Posted on 12/01/2009 10:49:21 AM PST by Mount Athos
Under fire for commuting the sentence of suspected cop-killer Maurice Clemmons, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Tuesday called some of the criticisms “disgusting” and suggested they were attempts to score political points.
“It really does show how sick our society has become that people are more concerned about a campaign three years from now than those grieving families in Washington,” Huckabee said during an interview on Joe Scarborough’s radio show. “It is disgusting, but people use anything as a political weapon.”
Huckabee granted Clemmons, a suspect in the killings of four police officers in Washington state over the weekend, clemency in 2001. He had served 11 years in prison after being sentenced at the age of 18 to 60 years in prison for burglary and theft and was set to serve the 60 years, in addition to the 48 years he was already serving on five felony counts.
After his sentence was commuted, Clemmons was paroled by an Arkansas board and moved to Washington in 2004, where he was charged with eight felonies prior to gunning down the police officers in a coffee shop.
Clemmons was shot and killed Tuesday morning by an officer investigating a stolen car.
Huckabee has been thrashed in the right-wing blogosphere by leading online conservative voices who have criticized his commutation of Clemmons’ sentence.
In addition, Minnesota GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty – one of Huckabee’s potential challengers for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012– said Tuesday that he would not have granted Clemmons clemency if he had been in Huckabee’s position.
“I don't think I've ever voted for clemency,” Pawlenty told conservative radio host Laura Ingraham. “We’ve given out pardons for things after everybody has served out their term, but again, usually for more minor offenses. But clemency? Certainly not. Commutation of sentence? Certainly not.
Huckabee defended his choice to grant the Arkansas felon clemency by insisting that Clemmons original sentence went too far.
“If he were a white kid from an upper middle class family he would have gotten a lawyer and some counseling,” Huckabee said. “But because he was a young black kid he got 108 years.”
Huckabee said the sentence was “far disproportionate from any other punishment in Arkansas at the time for a similar crime.”
“It’s a lot easier to be a pundit or a commentator or a blogger than to govern the state and have to make tough decisions,” he said. “People are talking about this from a political standpoint, but what they need to be asking is how did the system break down?”
RINO Huck, his chickens are coming home to roost. Too bad , not.
Sad for the families in WA.
huckaphoney bump
A leader is accountable, and sometimes that accountability even exists when it wasn't completely his fault, even if there were mitigating circumstances. It sucks sometimes, but that's why real leaders aren't a dime a dozen.
A leader does NOT shift blame, make excuses, cover his own butt, and then whine when he has to take some heat.
Huckabee is no leader.
film at 11
...others use pardons and clemency to recruit voters...
He knows it’s over.
Bye Huck. Once again you got it wrong—YOU are disgusting.
I hope Fox gives you the boot and please spare us from the radio stations who carry your phoney folksy broadcasts. You are no Paul Harvey. They should have Mark Levin do those spots.
Go away please.
Stick a fork in him. He’s done.
Huckabee's ego on display.
This predator-child committed theft and had five (5) felony convictions, but somehow, Huckabee thought 11 years in prison was enough.
WE ARE SICK AND TIRED OF SOFT JUSTICE!!!!!!
Did Huck really say this, or did this quote come from Jesse or Al?
That was a really disgusting thing to say.
No, you lost points, you soft-on-crime, faux-conservative.
This "Arkansas Felon" killed 4 Police Officers and its the Huckabee critics that are disgusting?
How twisted.
Like I said in another post, Huckabee is a link in a long chain of events.
He also just happens to be the biggest fish in the barrel.
His perverted sense of compassion on your dime.
So I guess four dead cops is all politics. Murders, rapes are all politics.
Okay Huck, I know there are others out there that have been over lenient, but that does not give you a pass for poor decisions.
He gave out a record number of pardons and commutations, and I don’t think this was the only case where it went bad.
Then he tries to blame it on the parole board, the prosecutor, the judge, anyone but himself.
And now he tries to blame it on us.
News for you, Huck. You weren’t elected Liberal Tent Preacher of Arkansas. You were elected Governor of Arkansas. And that involves certain responsibilities, including protection of the citizens who made the mistake of electing you. (Not that the other guy wasn’t even worse.)
I think he is still a good person, who has a lot of good ideas and character. I learn to like him more from his show.
I think his show has educated many about conservativism in the best way.
He made some terrible mistakes with Clemency, but that isn’t everything about him.
He’s done politically, but I still think he can do a lot of good for educating people about conservativism with his good show.
Because he was a ‘young black’, you let him out. Now four cops are dead. And those grieving families you’re so concerned for wouldn’t be grieving if you’d done the right thing.
His reasoning is disgusting.
The Huckster is focused on keeping his gig over at Fox. He's all about promoting himself for the big bucks.
sw
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