Huckabee: ‘Most’ Prisoners In The U.S. ‘Would Love’ To Be In Guantanamo
Huckabee: ‘Most’ Prisoners In The U.S. ‘Would Love’ To Be In Guantanamo
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell condemned the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay yesterday, calling it “a major problem for America’s perception” and charging, “if it was up to me, I would close Guantanamo — not tomorrow, this afternoon.”
Later, on CNN’s Late Edition, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) expressed his disagreement with Powell about closing Guantanamo, saying “most of our prisoners would love to be in a facility more like Guantanamo and less like the state prisons that people are in in the United States.”
Pressed by host Wolf Blitzer to address the fact that “detainees are being held, by and large, without charges, without any evidence,” which is “causing a smear on the U.S. reputation,” Huckabee said it didn’t matter because hypothetically, “if we let somebody out” they could “come and fly an airliner into one of our skyscrapers.” Watch it:
Huckabee’s fearmongering over the prospect of closing Guantanamo is ignorant of the facts. Critics of the current military commission system are not arguing we should let the prisoners go. Instead, the criticism is aimed at creating a constitutional legal system that would provide for the conviction of terrorists.
The lawless environment at Guantanamo has dangerously tarnished the reputation of the United States abroad. As Powell noted, bad actors and “authoritarian figures” around the world are “using Guantanamo to hide their own misdeeds.”
The Center for American Progress has urged shifting detainee operations to Fort Leavenworth, KS, and prosecuting the remaining detainees in general courts-martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Transcript:
BLITZER: Let’s talk a little bit about what the former secretary of state General Colin Powell said earlier today on “Meet the Press” when asked about the status of the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, whether suspected terrorists should be housed there. Listen to what General Powell said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN POWELL: If it was up to me, I would close Guantanamo. Not tomorrow, but this afternoon. Every morning I pick up a paper and some authoritarian figure, some person somewhere is using Guantanamo to hide their own misdeeds. And so essentially, we have shaken the belief that the world had in America’s justice system by keeping a place like Guantanamo open.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Governor Huckabee, you agree with Secretary Powell?
HUCKABEE: I know it’s become a symbol of what’s wrong. I visited Guantanamo just about a year ago. My sense was, because I visited every single prison in the Arkansas prison system, and I can tell you most of our prisoners would love to be in a facility more like Guantanamo and less like the state prisons that people are in in the United States.
It’s more symbolic than it is a substantive issue, because people perceive of mistreatment when, in fact, there are extraordinary means being taken to make sure these detainees are being given, really, every consideration.
BLITZER: But the argument isn’t so much the physical condition as to the legal system that they face. These suspected terrorists, these detainees are being held, by and large, without charges, without any evidence. They’re just being kept there indefinitely. And that’s causing a smear on the U.S. reputation.
HUCKABEE: I understand that. But I’ll tell you, if we let somebody out and it turns out that they come and fly an airliner into one of our skyscrapers, we’re going to be asking, how come we didn’t stop them? We had them detained.
There’s not a perfect solution. The perfect solution is to get people to quit being terrorists. And that’s not something we can easily control. If we’re going to make a mistake right now, let’s make it on the side of protecting the American people. That’s the number one role and responsibility that an American president has right now.
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Would someone stuff a Bible in his mouth and flush his head down the toilet?
June 11th, 2007 at 12:39 pmthank you.
That would pretty much clog that toilet up, RUcerious.
June 11th, 2007 at 12:42 pmYou first Governor!!!
June 11th, 2007 at 12:42 pmYet another Repuke shows he is an inbred idiot.
Huckabee's parents were brother and sister.
June 11th, 2007 at 12:42 pmNo, seriously, is Huckabee running for the title of "Stupidest Man Alive"? I know the competition will be brisk, to say the least, but I gotta say, Huck is looking like a contender.
June 11th, 2007 at 12:44 pmOk Huckabee > how about we send you there for a year to see if you like the place and being tortured?
June 11th, 2007 at 12:44 pm#5,
"but I gotta say, Huck is looking like a contender."
I agree actually. This guy scares me bit. He's too smooth.
June 11th, 2007 at 12:45 pmHuckabee’s parents were brother and sister.
Comment by Tom3
Wouldn't we first have to confirm that they were the same species?
June 11th, 2007 at 12:45 pmI used to inspect state prisons.
I can say without a doubt that NO state prison inmate would sign on for Gitmo. No freakin' way.
Prison inmates have rights, Gitmo detainees have none.
Inmates cannot be waterboarded or force-fed with a hose jammed down their throats.
Huckabee is a real inbred idiot, he was a Governor and obviously has no idea of what his own state's prisons are lik
June 11th, 2007 at 12:46 pmHuckabee said it didn’t matter because hypothetically, “if we let somebody out†they could “come and fly an airliner into one of our skyscrapers.â€
Huckabee, take your fear mongering, fold it in 5 places and shove it where the sun doesn't shine.
June 11th, 2007 at 12:46 pmgoddamn the inbreeding has got to STOP!
June 11th, 2007 at 12:47 pmFine. Send Cunningham, DeLay and Ney down there as the first group and we'll let them report back on how great the conditions are.
June 11th, 2007 at 12:47 pm"The perfect solution is to get people to quit being terrorists. And that’s not something we can easily control."
Uh, well, not blowing up their entire family would be a good start...
June 11th, 2007 at 12:47 pmEvery GOPer politician who thinks GITMO is a cool place must be interned there for a full year and get the waterboarding treatment too.
June 11th, 2007 at 12:48 pm#12, YES!
June 11th, 2007 at 12:49 pmSeriously, this guy is stupid enough to be very dangerous.
State prisoners get commissary privileges (they can buy snacks)
They get attorney visits and family visits and even connubial visits with the spouse.
And state prisoners eventually get out, most of them.
Gitmo detainees are there indefinitely with no habeus and none of the rights that state inmates get.
Huckabee is an a$$hole and a moron.
June 11th, 2007 at 12:49 pmIt disgusts me that this out of touch politician would make such a statement, but come on, a large number of prisoners in the us shouldn't even be in prison!!
But then again, these people don't give a damn about rights, the bill of rights. It's not some mere suggestion, it's the law. period.
Some follow up reading:
"Contract with America: Bill of Rights"
June 11th, 2007 at 12:49 pmhttp://www.populistamerica.com/contract_with_america
WHAT F#CKING A$$HOLE!
June 11th, 2007 at 12:51 pmSpoken like a true "Bushie"
June 11th, 2007 at 12:53 pm"... and get the waterboarding treatment too..."
Comment by Jay Randal
Note to McConnell... "waterboarding" is not a quaint, out-dated term for surfing...
June 11th, 2007 at 12:55 pmRepukes live in a Bizarro World of their own making.
They are all delusional and need inpatient mental health care.
And drug 'em up too. Medicate 'em until they drool.
Straitjackets would be good for Repukes too.
June 11th, 2007 at 12:58 pmNumerous people have been release from Gitmo. None have them have flown airplanes into our buildings.
June 11th, 2007 at 12:59 pmThese people are not just mad, they're dangerous.
June 11th, 2007 at 12:59 pm.
Huckabee supports indefinite detention of Gitmo detainees who have been cleared by a military tribunal.
Huckabee is a NAZI. Sieg Heil.
June 11th, 2007 at 12:59 pmThen why don't you go?
June 11th, 2007 at 1:01 pmDelay would be perfect for the first round since he hasn't been convicted yet. Guilty until proven innocent should apply to corrupt politians as well as terror suspects (if applied at all) since both hurt the well-being of the country.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:01 pmThis idiot should stick to Hucking bees.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:02 pmNeedless to say, I disagree with Huckabee. But TP, your headline is a not exactly fair to him.
I think what's he's suggesting is that Gitmo is a more modern facility, in better condition than the prisons in Arkansas (and that may be correct). I don't think he's suggesting at all that prisoners in the states should be stripped of their rights as has happened to the Gitmo inmates.
He's clearly in denial or not wanting to talk about what has happened - and possibly continues to happen - to Gitmo prisoners. He's certainly arguing that indefinite detention is his best idea for terrorist suspects. And that's the key issue here, I can't see much point having an argument whether Gitmo is more hygenic than the jailhouse in Little Rock.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:03 pmThe Bushident of the United States would agree.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:03 pmHuckabee's statement may just prove his stance on Evolution is correct!
June 11th, 2007 at 1:03 pmGuilty until proven innocent applied to Congress: talk about draining the swamp.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:05 pmYes, Huckabee, people are just dying to stay in Guantanamo:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_suicide_attempts
June 11th, 2007 at 1:05 pmGuantanamo could be the next Alcatraz at this rate, if not worse.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:05 pmActually, I think most prisoners in the US would love to be free.
Heh.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:06 pmBasically GOPers are beginning to believe their own lies, and see terrorists behind every tree now, but at the same time the Mexican border remains wide open so an entire terrorist army could enter US. Only 5% of cargo entering our ports is inspected, so Osama could ship in nukes if he was really still alive and not a bag of bones in some unmarked grave.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:08 pmIs there even one ounce of brains left in the entire Republican party?!
June 11th, 2007 at 1:08 pmNice one 'H'!
Whatever it takes to keep up the pressure on Iran!!
Israel is counting on you, America!!!
June 11th, 2007 at 1:09 pmI think Gitmo would be a great place to store the member of this administration when they leave office.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:12 pm.
Grand Moff Texan > good idea, but should be done now. Empty out GITMO of the phony terrorists and fill it with GOPer Senators, Representatives, and everybody in the Bush Regime.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:15 pm[Technical difficulties]
June 11th, 2007 at 1:16 pmCompare Guantanamo to State prisons?
June 11th, 2007 at 1:17 pmA better comparison would be Guantanamo and Devils Island.
Yet another coward publicly wetting himself in fear of this "dangerous" world in which we live.
Hint to the pathetic Huckabee: Life is dangerous. That's why no one, and I mean no one, gets out alive.
In the current asinine age of preemptive military invasions and preemptive incarcerations, there is nary any distance to travel to reach preemptive executions. And that means you, or anyone else whose actions or thoughts could be construed as threatening to the government.
Think about it. And if you are like me, then you'll see Mr. Huckabee for the pathetic coward and deceitful glutton that he is and not the "smooth talker" or "charismatic" farce that some here want to see him as.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:17 pmIs this guy serious about wanting the American public to consider him for the highest office in the land? Is there any candidate running for the Rethuglican nomination who has a functioning brain? This guy seems to want to out Bush, Bush! Forget it, it can't be done! Not unless you are going to submit to a labotomy, and have what little might be left removed.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:18 pmhttp://www.prisoner345.net/
Sami was arrested in Pakistan in December 2001 whilst travelling with a legitimate visa to work in Afghanistan as a cameraman for Al Jazeera. But he is being held as an ‘enemy combatant’.
SHAME ON Huckleberry spin
June 11th, 2007 at 1:19 pm"The Center for American Progress has urged shifting detainee operations to Fort Leavenworth, KS, and prosecuting the remaining detainees in general courts-martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice."
They aren't soldiers.
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ucmj.htm#802.%20ART.%202.%20PERSONS%20SUBJECT%20TO%20THIS%20CHAPTER
June 11th, 2007 at 1:20 pmYeah, sure, sounds like a dream.
Except for that never getting out part.
And that military kangaroo court part.
And that torture part.
But that lemon chicken sounds great!
June 11th, 2007 at 1:21 pmIt's clear that Huckabee's gone "around the bend" - when he can't substantiate his remarks with anything more than the fear card, he's lost the argument totally. He's washed up.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:21 pmLook, I really make an effort to see issues from both sides, to assume that most conservatives hold their beliefs seriously and come to them honestly. I try to respect their views.
Crap like this from Huckabee doesn't make that task easier.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:22 pmIs Huckabee this country's "best" that we have to offer? If it is, this country is in even more trouble than anyone could possibly imagine in their wildest nightmares! He's an idiot - clear & simple.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:22 pmHuckabee said it didn’t matter because hypothetically, “if we let somebody out†they could “come and fly an airliner into one of our skyscrapers.â€
These people have absolutely NO shame whatsoever.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:23 pmThe only thing we have to "fear" is "fear itself" along with some very twisted, illiterate, bigoted, scandalous, egomaniacs we call Congressmen, that's what we should be fearing.....that and the "enemy within" (Team Bush!).
June 11th, 2007 at 1:23 pmHuckabee's brain is somewhere in a skyscraper!!
June 11th, 2007 at 1:24 pmSeriously, this guy is stupid enough to be very dangerous.
Comment by SKdeA — June 11, 2007 @ 12:49 pm
well, then He qualifies for 'good' candidate for Presidente of this contry, especially on Repub ticket !!!
June 11th, 2007 at 1:24 pmhttp://www.prisoner345.net/
Sami was arrested in Pakistan in December 2001 whilst travelling with a legitimate visa to work in Afghanistan as a cameraman for Al Jazeera. But he is being held as an ‘enemy combatant’.
shame on you Huckleberry spin
June 11th, 2007 at 1:24 pmIf Guantánamo is sooooo precious and dandy, send there Paris...
June 11th, 2007 at 1:24 pm"...lemon chicken... uhuhuhuhuh..."
June 11th, 2007 at 1:25 pmAll you have to do is get these GOP idiots enough rope and they will hang themselves every time! Let them all talk - then the people will see them for the fools that they are and will certainly realize that they've been totally "duped" by another fool.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:25 pmkeeps sticking on posts
even many refreshes dont work
post a comment and suddenly 50 posts appear
???????????????????????????????????????
June 11th, 2007 at 1:25 pmPerhaps someone should ask the Haitian AIDS patients we kept in Guantanamo in the last Bush Administration. When they finally came to the United States, we sent them to regular prisons. I'm sure they could give a full comparison of the two situations, if any of them are still alive.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:26 pmPerhaps Huckabee is insinuating that he wants prisons in America to all be run like GITMO? Meaning NO inspections of the facilities, NO oversight of prisoner abuse, NO parole for anybody, and every prisoner gets tortured till they commit suicide or drop dead.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:26 pmSeriously, this guy is stupid enough to be very dangerous.
Comment by SKdeA
Hey, you make being "stupidâ„¢" sound like a bad thing.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:26 pmThe more I hear these southern state, bible belt, fundamentalist-Christian Republicans saying stupid comments such as this, I often wonder if Lincoln was wrong for fighting the civil war. Perhaps the northern and western part of the nation would have been better off in the long run to have let the CSA leave.
Nah, that would have just left us with an ignorant-led third world nation along our southern border.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:29 pmWell, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is the one who fought to have a convicted rapist, Wayne Dumond, freed. Of course, said rapist went on to rape again and killed his victim...
"Gov. Mike Huckabee: Tough on "Terror", Easy on Rapists!"
Great slogan, no?
June 11th, 2007 at 1:33 pmThis is the inbred moron that firmly thinks that God created the world in six days, 6000 years ago. The idea of having Huckabee and "facts" in the same sentence (as above) is laughable.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:34 pmWacko!
Another run for the presidency cut short.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:35 pmThis type of stuff sounds crazy to normal people, but to the 30%er, it makes perfect sense. Don't fall for this as some type of reaching out to middle America, this is meant to impress the rabid right wing.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:37 pmAs each Rethug opens his ugly trap, detritus & evil is all that erupts! Give them enough rope....they'll all hang themselves.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:37 pmInteresting article related to this in the Sunday NY Times: http://tinyurl.com/2u3825
Sorry, registration required. But in the first four paragraphs:
The men were picked up from a camp that had one rifle, where they had gone looking for work. They had the bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and then spent four years in Gitmo. The only country that would take them was Albania (because of US subsidies) and they can't go home to China because they're "terrorists". They're f*k*d, basically.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:39 pmIs it my imagination, or is EVERY Repug from the South related to Dubya and his other brother Darth????
June 11th, 2007 at 1:44 pmThis guy wants to be the next president...!!
He also said he will nuke Iran as a pre- empt...he and all other GOP candidates during last week's debate said the same ,except of Ron Paul.
Yet he was silent about nuking Russia when Putin gave warning last week that if USA does not retreat from building radar stations in Poland and Czech Republics, he(Putin) will be free to select many targets in Europe and USA,and he said he is building more sophistacted missiles...to do the trick.
Is he going to pre- empt Russia? and N. Korea also..?
He and other GOP candidates refused the theory of 'Evolution',started to use the Bible that they will not accept such theory . A theory that is taught all over the world.
The theory does not threaten anybody's belief, and why it is the government business to be the advocate of religions anyway..?!!
Huckabee , the president's job wanna bee needs to enlarge his scope of thinking before trying to be a president,and try to be president for all people...not certain groups, to stop pandering,before attempting to be the next President.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:51 pmtest
June 11th, 2007 at 1:51 pmOK, back
June 11th, 2007 at 1:52 pmFAULT FAULT ON TP
open page post 57
press refresh twice post 57
posted test = now post 71
test been posted - I now see posts to 57 to 71
FAULTY
June 11th, 2007 at 1:53 pmHuckabee might be an idiot, but remember, it's the people of Arkansas that elected him there.
Instead of directing all your attention to Huckabee, direct your attention to the citizens of Arkansas and ask them why they would elect such an idiot.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:53 pmRepublicans are certifiably insane...no ifs, ands, or buts, they are batshit crazy.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:56 pmdidn't Michael Moore make the same-- or an even stronger- point, that even the 911 NYC rescue workers would like access to the healthcare that we are providing Gitmo prisoners. Bet Huckabee wouldn't like to know just who's side that he is on.
Problem his line of argument is that he and all these idiots keep repeating Karl Rove talking points which ignore the hypocrisy of the Bush Admin's positions and equate disagreement with wanting the terrorists to win.
Enough, Mr Huckabee.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:58 pmagain, the headline doesn't accurately reflect what he said. he said, "more like guantanamo" and not gauntanamo, per se.
June 11th, 2007 at 2:03 pmsecret prisions, suspending Habeus Corpus when not necessary, torture, politicizing the justice department, falsifying a cause for a preemptive war, illegally subverting funds for catching terrorists in Afganistan to pay for an unapproved military buildup in the Persian Gulf before the Iraq War, revealing the name of a CIA covert op in the non-proliferation division.
nice legacy that Huckabee is so intent on defending.
June 11th, 2007 at 2:05 pmThank goodness for ONE thing -- at least he didn't suggest "Kill them all, and let God sort them out!"
June 11th, 2007 at 2:10 pmRefresh button is useless, means nothing at this point.
June 11th, 2007 at 2:12 pmPresident Huckabee
That would be nice.
June 11th, 2007 at 2:20 pmSounds like Huckabee would like to send his recently-arrested druggie son to Gitmo for a first-hand report!!!!
June 11th, 2007 at 2:33 pmHuckabee wonders why the parachutist died on his last jump, instead of his second to last jump...
June 11th, 2007 at 2:47 pmtest
June 11th, 2007 at 2:48 pmWhy should Huckleberry's remarks surprise anyone, coming from a party where one of the other candidates, Duncan Hunter, defended conditions at Guantanamo by displaying the food prisoners there are fed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJDUcztn8fcc
Hickaberry should be put in Guantanamo. Oh, but then again, they probably don't have a wedding registry there, http://www.swtimes.com/articles/2006/11/13/week_in_review/news/saturday/news09.txtso he'd probably consider that cruel and unusual punishment.
June 11th, 2007 at 2:48 pmThe Governor, then, should be ashamed enough of his own state prison system to start making it more like the operation run at Guantanamo Bay.
June 11th, 2007 at 3:00 pm"“most of our prisoners would love to be in a facility more like Guantanamo"
Is it too much for TV spokesmodels like Blitzer to follow up this inane statement with,"Are you citing a report?Where are you getting this information?"
It's so goddamn transparent that when a "point" like this is being made by Republicans, they are just pulling it out of their asses because they have no fear of being questioned on it. As with Romney's free pass at the last debate when he said Saddam wouldn't allow the inspectors into Iraq before the war, Huckabee just says what he knows his base wants to hear, completely making it up. I guarantee he has absolutely nothing to back up his absurd statment.
June 11th, 2007 at 3:07 pmRefresh
June 11th, 2007 at 3:09 pmThis man is seriously delusional. He really thinks that people in this country would choose to be held indefinitely, with no rights to legal representation, while being tortured, over being in a US prison. Well, I say, let's send Mr. Huckabee to Guantanamo and treat him the same way we are treating the people we are holding there. Make him stay for 6 months. Then let's see what he has to say.
Sheesh....these Republic presidential candidates are the scariest bunch of crazy people I have seen in my lifetime.
June 11th, 2007 at 3:18 pmThis guy should have to submit to an immediate piss-test to see what kind of drugs he's on.
June 11th, 2007 at 3:20 pmRefresh..
June 11th, 2007 at 3:29 pmIf he thinks it's the preffered place to be, ask him to campaing for sending scooter libby their instead of a federal prison.
June 11th, 2007 at 3:42 pmI think Huckabee's weight loss has affected his brain....or is his comment a reflection of the Arkansas prison system?
June 11th, 2007 at 3:52 pmBy Huck's logic, everyone in the world should be thrown in jail cause if you release them they might do something bad someday. I'm thinking the Huckster is onto something here...no need for law at all anymore, just establish that everyone is guilty until...well, forever, and since people can do bad things at any given time, they should just be randomly incarcerated, for indefinite periods, with no charges, no evidence, and no rights of any kind. This is America's future with the Republican party...whoopeee! It's a bright shiney future people, and the Republican party is leading the way!
When are mental defectives like this guy gonna be institutionalized!? The Huckster indicated his depth of intelligence when he was one of three who raised their hands when asked if they didn't believe in evolution. And now he's throwing out a thousand years of legal precedence because someone, innocent or guilty, might decide to do something bad if you let them out. Does this guy claim to be a lawyer? And if so, why hasn't he been disbarred?
This country is in deep deep trouble with cretins like this attempting to take the reigns of power (from the dumbest SOB to ever inhabit the office), and being taken "seriously" by our "liberal" media.
June 11th, 2007 at 3:59 pmFantastic. So once Huckabee is found guilty of his crimes, then he go to Guantanamo instead of joining his buddy Scooter at Cupcake prison.
June 11th, 2007 at 4:00 pmOne need only look at the horrible conditions within the Arkansas prison system to see how Huckabee could make such a statement.
June 11th, 2007 at 4:07 pmBWAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!
June 11th, 2007 at 4:19 pmIf Gitmo was closed and the people sent back to werehense they came many would be killed on the runway 5 ft from the plane and the US would be at fault.
June 11th, 2007 at 4:58 pmThe man is a disgrace.
June 11th, 2007 at 5:05 pm" If we're going to make a mistake right now, let’s make it on the side of protecting the American people."
June 11th, 2007 at 5:08 pmIf Huckabee believes that then what does he have to say about convicted rapist Wayne dumond that he let out and killed several people in Missouri? Huckabee is now Huckabeen
Wow. He truly makes so much sense; we really should jail EVERYONE. Really, we don't even need a reason to send everyone to jail apart from, "Well, if we release you, you might fly a plane into one of our buildings." There's really no evidence against that. How can you know for sure that you might or might not fly a plane into a building? GENIUS!
June 11th, 2007 at 5:31 pmla>weather channel
June 11th, 2007 at 5:45 pm#101-well said.
June 11th, 2007 at 5:50 pmHuckabee is blinded by ambition. He squandered 40 million plus on computer software for the state which failed miserably. Large numbers of rural bridges in the state have been closed - after having been used for many decades. For the most part, the counties had upgraded the bridges in recent years.
Furthermore, albeit surreptitiously at times, he insisted on the pardon of a sadistic convicted rapist! The girl that was raped, in the instance for which Dumond was tried, happened to be a second or third cousin of Bill Clinton.
After Dumond was pardoned, he moved to Missouri and viciously attacked more women.
After losing some of the gross poundage which he had acquired while governor, he has enjoyed considerably publicity for the feat. Too bad he cannot have more influence on some of his own family members.
June 11th, 2007 at 6:12 pmRepulsivescum presidential candidates...
...are sh*t...
...in the two Repulsivescum debates I've seen...
...I have YET to hear ONE of them talk about solving the problems of middle class and working poor people...
...all THEY talk about is WAR! WAR! WAR!
...who we need to keep in line...
...who should be HATED!
...may God DESTROY ALL Republican, Independent and Democrat "conservatives"...
...SOON!
June 11th, 2007 at 7:22 pmIt is disgusting that Huckabee has been made a media darling simply because he lost weight and implemented a program to put weights on the report cards of Arkansas school children! (Paving the way for an untold # of eating disorders.) The truth is that bigPharma and the AMA are afraid national health insurance might take hold, so they are buying off candidates left and right to capitalize on these "lifestyle" issues to recoup their $$$$$loss. Whether it is Hillary or Huckabee, keep your nose out of my business. And yes, actually, studies have shown dieting decreases ones intellectual abilities! Why do you think the government keeps on with those antiobesity campaigns. Think they want us to think for ourselves???????
June 11th, 2007 at 7:23 pmREFRESHER
June 11th, 2007 at 7:27 pmMost prisoners love waterboarding and torture too. sarc. Obviously, mikey has been getting stoopid lessons from Dumbya.
June 11th, 2007 at 7:54 pmlol all the more reason to vote Ron Paul!
June 11th, 2007 at 8:11 pmHuckabee...
...like ALL conservative Repulsivescum, Independents and Democrats...
...is a "SLAVE"...
...and glad to be one...
June 11th, 2007 at 8:29 pm"get people to quit being terrorists...." HA!!! - too funny - just like quitting smoking with nicotine patches or heroin with methadone or alcohol with bucklers beer,right mike?
June 11th, 2007 at 8:48 pmtest
June 11th, 2007 at 9:15 pmIt is disturbing to see people like this with no respect to the American Constitution running for Presidency. Huckabee’ is not the only one. Matt Romney wants to double the size of Gitmo!
June 11th, 2007 at 9:31 pmThis guy's not a bad man, he's just totally naive.
June 11th, 2007 at 9:32 pmHook Huckabee's nipples up to a car battery, cut off his digits, administer some waterboarding, and see if he still agrees that Gitmo detainees shouldn't be given a chance to PROVE that they're innocent. Fact: A prisoner being tortured is much more likely to tell his torturer exactly what he wants to hear. That is the only reason anyone held in these hell holes EVER admits to any sort of terrorist plot, period. Now don't let YOUR habeous corpus go the way of the constitution too.
June 11th, 2007 at 9:36 pmI find Huckabee's mindspace totally appalling. I hope this country recovers from its current madness and goes back to cherishing freedom and dignity. We'd better do it soon, or we're doomed.
June 11th, 2007 at 9:38 pmWhy is Huckabee so afraid? We have the best system of law known to man, and this idiot continues to advocate undermining the law.
What's the problem with providing them lawyers and charging them with a crime? If you believe they're guilty, and have so much evidence against them, then charge them with a crime.
And of course, Huckabee has no solution for the problem other than "keep em' locked up!" His fear mongering under the guise of "If we let them go, they may kill us!" is stunning. What if some of those guys aren't terrorists? Isn't it also immoral to keep the innocence locked up for the rest of their lives?
June 11th, 2007 at 9:42 pmpebble; too late, we are already doomed. Where have you been for the last 6 years?
June 11th, 2007 at 9:48 pmAfter reading this I found myself agreeing with a progressive's point of view. The comments at the end are what sealed it for me. I agree, send them to Levenworth and try them.
I also need to add this: there are a great many conservatives who come over and look at the comments and crack up. There are more cusswords (#*&%&) and just flat out anger that it can't be taken seriously. These comments have nothing to do with the column. They are all just "Dubya is a jerk!" and stuff like that. You all need to quit sounding like babies and would be taken much more seriously.
June 11th, 2007 at 10:27 pmThe scary thing is that the Nazis were elected to power in Germany with less than a third of the voters going to the polls. We better all be ready to vote, or the 30% neo-cons and rabid right wingers with vote Huckabee or Romney or one of the other potential dictators into power.
June 11th, 2007 at 10:32 pmHow do these retarded things even get elected..maybe it is time for some contemplation...for all who is voting!
June 12th, 2007 at 1:39 amAnd yet you are here Lew, I think that says more about you than it does about us.
June 12th, 2007 at 1:46 amThe Cable channel EWTN - about 18 - 24 months ago - had a program on the Spanish Inquisition and one of the narrators made the statement that, "The prisoners in the state jails of Spain would much rather have been in the Inquisition prisons".
This isn't an analogy, it's a one-on-one comparison.
June 12th, 2007 at 2:45 amHonestly I think that most state prisoners should be in a facility like Guantanamo, if not worse. Criminals should not be treated with any kind of dignity or respect because they should not have committed the crime in the first place.
However, Huckabee misses the point. Guantanamo is not full of criminals or terrorists. It is full of people who have been snatched and incarcerated without charge or trial. To lock up and torture people who have not even been charged with a crime, let alone tried and convicted is what third rate banana republics under backwards dictatorships do. NOT what the USA should be doing.
Huckabee and all the other candidates, GOP and DEM alike are idiots.
Except Ron Paul of course.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:15 amI'm halfway agreeing with Libertarian Lew (#119). We have great reason for our disdain, but simply voicing our disgust doesn't convince anyone to join the 'reasonable' side of things. Perhaps we could mix open anger with raw facts, 50/50, for practice and come up with purely factual rejoinder from time to time.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:27 amI also agree with the post'r who pointed out Huckleberry is posing for the 30%'rs. And these are very closed-minded people, very dangerous en masse ("Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer").
We have to fight this horrible trend with more than anger and sarcasm. As many of you post'rs above have, pointing out facts and reasoning through important distinctions.
Let's be BETTER than the 30%'rs; kinder and better people, and better Americans! Bushism = Fascism. We believe in democracy!
The fastest way to do that is to respect human rights and dignity of people the world over. That way, you do not face the blow back from your actions overseas.
You do not protect your nation from terrorism by imposing ever more draconian laws and surveillance over your own population, removing the freedom and liberty that made your nation great. Nor by imposing your version of a flawed democracy on a people that did not ask for it, do not understand it, nor do they want it, from the barrel of a gun. Nor by blowing apart the innocent people of a nation overseas that had no part in 911. Every Iraqi that has died in that war was innocent of any connection with 9/11. EVERY SINGLE ONE! That's hundreds of thousands of people killed, who had NOTHING to do with 911. Hundreds of thousands of people who would not have had ANY connection at all with any kind of anti-western terrorism, had it not been for the American invasion. Hundreds of thousands of innocent families ripped apart.
A quarter of the population of Iraq has been displaced and 1/25th of the nation killed since the invasion. an invasion launched, we know now, as a consequence of 911. An invasion based, at the time, on deliberate lies.
That incredible level of injustice is what feeds a natural desire for revenge and that is what causes terrorism.
Hell even the fact that the USA was once attacked on 911 caused you to want revenge so bad that you destroy a foriegn nation that had NOTHING whatsoever to do with that attack. Just so you can feel safe? So that you feel that you can 'do your bit' for American safety?
Well the insurgents are trying to do the same for Iraqi safety. You were attacked once. They have been attacked hundreds of thousands of times. You are not doing any good for America at all in Iraq. Every Iraqi killed is a stain on America. Every Iraqi killed provides emotional ammunition and feeds the fire for revenge.
OK, many Iraqis have killed American troops, but that was AFTER YOU INVADED THEIR COUNTRY FIRST. I call their action legitimate self defence. In exactly the same way it would be legitimate self defence for any American in America, to kill any foreign soldier that invaded Your country.
The more you fight terrorism, the more terrorism you create. It's like a chinese finger trap, the harder you pull, the tighter it gets.
Ron Paul is correct, set a good example for the world, atop bullying and start pursuading. Defeat terrorism with kindness and love for humanity, not hatred and fear. You will eradicate the support for the tiny amount of genuinely insane terrorists by spreading kindness and understanding, rather than death and destruction.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:49 amGovernor Huckabee believes that we can lock people up and throw the key away because "hypothetically" they could whatever? Didn't know there was a hypothetical law and charge. Gotta love the Right Wing!
June 12th, 2007 at 7:25 amHuckabee was elected Governor which is frightening enough. That he somehow, somewhere in his prodigious ego thinks that he is qualified to be president is even more frightening. That there are people dumb enough to vote for a neanderthal like Huckabee is not at all surprising. Is his next stump stop on NBC's The "Biggest Loser"?
Jesus H. Christ!! What is that ?man on??? Arkansas voters must be out of their f**king minds to elect such a stupid, cowardly a**hole!!
Until fearmongers like hucklebuck are voted out of office, this country is doomed! I thought we had some hope when Dems got a majority but I soon realized that the slim majority they had was of no use whatsoever. Until we elect more representatives with the courage of their convictions, we will continue on the downward course we are on now.
Dem or rethug doesnt matter, if our ELECTED officials voted their consciences, this country would be closer to the principles that it was founded on. I wonder what our founding fathers would think of the mess this country is in now. They would probably be as ashamed of us as I am. Its no longer a matter of pride to be an American. We are NOT the greatest country in the world; RATHER WE ARE THE WORST!
THANK YOU, PRESIDENT CHENEY AND PUPPET BUSH!! MAY YOU BOTH ROT ON THE LOWEST LEVEL OF HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY!!
June 12th, 2007 at 8:35 amWhat are the qualifications for getting imprisoned in Gitmo? // In W2 a lot of these folks would have been hung straight out.//If you are not afraid of terrorists, keep a little of the door open and watch what is happening around the world, what will be happening, and include the big percentage of US Muslims that think self bomb consuming murder is just fine.
June 12th, 2007 at 8:40 amwhat huckabee said is typical of every politician in washington - NONE of them have a clue about what a terrorist is,how to fight them,and more importantly,how to defend their country and its people from the threat that these lunatics pose,otherwise,why would he say something so ridiculous? - shit,the entire united states military can't stop the violence and chaos that they cause in iraq and every measure to make inroads and "progress" against these killing machines fails and has done for the past 4 years - and the best that these f**kheads can do to convince peole that they know what they are talking about is to suit up and take a stroll around a market in baghdad and tell everyone that the "war on terror" (and F**K do i hate
June 12th, 2007 at 9:41 amTHAT term) is being won because "progress is beibg made"....but it "will take time"....yeah time and more lives that don't need to be wasted - seriously,i have not heard ONE dem,neocon or other give a rock solid statement or solution on how to stop terrorism or what they would or are doing to make america (or any other country - remember that bush said that "THE WORLD is safer without saddam blah blah....") safer today
What a moron!
June 12th, 2007 at 11:20 amCool, send Paris to Gitmo!
June 12th, 2007 at 11:49 amIgnorant Hillbilly.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:55 amI hope the Republicans nominate him. The Dems will wipe him off the map.
Most clear thinking Americans would "love to see Huckabee in Gitmo"
June 12th, 2007 at 12:38 pmThis is why we should support Ron Paul.
Darth Vader (post 129):
June 12th, 2007 at 12:41 pmthere is ONE.. do some research.
I'm a senoir citizen who has lived a life believing and practicing "do unto others as your would have done unto you". This Huckabee person is the anathma for human beings. He should be cursed and ostracized. It's hard to believe that such a person would hold any honored place in America (or the world for that matter). It is so disappointing to see the calibre of people holding offices in this country. Their determination to destroy all that is important to its citizens; to destroy foreign countries; destroy freedoms; destroy the Constitution; destroy Democracy; destroy civil rights; destroy the judicial system; condone torture; destroy the middle class and set their goal toward a dictatorship is overwhelming. What is even more disappointing is the lethargy of so many Americans who do not want to face the fact that their lives are in jeopardy. I hope we all WAKE UP soon, become active, march, protest, contact representatives and participate. Time's running out. Marshall Law is on it's way.
June 12th, 2007 at 1:24 pml;l;l
June 12th, 2007 at 1:44 pmThe US has NO RIGHT to have a military base on Cuban territory in the first place, let alone a copncentration camp like Guantanamo.
I remember when someone complained about the hoorendous treatment of miserable wretches held there, she was answered -- not in jest -- by some butthead in the Yank polity that Guantanamo fell under the territorial jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Cuba.
June 12th, 2007 at 1:59 pmTO: #114
You are wrong, Preacher Huck is a bad man. He is not niave. He was given the office of governor when Tucker got caught up in the S.P Starr investigations. Then the dems ran a little country lady against him and he was elected. Check out the stories about the Rev. in Arkansas Times. He is a real life Elmer Gantry.
June 12th, 2007 at 2:02 pmEveryone of you who called Huckabee stupid should stop and look in mirror to find someone to call stupid. Everyone of those men in Gitmo would kill you if they had a chance without a second thought! Those men are not criminals but enemies of everyone in the free world and do not deserve any rights whatsoever. They hate everything you stand for and would rid the world of everyone like you if given the chance! If you think otherwise then you should really look in a mirror to find someone who is stupid. If you think that is fear mongering then your the idiot because those are the same kind of comments made about Winston Churchill and others trying to stand up against Hitler before World War II! What will it take for you to understand we are at war. I hope it doesn't take a nuclear bomb and lost of your love ones for you to understand this!
June 12th, 2007 at 2:38 pmCharles must be one of Huck's cousins. He obviously hasn't paid any attention to the mumerous stories about how many of the Gitmo prsioners ended up in there. For example, Afghan & Pakistani warlords were paid cold US cash - no questions asked - to turn in suspected foreign 'jihadists' and Taleban. And the US military obviously obliged. Oh yeah, after a little bit of 'encouragement', there seems to have been lots of confessions. And rank & file Taleban may be dangerous in their own environs, just like Charles' and Huck's cousins out of Deliverance, but they ain't going to be flying airplanes into US skyscrapers anytime soon. Our allies - the Saudies - took care of that.
Charles also needs to bone up on WWII history. The real appeasers were the Brits and Americans who allowed Franco to destroy the Spanish Republic in the 30's with the assistance of the Hitler's Luftwaffe. American's who fought to defend the Spanish Republic were among the persecuted by the right as 'premature anti-Fascists'.
Charles, you have mush for brains!
June 12th, 2007 at 2:56 pmStupidity on parade...
Why don't we just sweep up ALL Republicans - and lock THEM up in Gitmo forever. That's about all they deserve, the morons.
June 12th, 2007 at 2:58 pmThis guy is really bugging me lately even knowing that he would never make President (two many syllabuls in the last name).
Most recently DemocracyNow did an interview with Murray Wass in which the topic of Huckabee came up.
"He [Huckabee as Governor) had lobbied his parole board or pressured his parole board to release a convicted rapist [Wayne Dumont]... who then, shortly thereafter, after he was let out of prison, just in the most violent rape and the most violent murders, just raped and murdered two young women[...]and still refuses to answer any questions about why he made this decision or how he came to it"
Until that interview with Waas I had never of heard this before but it reminds me of a not so old story run by republicans to demonize the democrats. That no one is asking (other than Waas) WHY, is very troubling. Who was Wayne Dumont?
June 12th, 2007 at 3:03 pmNot something said that anyone would consider intelligent comment // but one should consider the source. Just another lame-brained mental flame out in my opinion. Lots of similiar happening in and around our government -- those guys just can't relate on any level.
June 12th, 2007 at 4:25 pmNot a smart thing to say // but one must consider the source. These guys in our government have difficulty relating on any level.
June 12th, 2007 at 4:27 pmFor more on the Dumond (not DuMont) incident, go to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Huckabee
Handling of the Wayne Dumond case
June 12th, 2007 at 5:07 pmHuckabee has also come under criticism for his handling of the case of Wayne Dumond, a convicted rapist who was released during Huckabee's governorship and subsequently sexually assaulted and murdered a woman in Missouri following his release. [29] Dumond's case had attracted national attention in the mid 1990s from critics of President Bill Clinton who felt the former Arkansas Governor had been too harsh with Dumond because Dumond's victim was a distant Clinton relative. Even before taking office, Huckabee met with Dumond's wife and privately announced his intention that Dumond be set free, stating his unhappiness with the way Clinton had handled the case (Dumond had been attacked and castrated by the local sherrif prior to his arrest for the rape).[citation needed] On September 20, 1996, Huckabee publicly announced his intention of commuting Dumond's sentence. There was strong opposition to Huckabee's plan, leaving Huckabee in a difficult situation politically.[29] On October 31, 1996, Huckabee met privately with the parole board to talk about the Dumond case. Some members of the board have since stated that they were pressured to re-examine and vote in favor of Dumond's parole. On January 16, 1997, Dumond was granted parole, just five months after he had been rejected. Huckabee released a statement saying, "In light of the action of the board, my original intent to commute the sentence to time served is no longer relevant."[29] Huckabee has denied influencing the parole board in any way, but acknowledges some responsibility for signing Dumond's parole.[30] His full disclosure of the incident is described in his book From Hope to Higher Ground.
Are we as citizens privy to why the prisoners there are under suspicion? I don't know thing one about those individuals or why they're suspected would-be-terrorists. Is it wrong to hold them without a chance of freedom? No. People are held without bail all the time by the whims of individual criminal court judges. It's an established part of the legal system.
It's the secrecy that I have a problem with. I want to know exactly what's happening to those held. I also call shenanigans in regards to the apparent lack of legal counsel. These men have rights. Being there, in Guantanamo, isn't the problem. It is a sensible, legal method of protecting our safety. Protecting our freedoms by pissing on someone else's? That's where I draw the line. Treating suspected allies of our potential enemies as actual terrorists? That's well past my line. Unless they've actually committed a crime, give them the same rights you'd give a purse snatcher.
Huckabee's not that far from the mark, he's just forgotten something major about the equation. Imprisonment, yes, okay, but imprisonment with all the rights and privileges allowed.
June 15th, 2007 at 3:48 pm