Friday, February 25, 2011

Mike Huckabee should apologize for all those Clemencies

Mike Huckabee needs to apologize for granting 1033 clemencies/Pardons/commutations while Governor of Arkansas. Especially if he plans on running for President in 2012.

He should just admit he was wrong. Admit it was a mistake. He could say something like, "I was wrong to think that my judgment is better than those of the judges and juries that sat on and decided those cases." While he's at it, he should apologize to families affected as a result of those clemencies/Pardons/commutations.

Instead, Governor Huckabee is reaffirming those decisions:
"If I had the same file (Maurice Clemmons) in front of me today that I had then, I would make the same decision, and I would like to think -- God help us when we get to the place when the only decisions we make are the ones that are in our own political self-interest," Huckabee said.



Governor Huckabee pointed out the other day that RomneyCare was Romney's Elephant in the room. "He's got to figure out how he wants to deal with it. It's the 800-pound elephant in the room for him,"

I look at it this way. Mitt Romney passed Romneycare as a state plan that Massachusetts residents wanted and still overwhelmingly support. It only affects Massachusetts residents. Only fools don't understand the difference between Romneycare a STATE PLAN and Obamacare a UNCONSTITUTIONAL National mandate.

Huckabee on the other hand,  gave in to 1033 clemency requests. In 17 years his three predecessors approved only 507 clemency requests.

Here are a few of his less notable clemencies:
  • Eugene Fields, a wealthy developer and major GOP donor who had four DUI convictions
  • Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, for a reckless-driving conviction
  • two murderers who worked as trusties in Huckabee's home
If the above group is to lightweight for your taste, lets look at a few of his heavyweight clemencies:
As to Elephants in the room? Romney's is imaginary. His elephant only seems to be in the heads of those who:

1. Fail to understand that states have a right to pass laws for their particular citizens
2. Choose not to understand that states have a right to pass laws for their particular citizens.
3. Have drank the Kool-Aid from the Obamacare is Romneycare cup.

Huckabee on the other hand has 1033 Elephants.
None of which are imaginary.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bos,

You knocked this response to Huckabee criticizing Romney OUT OF THE BALL PARK!

zeke

In The Know said...

BTW, Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin are Pro-Jury. Between the 2 of them, they gave out "0" (zero) pardons/clemencies/commutations during their terms as Governors.

Anonymous said...

We don't want or need a POTUS who will be squishy on punishing criminals and terrorists.

Ellie said...

You mean.... he FLIP FLOPPED and went back on his promise to keep the good people of Arkansas safe?

bob said...

This is what you get when an ordained minister is elected to a government position where he/she has power to administer their bizarre version of forgiveness.

Noelle said...

Maybe before Mike Huckabee starts doling out (insincere) advice to his potential political adversaries, he should start looking at the mirror and maybe take a hard look at some of his own less than judicious decisions.

Anonymous said...

they did not call him Tax Hike Mike for no reason.

Anonymous said...

There is just so much that could be said about this, where to start.

1. Romney, who has never had, performed, or funded and abortion, flips on on the life issue, coming to favor life, and he is accused by the Huck supporters as being some wolf in sheeps clothing who is really more pro-choice for having flipped to life. Huh?!? This must only make sense in bizzaro-evango world. But violent criminals supposedly have a coming to Jesus moment and Huck believes them. This certainly displays his love of (not for) the lowest filth of society and his hatred/disdain for someone who has led a pure life (Romney).

Now, what were the results of Romney's actions vs Huck's actions? In MA there are a record number of insured persons who can receive life giving healthcare. In the cases of the Dumond and Clemmons clemmencies there are four dead cops and one dead woman. Romney gave life, Huck took life away.

2. Dear Huck, cast the beam out of your own eye before you try to pull the mote out of Romney's eye.

3. The Huck supporters claim that Romney is a heartless SOB for never issuing any pardons or clemmencies. They cite the case of that fellow who wanted to get a military(?) job, but Romney denied clemmency, thereby denying the guy a job. But guess what, no one died from that action. Huck's actions resulted in deaths. False equivalency there Huckaloons.

4. Just look at that picture of Huckabee at the top of this thread. The arrogance on Huck's face says it all. He know better than the prosecuting attorneys of those cases, better than the juries, better than the judges...

Romney, on the other hand, listened to all the advice and wishes of his constituents, panels set up to research the problem and propose solutions, legislature, insurance industry, medical industry, etc and crafted the policy that best fit the desires of the majority of MA citizens.

There is certainly more that could be said here, but I need to go shovel snow.

DanL

Granny T said...

Gov. Huckabee did NOT grant Dumond a clemency, pardon, or parole. Get the facts straight!

Bottom line: The most important thing to know about the Huckabee – DuMond controversy is that Gov. Mike Huckabee did NOT ‘pardon’ Wayne Dumond; and he did not 'parole' him, either. In Arkansas, Governors do not have the power to parole anybody.

Everyone should learn the whole story about DuMond, before acting as Huckabee's judge. Here are the facts, and you can look them up for yourself:

Wayne DuMond was arrested for the 1984 rape of Bill Clinton's third cousin. While awaiting trial, DuMond was attacked and had his testicles cut off. Not only did the Sheriff (a Clinton crony) NOT do any investigation, instead he proudly displayed DuMond's testicles in a jar on his desk. (He was later successfully sued for this behavior.)

DuMond was sentenced to life in prison plus twenty years more, a clearly excessive sentence for an assault.

After DuMond had served several years with good behavior, he applied for clemency. It was denied by Clinton, but later granted in 1992 by acting Governor JIM GUY TUCKER, a DEMOCRAT. Jim Guy Tucker commuted the sentence to just over 39 years.

When DuMond's clemency was granted by this Democrat, it made him immediately eligible for parole.

(Now where are all the liberals who are in favor of early-release programs and lighter sentences?)

DuMond was a model prisoner, expressed remorse for his crime, lined up a job and a sponsor, and applied for either a commutation or parole. If he got a commutation, he would have been released immediately without any supervision whatsoever. Gov. Huckabee decided that the guy had suffered enough for his crime (how would YOU like to have YOURS cut off with scissors??), but Huckabee felt that the guy needed supervision once he was released. I'm sure that no one ever thought a castrated man would commit a sexual assault again, but it happened. (Yes, it CAN.)

So Huckabee recommended to the Parole Board that the guy be paroled. The parole board, composed ENTIRELY OF DEMOCRATS appointed by Clinton or Tucker, voted to grant the parole. If they had voted no, the guy would have remained in prison. (He had already served 12 years in prison.)

As to rumors about whether Huckabee pressured them, accounts differ. Only TWO of the 5 people present claim that there was pressure. And they only claimed it six years later, when Huckabee began running for president, and when they weren't re-appointed to their $70,000 jobs on the parole board.

And, if they really believed back then that DuMond should stay in prison, then why did they vote, apparently against their conscience, to parole him?

It is truly tragic and unspeakably awful that DuMond committed horrible crimes after he was paroled (although he died while awaiting trial for one of them). Unlike the parole board, Mike Huckabee has expressed to the victim’s family his deep regret and sorrow, and says he wishes he could turn back the clock so that DuMond would never have been freed. I've never heard even one member of the parole board apologizing for their vote to release him.

So if you want to point some fingers, you should look at the Democrats who didn't protect their prisoner while he was awaiting trial, because he raped a Clinton cousin… the Democrats who didn't investigate the vigilantes who mutilated the guy… the Democrat who granted the guy a clemency… and the Democrats who made up the entire the parole board and voted to parole DuMond.

Granny T said...

Here is the opening to the article from the Seattle Weekly, The Maurice Clemmons Case: We Blamed the Wrong Arkansas Governor: (emphasis mine)

After Maurice Clemmons shot and killed four Lakewood police officers last November, the world went looking for someone to blame other than the gunman. It found Mike Huckabee, who made for a convenient target. But it turns out that the world, in all its infinite wisdom, had scapegoated the wrong Arkansas governor.

Thanks to the Seattle Times latest entry in the remarkable series on what led up to the shootings, we now know that if any elected official in Arkansas deserves some blame for Clemmons massacre it's not Mike Huckabee, whose only crime was to reduce the sentence of a teenager forced to serve 100 years for non-violent crimes, it's current Governor Mike Beebe.

Law and Order said...

Nice try Granny, but no cigar.

Huckafat is as guilty as those he released!

Anonymous said...

If either Palin or Romney had been governor of Arkansas instead of Huckabee, then Dumond and Clemmons would still be in prison and those five persons would still be alive. Huck's reprehensible actions facilitated the murders of five people and he is complicit in their murders.

DanL

Anonymous said...

I wonder if we could get Sheriff Arpaio to clothe his inmates in pink T-shirts that say VOTE FOR HUCKABEE!

DanL

Anonymous said...

I sure hope that if Huckabee runs that cops will show up at his campaign stops sporting signs saying COP KILLER.

phil said...

"Bosman,

"As to Elephants in the room? Romney's is imaginary. His elephant only seems to be in the heads of those who:

1. Fail to understand that states have a right to pass laws for their particular citizens
2. Choose not to understand that states have a right to pass laws for their particular citizens.
3. Have drank the Kool-Aid from the Obamacare is Romneycare cup."


Truer words were never written!

Anonymous said...

BOTTOM LINE HUCKABEE SHIFTS BLAME TO EVERYBODY ELSE BUT HIMSELF, WHEN IT WAS HIS SIGNATURE AT THE BOTTOM LINE.




CAPMAN

Revolution 2012 said...

Great post Bos.

A failed attempt by Huckabee to turn eyes away from his failed record.

Ann said...

It really is terrible that Governor Huckabee has little regard for the time and thought that juries put into making verdicts and deciding sentences.

Anonymous said...

Gov. Huckabee had respect for the juries and had no problem with them. His problem was with the judges in AR who were racist toward the blacks who were convicted and didn't have the good attornies that the white convicts had; therefore, the judges sentenced them to a lot more time for the same crimes commited. When the judge and parole board approached Huckabee to commute Clemmons sentence, a form was sent out to other officials to either approve or disprove the request. They came back to Gov. Huckabee with nobody disproving the request.

The Parole Board released Clemmons and within three weeks, he was back in jail. The prosecutor (Democrat) who was complaining about Huckabee in the news when this information broke about the officers being killed, was the same person who failed to provide the paperwork needed to keep Clemmons in jail, so he was released.

Out of the 1,044 cases Huckabee either pardoned or provided clemency, only 276 were for convicts in jail..the others had already served their sentences and had been released. They were on welfare and couldn't find a job because of their minor offense records. Gov. Huckabee did give them pardons so they could work, pay taxes and get off of welfare.

It would be nice if you Huck haters would look at the facts, and not react because of what Huckabee said about Romney in his book.

Anonymous said...

Huck should have been protecting the flock from the wolves. Instead he had more love for the wolves and set them loose on the flock, with predictable results.

DanL

Pablo said...

DanL, do you post anywhere? I would like to see you write some more like you did at ROS. You are more than welcome to post at my blog.

Doug NYC GOP said...

Bosman - One of your best efforts ever. Crisp, sharp and drives home the point. Exemplary!

Nothing tickles me more that to see this sanctimonious, supercillious charlatan have his gance hypocritical arrogance exposed.

Anonymous said...

Pablo, no I don't write anywhere anymore. I do go to your blog now and then. I'll drop by more often.

DanL

Anonymous said...

I often wondered how there got to be so many, 1033! In ten years, that would be over 100 a year. Say you work 220 days a year, that would be about one every other day. Every other day? Is this what he spent the people's time, staff, and resources doing, every other day for ten solid years?

Try to conceive of the time it took to review a single petition, to gather opinions of parole boards, judges, victims, advisors. To pay those involved, the paperwork, the phone calls, the meetings. Just for one single petition! And he approved over one-thousand!

Imagine how many more petitions there may have been that he did not approve. How much more time was spent on those?

So why would a governor think this was the best use of his time, to disregard decisions of thoughtful judges, juries, and parole boards, to risk public safety, and neglect other state business?

I suggest that at best, he was simply pastoring to the downtrodden because this was his comfort zone and strong suit; or at worst, he was receiving kickbacks. Its not inconceivable that he would accept payola. He did face ethical complaints involving personal profit of public resources. Furthermore, his frequent mention about money considerations may indicate he has an inner-Blagojovich. He saw the gravy train.

Well, enough of my pontificating. I wish I knew why, but I just cannot get over it, the magnitude of it all. Its simply incomprehensible.

Lori*

Anonymous said...

Lori, very good point about how much time Huck would have had to spend on granting all those pardons. I suspect he was granting them in such great numbers because he was part of the good ole boy pastor network and was simply returning/currying favors with the pastors.

DanL

Closer To Home said...

Folks, I have bad news. If you found Huck's commentary and unsolicited advice "sanctimonious, supercillious,l and hypocritical," you'll love the 2012 campaign.

I think it is obvious to everyone that Huck is neither planning or preparing for a personal campaign. He says he will not run if he does not believe he can win. How does a candidate who has never been successful at raising money convince himself that he can beat a sitting president that raised $750,000,000 last cycle as a nominee? If he were going to address that problem in any way, we would have seen a stalwart effort to raise money in his PAC, to build a network of fundraisers and bundlers. Evidence of this kind of preparation? Nothing!

So, other than to sell books, why the extraordinary presence in IA and SC on the book tour? While he isn't planning on running personally, he is planning on leveraging his influence over who the eventual nominee is (and isn't). And you don't have to look any further than the list on endorsees from 2010 to see what the standards are going to be. That person will have to be a "dyed in the wool" pro-lifer.

Huck had a penchant for endorsing hard life candidates in 2010 who had little or no chance to win. I think his choice will have to be more viable this time if he is going to head off Romney.

I think the only two that could qualify as unapologetic, hardcore socons are Santorum and Pawlenty, both of which have been highlighting their bona fides of late. I predict Huck backs Tim.

But as a non-candidate, there will be no restraint from Huck sniping at any of the remaining candidates over their stances on life issues. For example, look at how Huck took it upon himself to confront Daniels on the "truce" issue. (Not that other non-candidates won't also look to have influence on the issues. I expect Christie and Daniels to do the same. I just expect them to be adults about it.)

But who do you think will be his favorite beneficiary of self-righteous and condescending advice and criticism? On whom do you think he will lavish the greatest benefit of his substantial wisdom and moral vision? (All from the comfort of his seven figure job at FOX.)

Anonymous said...

HUCK HAS A MANCRUSH ON ROMNEY





CAPMAN