Mike Huckabee

In this weekend's episode of "Huckabee," the new FOX News show, Mike Huckabee suggested the current financial crisis could be the result of economic terrorism.

Citing a "friend" of his who works in the "financial markets," Huckabee – during a Q&A with Chuck Norris, who was on the show to promote his book, "Black Belt Patriotism" - said his friend has did an analysis of the markets for the 12 days prior.

"There seems to be a manipulation of the marketplace - at the last half-hour of each day, there is an extraordinary rush of computerized trading going on," the former Republican presidential hopeful said. "He believes that there may, in fact, be evidence of economic terrorism that is fueling a lot of what's going on. Now it's a fascinating idea, that if somebody could break down the world economy, it would have a greater impact that any bomb ever set off. It seems to be there is plausible argument for it."

Chuck Norris approves of that possibility. The "Texas, Walker Ranger" star then launched into his own explanation of the potentially dirty deals the U.S. government has made with regimes around the globe.

The good pastor has some choice words for some of his fellow Republicans: You're big, bad bullies who are insane to be asking the American people to pay to bail Wall Street out of its financial troubles.

Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor, pastor, and Republican presidential hopeful, apparently is not only joining many of the other rank-in-file GOP members who think we shouldn't interfere in the market and use taxpayer money to get it back on track, but he thinks such a plan - without oversight or accountability - might possibly be unconstitutional.

"Frankly, I'm disappointed and disgusted with my own Republican party as I watch them attempt to strong-arm a bailout of some of America's biggest corporations by asking the taxpayers to suck up the staggering results of the hubris, greed, and arrogance of those who sought to make a quick buck by throwing the dice," Huckabee said in an e-mail to Huck PAC supporters today.

"They lost, but want the rest of us to cover their bets so they won't be effected in their lavish lifestyles as they figure out how to spend their tens of millions and in some cases, hundreds of millions in bonuses and compensation which was their reward for not only sinking their companies, but basically doing the same to the entire American economy."

That was one of the things I wondered as I watched John McCain's speech last night, along with how many jokers were busy inserting McCain into scenes from "Road House" with the aid of McCain's handy green, then blue, backgrounds. ("You're gonna be my regular Saturday night thing..." ugh.)

I surmised that it belonged to the McCains' co-pilot, or was used to house the army of butlers that serves them, then are hunted as human quarry for the amusement of guests. The color was set to Bollywood garish, perhaps to fool us into thinking we had already fallen asleep and begun to dream.

Well, TPM has solved the Mystery of McCain Mansion. It turns out to be a middle school. No, that's not where he met Cindy.

Well, several readers have written in to tell me that the building is actually the main building on the campus of the Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, California. And sure enough, this page on the school's website makes it pretty clear that they're correct.

The article goes on to surmise that the person in charge of setting this up must have been looking for a picture of Walter Reed Army Hospital, and just picked whatever came up.

Could this be the same person responsible for RecipeGate? Tucker Bounds assured me that intern had been "dealt with."

Tommy Christopher co-hosts "Unusable Signal" on BlogTalkRadio, debuting Friday at 11pm. Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.

UPDATE: Apparently, only a portion of Huck's Army issued the ultimatum. I received an email from the group making it clear that the email Marc Ambinder posted earlier that I linked to below "is not the official position of HucksArmy and was a communication from a few of our members who were concerned by some dismissive treatment toward supporters of conservative cultural values."

Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic posted an email being circulated among supporters of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee that calls for "Huck's Army" to contact John McCain's fishing buddy, a U.S. Representative from Michigan named Fred Upton, so they can tell him that Huckabees supporters will not vote for McCain unless Huckabee is his running mate or the keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention.

The author of the email expresses anger that McCain might be considering a pro-choice running mate. This week McCain said he would consider running with the pro-choice former Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Ridge. "You know, Tom Ridge is one of the great leaders," McCain said, "and he happens to be pro-choice. And I don't think that that would necessarily would rule Tom Ridge out."

The email goes on to threaten to cost McCain the election:

We, who supported Mike Huckabee, the millions of voters who earned him a 2nd place in delegate count--are being ignored by McCain. McCain must know that he will LOSE not only Michigan without us, but the election. At this point, he does not HAVE US. We've tried repeatedly to reach out to him, and he has ignored us.

By proffering Ridge, McCain may have boxed himself in.

I've been sympathetic to Huckabee during the nomination, but that's over now. All of those who were warning that Huckabee was a flim flam who would lead the GOP in the wrong direction, hear this loudly. You were absolutely right, and while McCain is another wrong direction, Huckabee would have been no better.

This all stems from this blog post at The Next Right detailing Huckabee standing up for Don Young, the pork king of Alaska (and sadly, a Republican). It concludes:

Huckabee's followers understand enough about fiscal / social conservative fusionism that you don't throw your weight behind an unelectable Republican whose "Bridge to Nowhere" branded the Congressional GOP as beyond redemption. And you don't do it by touting his ability to bring home highway funds!

I detected more than a little bit of anti-religious right bias in the opposition to Huckabee, but this goes to show that you don't need to distrust the religious light to conclude that Huckabee's no good. He doesn't understand conservative principles, he doesn't understand that the bridge to nowhere branded the 2004-2006 GOP as a bunch of corrupt pigs, and he is definitely not going to lead an effort to reform the GOP for the future. The faster we are rid of him, the better.

John McCain wasted no time responding to Barack Obama's firing of a key vetter for his Vice Presidential pick:

"Jim Johnson's resignation raises serious questions about Barack Obama's judgment. Selecting the vice presidential nominee is the most important decision a presidential candidate can make and one even Barack Obama has said will 'signal how I want to operate my presidency.' By entrusting this process to a man who has now been forced to step down because of questionable loans, the American people have reason to question the judgment of a candidate who has shown he will only make the right call when under pressure from the news media. America can't afford a president who flip-flops on key questions in the course of 24 hours. That's not change we can believe in." -McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds

"We're going to go through a process in the vice-presidential search where I look at a whole range of options. This is one of the most important decisions I can make, and I think I'll signal how I want to operate my presidency." (Barack Obama, Interview With NBC's Brian Williams, 6/4/08)

What? You don't like jokes about attempting to shoot presidential candidates? To its credit even the crowd at the annual National Rifle Association meeting didn't seem to think it was very funny.

Huckabee made an off-color joke during his speech in Louisville, Kentucky, when a loud bang was heard off-stage.

"That was Barack Obama," Huckabee quipped, "He Just tripped off a chair. He was getting ready to speak. Somebody aimed a gun at him and he...he dove for the floor."

See the video HERE.

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (Tenn.)

Former Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee is the lawyer, turned actor, turned politician whose entry into the presidential primary last year was greeted with so much fanfare. Throughout the spring and summer of 2007, when former mayor Rudy Giuliani was leading the race and Sen. McCain's campaign was floundering, conservatives were clamoring for a true Reagan conservative to throw his hat in the ring. Thompson eventually did so in early September, after teasing Republican primary voters with a lengthy exploration period and a few false alarms. His campaign was never as popular after he announced, however, as it was before and he was unable to finish higher than third in any state before dropping out of the race.

Thompson, 65, did develop a consistently conservative reputation as a candidate and displayed a no-nonsense, if a bit laid back, style of campaigning. He was alone among the Republicans in developing plans based on issues and won high praise for his initiatives from socially and fiscally conservative interest groups alike. He won the endorsement of the national Right to Life Committee and numerous state committees as well. His immigration plan was the toughest of all the candidates, a possible stumbling block for him to a selection as McCain's running mate. He is a staunch supporter of the War in Iraq and the Bush tax cuts. Thompson endorsed McCain after leaving the race in his typically low-key style, issuing a press release on a Friday that received hardly any notice.

Thompson's main assets are his conservative positions and the respect he holds among members of the Republican Party's base. He would help McCain in the South, where voters are very conservative and McCain's history of working with Democrats could be a liability. His age makes a selection unlikely, however. But a position in a McCain Administration as a cabinet secretary or senior adviser is a real possibility.

Gov. Mike Huckabee (AR)

Mike Huckabee of Arkansas is the silver-tongued, folksy former governor of Arkansas whose unlikely nomination campaign lasted longer than any of his better known competitors. Huckabee remained in the race well past the time that it was mathematically impossible for him to capture the nomination, however, many observers believe that he did not hurt Sen. McCain in doing so. Huckabee rose to prominence on the strength of his debate performances, coming out of nowhere to have the most memorable quips and attacks on his rivals and Democrats. Huckabee's two signature issues on the campaign trail were Christian values and tax reform. He was a champion of right-to-life activists, who saw disturbing weaknesses in all of the other contenders and welcomed Huckabee's unashamed religious perspective on the issue. Huckabee was an early supporter of the Fair Tax, a national sales tax that would replace the income tax system, and abolish the Internal Revenue Service.

Huckabee, 52, served a governor for ten years, and during that time built a record that some fiscal conservatives questioned. The Club for Growth, a fiscal watchdog was unrelenting in its criticism of him, and the candidate responded in kind. Huckabee was criticized for raising taxes while governor, although he maintained that he actually cut more taxes than he raised and that the revenue was needed for core government functions like road building and infrastructure improvements. He was also criticized as being soft on illegal immigrants for advocating a plan to give the children of illegals the same financial benefits for education as the children of legal parents.

Huckabee's selection as McCain's running mate would help McCain among Christian conservatives and evangelicals. Huckabee is an ordained Baptist minister and has great respect in the devout community. But during the primaries, he was unable to reach beyond this group in significant numbers and may be seen as having a limited appeal. He could help McCain win the state of Arkansas, where he is broadly popular, however, Huckabee seems destined for a different role in the Republican Party, and may not accept an invitation to align with McCain right now.

Whoa.

via the Politico:

This is refreshing. His remarks on the Wright controversy begin at the 3:35 mark.