Posted on 12/04/2007 5:09:12 PM PST by Clintonfatigued
DON'T NORMALLY watch Lou Dobbs. I sometimes briefly peek in on his show's festivities, and that's enough to get a sense of things. Immigrants are bad. Illegal immigrants are really bad. Free trade is bad. Outsourcing is really bad. His is a timeless populist message pitting the little American guy against leviathan-like forces like Chinese factory workers and Mexican lettuce pickers. Sadly, the American people have bought his message in whole. NAFTA has become an ugly stepchild for even Hillary Clinton. And the Republicans talk a lot about the need to beat those damn Chinese.
At the end of his show before last Wednesday's Republican debate, Dobbs released the results of that evening's poll: Would the candidates sound a populist message? Some 80 percent of the respondents said no. Dobbs hoped they were wrong.
Therein lies the biggest reason why Mike Huckabee has caught on so dramatically. Huckabee is a populist, and unlike all the populists we've seen in the past 15 years (Ross Perot, Al Gore, John Edwards), he's a credible one. What's more, he's so likable that his populism doesn't have the ominous overtones of Lou Dobb's nightly demagoguery.
HERE'S WHAT I wrote on May 3 about Mike Huckabee after the first Republican debate:
"I look at this guy and wonder where he ever got the notion that he should be president. His presence on the stage bothered me. Does this guy have anything interesting or original to say? Has he ever?" First off, mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. I underestimated Huckabee. He's the best politician in the land. He connects with people in a scary way. He exudes decency. He doesn't fumble over answers. He prepares well, but he also ad-libs brilliantly.
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
Way over thinking the issue alert.
The Republican Party has betrayed conservative principles by supporting open borders and free trade. And Huckabee’s attacks on large economic interests and free trade has struck a cord with many blue-collar social conservatives. If his candidacy fails, it will be because of the border security issue.
His genuine Christian beliefs is leading him to rise in the polls. Those evangelicals seem to have found their candidate.
Clinton tried to destroy our patient system by harmonizing with the Japanese. Another thank you Sandy Burger.
We should harmonize with all imports from the country they come from. What is good for them, we do to them.
I cherish Dean Barnett’s opinions like I do Hugh Hewitt’s. In other words, not at all.
He’s way lost in the weeds on this one.
Free trade is a pillar of convservatism.
Thanks for posting. Interesting.
Two fems. They’ll have to have a purse fight for who is the catcher.
I suspect that Medved is running interference for Rudy.
Hillary! has his FBI file or whatever her flying monkeys have dug up from the Arkansas state house Governor records.
His stance on open borders is his greatest weakness, maybe his Achilles Heel.
Huckabee promotes 'open door' policy at LULAC convention
Thursday, Jun 30, 2005
By Wesley Brown
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK - In a impassioned speech before hundreds of influential Hispanic civil rights leaders from across the nation, Gov. Mike Huckabee told a captive audience Wednesday that America is great because it has always opened it doors up to people seeking a better way of life.
"I would hope that no matter who we are, or where we are from, that America should always be a place that opens its arms, opens it heart, opens its spirit to people who come because they want the best for their families ...," Huckabee said as the largely Hispanic audience gave him a standing ovation.
Huckabee was the keynote speaker, along with Tyson Foods Inc. Chairman and CEO John Tyson, at a noon luncheon of the League of United Latin American Citizens, which is holding its 76th annual convention in Little Rock.
About 10,000 political, community and business leaders, along with exhibitors and speakers are in Little Rock attending the convention at the Statehouse Convention Center. The convention started Monday and runs through Saturday.
Although he never actually talked about the U.S. or Arkansas immigration policy, Huckabee made it very clear where he stood on the issue. In his opening remarks, he said the nation will need to address the concerns of the Hispanic community because of its growing influence and population base.
He told the LULAC delegates that their presence in the state's capital city was very important because Arkansas has one of the fastest growing Hispanic populations in the nation. "Your gathering is so very significant for our state," Huckabee said. "We are delighted to have you."
Despite several light moments, Huckabee did not stray away from several controversial issues that made him a target of criticism during the recently ended 85th General Assembly. He said Arkansas needs to make the transition from a traditional Southern state to one that recognizes and cherishes diversity "in culture, in language and in population."
"This is an issue that is going to require extraordinary efforts on both sides of the border, particularly those coming from Mexico," Huckabee said of verifying the status of illegal aliens. "But I am confident that our government will recognize that we should accommodate people who wish to provide the best opportunities for their families (and) employers so that we can make sure our economy has the necessary work force."
During the legislation session, Huckabee criticized an immigration bill by Republican senators Jim Holt of Springdale and Denny Altes of Fort Smith as un-Christian, un-American, irresponsible and anti-life. Senate Bill 206, which died in the Senate, would have required proof of citizenship to register to vote and also force state agencies to report suspected cases of people living in the country illegally. Holt, R-Springdale, replied later to Huckabee's comments that Christian charity does not include turning a blind eye to lawbreaking.
No longer listen to Mike Medved since he became a cheerleader for the illegal aliens and Bush's trained monkey?
P.S. Mike, I love Israel, and if she shouldn't let in every Palestinian who wants to crash her borders, neither should the US let in every benefit-stealing third worlder that wants to crash hers.
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