Category: Politics

Debate reaction

I missed the GOP debate last night. With small group at our house last night and our DVR already recording two other shows, there was no way for me to see it. I’ll be looking for it on the Interweb today though.
Here are some comments already circling (from the Mike Huckabee campaign)…

Christian Hine has some good post debate thoughts posted on his blog www.SaveTalkRadio.com:

In the few questions that Mike Huckabee was allowed to answer, he clearly shined through. In fact, while applause was very limited in this debate, Huckabee’s answers on a hypothetical Iran first strike situation and on health care generated support from the audience. He is also starting to have an impact on the language of the tax debate. His support of the FairTax and the overwhelming grassroots efforts by FairTax supporters have actually gotten Romney talking about “embedded taxes” and McCain talking about making the tax code “flatter and fairer”. When your candidate is the one that the others are emulating, that is a sign of success.

Alex Harris at I Heart Huckabee has the video of Governor Huckabee’s appearance on Hardball after the debate and roundup of some great coverage including one of our favorite comments so far:

Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone:

That Mike Huckabee hasn’t caught just a little bit of fire is a mystery to me. He’s charming and funny, and always seems reasonable even when he’s preaching to the freepers. I don’t know why the James Dobsons of the world are threatening to leave the party rather than throwing their weight behind this Southern Baptist minister with a concealed-carry permit and a “covenant marriage.” Someone whose phone calls Focus on the Family actually returns ought to ask Dr. D. just that.

A agree whole heartedly.

Steven Pearlstein of the Washington Post:

Judged by who can offer a serious approach to economic policy, the hands-down winner in the Republican race so far is Huckabee, who combines intelligence, candor and comfortable familiarity with the issues and a practical approach anchored in solid conservative beliefs.
If only the political press were as impressed with the quality of a candidate’s program as with his name recognition, it would be Huckabee, not Thompson, who was energizing the Republican contest.

What about you? Who are you pulling for now? Still just picking a guy because you think he can beat Hillary? Did you know that in the latest polls, in a head to head match-up, Huckabee was only 8 points behind Hillary and 9 points behind Obama? Maybe if you got behind him and told your friends – we could reverse those numbers.

Listen to NPR’s coverage from Morning Edition here.

Stephen Colbert day on NPR


Stephen Colbert got a lot of fun press today on NPR. Starting with Fresh Air, the political satirist gave an hour long interview to Terry Gross, followed by 5 minutes or so on All Things Considered.
Both very funny interviews. He dropped the satire during Fresh Air but kept up the act during All Things Considered.
During both interviews he talked about his new book, I Am America (And So Can You!) (available at the Casa de Blundell store of course)
Both worth a listen.

Huckabee third in Iowa

Mike Huckabee is in third place in the latest Iowa poll with 12% of the vote behind Romney and Thompson (who’s a joke).

From the Des Moines Register:

Mitt Romney still leads in Iowa but Fred Thompson, a relative newcomer to the presidential race, has emerged as his nearest competitor in a new Des Moines Register poll of likely Republican caucus participants.
Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani are in a close fight for third place in the Iowa Poll taken over three days last week.
Romney, who has campaigned more often in Iowa than his Republican rivals, is the presidential choice of 29 percent of those who say they definitely or probably will attend the leadoff caucuses.
Support for the former Massachusetts governor is essentially unchanged from an Iowa Poll taken in May, when he was the top choice of 30 percent.

Rock & Roll stops the traffic*

My mate Thomas over in Glasgow is helping push a concert featuring Klearkut, Ashley Ballard, Yvonne Lyon and The Glasgow Gospel Choir on Nov. 20th. The cause – STOP HUMAN TRAFFICKING. I can’t make the show, but maybe Elijah and his bride and Erikito and her husband can make the show.

Here’s a brief history:

In 2001 the chocolate industry committed to eradicate the worst forms of child labour. In 2007 the world is still waiting.
Nearly half the world’s chocolate comes from cocoa plantations in the Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa
Twelve thousand children have been trafficked to work on these cocoa plantations.
We want all chocolate companies to be able to give us a traffik free guarantee: that the cocoa beans which make their chocolate have not been harvested by trafficked children.
Download resources for you and your community to fight for a traffik free guarantee on chocolate at www.stopthetraffik.org/chocolatecampaign

It’s amazing to think that human trafficking and slavery still takes place today – but it does – even in the “Good ole’ U. S. of A.”
in fact KERA’s Think had a full hour dedicated to the issue on yesterday’s show. Host Chris Boyd spoke with Journalist John Bowe. His new book, “Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy” (Random House, 2007), exposes a practice which fuels the low prices that benefit us all.

In the interview Bowe makes the statement that most slavery in the U.S. isn’t as much about saving money – as it is about how we view others. When the cost of pesticide increased 1 cent per pound, the growers simply increased the cost of oranges. Yet when the workers asked for a pay increase of 1 cent per pound, which would have doubled many of their yearly incomes, the growers said, “No. We can’t do that.” When asked why not, the growers responded, “Look my tractor doesn’t tell me how to farm.”

Yet we (myself included) let these atrocities continue when we make uninformed buying decisions. When will it stop?

* I wonder how many people will recognize this blog post title (leave a comment if you do).