Crist statements smell fishy

Yours truly has never been a big fan of our too-tan governor. And, his stock dropped precipitously in this little corner of heaven when he embraced TheObamaNation's wreckless "stimulus" plans to rob future generations. The image of that embrace will always be on my mind when I see his name, particularly on a ballot.

Recently, however, we Floridians have further been shamed by our illustrious chief executive. And, not just by his Q-tip hair.

Now, I don't expect him to stay in Tallahassee 24/7. Wouldn't wish that on anybody. A chill just ran down my spine thinking about it. But, with all this great state has to offer, it is really perplexing why our governor is perpetually traipsing around the other 49 states and the District of Columbia. I guess he's more interested in building a national profile than actually doing the job he was elected to do . . .

This past weekend found him up in Michigan, lying to the GOP faithful. Ok, maybe "lying" is too strong a word. But, he was certainly stretching the truth beyond the point of decency when he claimed credit for cutting Florida's budget from $73 to $66 billion. Ummmm . . . . Last I recall, the budget numbers are smaller because the recession has caused tax revenues to plummet. And, I also recall how Crist actually vetoed a trimmer budget passed by the state legislature in January.

Even more galling, Crist spent today making the rounds of the cable news networks. I guess he'd rather lie to the talking heads than to his actual constituents. Ok, again, maybe "lie" is too strong a word. But, I saw at least two interviews that made me want to retch.

The first was on MSNBC's Morning Joe, where he nearly dislocated his shoulder trying to pat himself on the back for improving Florida's public school system. I'm pretty sure all the accountability measures created by his predecessor (Jeb Bush) deserve the actual credit. But, I guess that's one of those inconvenient truths he'd rather ignore. Any efforts Crist may have made have been completely overshadowed by his out-of-state travels, tv appearances, and presidential hugs.

The second was with John Roberts on CNN, during which he sounded like a only-slightly-less-socialist version of the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He was practically crowing about his version of a "public option" for health insurance: CoverFlorida. What a pathetic joke that has turned out to be. With premiums in the $150/month range, the governor has persuaded a whopping 4,129 people to sign-up since he took office. (We have a population of more than 18 million the last time I checked . . .)

I don't care how many dollars Charlie Crist raises from his out-of-state buddies, or how many times his grinning mug graces the airwaves. I'm just not buying his brand of politics any more. And, I definitely don't want to see it transplanted from Tallahassee to Washington, DC.

Sorry, Charlie.

Huckabee on MSNBC tonight!

Our favorite former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee will be on MSNBC tonight, helping that wayward network cover the West Virginia primary.

I say "wayward," because I am convinced that MSNBC stands for "Must Show Non-stop Barack Coverage."

Hopefully, Huck can class-up the place tonight . . . or, at least give another perspective than the jackboot high-stepping of Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann and the parade of idiots they lead on behalf of the junior senator from Illinois.

Matthews has lost any credibility as a journalist. Remember last year when he confessed to Don Imus on the air, "I want a president who doesn't have a f***ing ranch!"

He also admits to getting "a thrill running up my leg" when he hears Barack Hussein Obama speak. He has even gone so far as to say on air, "If you don't cry when you hear Barack Obama speak at a rally, then you're not an American."

Olbermann is not much better. While less overtly-pro-Obama than his buddy Matthews, he makes up for that with anti-Hillary rants--the likes of which he used to reserve only for George W. Bush.

Frustrated that the New York senator and former first lady is still in the race for the White House, he suggested finding "somebody who can take her into a room and only he comes out."

These "stars" of MSNBC have become nothing less than cheerleaders for Team Obama. And, I am looking forward to seeking Huckabee shoot down their ridiculous comments.

Something tells me, he'll have an easier time handling those two dead-heads as he did hooking these two fish in the Ouachita River!

Huckabee wins St. Petersburg debate!

Apparently, I was not alone in that assessment. The Florida Chamber of Commerce polled the audience last night, and came up with the following figures when they asked who won:

MIKE HUCKABEE - 44%
Rudy Giuliani - 18%
Mitt Romney - 13%
John McCain - 10%
Fred Thompson - 5%
Ron Paul - 4%
Duncan Hunter - 1%
Tom Tancredo - 1%
Undecided - 4%

The most fun to be had, though, was observing the political pundits' response to Huck's great performance.

Andrew Sullivan over at The Atlantic apparently couldn't understand how someone could be so comfortable talking about his faith in public, and arrogantly dismissed it as "religious schtick."

CNN's analyst Jeffrey Toobin gave Huck credit for being the best debater, but went on to say he "lacked seriousness" for pledging to abolish the IRS. Well, Mr. Toobin, he is indeed serious about that. It's called "The Fair Tax." Look into it.

Anyway, if you want to get an unfiltered view of the debate, you can watch our favorite presidential candidate as he makes his rounds on the cable news networks tonight:

4:15pm - CNN - "The Situation Room," with Wolf Blitzer.
5:00pm - MSNBC - "Hardball," with Chris Matthews.
10:00pm - FoxNews - "On the Record," with Greta van Susteren.

GOP debate in Michigan

I know it was hard to catch the big tete-a-tete up in Michigan today, because the boneheads who planned it evidently thought 4pm on a Tuesday was a convenient time for most Americans to be sitting in front of their tv's.

Fortunately, they are replaying it later tonight on MSNBC. But, for you socks whose schedules or lack of cable will prevent you from catching it the second time around, here's my very astute and much-sought-after analysis:

As usual, Mike Huckabee looked like the adult sitting at the kids' table during a family Christmas dinner. The rest of the crowded field . . .

Mitt Romney - he's the GOP version of John Kerry--suave, Massachusetts politician with more money than he knows how to spend. We can't let this guy buy the presidency any more than we could allow Kerry in '04.

Rudy Giuliani - come on. He was without a doubt a good mayor of New York City. But the rest of the country is not the Big Apple. And, arguing with Romney against the line-item veto is the best he's got to offer . . . fuh-gedda-bout-it!

Fred Thompson - too little, too late. He may be an actor, but the Gipper he is definitely not. Go back to the small screen and I'll promise to campaign for you to win an Emmy or something.

John McCain - old, tired, uninspiring. His time has already come and gone.

Ron Paul - it's okay to be a conservative, even a libertarian who dresses up like one. But, you don't have to be mad about EVERYTHING. Too shrill. Tone it down.

Sam Brownback, Duncan Hunter, and Tom Tancredo . . . uh, whatever. You are, collectively, the Republican version of Dennis Kucinich.

It's a crowded field, yes. But, I love seeing Huckabee standing shoulder to shoulder with these guys. It makes the choice even more clear, whether the media wants to continue to ignore it. Mike Huckabee needs to be our next president.

Huckabee on Hardball

My favorite former Arkansas governor continues to wow the press. Tonight, it was Chris Matthews on MSNBC.

Matthews led in to Mike's segment with an interview of a retired steel worker named Steve Skvara who is having a tough time finding health insurance for his 56-year-old wife. He's covered by Medicare himself, but had been depending on his former employer's health care plan to cover her until she qualifies for federal assistance. Unfortunately, that former employer (LVT) had gone bankrupt, leaving no health care coverage in the aftermath and taking one-third of the employee pension funds.

Naturally, Matthews followed-up on this segment by asking the governor what he would do to fix problems like this.

And, Mike hit the ball out of the park.

He correctly pointed out that the Republican Party is not a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wall Street, and shouldn't act as such. We need to stand up to "sheer, unadulterated greed" that rewards high-level executives with hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses while asking front-line workers to accept deep pay cuts.

As to health care in this country, Mike reminded Matthews and his viewers that he has long been an advocate of a major paradigm shift. First, we need to discard the post-WWII mentality that tied coverage to a person's job. People don't work at the same place for 30 years anymore. So, their coverage should be tied directly to the person, not their employer. Keyword="portability." Secondly, we need to approach health care in terms of PREVENTION, not just intervention.

Finally, Matthews uncharacteristically threw Huckabee a softball, asking him how democratic the upcoming Ames Straw Poll really is since it costs $35 to vote in it. Obviously, it is not an exercise in democracy. Rather, as Mike reminded him, it will show both organizational strength/ability of the candidates AND (more importantly) the level of motivation of their supporters.

"Everybody likes you, Mike," Matthews concluded with a big grin.

"Like me on Saturday," was Huckabee's response, with an even bigger grin!

Go, Mike, go!