Mitt,

You have had my support since you announced you were running. I've followed your campaigns since you ran against Ted Kennedy. I was impressed when you turned around the Winter Olympics. I grew up in Massachusetts and I know how hard it is for a Republican to lead in that state, but you did a fantastic job. I believe that you have truly evolved as a person and candidate and your positions and values best qualify you for the Presidency.

I really want you to win this election. I'm going to offer some amateur advice, which hopefully you will consider since I am a prototypical primary voter.

Stop Huckabee
This Huckabee phenomenon has been impressive, but now is the time to stop it. I think Mike Huckabee is a decent, likable man and a good debater. I understand his appeal. He says is in favor of the fair tax which is an increasingly popular position. However, when I saw this video of Governor Huckabee begging Arkansas for a tax increase, I must say, I was deeply concerned.


Play this video again and again and again in campaign ads. It's going to stop people in their tracks.

Mike Huckabee is far better than any Democrat alternative, but he is not the ideal candidate. If most Republican voters are like me, the most important things they want is a victory over terror and low taxes. Huckabee believes Gitmo is not in America's interest.



On his campaign site, he says, "As president, I will fight this war hard, but I will also fight it smart, using all our political, economic, diplomatic, and intelligence weapons as well as our military might."

When you read between the lines, it sounds a little soft as though he might try to negotiate with our enemies. Maybe he could make Nancy Pelosi Secretary of State.

In an interview with George Stephanopolous, he starts channeling Ron Paul:

" Stephanopoulus: Pres. Bush said in his second inaugural address, "It is the policy of the US to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture." Has Pres. Bush's policy been a success?

Huckabee: Well, the problem is, sometimes when you get what you want, you don't want what you get. And this is a great case of that happening. I don't think it's the job of the US to export our form of government. It's the job of the US to protect our citizens, to make us free and us safe, and to create an enviable kind of government and system that everybody else will want.

Q: So it wouldn't be the core of your foreign policy?

A: Absolutely not, because I don't think we can force people to accept our way of life, our way of government. What we can to is to create the strongest America, freedom internally, secure borders, a safer nation. That makes a whole lot more sense to me than spending billions to try to prop up some government we don't even like when we get it."

Huckabee has granted clemency to 703 criminals including a dozen murderers during his terms as governor which is more than all six of his neighboring states and more than Bill Clinton:

Louisiana – 213.
Mississippi – 24.
Missouri – 79.
Oklahoma – 178.
Tennessee – 32.
Texas – 98.

As for Immigration, these are some of Huckabees positions:

"When he was governor, Huckabee held the following positions on illegal immigration: He supported higher education benefits for children of illegal immigrants, opposed a federal roundup of illegals from his state in 2005, opposed a 2001 bill requiring proof of citizenship to vote in the state, and in 2001, a member of his administration pushed for legislation to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants."

Taking all of these facts into consideration, I get the impression that the Compassionate Conservative in Huckabee seems to be more soft than compassionate.

Since Huckabee has only recently surged in the polls, his record might not be very well known. It is very important to show these differences.

Now that I've gotten Stop Huckabee out of my system, there are two more issues I would like addressed which I think are winners.

The CIA
Someone HAS to fix this. Our intelligence is an embarrassment. How can we stop Al Qaeda if we cannot infiltrate their organization? How can we formulate a position against Iran when our intelligence keeps contradicting itself. How can we protect ourselves with such an incompetent agency? I trust Israel's intelligence far more than our own.

A 10 year plan to eliminate our need for foreign oil

I am sick and tired of having to kiss the ass of dictators and radical Islamists stuck in the 12th century simply because they have oil. The way Islam treats women is disgusting. Take the case of the woman who was gang raped in Saudi Arabia by 7 men and then sentenced to 200 lashings and 6 months in prison for being in the company of a man who was not a relative. Let's not even mention that the Saudis financing terror and Wahabism around the world and that most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi. If Saudi Arabia did not have oil, we would have labeled them a terrorist and criminal nation a long time ago. Politics sure makes for strange bedfellows. We are supposed to champion human rights, not ignore them when convenient. Then we have Hugo Chavez reviving communism in our hemisphere and making billions from Citgo while constantly insulting us and aiding our enemies.

This has got to stop. I find it hard to believe that with all our innovation, we cannot become oil independent in 10 years. We are The United States of America for crying out loud. Where is my hydrogen car? Where are my ethanol gas stations? Let's stop messing around and get it done. I'm about to get a new car next year and I'm very disappointed in my choices. Believe me, this will tremendously improve our foreign policy position and make us much safer. I don't hear any Republicans leading the charge in this area. I truly believe Republicans will stand up and applaud this leadership.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. Good luck in January, Mitt. As my father always told me, "The cream always rises to the top". I have confidence you will prevail.

Scott Allan

Labels: energy, huckabee, mitt romney, Taxes, terrorism

Ramesh Ponnuru at The Corner this evening:

So I finally read Wayne Barrett's Giuliani takedown in the Village Voice (I linked to it a while ago). It goes through Giuliani's five big lies about 9/11. The first three are, if true, pretty devastating. It appears that Barrett's reporting was pretty meticulous. But he does have an axe to grind —see this Barrett hit on Giuliani's personal life, for example—so I'm not sure whether he is leaving anything out that exculpates Giuliani.

Having thus far read through the first three (out of five) topics, and even keeping in mind that there is no love lost between Barrett and the former Mayor, devastating is exactly the word I would choose for it. It will be interesting to see whether Team Giuliani addresses these concerns head on, or hopes they can worry about it after the GOP primary.

Labels: Giuliani, national security, rudy, terrorism