Let me commend to you the motto of one of your late neighbors to the north...
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?”
http://video.foxnews.com/12094770/controversial-clemency
You would be better served watching the above:
Huckabee made a mistake. He knows it, and is sick about its result; the death of police. The political ramifications are proably very low on his mind right now. Yes, I know you don’t believe that.
That being said, he is ABSOLUTELY right about the political opportunism taking place. I’m sad to say to FR has become one of the worst places for it. I have been reading posts and I see a very clear trend here. The VAST majority of Huckabee bashing posters fall into two categories:
(1) Fanantical supporters of other candidates (IMO Romney and Palin - BTW I like Palin). These folks are so enamored with their choice they will stoop to any level of vileness to denigrate Huckabee because he is popular with the value voters. They see him as an obstacle they must remove nor matter how reprehensible the means. I like Sarah Palin - but her extreme supporters have become a cult in their worship.
(2) Southern Baptist/and or Conservative Evangelical Christian haters (these can even be fellow evangelicals). You can spot these folks because they like to compare him to televangelists like Oral Roberts and Jim Baker. Or they call him “Huckster” or “Elmer Gantry.” The hate literal Bible believers and so they hate Huckabee. Personally, I don’t have a problem with Baptist/Christian haters...it is to be expected. What disgusts me is they refuse to admit that is the real issue.
Of course, there are some here with pure motives (some in law enforcement - which is to be expected)....but they are a very small minority. The vast majority of negative posters are just plain disingenuous.
Get a grip people and don’t blame anyone but the shooter for taking down these servants of the people.
In my opinion, the original sentence was way too heavy to begin with, so I can agree with Huck, based on the info provided, if true. However, he and his staff did not do their due diligence in determining what this obvious monster had become. Furthermore, AFTER the clemency the perp committed 8 MORE NEW felonies BEFORE “gunning down the police officers in a coffee shop.” Why are we letting those judges who let him go then off the hook?
Yes, Huck is a RINO and has never been anything more than a Split-The-Vote candidate that we could see through from the the get-go, but he isn’t the only person that had a hand in letting the killer roam around freely. Aren’t we all about personal responsibility? Put the blame on the shooter is all I’m saying. To put so much blame on Huck is to let the perp off ever so slightly, imo.
Flame away.
I’m with you - I’ve come to like the guy, and if his show is on when my tv is on, I’ll watch. I was totally opposed to his getting the nomination before. Now, I actually think we could do a lot worse, and I don’t think he would be afraid to call bo out. But he isn’t what *I’m* looking for in a president. But then, I’m looking for a backlash.
[people are more concerned about a campaign three years from now]
Hey Huckster, YOU are the one who’s looking at the campaign three years from now.
This is about people getting murdered because of your actions. You’ve got blood on your hands.
Yep, have a nice glass of huckleberry whine.
I love Huckabee, but he’s too much of a softy to serve as president. Soft on criminals, soft on illegals, soft on holding the line against tax and spend liberals. No thanks. Hope he succeeds beyond his wildest dreams in the entertainment field.
In Huckworld you can still buy a guy with a set of silver candlesticks. In the real world it’s just not practical.
ROFLOL
Huckster’s done. He just doesn’t that fact.
Thanks!!
And anyone can check my posts...I’ve been more critical of Huck in the last few years than almost anyone.
Let me commend to you the motto of one of your late neighbors to the north...
What made him release that criminal early?
Come clean Huck.
Agree completely.
Tell it to these guys, Huck:
We lost our brothers and sister yesterday. We have not slept and to be honest I do not know what more I am able to do. I do not want to sleep; we want this criminal brought to justice. Like my members will attest I will sit at my computer and write to them when I need to put it out there. Tonight I will write to them and anyone else who will listen about our four heroes. I will not get into why this suspect was out on the streets in this writing but that time will come. Instead I would like to share a couple comments about our friends who were taken away from us and their loved ones. I have never cried like I have over the past 16 hours and I hope sharing a couple things about these individuals will bring those citizens we are truly proud to serve closer to us.
All of us started together with the exception of Mark who came on a couple months later. Mark is that guy who is the go to guy for everything. He was the most competent and tactically proficient man I ever knew in police work. I do not say this because he was killed and that is something you should say. Everyone in our department and all who knew Mark know this was true. He simply could take any training situation and make it work no matter what group he was teaching. This was the last guy any of us thought would have died like this. There is no doubt in my mind he did not see anything coming.
As the Range master I went to Mark for advice on how to train our officers on the range. Mark never belittled anyone but he was a true east coast guy. He told it how he saw it and you always knew where you stood with him. Mark was on the LPIG E board and was the savviest negotiator I have ever met. I know for sure every attorney in our law firm is weeping today, I will save the attorney jokes but I am being honest. To the members of Metro SWAT we can only cry with you, you all know what we know when it comes to Mark. Mark had that spark that made you like him and respect him. He was truly a rock in our department, someone you always counted on. Mark has three kids and a great wife that the toughest cop I knew softly spoke about. Mark is in heaven standing guard at the gate. I know this is true.
Ronald Owens, or Ronnie to all of us, was the laid back dirt bike riding, surfer hair having cop, you would always want at a party or with you on any call. Though he had a laid back perspective he was sharp and an extremely dedicated and hard worker. Ronnie was a go to guy for having a friend in any business that could help us out. Ronnie enjoyed riding with us at Tahuya State Park and in fact we were just setting up another ride next week, his personality made everyone around him feel positive. I can get worked up about politics pretty quickly. Ronnie was my calm down guy, an even keel who was able to put a perspective on things with few words. Ronnie has a beautiful little daughter. We love you brother.
Tina was our conservative friend. She was excited to be a part of the Olympia Tea Parties and proudly stated why she got involved in politics over the past year. Tina was sharp too, only a couple mornings ago we had a great discussion on the future of our Republic and how we felt true limited government conservatives should take back out political party. If you wanted any details over the massive government spending she would have them for you. If anyone thinks these comments are off color then you did not know Tina well. She would tell you where you could go and like Mark you always knew where you stood with her. She was the toughest little cop I have ever known. Tina has two children and a husband who loves her deeply. My gut hurts that I missed your Halloween party this year. Your memory and strength will help guide our movement to retake our party, this I promise you.
Greg Richards was the drummer in a rock band you would never know was a drummer in a rock band. Greg was a great cop who cared about one thing above all else, his family. He was a proud dad to three kids and wanted nothing more than to spend all of his time off with his wife and kids. Greg and I spent some one on one time together recently at an overtime assignment where he talked mostly about his family, he was obviously so proud. I will always remember this summer when you and your band rocked the house for our member with all proceeds going to charity when he was in the hospital. Yantzerpaloza will take on new meaning for us in the coming years. For someone who does not have much hair, you helped me put it down for a night.
As our Department weeps we know our brothers and sisters are in a place where people don’t come in a calm place and take your life because of the shield you wear or the basic oath we took. This will never make sense to us, it can’t. There will never be an explanation that works that will heal us. We can simply hope to take this senseless act of evil and turn it around to motivate our other officers, elected officials, and our entire community to keep make sure these parolees stay in prison and our communities stay safe. These predators who should be locked up commit the bulk of all of the crime against us. We will make sure your families are taken care of and do everything in our power to give your children a college education. God bless you Mark, Greg, Tina, and Ronnie boy. We cannot stop crying and we cannot stop hurting right now. WE love you all.
Brian D. Wurts, President
Lakewood Police Independent Guild
Then there are people who look at the FACTS:
“The Clemmons incident is far from being the only case of Huckabee’s activism toward freeing dangerous felons. During his 10 years as Arkansas governor, Huckabee granted clemency to 1,033 convicts. That is more than double his three predecessors combined. The clemencies also exceeded Arkansas’ six neighboring states combined. The freed prisoners included murderers, drunk drivers, armed robbers and rapists.”
FACT: Huckabee was and seems to remain TOO SOFT ON CRIME.
So you need to add a category.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.