GodTube presidential poll

Guess who's winning? Huckabee of course, is there any Christian candidate? Though, Obama and Thompson are tied for second :-) Ron Paul only has 6.5%, I guess the Paulians haven't discovered it yet.

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McCain beat Ron Paul among anti-war Republicans?

Unbelievable and funny, too!

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Huckabee's new Michigan ad

Back to populism again:

I notice that he didn't mention that he raised taxes as well and that he left the state with a surplus (which means the tax payers were over taxed).

Allahpundit thinks it's an implied negative ad against Romney (he's the guy who would lay them off, Huckabee is just a poor schlub just like them).

Something's weird about the Wyoming Caucus

But I can't figure it out. Here's the story and here's the discussion at Free Republic. Maybe you can figure out how their caucus works and why Romney won.

Move by Michigan Democrats to vote for Huckabee in Republican primary

There's a push by the Democrats, who are limited to Hillary, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel in their primary, to mess with the Republican nomination by voting for Huckabee. This is the same group of Democrats who voted for McCain to upset Gov. Engler who was a Bush supporter:

Lemmons said Tuesday that the push for Republican Mike Huckabee was prompted by the dearth of choices on the Democratic side of the Jan. 15 primary ballot. Lemmons said he himself supports Barack Obama, who chose not to run in Michigan.

And he said Democrats supporting candidates other than those on the Michigan ballot can vote uncommitted. But he likes the idea of recapturing the spirit of 2000, when DOG was formed to torment former Gov. Engler, a staunch backer of George W. Bush.

Huckabee got the nod this time because "the Republican establishment supports Romney and McCain," Lemmons said.

And here's something weird, about 15% of Republicans requested a Democrat absentee ballot:

Grebner said it seems some known Republican voters -- perhaps 15% -- plan to vote Democratic, based on a sampling of 120,000 requests for absentee ballots (out of 220,000) around the state.

Do they intend to bump up Kucinich or embarrass Hillary with a noncommitted vote?

The Total Write-ins beat Thompson

NH was not happy he dissed their state!

So, I guess everyone can drop their change theme now?

You couldn't have more of a status quo vote than McCain and Clinton.

McCain wins

What the heck is wrong with these people? They love McCain for some weird reason. I guess they didn't really care about illegal immigration either.

And it's looking like it wasn't an Obama blowout (hehehehe). Yeah! So, he isn't our political savior after all?

Record turnout in NH

But it's not all Obamania(sorry lefties!)

Secretary of State William Gardner has predicted 260,000 Granite Staters will vote in the Democratic primary and 240,000 will vote in the Republican primary. He predicted that 150,000 undeclared voters will cast votes - 90,000 in the Democratic primary and 60,000 in the Republican primary.

I'm feeling a little bit better now and thinking about canceling my plans for a bunker :-)

The Blogging Caesar predicts a McCain, Obama win

Though he has it pretty close between McCain and Romney.

Huckabee proposes a constitutional amendment to end birthright citizenship?

It looks like it according to his "top immigration surrogate"

Mike Huckabee wants to amend the Constitution to prevent children born in the U.S. to illegal aliens from automatically becoming American citizens, according to his top immigration surrogate — a radical step no other major presidential candidate has embraced.

Mr. Huckabee, who won last week's Republican Iowa caucuses, promised Minuteman Project founder James Gilchrist that he would force a test case to the Supreme Court to challenge birthright citizenship, and would push Congress to pass a 28th Amendment to the Constitution to remove any doubt.

[...]

Mr. Huckabee has defended his policies on illegal aliens while he was Arkansas governor. He pressed for illegal aliens to gain college tuition benefits, complained about federal immigration raids in his state and declined to have state police enforce immigration laws, although the state legislature gave him the authority to do so.

Mr. Huckabee now has adopted one of the strictest immigration platforms of any campaign. He has proposed a policy requiring all illegal aliens to return home and apply for immigration through legal channels.

[...]

Members of Congress have never tried to change birthright citizenship by law.

Is anyone going to ask him how he plans to make this happen when he won't have the support of Congress. In fact, he doesn't have the support of the Congress on any of the 4 amendments he's proposing:

1. the Fair Tax requires a constitutional amendment to eliminate the Sixteenth Amendment;
2. a Human Life amendment;
3. an amendment to define marriage;
and now 4. an amendment to end birthright citizenship.

But it doesn't really matter, does it? It's the thought that counts. He's getting credit for supporting the admendments even though they will all be dropped after the election because there's no way Congress will touch any of them.

BTW, I don't have to tell you that this is a pretty significant flip-flop:

Heading into South Carolina, where illegal immigration appears to be the biggest issue among Republicans, Huckabee is going to support a constitutional amendment prohibiting birthright citizenship? Did I not hear him in several debates, including on Sunday, admonishing those of us who've long opposed birthright citizenship, about God's children coming out of the shadows? Is this not the same man who only a few months ago supported McCain-Kennedy?

I guess Huckabee has become the new agent of change in this election, huh?

Update: Huckabee state's that he is not for a constitutional amendment:

Gov. Mike Huckabee has issued the following comment in response to a Washington Times article reporting he would amend the Constitution in connection to children born in the U.S. to illegal aliens:

"I do not support an amendment to the constitution that would prevent children born in the U.S. to illegal aliens from automatically becoming American citizens. I have no intention of supporting a constitutional amendment to deny birthright citizenship."

So, he only supports three amendments, not four.

Bill Clinton to Ron Paul Supporters: "You're Nuts!"

Good for Bill Clinton letting these people know they aren't playing with a full deck.

"You wanna know what I think?” Clinton said. “You guys who think 9/11 was an inside job are crazy as hell. My wife was the senator from New York when that happened. I was down at Ground Zero. I saw the victims' families. You're nuts."

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Fred Thompson on The O’Reilly Factor Tonight

Evidently, Thompson hasn't been on yet and O'Reilly is a little cranky about it and kind of beat up Thompson's wife on his radio show trying to badger her into making Thompson do the show. I guess it worked.

Excellent new video from Thompson

He's making his case in a pithier manner for those who don't have the attention span to still through a 17 minute video. Go contribute money so he take his message to SC and kick some tushie. He is the only candidate who could appeal to the Reagan coalition. Ed Rollins is determined to destroy it, don't let him do it. Contribute to Thompson's campaign.

Dave Barry's take on the ABC News debate

Don't think that Gibson would make a good president but I do agree with him that the candidates were pretty testy:

But those who watched the debates saw history in the making, as it became clear, over the course of the evening, that one person, and one person only, embodies the wisdom, the judgment, the maturity and -- yes -- the simple humanity that this nation desperately needs in its next president: Charlie Gibson.

Unfortunately he can't afford the pay cut. This means we're stuck with the actual candidates, who, as I say, are in a testy mood, as was evidenced in the Republican debate when John McCain and Mike Huckabee, during a particularly testy exchange over illegal immigration, gave Mitt Romney a wedgie. The Democrats, meanwhile, continued their ongoing obsessive argument about change -- who is the most for change; who has done the most changing; who can change with the changing times to bring change to those who need a change; who has taken the time, with all this tromping around New Hampshire night and day demanding change, to change their underwear; etc.

BTW, go check out Dennis Kucinich leer.

Video: Thompson on illegal immigration

If illegal immigration really was the major issue of the campaign, Thompson would win the nomination and the election because he's the only one who understands the issue. He gives the perfect answer to the question of compassion (how can we separate a mother from her children). Why encourage illegal immigration with our policies? We encourage people to put themselves and their children at risk crossing the border since we don't enforce our own laws. If we grant amnesty, we will be encouraging the next generation to do the same thing. That's not compassionate.

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These people deserve President Obama

Are these people really Republicans or paid Democrat workers infiltrating the Frank Luntz focus groups? Because I can't believe anyone who is called "savvy and sophistic" would say that Romney was authentic and would dismiss Thompson (Romney is lying about his support of the Bush tax cuts). Thompson is the elder statesman of the group, he's the only one who is actually talking policy and he doesn't have to hide his record from the American people. If these "Republican" voters were as sophisticated as they think they are, then they would realize that.

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Livingblogging the Republican Fox News Debate

I fell asleep during Thompson's explanation of his SS plan.

Update: Not liking this format -- Thompson doesn't get to talk enough.

Updated again: Change theme again! McCain seems to using Clinton's argument. He's a change agent in Washington.

Update: this debate is so dull!!! I think Gibson did a much better job.

Updated for the last time: This is turning into a Romeny/McCain debate and I'm bored. I'm not interested in a Romney infomercial. Off to watch the Amazing Race.

Dave Barry Reporting From NH: Huckabutt and the Democrat Dinner

If we didn't have Dave Barry reporting on this race, we would be missing insights into the campaign like these. He goes where the MSM refuses to go:

Speaking of warming, the crowd was warmed up by a blues-rock band called Mama Kicks, and when Huckabee surged into the gym he picked up a bass and joined in playing In The Midnight Hour.'' It was a little rough at the start, and Huckabee turned around and bent over to fiddle with the amplifier, so for a few seconds the crowd was basically looking directly at the Huckabutt, which is a view you rarely get of a leading presidential contender, fortunately. But then the band got it together and did decent versions of Twist and Shout and Mustang Sally, rocking the house New-Hampshire style, with people keeping time by rhythmically thrusting signs that said ''HUCKABEE'' and ''MAKE GLOBAL WARMING A PRIORITY'' into the air.

Then Huckabee introduced Chuck Norris, who broke an IRS agent in half with his forehead. No, I'm kidding, although that would have gone over well. Chuck did say he was unhappy with the IRS, as well as the status quo in general. He is for education. Then Huckabee got up and said he was also against the IRS, and in favor of freedom. The crowd was polite, but I think they were more fired up when he was playing bass.

After that I drove through 293 million cubic miles of picturesque snow to Milford, N.H., where 3,000 Democrats had gathered for a big dinner in the New Hampshire Dome, a big inflatable structure with a plastic roof held up by the air emitted by a guy on the podium introducing every New Hampshire Democrat, living or dead, in the history of the world.

[...]

Until you have heard major Democratic contenders, you do not realize how many times it is possible to use the word ''change'' in a single speech. They're in a big fight over who will be the best changer. At one point, Clinton, sounding like a veteran toll-booth attendant, said, ``I've been making change for 35 years.''

A very festy Thompson on Today

Doesn't the MSM get it that a candidate would be stupid to say that they plan to exist the race in the near future? How would they raise any money? Would you give money to Thompson knowing that he plans to leave the race after SC? Why bother?

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