The media has been driving me absolutely crazy these last two weeks. The manner in which they have unabashedly attacked Sarah Palin and her family is deplorable, and their blatant bias is intolerable. I was discussing the media coverage of the two conventions with one of my brothers yesterday and he was remarking about the vast differences of the coverage by CNN of the two events. I watched the PBS coverage of the speeches last night and it made me absolutely sick. Whatever happened to fair and balanced? They had a series of liberal journalists the proceeded to rip apart Romney after his speech, but there was absolutely no counter argument.
Sorry for the rant. Just had to get that out of my system.
I Tivoed the speeches last night, but since I got home so late I was only able to watch Romney and Palin, and I thought their speeches were fantastic. I couldn’t be more pleased. I did delve a few minutes into Huckabee’s as well, which wasn’t that bad. I noticed he couldn’t resist doing the most subtle jab at Romney by once again pointing out that McCain was his second pick. Not bad though, in light of his numerous recent underhand jabs.
I’ve been amused by the coverage of Romney’s speech this morning. The writers are making the appearance of being unbiased, but can’t help inserting their true feelings somewhere along the way.
“Is a Supreme Court decision liberal or conservative that awards Guantanamo terrorists with constitutional rights? It’s liberal!” he said, as the crowd joined him in response. “Is a government liberal or conservative that puts the interests of the teachers union ahead of our children? It’s liberal! Is a Congress liberal or conservative that stops nuclear power plants and offshore drilling making us more and more dependent on Middle Eastern tyrants? It’s liberal! . . .
“We need change all right, change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington!”
And the stupid quote of the day:
In at least one case, however, Romney seemed to venture too far, saying that liberals want to “grow government and raise taxes to put more people on Medicaid.” Dependency, he said, “is death to initiative, to risk-taking, and opportunity.”
The Massachusetts health reform law, which Romney took credit for helping to create and signed into law in 2006, depends on expanding the Medicaid program to extend health insurance to more people. Since it was implemented, Medicaid rolls have increased by 72,000, and 176,000 people have obtained insurance partially subsidized with Medicaid money.
How about mentioning that the money used for this project came from the money that the government was giving away to pay for those who show up in the emergency room without health insurance and still get covered?
The Boston Globe also has the picture of the day:
(Dina Rudick / Globe Staff)
And finally, from the Relentless WSJ: Romney Takes Aim at Michelle Obama One, Romney’s dig at Michelle was just one comment, not the entire focus of his speech. Two, I agree that family members of the candidate of the family should be left out, UNLESS they are actively getting on stage and campaigning for the candidate. Equally I would agree that Ann Romney and her sons were fair game because they did so as well. Michelle Obama is an open target as far as I’m concerned.
UPDATE: Obama adviser Anita Dunn accused the McCain campaign in a statement of using Romney to violate a verbal agreement that family members are off limits. “Mitt Romney’s attack on a candidate’s wife is as pathetic as his failed presidential campaign,” Dunn said.
To view the following movie you need to have Real Player installed. I don’t think it’s worth installing just for this video, but if you already it click the link below to view the full 42 min C-Span coverage of the rally held yesterday in Missouri.
Some more-than-candid words from the former POTUS candidate Tom Toncredo in a recent interview:
[John] McCain had been farthest away. I remember thinking and saying to my wife, when this was all over with, I said, “Well, at least McCain is not going to make it.” And it’s just kind of strange. Because remember, he was like $25 million in debt. He was nowhere in the polls. So it really did look like he was out of it.
It was the Huckabee factor. [Former Arkansas] Governor [Mike] Huckabee decided to stay in even though he could not have won. He absolutely made a difference, and he knew it, and that difference was he was able to keep Mitt Romney out of the play by draining off conservative votes. And I think he did it to a large extent because Mitt is a Mormon. It was really to ruin Romney’s chances. So that created the pathway for Senator McCain.
Well, for one he will get a huge spike in Google searches. Look at the comparison (below) of indexed searches in the U.S. of ‘Biden’ and ‘Romney’. Notice the 3400% spike in ‘Biden’ on the 23rd.
Click the image to visit Google Insights
And if you’re keeping score…..here’s another fun one.
Click on the image to see Romney tosses Huck around on google searches
Topics discusses: The ‘Are Jesus and Satan Brothers?’ issue, the WV primary convention, the RNC convention, acceptability of Veep candidates, and a possible hurricane in New Orleans during the RNCC. The transcript also has a caller afterwards who says Huck is flat out lying about what happened in WV.
I was only able to skim the transcript. Does anyone who listened to it have some thoughts on it?
~Nate Gunderson
Recap by Lizzie (thank you for doing this):
I heard it. Rush pretty much asserted that McCain and Huckabee combined against Romney in WV. Huckabee said, not so, it was Ron Paul’s group that did it. I wasn’t sure if Rush was doubtful when Huckabee explained how the WV thing went, or if he was “set straight”. But, I do recall one thing of note. Rush said, I had no idea that is how the thing came down. Then Mike said, well that’s how it was, I know because I was there. Then Rush seemed to have a “knowing” sound to his voice, like, “oh, you were there, and you want me to really believe you had nothing to do with it.”
Of course, I’m just remembering this, I didn’t read the transcript. And it could be that I wanted to believe that that is what Rush was insinuating. It was a very veiled comment, but I thought that was the underlying thought.
I was happy that Rush defended Mitt when Huck was saying Mitt went all negative in his campaign. Rush said, yeah, so what, that’s just politics and you and McCain gained up on Romney yourselves. That’s what started the whole WV topic I believe.
Just read the article about Romney helping McCain so much in Florida. It seems like Romney would help signigficantly in several states. So what is all this talk about Kay Bailey Hutchison? Is that a decoy, or is McCain foolish enough to pass on the guy most people want for VP?
I am a confessed Huck’s Army Troll. A few weeks ago I knew that I would soon get banned so I set up a few other accounts so I could still have access to some of the utilities that come with membership (ie. be able to see posts since your most recent visit, look-up profile info, etcetera). I’ve kept my posting to an absolute minimum, only a couple, and have avoided defending Romney in any way so that I wouldn’t get banned again.
SOOO…..I got an e-mail in my account today. It’s entirety is shown below without adulteration. My guess is that the e-mail was sent by HA member called Debra because she attended the meeting with McCain that’s discussed below.
Why am I posting this? Well, up until this morning I was doing my best to make amends with the Huck crowd (I’m afraid this will ruin any hope of that now), but Huckabee’s comment on TV the last two days, coupled with this e-mail from some of his most dedicated supporters has convinced me that they don’t want to be team players and they should be exposed for their true aspirations. I have said repeated, that I will support whatever the GOP ticket may be, even if were Huckabee, for the benefit of the nation. These are very serious times, and we can in no way afford to hand the leadership of our country over to Obama.
And now the email sent to all of the Huck’s Army members: (emphasis below is mine)
HUCKS ARMY ATTENTION! ACTION ALERT!
Express our support for Huckabee and the values and type of leadership we
need to the Republican party leadership.
MI Congressman Fred Upton, from the 6th District, has John McCain’s ear.
Fred is McCain’s trusted friend and advisor. They are fishing buddies and
have been close for years. It is very important that we contact Fred and
let him know:
WE WILL NOT VOTE FOR A MCCAIN TICKET UNLESS:
1) Mike Huckabee is the VP; or
2) Mike Huckabee is the KEY NOTE SPEAKER at the National GOP Convention
Know that our meetings here in Michigan with McCain prompted this urgent
action–
Romney is being shoved down our throats here, and misinformation about us
is rampant.
In addition, you may know that this also happened at one of the meetings:
“Several in attendance reported to me that Sen. Lindsey Graham seriously
asked if social conservatives would support a vice president who favors
abortion on demand. They were shocked the question even had to be asked,
and alienated that the McCain campaign appears to be even considering it.”
–Gary Glenn, Mich. American Family Assn. President
So now, we know what McCain thinks of us and our issues. He is only
concerned with catering to the independent voters. We, who supported Mike
Huckabee, the millions of voters who earned him a 2nd place in delegate
count–are being ignored by McCain. McCain must know that he will LOSE not
only Michigan without us, but the election. At this point, he does not
HAVE US. We’ve tried repeatedly to reach out to him, and he has ignored
us.
Fred can be reached at: 269-385-0039 or http://www.house.gov/upton/
Ask Fred to carry our voices to McCain NOW. URGENT!!
Is this blackmail? a hijacking? extortion? What is it?
I very much want a pro-life candidate to be on the ticket, but not at the cost of putting an uber-liberal pro-abortionist actually into the office. That’s just ludicrous and childish.
Thoughts on the letter
Gary Glenn is a royal loser, but for once I agree with his statement.
Huckabee only gained 2nd in delegate votes after Romney had left the race for a month, and given some of his away to McCain. One of the states (I think MI) actually reassigned theirs at that point. So the statement ‘Huck came in second’ is not actually true.
I wonder if Huckabee followers are starting to realize why they had such a civil relationship with McCain during the primaries. It’s because they both needed each other to bring down Romney. Huckabee was a ‘team’ player then. Why not now? Oh, because no one is on his team anymore.
They may be right about McCain catering to independent voters. That is somewhat worrisome to me. Not that we don’t need independent voters, because we desperately do. But we shouldn’t gain them by giving into liberal notions. Instead lets win them on issues where they most likely align with us: energy, and foreign policy
Tell me, am I wrong here?
~Nate Gunderson
P.S. My goal in starting this blog is not to duke it out with Huck and Co. It is wearisome and unpleasant. So I’m done. I promise no more posts about the subject for at least a couple of weeks, unless Huckabee makes more statements about Romney. Here’s hoping Huckabee’s Fox show fails and he slips into obscurity. Maybe he can make a movie and get fat. Maybe a beard.
Recently I’ve been blogging about bridging the gap with Huckabee supporters. Yesterday I posted Conciliatory Tones… It’s a Start to give recognition to the efforts of some HA members who seem to be willing to accept or offer an olive branch.
Unfortunately Huckabee’s focus doesn’t seem to be bridging that gap but further dividing it. Bad mouthing Romney openly on national TV will not be viewed by Romney supporters as uniting the party. He has effectively taken two steps backwards in that regard. Yes, Huckabee says that he will support a McCain/Romney ticket it there happens to be one, but that comment by no means hides his clear attempt to keep Romney off that ticket. A Romney VP nomination means Huckabee enters 2012 as an underdog again and he’ll have some serious ground to make up, and he knows it.
I’m sure the disdain between Romney and Huckabee is mutual. But let me point out something here - since Romney has dropped out of the primaries back in February he has not made any negative reference to Huckabee, let alone any mention of him at all. But I have heard things from Huckabee at least five times now. He just can’t seem to let it go. And he can’t let it go because he wants his supporters fired up to prevent Romney being on the ticket and prevent him from being the “heir apparent”.
I appreciate the comments from Huckabee supporters on my post from yesterday, and I now want to make some points concerning what was said. I agree that the media loves that fact that there is this schism in the GOP and are playing it up for all it’s worth. BUT…Huckabee seems all too willing to give them fuel to keep the fire going. YES, I am stating that he is purposefully giving them fodder to banter around with.
Now, what is the real reason for my beef with Huckabee? Among other things I disagree with, this is what Huckabee said:
I think the issue is that, you know, in many ways, Mitt Romney has had very definite swings of position, not just on one or two things, but on many of the issues.
That is a lie. Whether Huckabee believes it or not it is a lie. The media (and Huckabee supporters) have clung to this flip-flop mantra and have taken it far beyond what it’s worth. We have said it many times before and have provided much proof: Romney flipped on abortion, but never flopped. He did not flip, nor flop, on gay marriage, guns, the war in Iraq, support for Bush or Reagan, or any of the other things he’s been accused of. That dead horse has been beat for far too long, and boy does that dead horse really stink. The worst thing about it is that Huckabee is doing it on national TV for his own political agenda, and at the cost of a broken GOP. Thanks, Huck.
Here is the YouTube of Huckabee’s comment so you can see everything in it’s context:
Like I said, Romney as been completely mum about Huckabee since the primaries. Here’s a quote from Romney’s spokesman I found on Jonathan Martin’s Blog:
The primaries are over,” Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said when asked for comment about Huckabee’s statements. “Now, the task of all Republicans is on uniting the party to help elect John McCain, not on sowing division.
At the same time, Huckabee’s Michigan supporters met with McCain social conservative liaison Marlys Popma last night in Saginaw. Though ostensibly held to discuss how Huckabee’s loyalists can help McCain, supporters of the former Arkansas governor also used the get-together to warn against tapping Romney, according to an attendee.
Elizabeth Sipfle, who called me without prompting, said picking Huckabee’s detested primary rival would amount to a poke in the eye of Huckabee’s supporters.
“We made it clear that we want Huckabee to be recognized,” said Sipfle, an Oakland County lawyer who chaired the Michigan effort of the volunteer “Huck’s Army.” “When you snub him, you snub GOP votes.”
Sipfle said she and her fellow Huckabee supporters were disappointed when a former Romney aide who is now working for McCain showed up at the meeting.
“It just was bad taste — and it didn’t go unnoticed,” she said.
From the forum mentioned in my previous post I am going to quote some things I disagree with and openly invite members of Huck’s Army to comment regarding my statements. I’m sure some of them will read this via Planet Romney. Here’s the deal: you be civil, and I will be too.
First and foremost, from RedCentral:
Make sure at the meeting that you mention Ridge and Rudy AND Romney since they are all pro-choice. If you don’t, they will accuse us of being bigots and I can just see the headlines now. It is important on who we approach this. We know that we don’t like Romney because he is not strong on social issues, but the media will say, “Why not Ridge, Rudy. Whey aren’t you opposed to them?
I, as a sentient human being and a strong social conservative, take great issue when you lump Romney with Ridge and Rudy in regards to social issues. Two are openly pro-choice, while one is adamantly pro-life. I have read time and again on HA that Romney is pro-choice. Can we stop with the misinformation please? When Romney was governor exactly 4 pieces of legislation came to his desk in regards to abortion. On all four his decision ruled in favor of life! And he made very strong statements regarding those decisions as well. I urge Huckabee supporters to read his letter to the editor after he vetoed a bill that would allow an over-the-counter morning-after pill. Have you ever thought how Romney can be pro-choice and have the pro-choice community infuriated with him? Simple. He’s not pro-choice, period. Stop saying that he is, it’s intellectual dishonesty.
Here’s another one to the same effect from TheValuesVoter:
But that said, I would not vote for a ticket that had ANY strongly pro-abortion person on it. And at first I really strongly opposed Giuliani and liked Romney - until Romney showed his true colors and his record on that issue came out. Then he made Rudy look good by comparison.
Then he made Rudy look good by comparison? Oh please. Must I remind you of the vast differences of their stances?
From Gen.Lee(1861)
I will vote for Obama if Romney is selected!!!!
Yes, this is exactly what our party needs. I would hope you would reconsider. I have in regards to Huckabee. And believe me, my feelings towards him aren’t far different than yours concerning Romney.
Lastly from SeekingGod
I just wish there was a way for Romney supporters and Huckabee supporters to call a truce and wave the white flag. They view us as having hate in our hearts and we view them as having hate in their hearts. When will it end?
Thank you. You are not conceding, but at least you understand that we feel the exact way you do. That is the first step to helping this end. Empathy. I understand that it infuriates you when I make negative comments about Huckabee or his supporters. I know because it infuriates me when you do the opposite. I try to keep that in mind when I address the issue. That doesn’t mean we can’t discuss differences, or point out that we disagree or dislike a candidate and why. I again stress civility. That’s one of the main things that separates us from the democrats.
I had wanted to say more but that is all the time I have for tonight.
~Nate Gunderson
Note: You’re comments will be held for moderation the first time you post. This will only happen the first time and it’s to ensure it’s not spam. After that they will be approved immediately.
ADDENDUM: Ok, I’ve got time for one more. This one from christopher.wilkerson. It’s in response to SeekingGod’s quote above regarding waving a white flag and calling a truce.
I think this is possible, but for me the only way this could happen is if the Romney wing of the party could start showing a little respect to Gov. Mike Huckabee and Huckabee Republicans. This would include Hannity and Ingraham and Rush and Coulter and so on. Respect has to be a two way street. Huckabee and his followers are NOT A JOKE! We ARE the base. The insults have to end. Maybe the only way to make this happen is if Huckabee and Romney actually come together in a show of unity..perhaps at the convention ( if neither is chosen as VP.) John Mccain could be instrumental to this end. It is his job as the leader of this party to unite us. My anger towards Romney and his supporters is unique because of thier dismissive and condescending attitude towards us. They need to offer the olive branch because they were the aggressors, and we were wronged.
Christopher, I have read your comments for some time now, and you are correct the respect is a two-way street, but your comments towards Romney have been anything but respectful. Plus I find it a little arrogant that you think that you are the base? Do you realize that on Feb. 7 when Romney dropped out of the race that Huckabee was third in total votes and delegates. How is that the base? And lastly, who are the aggressors? What Romney supporter out there is “shouting” for the McCain campaign’s attention to warn him about selecting Huckabee? Are there full-page ads in newspapers warning against Huckabee? Are the forming groups called “Financial Conservatives Against Huckabee”? Easy answer - NO. I am offering an olive branch, but I have not been an aggressor. Nor am I claiming that I was wronged. That fact is that in politics your guy sometimes doesn’t win, even when you want him to the most, and we have to learn to deal with it without throwing blame. I am claiming though, that such an attitude as displayed in your comment is the wrong one to have.
For those of you who don’t know what Huck’s Army is, its a forum setup by Huckabee supporters to get together and discuss everything about Huckabee and politics. For the past several months I check in there every few days to see what kinds of misinformation about Romney is floating around there. And believe me there is no lack of misinformation. To be fair, I should say that the mis-info is probably prevalent on both sides.
I hesitate to post this because I don’t want to stir the pot of bitterness between the online Romney supporters and Huckabee supporters. As I state in the “ABOUT TMB” one of my goals is to UNITE the party, not be a divider. The divide between the two camps may cause some serious problems down the road. BUT, I can’t sit back and watch without correcting somethings that are totally out of line. So occasionally I’ll interject things into this blog regarding them.
Well today there came out an article from The Detroit News that led to a lot of commotion by commentors both at Race42008.com and Huck’s Army. Click on the links to see each of those posts. (Better check Huck’s Army soon because I’ve known them to delete whole forums when they find out Romney supporters are reading them.)
So what was said? (Here begins the he said, she said….)
Well…From the Detroit News:
Michigan supporters of Mike Huckabee’s campaign will hold a pair of meetings Wednesday with John McCain’s presidential campaign, and among their goals will be to convince the Republican nominee not to name Mitt Romney as his running mate.
All lot of commentors at Race42008 took objections to these tactics by supporters of Huckabee and started saying all sorts of things about Huckabee supporters (and Huck himself) being bigots. Well, the Huckabites at HA took offense to being called bigots and another bitter inflammation ensued.
I think there is a lot of misunderstand on both sides. First of all, is there strong anti-mormon sentiment among Huckabee supporters? Definitely yes. But before you HA members go flying off the handle let me explain. Are all Huckabee supporters bigots? NO. I honestly believe it is a very small percentage (5-10%) and they unfortunately make the others look very bad and the general public tends to buy into the fact that they are all that way.
Secondly, almost the reverse is true. At HA they are constantly saying that “IT’S NOT ROMNEY’S RELIGION THAT WE ARE OPPOSED TO BUT HIS LACK OF CHARACTER!” But they conversely accuse all Romney supporters of playing the bigot card, when in reality it is still a small percentage. In fact a majority of those in the said discussion at R42008 were NOT Romney supporters.
Unfortunate for both parties (or I should say factions) is that these small percentages tend to scream louder and draw more attention to themselves then the peaceful mindful, respectful constituents. And where does that get the rest of us? A whole lot of nowhere, while the democrats take control of our country!”
SO PLEASE, supporters of Huckabee and Romney alike, remember to be civil, try to be more understanding, and treat others as you would be treated. When differences arise address them, but keeping your comments free of accusation and name-calling will lead to a great deal of much-needed healing for our party.
I have a great deal of things that I don’t agree with in the post from HA which I’ll try to address in my next post. But as much as I’d like Huckabee to disappear of the face of the earth, those things wouldn’t keep me from supporting Huckabee (as I posted earlier here) as the nominee or as VP for the good of the party. And by “for the good of the party” I mean for the good of the country.
"Celebrity Voice Impersonated"
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