Huckabee Administration to Prosecutor Concerned About Clemency Process: LOL
Allahpundit lays out the amazing timeline. First Huckabee releases a rapist who rapes again and is convicted and then we get this:
Which leads us to the punchline:
Mr. Huckabee, I have read “you” Chief of Staff’s letter. While I wish I could say that I am LOL — ROTFLMFAO, in fact — I’m not. We have four dead police officers here. And the stunning evidence of the cavalier manner in which your Chief of Staff blew off the polite and valid concerns of a prosecutor will, I hope, convince voters that you are not someone who can be trusted with another executive position. Surely not the top one in the land.
UPDATE: These guys really didn’t get along, as this article from a few years later makes clear:
Now, Governor Huckabee is involved and issued this statement: “I know Phil Mask to be an effective sheriff who isn’t part of the good ol’boy political machine. It is obvious to me that ‘Headline Herzfeld’ couldn’t resist an opportunity to get back up on the stage even though the voters of Arkansas rejected his kind of stunts when they voted him off the island in the primary for Attorney General. Perhaps Sheriff Mask will investigate Herzfeld’s use of drug task force money he used to do public relations work outside his district.”
This makes the contempt in the letter believable.
UPDATE x2: Further confirmation in the form of a contemporaneous account.
Allahpundit expressed a bit of skepticism about this and I’m tempted to follow suit. I know Huckabee is an idiot, but is he truly this ridiculously dumb?
h2u (147639) — 12/2/2009 @ 9:49 pmStick a fork in Hucksterabee.
He’s done.
Icy Texan (b8ff91) — 12/2/2009 @ 9:56 pmI was half-listening to Huckabee on his book/apology tour today on Medved’s show and I turned it off because it was boring.
Wow, if it’s legitimate, this is a smoking gun that can’t be denied.
There is, of course, the obvious typo which should have been caught by a competent staff. I make one every time I post. So, I will reserve judgment for the time-being.
Ag80 (3d1543) — 12/2/2009 @ 10:04 pmAllahpundit’s skepticism has been retracted. Also, see the update.
Patterico (64318f) — 12/2/2009 @ 10:06 pmIt’s hard not to think of those police officers, their families and the whys and hows surrounding their senseless murders. Or how quickly this slaughter killed the political aspirations of the creationist, compassionate conservative, ex-governor and Fox TV talker. Denny’s may just have a new name for a breakfast side order here- The Huckabee: toast and coffee.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 12/2/2009 @ 10:11 pmPatterico:
I guess I don’t have to reserve my judgment any longer.
His book tour just got more interesting.
I will keep my radio on tomorrow, but I doubt he’ll be on it discussing this.
Ag80 (3d1543) — 12/2/2009 @ 10:14 pmMaybe Huck can team up with John Edwards for the all-populist ticket.
Of course at least Huckabee immolated his political career on a (misguided) policy decision and not a ego-laden personal peccadillo.
JVW (0fe413) — 12/2/2009 @ 10:15 pmDown goes Huckabee.
h2u (147639) — 12/2/2009 @ 10:16 pmDCSCA:
That’s pretty funny.
DRJ (dee47d) — 12/2/2009 @ 10:17 pmDCSCA:
You’re right.
Ag80 (3d1543) — 12/2/2009 @ 10:17 pmI know that Chuck Norris is a big Huckabee fan. I wonder what the Chuckster would say about this?
And what happened to young Corey Cox?
Eric Blair (bc43a4) — 12/2/2009 @ 11:00 pmIsn’t it amazing that a former governor from Arkansas can shock and dismay us with his aberrant and unprofessional behavior? Seriously?
I do not believe that Huckabee, through his arrogance, is directly responsible for the officers’ deaths, but his action of clemency will be viewed by all for years to come as ill-advised. No one, except maybe the investigating officer, knows a case better than an experienced, dedicated prosecutor. Why not consider their opinions, despite their political leanings, with prudence?
Four police officers are dead because of arrogance and lack of competence at the executive level. These deaths were unnecessary and horribly avoidable had Clemmons served a significant portion of his original sentence. No excuses, they will not suffice. I have yet to hear anyone, especially Huckabee, admit this fatal error in judgment. With no accountability by leaders and little empathy displayed by the community, is this situation doomed to repeat itself?
I.M. Copper (365f1f) — 12/3/2009 @ 12:25 amBut, wait, there’s more:
The following is from San Jose’s Annie Hamilton of Examiner.com
Maurice Clemmons – dangerous criminal or good muslim?
“The Last Crusade” reported on 12/1/09 that The SEATTLE BLACKFOOT SOLDIERS, a Muslim Organization, led by Alfred “Issaquah” Shafford held a rally in honor of their ‘hero’ for ‘doing his part’ in bringing down the ‘white terror racist police regime’ in assassinating four law enforcement officers last week in the coffee shop on Steele street in Parkland, Washington….
Clemmons, the Last Crusade had recently learned from an Arkansas law enforcement official, became a member of the Nation of Islam while serving time in the Cummins Prison.
Based upon the evidence available, it would appear that Clemmons followed his chosen ideology letter and verse.”
ropelight (5a624a) — 12/3/2009 @ 3:15 amTo be fair, Allahpundit got the tip from the Ace of Spades HQ. Slublog and Ace had the story first…..well, “first” to notice the original documents in the NY Times.
Russ from Winterset (eeca76) — 12/3/2009 @ 4:54 amArkansas seems to be built on the Illinois model. We have very professional prosecutors at the county level and the biggest losers of patronage-appointed wastes of the taxpayers’ money at the state capital. I had a case where we impleaded the state one time, and although my real opponent and I agreed on nothing else we agreed about what a worthless assistant AG they sent us.
nk (df76d4) — 12/3/2009 @ 5:07 amHuckleberry Huckabee is charcoal.
One thing not discussed is that there is a crying, if not RED ALERT, need to start investigating these Muslim preachers in the jails. How many are just jihadists trolling for cannon fodder?
PCD (1d8b6d) — 12/3/2009 @ 5:54 amCan we call this guy an asshole from now on? I know I will.
Dmac (a964d5) — 12/3/2009 @ 5:57 amNK–I had a case involving an ordinance violation where the STate of Illinois got involved–the assistant attorney general there argued before the appellate court that they should uphold the conviction because the police are our friends.
Although I agree that the police are our friends, it’s not a particularly strong argument to the appellate court.
Rochf (ae9c58) — 12/3/2009 @ 7:19 amI wonder what the Chuckster would say about this?
Chuck Ranger says: “You are not the Huckabee I knew. Now crawl under the bus, or I’ll round kick you there. Oh, and put down the plastic cross.”
About the Arkansas-Illinois legal infrastructure comparison, I could ask my relatives who live in and around Little Rock. But I won’t. No use getting them all riled up. Besides, they’d just turn around and inquire about how I like the tax hikes here in SoCal. Tits and tats do not exchange well amongst relatives, y’know.
political agnostic (1ad523) — 12/3/2009 @ 9:10 amHuckabee is the prime example of why evangelicals are not capable of holding office responsibly. He will grant clemency to anyone who “finds jesus” in prison, regardless of any fact.
thatguy (eb09ed) — 12/3/2009 @ 11:34 amHuckabee is personally responsible for the crimes of every person he pardons or otherwise causes to be freed. In a former age, he would do the honorable thing and fall on his sword as a way of taking responsibility, methods change, but if he had any sense of personal honor and responsibility he would take his own life. he won;t instead he’ll just bumble along insisting that jesus is the way.
This appears to be the case, as apparently the AK papers had been writing this for a while. It’s over at LGF if you’d care to look. He was a sucker.
carlitos (d10e1c) — 12/3/2009 @ 11:39 amHuckabee speaks
Proof positive, “it takes a village to raise a kid” or create a criminal.
TC (0b9ca4) — 12/3/2009 @ 11:56 amIt appears to be less about F*uckabee being an evangelical and more about him being a craptacularly bad Gov.
JD (787a1f) — 12/3/2009 @ 12:02 pmcarlitos, the abbreviation for Arkansas is AR.
AD - RtR/OS! (2eab1e) — 12/3/2009 @ 12:05 pmAK is Alaska!
*’s used to really stand for something.
political agnostic (1ad523) — 12/3/2009 @ 1:53 pmHuckabee royally screwed the pooch on this one. I criticized Dukakis for his actions and I will do the same to Huckabee. This was one of the specific reasons I would not support Huckabee last year. Everything I say should be read as coming from the point of view of a person who would not have voted for Huckabee in the general election had he been the nominee.
That said, I find it amusing that so many of the people who are taking after Huckabee on this are the same people who savaged Bush because he would not commute the death sentence of a female prisoner in Texas simply because she claimed to have “found Christ.” Bush was criticized for not “living up to his principles” by people who never met a principle in their lives. (Leaving aside that Texas law does not allow a governor to unilatterally commute a sentence precisely because a governor was at one time selling pardons and commutations.)
And as to the length of the sentence meted out in this case; does the fact that parole is so readily granted after on third of a sentence is served lead to longer sentences? If a prisoner is only going to serve one third of a sentence then I am going to make sure he his sentence is three times longer to protect society.
Have Blue (854a6e) — 12/3/2009 @ 2:19 pmI will never again watch his show.
I will write him a letter, c/o FOX News, saying that he is a smarmy poseur with blood on his hands.
I will write to Roger Ailes at FOX, saying that I will not watch his network until Huckabee is fired.
Kevin Stafford (5d18a5) — 12/3/2009 @ 6:11 pmI was trying to tie Palin in this whole mess.
Seriously, oops.
carlitos (d10e1c) — 12/3/2009 @ 6:39 pmI really don’t understand the whole “blood on his hands” thing. I know he made a craptacular decision, but responsibility lies with the person who commits the crime. I like F*ckabee about as much as a root canal without Novocaine, but some of the rhetoric, and blame, seems misguided or hyperbolic.
JD (4a5c67) — 12/3/2009 @ 6:44 pmSmartmouthed little gits aren’t they?
SPQR (26be8b) — 12/3/2009 @ 6:52 pmTo whom are you referring, SPQR?
JD (4a5c67) — 12/3/2009 @ 6:57 pmPatterico: Wayne Dumond, the rapist Phuckabee infamously went to bat for didn’t just go on to “rape” Carol Sue Shields; he murdered her as well. So Clemmons’s victims bring to the total to five identifiable individuals who would be alive to day if Huckabee had never been governor of Arkansas.
JD, I disagree. Primary responsibility rests with the person who committed the crime, but that doesn’t mean everyone else who dropped the ball should get off scot-free.
Xrlq (8e8e72) — 12/5/2009 @ 5:16 pm