Romney defends Huckabee's clemency decision

CNN ^ | Dec 3, 2009 | Emily Sherman

[CharlesWayneCT]

But he got his name in the news associated with a cop-killer, and in association with a man who is his rival who has been blamed by some for the cop-killing.

I don’t buy into the argument that all press is good press — at least not for a person like Romney whose name is already well-known (sometimes people who are obscure enough DO benefit from even bad press, because of name recognition. Romney does NOT suffer from name recognition problems).

[Tennessee Nana]

I don’t buy into the argument that all press is good press
_____________________________________________________

Romney does...

When Desperation City kicks in

[LibLieSlayer]

One RAT BASTARD defends another RAT BASTARD!

LLS

[Azzurri]

CNN’s title is a little off. I don’t see any quotes (in the excerpt, at least) where Romney is defending Huckabee.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

According to Mike, the prosecutor did NOT weigh in on the matter when it was put before him.

In any event he committed far worse crimes in the 9-10 years after the fact.

In fact considering the sentence was only cut in half he would probably be getting out anyway.

My only point here is Huck is not the truly bad guy here. After all the guy was only 16 when he went to prison. By this logic you mean there should be no commutations.

That will never happen. Get Real.

Feces Occurs

[BarnacleCenturion]

“Saying he believe the man is hardly defending.”

Yep, no doubt what we have here is another hit job by the communist network. The title of the article doesn’t match what he said. The article is not even there anymore so silly that it was.

[org.whodat]

The attack dog crowd has gone over the edge. Slick wall is no place to hang your hat!

[deannadurbin]

“It’s a far bigger story than Arkansas.”

You got that right! and that’s why the media is ignoring it and just concentrating on the Huck angle. They know that in the last few polls before the tragedy that Huck was way ahead of both Romney and Palin for 2012 and so the media HAD to get rid of Mike Huckabee.

You see, the media doesn’t care WHAT KIND OF A REPUBLICAN is in the mix, they will knock down RINOs AND real Conservatives alike.

Now that they’ve gone after Huck and gotten him out of the way they will knock off Romney and Palin, uncovering dirt on both. It’s the nature of the beast. They want NO REPUBLICAN beating Obama in 2012.

[magritte]

Dunno...maybe because that’s what Romney actually believes and thinks Huckabee is getting a raw deal...shows a bit of character, actually...magritte

[Rastus]

“He only stole $16!”

And if her purse had had a million dollar lottery ticket, would that have made a difference? I’m concerned with the crime, Mike. Not the criminal’s dumb luck to steal a purse without a lot in it. Oh, I realize there are different sentencing guidelines depending on the amount stolen, but he: a) didn’t know the amount; b) would have been pleased as punch if there had been a felony amount; and c) was a dirtbag career criminal in any case. I wouldn’t have let him out any more than I would have let out a guy who had a history of armed robbery who had the book thrown at him for stealing a pack of gum. You’ve got to look at the big picture if you want to sit in the big chair, Mike.

[RinaseaofDs]

Actually, this is a Romney smear.

He didn’t defend Huckabee. Last lines of the article are the money quote.

[Leisler]

Who but an idiot would belive a 'pardon' is 'overturning a jury'. It is not. And Mitt knows that, being a Harvard Law School graduate, and lawyer. ( i.e, he's lying )

Mitt is a wimp. It's one of the factors in his flip floping. Not one Romney has ever been in the military. Zero. Zip. Nada. Not since they came to the US from England, BEFORE the Civil War. ( Cowardliness or Care less? Who knows ). Of course not one of his five strapping sons, post 911 were moved to patriotism either, so it must be some Romney family 'value' as it were.

Here is one case where Mitt trembled to intervene.

The case of a soldier named Anthony Circosta of Agawam, Mass., a member of the Army National Guard who fought in Iraq and was awarded a Bronze Star. He then sought a pardon so he could become a police officer, but was turned down.a decorated soldier" who wanted to become a police officer but still had a criminal record from a minor incident when he was 13 years old and shot another boy with a BB gun that Didn't even break the skin.

One RINO lets everyone out, and another ( Mitt ) couldn't even make one, single decision. ( Just like his Republican lawyers he didn't nominate one for a judgeship ).

The man no Romney has ever been, and Mitt couldn't be bothered with.

[redgirlinabluestate]

Now that they’ve gone after Huck and gotten him out of the way they will knock off Romney and Palin, uncovering dirt on both.

You are right. The MSM wants Tim Pawlenty as their candidate of choice. Another McCain...McCain-lite actually.

[rbmillerjr]

“Why Romney felt he had to defend Huckabee is beyond me, especially after Huckabee’s treatment of Romney last year.”

It’s not that difficult. He knows Huckabee is no threat but he needs him in the race to divide some of the social conservatives away from Palin.

[soupbone1]

I would tend to agree with you that Huck was just unlucky and that as you said "Feces Occurs". However, this is not the only incident and seems to show the guy has poor judgement when it comes to the criminal justice system.

[Reagan Man]

While Huckabee’s decision WAS dead wrong, Willard proves once again why he's a phony and a fraud.

Romney was quick to accept the commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence by Bush. However, he was totally wrong in his decision involving Anthony Circosta's ambition to become a police officer on his return from serving in Iraq.

It seems no matter what the issue, Romney's behavior is that of a pathetic and despicable creature. A real POS!

[MozarkDawg]

One of the parole board members says that Huckabee’s decision influenced his own, and the fact of the matter is had Huckabee not commuted Clemmons’ sentence, he would not have been eligible for that parole. I will grant it is a bigger story than Arkansas, but it quite possibly never would have been a bigger story had it not been for the specific action of one Gov. Huckabee. To have him say today that he would still commute the sentence of a man with that kind of history, the obvious inability for Clemmons to deal with society in a reasonable and appropriate manner, it is enough for me to never again consider him for elected office.

[MozarkDawg]

Huckabee commuted his sentence to a time that made him eligible for IMMEDIATE parole. The board rubber-stamped his parole because, as one board member stated, 'Huckabee wanted him paroled'.

Thanks, ColdWater, that's precisely the quote I was looking for in an earlier thread -- next time I'll read further through the one I'm in before posting.

[BobL]

“It’s not that difficult. He knows Huckabee is no threat but he needs him in the race to divide some of the social conservatives away from Palin.”

That makes sense to me.

[Publius6961]

Looks lke it's time to review Romney's record.

Sounds like he might have a few repeat paroled killers in his political closet, too.