Immigration is the key

The Republican Party seems to think that race-baiting and immigrant-bashing is the key to winning federal elections. Just look at Mike Huckabee, a preacher who once supported the Dream Act, spin and deny as recounted in Rolling Stone:

Even the Rev. Huckabee is chugging the GOP's nativist Kool-Aid: In December, the same man who two years ago called on America to "be a place that opens its arms, opens its heart, opens its spirit to people who come because they want the best for their families" unveiled his "Secure America Plan," which would target 12 million of these good folks for mass deportation 120 days into his first term.

In the process, the good preacher won a new convert - militant xenophobe Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project, which acts like a vigilante Border Patrol. (No, I'm not providing you the website for hate speech, go look it up yourself.) Well, Jim actually got deposed for embezzlement, but what's a few dollars amongst haters?

Of course, not all GOP candidates and strategists are public racists, they prefer to vilify in secret. For example, Ken Mehlman and Karl Rove were both great practioners of say one thing, do another. Mehlman would go to civil rights conventions and claim hope and unity while Karl was busy slicing and dicing Texas congressional districts and disenfranchising minority voters.

Kos makes an excellent point - why are Republicans so much better at framing the issue?!?

Grover Norquist, a top ally of Karl Rove, believes that the "vicious" rhetoric by GOP candidates could prompt Hispanics to flee "in droves" to the Democrats. "Talking about a strong border is one thing," Norquist says. "It's when you get into enforcing the law — which means deport — that you lose people's votes. Oddly enough, people resent the idea that you might throw their mother out of the country."

Mike Huckabee once defended his support for the Dream Act by saying: "I don't believe that in this country we punish children for the crimes of their parents."

Why can't any of our Democratic candidates say anything this simple? Why does Hillary have to do some verbal contortions over driver's licenses? Why not just say you're for it, and STICK TO IT?

And for those Democrats who think it's okay to throw immigrants under the bus, I have got another think coming for you - we're going to primary the hell out of Rahm Emmanuel and his lapdogs. It is no longer acceptable to scrapegoat someone because of the color of their skin. It is no longer acceptable to tell people to "go back to their home country if they don't like it" and it is no longer acceptable to write and pass such ass-backwards legislation that you try to detain, intern, or deny certain communities. (You can shove the Exclusion Acts up yours, mister.)

We're kicking ass and taking names on the GOP side, in between the Cuban vote helping Romney lose Florida, and forcing xenophobic Congressman Tom Davis to resign. Justice does not have a political affiliation.

Attack vid on Huckabee and clemency

Americablog always has the funniest videos. Here's a vicious attack video on Huckabee's clemency records of releasing known criminals who go on to kill, all pleasantly set to the tune of the Beatles' Yesterday:

"Clemency
You can get it from Mike Huckabee
. . . Why he let them go, we don't know,
He wouldn't say
So I've bought a gun for the scum that he set free

Clemency, you can kill your whole damn family
And Huckabee might set you free
The Governor grants clemency"

Clearly there are some parts of the GOP that DO NOT WANTZ TEH HUCKABEEZ

Obama's endorsements, the GOP state of play

His most recent round of endorsements by purple state officials, and female to boot, are helping to offset the idea that Hillary is inevitable. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Senator Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) and Governor Janet Napolitano (D-AZ) are all in purple or red states, and boost Obama's appeal to independents. The addition of McCaskill and Napolitano in particular are a big boon as they are popular and could offset Hill's appeal to women voters in those states.

On the Republican side of things, it's been a long while since I took a look at Huckabee. His lack of foreign policy prowess is getting him into some tights spots, and meanwhile McCain is doing a doozy on Romney. McCain's New Hampshire win means he is the golden geezer again and Huckabee's the movement candidate of young evangelicals, not unlike someone on the Democratic side for youth voters. Guiliani's staff are forgoing salaries up until Florida (meaning that the ship has just about tipped over.) Shame, since I think any of our candidates could make mincemeat out of him and Romney.

Lastly, the best quote I've seen about Huckabee's appeal, ever, from Judith Warner:

"If I did not have trouble believing that there were dinosaurs on Noah’s Ark, I might follow this man – and the very pleasant Chuck Norris, of course – to the ends of the earth."

Of course, my pick for Pied Piper is still Colbert.

Iowa and its portents

Ok, I admit it, that gnawing feeling is back. The gnawing, anxious, and incredibly tense feeling I had in the days when no one knew Huckabee's name but I could see him gathering steam like some Hammer of God cloud. Because I had seen him work his magic on Colbert, seen him out folksy Colbert's persona, and draw me in. I liked him. I couldn't help it. God help me, I still like the guy. Even knowing that he's a complete crackup and none too bright. He communicates and he empathizes with a doe-eyed sincerity and Southern charm that probably exceeds that of Clinton. Because Huckabee didn't wind up becoming a Rhodes scholar but he did do something more impressive to the general public - he lost 160 pounds. It's the Everyman's dream.

So are we ready for an Obama-Huckabee match up? Huckabee seems to be, based on his Leno interview the other night (which probably didn't hurt a bit. Man is no Les Paul, but he's also not my wonderful, if musically un-enhanced younger brother.) Huckabee had practically no organization, and very little money, and blew past Mitt Romney, the mega-self-funded Bain Capital partner. And he blew past him by almost a 10 point spread. Not too shabby, but definitely cause for concern.

Here's the scariest thing - Huckabee like Obama is a practioner of the coy jab, the "I don't say bad things about people, but I want to point out that some people do this" crowd. If it weren't presidential politics and it was your friends fighting, you'd be inclined to call them passive aggressive. And you'd be right. Because hell, Huckabee got massive airtime out of 2 ads in the past 2 weeks - 1 ad he paid for and aired (Cross my heart, I never meant to focus on religion) and 1 ad he NEVER EVEN AIRED.

Huckabee's coming hard and strong, and I've always said he would be devastating in a general election. Never mind that he says things, and they don't make sense. He sticks to his values, even if he says that AIDS is easily catchable. Why is and has Huckabee been the real stealth GOPer all along? Because he unites the Christian base like never before. And he will say things that make little sense, but you find yourself nodding along to his cadence, the soft gentleness in his eyes. Read comments like Malacandra's in a favorable dkos review of his Leno performance:

Leggy Starlitz: Imagine, he was pushing the same national sales tax that Gravel gets consigned to the looney bin for around here, and made it sound PLAUSIBLE. He was relaxed, funny, and very likable.That show settled it for me... Huckabee is HANDS DOWN the most dangerous candidate the GOP has right now. And not just dangerous to us... he's dangerous to the entrenched powers that be within his own party. They've pulled out all the stops to destroy him, and if they fail, he'll be after their asses as the nominee (and possibly as president).

Malacandra: He's the one I really thought we had to fear, so his recent surge is my waking nightmare.

The only potentially good thing is that Huckabee's crazy Christianness might drive away some of the big money players in the GOP who are more sane. If they actually listen to what he is saying, and not HOW he is saying it, then the people who are Republican if only for the money, might find themselves increasingly dissuaded. But as we all know for 2000 and 2004, the GOP army isn't the wealthy. It's the Christian conservatives. This is the dread I have had all along. Someone who can really unify their base at a time when it's falling apart. I think the entrenched Washington interests on the GOP side might try to stop the Huck, but are going to have to fall in line. They created a monster in the religious right, and now they can't stop it...

Oh yeah, I am also excited that Obama won Iowa and Edwards seems to be coming in second, with Hillary a very close third. I am just more concerned about what Huckabee's able to do with so little money. Oh please, please please Ron Paul, enter the race as a third partier.

Huckabeez Last Dayz?

Well, if Mitt Romney had anything to say about it, this would be one killer Roundhouse Kick:



Plus Huckabee is a picket-crossing scab despite having received the endorsements of some unions and having said he supports the writers. Don't go on Leno and say you support labor. Do as you say, not as you do, Mr. Preacher Man. Also check the writer-creator of Brothers & Sisters on his thoughts about Huckabee as a smoove-talkin' devil.

Then he'd look into my eyes
Lord knows to my suprise

The only one who could ever reach me
Was the son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man (azlyrics.com)

Rachel Sklar has an analysis of the (aw) sHuckster's media gambit of putting together a massive press conference to announce that you are NOT running a negative ad that is dominating the news, much like his earned media coverage of the infamous cross ad. That's a hell of a way to get your ad aired all over without paying for the media time, which is the REAL expense - not the creation of the ad. I have to agree with Sklar and say, "New York Times and the mainstream media, you got pwned. Damn your confusion, the Huckster played y'alls like a fool."

And this is why in the previous McCain vacuum, I have been hyperventilating over Huckabee as a stealth killer GOP candidate. He's damn smart, and this idea plus the cross ad (which is probably the modern day equivalent of the Daisy ad) is probably a son of the gun genuine Dick Morris special. I'd lay $50 on it, but the preacher probably wouldn't approve of me betting. But he'd sure as hell take mah moneez.

McHuckabee: What I don't want for Christmas

Yeah, I know we're kinda past that date. But here's what I'm pretty deathly afraid of - a McCain-Huckabee ticket. Back when McCain was actively imploding and had to reduce its staff by a third, I was relieved, because I see him as one of the biggest threats in a general election. Now Republicans, sick of EVERYONE in their field, are coming back around to McCain (per politicalwire.)

Robert Novak: "Sen. John McCain, given up for dead a few weeks ago as he ran a cash-starved, disorganized campaign, today is viewed by canny Republican professionals as the best bet to win the party's presidential nomination. What's more, they consider him their most realistic prospect to buck the overall Democratic tide and win the general election. Indeed, if Mike Huckabee holds on to actually win the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, the road forward could be clear for McCain."

Meanwhile, the Washington Times notes the "once nearly bankrupt campaign" of McCain "was negotiating yesterday to charter a fleet of 'Straight Talk Express' buses for use in early primary states."

Why are GOP insiders coming back to the horse they staunchly rejected in 2000 for Dubya?
1) Because one of the original top candidates, Mr. 9/11liani is sick and wouldn't release health records, which kind of freaks out most people who worry that he will keel over on the campaign trail, not to mention his drag-wearing, gay-befriending, taxpayer-aided affair-flaunting ways. If you've got nothing to hide, why wait?!?

2) Because the Christian conservative base is freaking out about Romney the Mormon and can't stop talking about or thinking about this one part of him. Also, he's not ready for primetime. Plus he's the original flip-flopper, much like someone else from his home state, he supported abortion rights and attended a Planned Parenthood fundraiser Cos well, some of the Christian right could overlook him being from what they consider to be a cult and all, but donating to Planned Parenthood crosses the line.

3) And because McCain's not totally crazy, unlike some of the other Republican candidates, and because his "maverickness" and willingness to deviate from GOP boilerplate makes him a more attractive candidate to undecided and independent voters. Of course, this is before McCain decided to run as Bush 2.0 and try to pull a Hillary and claim the mantle of legitimacy in an election cycle when even Repubs are running as far away as they can from Bush's legacy of failed empire. In fact he's so not crazy and instead crazily strategic that he ditched his one defining characteristic as an independent to hitch his wagon to the Bush caravan, which keeps careening over the edge into the canyon. Repeatedly. (Imagine some M. C. Escher depiction of Manifest Destiny with 2 cowboys, a burning caravan, and lots of picturesque rugged landscape - canyon after canyon - as soon as you think you've gone over the edge, you see another canyon.)

And sure, McCain is steadfast. So steadfast that he hasn't changed his mind on anything from immigration (let's see, former sponsor of immigration reform - the McCain-Kennedy bill - turned neo-xenophobe.) Come on, your name was ON the (sorta) pro-immigrant bill as a lead sponsor. Now you're all, "I don't know him, he doesn't ride with me?" How ridiculous can you get? At least he's sticking with his guns and standing up against torture. Because at least that's not too controversial a position - who is going to stick their neck out and say "Hey, I'm pro-torture!"

(Well, apparently, a whole slew of the current field is pro-torture. Not sure how this is a Christian sentiment though.)

But this initial pro-immigrant stance is what would make Huckabee a good running mate for McCain. Huckabee was pro-DREAM Act, before he was against it. Huckabee provides political cover for the Christian right, as a former pastor. And McCain has even publicly stated that he and Huckabee get along well.

Sen. John McCain's strategists "are openly boosting Mike Huckabee in the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses as their candidate's best hope for winning the New Hampshire primary five days later," Robert Novak reports.

"Reports have been leaked that McCain personally likes Huckabee and dislikes Mitt Romney. Apart from personal preference, the McCain camp acknowledges that a Romney victory in Iowa may trigger a win in New Hampshire and a chance to sweep subsequent primaries. The McCain insiders feel Huckabee will not be a serious candidate even if he defeats Romney in Iowa." (Political Wire)

Combined, the McHuckabee is like some god-awful ideal Republican monster, at least from my perspective, it's the last thing I would want to send our eventual Democratic ticket up against.

McCain provides the foreign policy heft, and Huckabee the "awshucks" common man factor and charisma that would be the most formidable GOP ticket in my estimation. Plus McHuckabee sounds like some kind of McDonald's special 2 for 1 offer, or their latest Sausage-syrup hybrid designed for the lowest common demoninator [pun intended], designed to appeal to all your bizarre fringe tastes. Here you can satisfy your NRA needs for your home-schooled kids and your foreign policy hawkness to the Christian base. One stop, hopefully stoppable shop.

To clarify in LOLspeak: DO NOT WANTZ McHUCKABEEZ!

Of course, McCain might actually wind up the GOP presidential nominee, since the Republicans seem to be stuck in a cycle kinda like our 2004 - low buzz or enthusiasm for candidates, culminating in a "Must stop Candidate X" coalition that props up some candidate who earlier had trouble making payroll. Kerry actually had to self-finance his campaign with a new $6 million mortgage on his home. Of course, if he had known then what he knows now, he wouldn't have done it given the crushing tide of foreclosures due to resetting rates.

And Huckabee sure seems to be playing the same sunny optimist role that Edwards did last time around. I've never hoped that a GOP candidate would emulate a Democratic campaign so much. We can only hope, cos we all know how that election ended in a crash-and-burn. (Oh yeah, don't forget to overpay your media consultants and starve your swing state GOTV efforts particularly in Florida and Ohio.)

Add in the Ron Paul 3rd party factor, and I think it's game, match, set for the Democrats. Because when the candidate on your team who generated the most heat (money) is a racist nutjob whose supporters are obnoxious spammers and who represents what you thought was a best the most fringe of the fringes of your party, you know your base is heavily dissatisfied and ain't gonna vote, no way, no how. It's pretty impressive that Paul's $20M haul for this quarter puts him on top of GOP fundraising. I can't wait to watch the incipient intra-party battle, especially since our top 3 candidates are pretty stellar, and share similar policy goals. Not to mention that the economy is in the crapper and a majority of Americans think we will enter a recession next year, well, it's no surprise that even Republican voters are awakening to the fact that in recent history, Republican presidents have brought us shitty economies (Reagan, Bush I, Bush II): "We did better when (Bill) Clinton was in than we did with Bush. It's just terrible." (AP via Yahoo)

So I'm looking forward to seeing not just who we pick, but also who the GOP picks. Because I'm pretty sure we can beat anyone from Giuliani (who I think is weakest) to the Paulster to McHuckabee. That's right, I can nickname as good as our dear leader with his beloved press corpse.

Yeah, Santa, this is all I want for Christmas, so Fed-Ex Next Day this sucker. (Miss the snark much?)