the President that this is the right thing to do. Then the political people come rushing in and tell him what a bad idea that would be. Then begin to rollout the electoral landslide (in the democratic convention) waiting for him in 2012. Thus, the President of the United states will pass on an opportunity to make lives better for hundreds and thousands of Americans but chooses to pass due to political reasons. You'd be surprised at how often this happens. 

But it's not just democrats. It's both sides of the aisle. In fact, it's ALL parts of the aisle. Everyone is guilty. President Bush, as good a job as I thought he did, had Karl Rove as one of his top advisors. I like Rove, but he's purely a political man, and really should have little to do with the day-to-day governing. Not only that, but many, even from inside the Bush White House, say Rove was as influential voice in the White House as any. The Bush White House, like many, had merits and faults. Sadly, one of those faults, was falling victim to the permanent campaign. 

It's constant campaigning that stop REAL change from coming to Washington. As gloom a post as this is, there is real hope. Real change can come to Washington. It doesn't start with electing one candidate or the other, or backing this idea or that one. It starts with YOU. And me. And anyone else who votes. We should be holding all of our elected officials accountable. Candidates shouldn't be worried about politics and campaigns, because if they do what's right, we (the educated citizenry of the United States) will commend them for it. If they do not, they will pay the consequences. The American people are intelligent, and probably more so than they are given credit for. Yet they are either ignorant or choose to ignore the permanent campaigning going on directly beneath their noses, making them as much at fault (if not more) than the people elected they complain about every day. 

Politics shouldn't be about beating the other guy or winning the next elections, but getting into Washington, humbling oneself and saying "What can I do?" Are you telling me the clowns that make up what is known as the US Congress should be dubbed "Public Servants." I'm skeptical. But I think we can change that. By simply doing 3 things, you actually can change politics as usual: a) be informed, b) get involved and voice your opinion by calling your representative and telling how you feel on key issues, and c) if you feel a candidate has fallen victim to the permanent campaign, do not re-elect him or support him. I don't care how flashy his TV ads are. 

Our politicians and the voters should strive to live out what JFK said in his speech: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." If that happens, I can promise the world will be a much better place. 

What can we expect under a Mike Huckabee Presidency?

It's a cool January day in our nations capitol. Snow had fallen earlier, leaving just a dusting for the throng of people gathered. There's not the record amount of people we saw last go around, but they are still out in high numbers and showing their support. Most have been waiting for this day for a long time. This day marks hope and a future for the republican party. The date is January 20th, 2012, and Mike Huckabee is ready for the biggest day of his life. Chief Justice John Roberts isn't worried about his last go at this thing and executes flawlessly. Mike Huckabee has just been sworn in as the 45th President of the United States of America. 

His Fiscal Policy

Some ultra-conservatives are worried the Mike Huckabee isn't who he says he is as far as taxes go. He's been labeled by some as a "fiscal-moderate" and only a true conservative on the social issues. He did cut taxes 90+ times as Governor of Arkansas, but, as his critics say "most were very small" and can't outweigh the 21 times when he added significant tax hikes. I won't be the first to say this, but this doesn't even begin to tell the story of what actually happened. As any knowledgeable person knows: taxes are necessary. It is unfortunate, yes, but we simply must help the government pay for certain things. Overall, Mike did a great job of cutting taxes. There were some situations that were out of his control. For starters: he entered his tenure with a 200 million dollar deficit. Some taxes were also out of his control, as Arkansas Health Care Association President Jim Cooper put it: "the private nursing home tax was necessary in order to avert future huge tax increases as a result of years of mismanagement." Mike Huckabee was dubbed a "friend of the taxpayer" by the Americans for Tax Reform for his cut in statewide spending. Mike also signed the first broad based tax cut in Arkansas history. The Arkansas Democrat Gazette gives Mike credit for the biggest tax cut in Arkansas History. No doubt about it-- he's a tax-cuttin' republican from head to toe. 

If you're not familiar with the Fair Tax, get used to it. I strongly encourage you to read Mike's book "Do the Right Thing." If you don't have time for the whole thing, at least read Chapter 10, "The Fairness and Force of the Fair tax". Here's a small taste of what you can expect, from FairTax.org: 

What is the FairTax plan?

The FairTax plan is a comprehensive proposal that replaces all federal income and payroll based taxes with an integrated approach including a progressive national retail sales tax, a prebate to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, dollar-for-dollar federal revenue neutrality, and, through companion legislation, the repeal of the 16th Amendment.

The FairTax Act (HR 25, S 296) is nonpartisan legislation. It abolishes all federal personal and corporate income taxes, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, and self-employment taxes and replaces them with one simple, visible, federal retail sales tax  administered primarily by existing state sales tax authorities.

The FairTax taxes us only on what we choose to spend on new goods or services, not on what we earn. The FairTax is a fair, efficient, transparent, and intelligent solution to the frustration and inequity of our current tax system.

The FairTax:

• Enables workers to keep their entire paychecks
• Enables retirees to keep their entire pensions
• Refunds in advance the tax on purchases of basic necessities
• Allows American products to compete fairly
• Brings transparency and accountability to tax policy
• Ensures Social Security and Medicare funding
• Closes all loopholes and brings fairness to taxation
• Abolishes the IRS

 

That's just a small summary. The plan was created when a group of economic scholars from Harvard, MIT, Stanford and Boston College, among others, came together to try and create a new tax code, but weren't planning on it being quite so radical. There are no doubt many critics of the FairTax. In fact, in a 2008 Republican Primary debate, Mitt Romney took a shot at Huckabee by downplaying the FairTax, saying he's not sure it's as good as it sounds. Mike responded, "Actually, it's even better and more effective than I had time to describe." I could throw out statistic after statistic of positive consequences from the FairTax, but I don't have the time myself to do so. If you haven't already, I encourage you (after you are through reading of course!) to check out fairtax.org and familiarize yourself with the FairTax. 

Mike has a successful tenure as Governor of Arkansas to boast as  his resume. Remember the 200 million dollar deficit I alluded to earlier? When Mike left office, that had turned into an 850 million dollar surplus. During his tenure as Governor, welfare enrollment decline by nearly half. During his last year in office, the states economy grew 4.4%, easily beating the national average. Mike knows how to manage the economy, and knows that excessive spending isn't the answer. 

Social Policy 

Mike, as far as social issues go, is about as conservative as it gets. Being a former Baptist Minister, Mike feels very strongly about Social Issues, as I'm sure you know by now. His push for the "Sanctity of Life" is one of his bigger platforms. One of his more famous responses during debate came after Wolf Blitzer asked Mike if he believed in Evolution. Mike responded:

"I believe there is a God who was active in the creation process. Now, how did he do it, and when did he do it, and how long did he take? I don't honestly know, and I don't think knowing that would make me a better or a worse president ... if anybody wants to believe that they are the descendants of a primate, they are certainly welcome to do it – I don't know how far they will march that back...And in the words of Martin Luther "Here I stand, I can do no other. And I will not take that back."

Mike's response became one of the more famous responses of any debate and has millions of hits on YouTube. Mike, though very capable of being President, is not at all shy of his Christian beliefs. Even liberal democrats respect him for that, and respected that answer. Mike noted in his book that other candidates on stage leaned over and said, "I believe exactly the same thing." 

Mike is, of course, opposed to abortion and stem cell research. Both of these highlight Mike's push for the "Sanctity of Life." As a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, he is also opposed to Gun Control. Mike is also strongly opposed to Homosexual Marriage. He believes that marriage is an institution and not to be mettled with. If you allow homosexual marriage, why not polygamy? After he is elected President, Mike immediately begins to push for legislation in favor of his own views and strongly supports the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Mike is the social conservative's dream come true and probably is in line with over 90% of the evangelical Christians in this country. 

Other Issues 

If you've been a Huckabee follower for a long time, you probably know about his past history with health issues. He used to be extremely overweight and had many health problems. As it stands now, he might be one of the most in shape politicians on the planet. Oh, Barack Obama plays basketball? Mike Huckabee runs marathons. He even penned a book called "Quit Digging your grave with a knife and fork" geared toward healthy eating. Barack Obama might advocate a government overhaul, which would include paying for morbidly obese people when they become ill and help with heart disease. You might say Mike's system is a tad more effective, as he wants to end heart disease and stop people from becoming morbidly obese. Hard to beat that from a health or an economic standpoint. AARP acknowledged Mike as a "Health Crusader." He also signed a law which mandates annual Body Mass Index (BMI) measurements for all public school children. The results were reported to parents and information was passed out, as well as encouraged in the schools, on how to eat right and be active. You could say Mike has the best healthcare system in the world-- prevent the sickness. 

Immigration is an issue that has got "lost in translation" during this time of our bad economy, but still an issue that needs addressing.(Quick side note: this is another positive attribute of the FairTax. No underground economy. Illegals could not evade taxes because they would be forced to purchase items.) Although he does not support an end to birthright citizenship, he does advocate building a 700 mile border fence and policing, but not militarize, the border. He supports increases in visas for highly skilled and highly educated applicants. This would be a highly effective form of immigration control. 

Mike did an excellent job as Governor of Arkansas. I would expect no less as President of the United States. In 2005, Time Magazine name Mike as one of the 5 Best Governors in the Nation and noted: "Huckabee has approached his states' troubles with energy and innovation." Mike Huckabee can bring that to the office of the President. He can be that shining light in dark times. He can roll up his sleeves and get things done. He can re-unite a party...and a nation. That's why on that cold, January day, I will have hope and joy for the future of this nation. I believe in this nation. It doesn't matter if you're democrat or republican. So you and Mike disagree on abortion? Or gay marriage? Who cares? Heck, even I disagree with some of Mike's policies. But I'm voting for him because I believe in him. I believe in what he's done, what he's doing and what he will do. 

Get Excited Huckabee Fans

In addition to my electoral predictor from an earlier post, this is more of why I truly believe Huck's got a great shot in 2012. 

The GOP

Lately, the GOP has been in a flux. With seemingly no leadership and the democrats taking over Washington, the GOP is in as big a hole as it's ever been in. The field for 2012 is wide open. Names have ranged from Romney, to Gingrich, to Pawlenty, to Palin and even General Patraeus. The list of possible candidates ranges to over 20 names (and yes, that includes Ron Paul). Yet one has begun to rise above the pack. After a 2008 campaign that started with him being completely unknown and having very little money (compared to the other candidates, that is), he ended it in second place, with his own TV show and radio program, a NY Times bestseller and a on the front of Time Magazine. I'm talking, of course, about Mike Huckabee. 

Even since his win in Iowa, he's had enthusiastic supporters everywhere he goes. Lines at book-signings for his new book "Do the Right Thing" extended into the parking lot. His show has landed a spot on prime time TV and seen excellent ratings. Yes, Mike Huckabee is becoming popular. It probably happened to all of us at some point. Maybe it's when we finally hit puberty, or we hit that home run in baseball or when we aced the test no one else did- at some point, most of us had that moment when we became popular seemingly overnight. Except, none of us are running for President of the United States. 

Mike has channeled his popularity from the entertainment industry to polls for the 2012 Presidential Election. He's leads every poll I've seen of GOP candidates, and most aren't inside the margin of error. He is the only on who is considered "popular" with a favorability rating of 44/36 (being 44% like him, 36% don't). And, with the margin of error, he could be the only candidate within a single digit deficit of the President. With his TV show's rising popularity and his book still performing well, along with his dedicated followers left over from 2008, it's hard to see how Mike Huckabee won't win the Republican Nomination in 2012. 

The Media Darling Obama 

So that leaves Obama. His fluent speaking style and charming personality would make any GOP candidate cringe. However, President Obama is currently in an unique situation. His spending bills in the poor economic time are considered risky, and its put him in a odd situation. If this economic package is a full blown success and turns the economy around (I believe, highly unlikely), then he wins re-election. If it completely fails, he loses (he probably wouldn't even win the Democratic Nomination). However, what is most likely is that his stimulus package does have some positive effect, but doesn't "stimulate" like it was supposed to. Come the time of the Iowa caucus, the economy is still in poor shape, even if a little better than it was when he was elected. Even if it's significantly better, but still below average, I think he's still in bad shape. Because now we have a average-at-best economy and and now the national debts as high as it's ever been. Americans are going to blame him, and will not re-elect him. 

Enter, Mike Huckabee. Who, after gaining momentum with early wins in Iowa and South Carolina, becomes near impossible to stop. He cleans up shop in the South and performs extremely well with moderates. He wins the republican nomination then sneaks out an electoral victory on election day. 

It's an exciting thought for Huckabee fans, that a man like him can get elected President. They always say, "A Good Man can't be elected President." 

I don't believe that.