Republicans still freaking over the not-a-mosque that isn't really at Ground Zero

They're all such victims.

[Debra Burlingame] criticized those, mostly led by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who are defending the project under freedom of religion, saying, "That's a Western concept."

"This is a different model," she said, arguing that in the United States people "for generations had been raised on this concept of separation of church and state, and that you don't trash someone because of their religion ... but that's not what we're dealing with here."

"I think the challenge for us is enlisting the Muslims who have already bought into the American program and not adjusting" to Muslim culture, she added. For Burlingame, the issue is not political — she said she objects to the content as well as the form of efforts by Bloomberg and others to push back because the goal is "to shut you up."

Yes, how dare we apply a "western concept" of the Bill of Rights to New York City.

But it was former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee who seemed to fit the issue most clearly into a recognizable political category of culture war.

"Is it just that we can offend Americans and Christians, but not foreigners and Muslims?" he asked.

First off, some Americans are Muslims. Secondly, who's offending Christians? This is part of the far right's "Christians aren't welcome in America" garbage. Yes, we all await the day that a Christian is finally elected to office in America. Huckabee simply assumes the GOP base is dumb, and that they'll fall for this nonsense. And they are, and they will. Read More......

Obama leads GOP in 2012 match-ups, barely

From Political Wire:

* Obama 46%, Huckabee 45%
* Obama 47%, Romney 42%
* Obama 50%, Palin 44%
* Obama 48%, Pawlenty 35%

And actually, the margin of error is plus or minus 2.8%. So Huckabee is basically a tie. Read More......

Michelle Malkin talks of Huckabee's "Willie Horton moment"

He seemed like such a nice man before he repeatedly granted clemency to some very bad people who then went and hurt even more people. I'm kidding about him being "nice." Christian conservatives excel at coming across nice. So do far-right Republicans. It doesn't mean they are. Read More......

Huckabee granted clemency to suspect in quadruple cop killer case in Wash state

This is very bad. Huckabee has a history of clemency gone wrong. Let me remind you of a previous Huckabee clemency we wrote about two years ago:

Huckabee basically helped secure the guy's release because the convict had raped a distant relative of Bill Clinton - and being a distant relative of Bill Clinton, the right-wing attack machine said the woman who was raped wasn't credible (even though the guy was convicted), and they demanded that the rapist be set free because, after all, he only raped a Clinton. Well, it seems that Governor Huckabee agreed. He set the rapist free, and then the guy molested and murdered another woman. But even better? Huckabee now denies that he had anything to do with the release of the rapist/murderer. Funny, then why did Huckabee meet with the parole board on behalf of the rapist/murderer?

More on the cop killer story. It's a nasty story. Read More......

Huckabee suggests that someone should take out the UN

Yes, he was just joking, I'm sure. It just seems odd that a lead GOP presidential candidate would make "jokes" about someone violently taking out entire NYC monuments. The September 11 parallel is a little too clear. Then again, look at the rest of the conference Huckabee was attending, I think he may have a few other questions to answer:

Conservatives gathered at a Hilton hotel in St. Louis over the weekend for the "How to Take Back America Conference," a Phyllis Schlafly-hosted gathering where the faithful gathered to discuss issues such as "How To Counter The Homosexual Extremist Movement," "How To Stop Socialism In Health Care" and "How To Recognize Living Under Nazis & Communists."

Perhaps some enterprising reporter will ask Mr. Huckabee just how can we recognize when we're living under Nazis and Communists? Read More......

New GOP group: Social Conservatives Against Romney

The GOP theocrats, let by Mike Huckabee, are putting their feet down over the possibility of Mitt as McCain's V.P. It may violate the Golden Rule, but it sounds like they hate Mitt, they really hate him:

"I think a lot of people, not just social conservatives, but a lot of the Republicans I know are not necessarily comfortable with Romney," Huckabee told CBSNews.com. "But it has nothing to do with religion. It has everything to do with inconsistencies in positions he's held, and that's it."

In response to buzz about the former Massachusetts governor becoming McCain's running mate, an alliance of Ohio social conservatives, many of whom are former Huckabee supporters, have formed a group called "Social Conservatives Against Romney." Romney had moderate positions on many hot-button social issues, including abortion, before his run for president.

(Yeah, I'm sure his being a Mormon has nothing to do with it.) This is conundrum for McCain. He thinks he needs Mitt to have a chance in Michigan. Couple weeks ago, Nate Silver ran some numbers on Mitt's as V.P. over at FiveThirtyEight.com. But, if Mitt's on the ticket, McCain is going to have a lot of unhappy theocrats -- and that crowd still runs the GOP.

On this one, Huckabee and his crew are in agreement with the Democrats about Mitt's flipping and flopping. Check out TheNextCheney.com on Multiple Choice Mitt. Read More......

McCain = Dole?

I hear the Republicans really appreciate these remarks by Fox News contributor Mike Huckabee. Does this mean Huckabee is no longer a potential running mate for McCain?

ESTRICH: He went to a German restaurant that didn't go very well. He had the time at the cheese counter at the grocery store. I mean, I have to tell you, if I were John McCain I would be glad I didn't get a lot of press last week.

What is wrong with the McCain campaign?

HUCKABEE: Well, I think he missed an opportunity. Instead of having some fun with it and showing sort of a buoyant 'hey, do what you've got to do, let Obama go play basketball, I'm solving problems.' Do it with tongue and cheek.

Frankly, I thought he looked more like Bob Dole in the last days of the 1996 campaign saying 'look at the record, look at the record,' and there was some anger and sense of frustration there.

He shouldn't show that. He needs to show that nothing is getting to him, it's rolling off his back, and I think he missed an opportunity to do that last week.

Read More......

Huckabee makes joke about assassinating Obama

These people are sick. What does John McCain have to say about this? And spare me the, "Huckabee didn't mean it" crap. I know a few things about guns, and you don't point guns at people unless you mean to shoot them. So when Huckabee is talking about someone pointing a gun at Obama, that's exactly what he means. What the hell is it with these people? First Bush and McCain and Hitler. Now we've got Huckabee joking about assassinating presidential candidates (maybe they can get Joe Lieberman to agree). Boy I hope Huck gets to be John McCain's VP, because this little assassination joke is going to be his permanent monicker. Then again, we already know that Huckabee is rather light on murder. Read More......

Did Huckabee have a woman fired because she was holding a Hillary sign?

Wayne Besen says yes. Read More......

Texas poll shows tight races -- on both sides

Burnt Orange Report has the results of the Texas Credit Union League poll, which shows fairly tight races on both sides. Very surprising that the Huckster is within reach of McCain:

The poll was commissioned by the Texas Credit Union League, conducted Feb 11-13, with a MOE of +/- 4.9%.

DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY (Latest IVR Poll 1/31)

Hillary Clinton: 49 (48)
Barack Obama: 41 (38)
Undecided: 8 (10)

REPUBLICAN PRIMARY

John McCain: 45 (43)
Mike Huckabee: 41 (33)
Undecided: 5 (13)

And now for the interesting sub-groups and my analysis. It's here that we find something very surprising!

Even though Clinton leads by 8 points in polling statewide, based upon the following sub-samples, Obama would still come out with a delegate lead.

Burnt Orange dissects the numbers to show that, in fact, Obama could come out of Texas with more delegates based on the existing numbers. Worth a read. The complicated Texas delegate selection process is in a league of its own.

Burnt Orange is a terrific blog, and will be especially invaluable over the next couple weeks as we all try to figure out what's going on in the Lone Star State. A guiding principle during this election has been to trust the locals over the national pundits.

Key finding is that McCain isn't closing the deal with his base. It shouldn't be close at this point. Read More......

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Today is the primary in DC, Virginia and Maryland. And, it matters. Besides the presidential race, there is the very important Democratic primary in Maryland's Fourth Congressional District. Donna Edwards is a better Democrat -- and we sure need more of them.

Already 7:30 am and I haven't seen a Mike Huckabee interview, yet. But I know I will. He's everywhere.

Start threading the news. Read More......

Hillary To Washington Blade: I Talk About Gay Rights All The Time

Good for her. Any time a presidential candidate, or any senior political figure, is willing to embrace the gay community, it's a net plus for everyone. I know that sometimes we think these kind of comments from politicians are pandering, or worse, empty promises - and sometimes they are both - but, even if they're empty, they still move the culture very slightly towards the side of tolerance. And that is always a good thing. Especially since you won't hear a lot of Republican presidential candidates touting their pro-gay bona fides. I'd also add that you'd better believe that Hillary and Obama, and all Democrats, are being told by some adviser somewhere to ditch the gays. So the very fact that they don't is still a step in the right direction. Of course it's not everything, but it is something.

Yet another reason why, regardless of who wins the Dem nomination, Hillary and Obama, the Democrat will be far better on so many issues than McCain or Huckabee. Read More......

Monday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

It is bitterly cold in DC today...and much of the nation. Bitter.

Why is it that every tim e I look at my tv I see Mike Huckabee being interviewed? He is everywhere.

Start threading the news and stay warm.. Read More......

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

An eclectic mix of candidate surrogates on the the shows today. Huckabee, fresh off his impressive wins in Kansas and Louisiana yesterday, is the only candidate to appear and he's on twice. This GOP race isn't over.

Besides that, you can see Tom DeLay, Karl Rove and George Bush this morning. That's enough to ruin a Sunday, huh? Bush is the only guest on Fox, because Fox is the GOP's network. Meaning there is no reason for any Democratic debate on that network -- ever.

The full line up is after the break.

Now, I'm all sure you'll all be watching Bush on Fox:

ABC's "This Week" — Govs. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Martin O'Malley, D-Md.; Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va.; former Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas.

___

CBS' "Face the Nation" — Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark.; Joe Trippi, former John Edwards campaign adviser; Karl Rove, former deputy chief of staff to President Bush.

___

NBC's "Meet the Press" — Huckabee.

___

CNN's "Late Edition" — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio; former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.

"Fox News Sunday" _ President Bush.

Have some fun with this.

Read More......

Huckabee wins Kansas caucus in a rout over McCain

According to CNN, Mike Huckabee won the Kansas GOP caucus. He won BIG:

With 76 percent of precincts reporting, Huckabee had 62 percent of the vote, compared with 22 percent for Arizona Sen. John McCain and 11 percent for Texas. Rep. Ron Paul.

Big loss for McCain in the first contest after he became the GOP nominee. Dana Bash just told us the Huckster is going to get at least 33 of the 36 delegates from Kansas.

UPDATE from CNN's results page is that Huck got all the delegates in Kansas. Read More......

James Dobson endorses Huckabee

I know the extremist religious right is behind the times, but talk about showing up late to the party. Not just any leader could dive in and support a candidate after the game is over. It takes a special kind of leader to stand up and let the world know that he doesn't care how stupid this looks because McCain has won and the time for leadership was weeks or months ago. Who am I to argue for what passes as vision and bold leadership among the Christian crazies? Just don't give up the dream Mr Dobson. Keep fighting on! Read More......

Obama increased his share of women and white vote, Hillary rocked Latinos

MSNBC

For the first time this year, McCain ran first in a few states among self-identified Republicans. As usual, he was running strongly among independents. Romney was getting the votes of about four in 10 people who described themselves as conservative. McCain was wining about one-third of that group, and Huckabee about one in five.

Overall, Clinton was winning only a slight edge among women and white voters, groups that she had won handily in earlier contests, according to preliminary results from interviews with voters in 16 states leaving polling places.

Obama was collecting the overwhelming majority of votes cast by blacks — a factor in victories in Alabama and Georgia.

Clinton’s continued strong appeal among Hispanics — she was winning nearly six in 10 of their votes — was a big factor in her California triumph, and in her victory in Arizona, too.

Read More......

State Victory Breakdowns -- and what will Mitt do?

Below are the states won by the respective candidates. We'll compile the breakdown of delegates throughout the day.

Big question for today is: What does Mitt do? There's a big meeting in Boston today to "consider their next steps."

Democrats

Clinton: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee

Obama: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Utah

New Mexico is still undecided -- and very, very close. Vote counting starts again at 11:00 a.m. Eastern.

Republicans

Huckabee: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, West Virginia

McCain: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma

Romney: Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Utah Read More......

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Super Tuesday was so much more interesting and exciting than anyone could have imagined a couple months ago.

Big night for Huckabee. He's on the Today Show this morning doing a victory lap. McCain didn't wrap up the GOP nomination. The right wingers still don't love McCain - and it looks like they never will.

This thing will be going on for awhile now -- on both sides.

Those storms last night were brutal. Just brutal...and in February? It's 66 degrees right now in DC. That's not right.

Oh, don't forget what happened on Wall Street yesterday -- a 370 point drop. Could be another wild day in the markets, too.

So, lots to discuss. Have at it. Read More......

Delegate count estimate

From CNN, the estimate so far, but still not the final count for the evening:

McCain 743
Romney 321
Huckabee 225
Paul 12
Total needed for nomination: 1,191 Read More......