An American Lion

You simply cannot speak the truth on the American airwaves these days.

Is Graham wrong? He’s wrong in that what he’s saying is politically incorrect, but he’s right when he talks about Sharia law as it is practiced in the Middle East. I give him some credibility to competently speak about what he has seen, simply because he actually goes to these countries. He’s actually seen it with his own eyes. Has the media? Does the media tell the truth about Islam? Or is Franklin Graham demonstrating, through personal experience, that he has a better grasp on it than they do? Does he have a better sense as to how Islam is interpreted and practiced in the Middle East? In the clip, you can see the catnip that Campbell Brown is trying to chase. She senses the gotcha moment, but Graham is above the gotcha moment. He knows what he has seen. He knows that women are beaten to death, and that Islam, in some forms, cannot be practiced in this country.

Graham’s interpretation doesn’t necessarily define what the religion is, but it does highlight how we fail to speak clearly as to how this religion is used to enforce a Medieval mindset about women, and women’s rights, all throughout the parts of the world where Islam is practiced.

Never go for a boat ride with a shifty, disloyal hack

I hate to make fun of a Republican who is down, but this is just too rich to pass up:

As I mentioned this morning, I resigned my position as Arkansas coordinator for HuckPAC today where I served in a volunteer capacity. My departure was with a heavy heart but was done after serious prayer and consideration. Some have asked about the timing. As most could imagine, the recent news of the last two days along with the response did play a role in this decision but was not the sole factor.

I may say more in the coming days but for now I will leave it at this. I still firmly believe in the ideals and principles championed by Gov. Mike Huckabee.

The resignation of Mr. Tolbert means what, exactly? That he cannot be counted upon to stand with someone who had taken a hit?

The God that I pray to often tells me to stick with friends who are being buffeted by the storm, sir. The God that I pray to often tells me to stick with my principles and never turn a friend away. They call them principles for a reason. They help us stick with what’s right. Where’d yours go? Do you think Mike Huckabee needs some people to stand with him right now? Don’t you think Mike Huckabee is worth a plug nickel? Given all that has been said and done, don’t you think old Huck is feeling pretty low right now?

Do you think that the idea of Christian compassion is now dead? You seem to be answering that question with your feet. Where we you when it was a well known fact that:

…Huckabee “granted 1,033 pardons and commutations, including 12 convicted murderers. Huckabee granted more clemencies than the previous three governors combined. Even reduced penalties for manufacturing methamphetamine.”

Were you pinching your cheeks, hoping that someone wouldn’t do what that animal in Washington State did? Where are the other eleven killers Huckabee pardoned? Hopefully, they’ve accepted their fate and have turned their lives around. If not, it really doesn’t do you any good to abandon Huckabee now. His lack of judgement was already well established. It took you this long to sort that out? Or was it the timing of the tragedy and your own lack of intestinal fortitude?

I guess you have to run screaming away from Mike Huckabee with your hands on both butt cheeks, terrified of the fallout of being associated with a man who pardoned a man who went out and killed four police officers. Did Mike Huckabee kill anyone? No. He used his Christian compassion to let a man go free and to give him a second chance. That turned out to be a nightmarishly bad decision. If everyone who ever received a pardon acted the way that disgusting man in Washington State acted, there would be no pardons. And yet, the act of pardon has helped untold citizens feel like a part of this democracy again, and it has helped inspire them to lead exemplary lives. Granted, many are pardoned because their father made a timely campaign contribution. This doesn’t seem to be the case here.

I’m glad you prayed about it. It makes taking the opportunity to go personal and mock your curious grasp on religion that much easier for me. I was sweating bullets there for a minute. You’re running from trouble, thinking that will save you. The God that I pray to keeps tabs on this sort of thing, I believe.

Who is Jason Tolbert?

Jason Tolbert – Editor, Publisher, Blogger – Tolbert has been involved with social conservative issues for the past decade.  He also is heavily involved with the Republican Party serving as an alternate delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul.  He began working with the new media first through the grassroots website called Huck’s Armyand now through the Tolbert Report.  He is a Certified Public Accountant practicing in Central Arkansas.

A CPA who won’t stand by someone who takes a fall? Well, that will drive up your business and make your professional reputation really valuable, won’t it? Good move, sport. Hey, who’s that running away behind that slamming door? Oh, that’s Jason Tolbert. When a man who he supported, organized for, raised money for, and expressed devotion and love for had a hiccup in his political career, Jason Tolbert tore off his clothes and went streaking out of the room as fast as humanly possible in order to preserve his political viability. He’s a natural born leader and a loyal friend. Just don’t go through a bad patch, and he’ll stick with you, good Christian that he is.

Pardon me for being opinionated, but, as a Northeastern Rockefeller Republican, I’m a little tired of convenient Christianity being mixed in with my party. You and your God Boy ilk have brought so much shame to the Republican Party that I sometimes can’t even stand the idea that you call yourselves Republicans. Barry Goldwater would have laughed in your face if you had told him you were a Republican. We don’t break bread with fools, and we certainly don’t run from a fight. We stick with people. If everyone who had hung with Dick Nixon had abandoned him—wait. If everyone who had hung with Jerry Ford—hold on. If everyone who had stayed a part of the Ronald Reagan phenomenon had walked away from him in 1976, our greatest President would have been Walter Mondale.

Pick something to believe in and stick with it. You born agains don’t mix with us Episcopalians, I gather. Sorry—I got it right the first time and stuck with my religion. I don’t claim to be a holy roller or a saint, but many of you certainly do. Just don’t rub my face in it when you can’t reconcile God and Mammon, okay? Sticking with Huckabee meant the possibility the Mammon in your coin sack would take a hit, right? Did I get that right? Is my theology squared away, there?

You know, a bunch of people had this same thing happen to them when John Edwards went tits up. Liberals, you don’t get a pass here. You’re opportunistic hacks as well.

From the comments, though, there is this chestnut. This is a priceless example of delusional thinking:

I would recommend thinking about this a little more strategically. From a rational perspective, there really isn’t much to blame Huckabee for. He granted clemency within the bounds of the law and within the bounds of a system designed to help correct perceived errors in the justice system (or at least account for changed conditions). Not knowing what was in Clemmons’ clemency file, one can presume — for the sake of argument — that there was nothing indicating any sort of propensity to commit such a heinous crime. So, yes, you can’t really rationally blame Huckabee, at least not on the facts we have.

But … Dukakis was effectively trashed up one side and down the other for the Willie Horton fiasco, which had strikingly similar facts. He was billed as “soft on crime,” and we all know how his candidacy fared. Because the GOP used this tactic on Dukakis, it’s fair game for Huckabee. That means a Huckabee candidacy would be plagued with allegations of being soft on crime, replete with pictures of the deceased officers, the children left behind, and so on.

And I can’t understand why you would possibly think the brazen slaughter of four on-duty police officers is only worth a “30-second soundbite.” I think this is a hard news story about a horrific crime, and I bet uniformed police officers across the country think it’s worth a lot more than a “30-second soundbite.”

Good God, do you think with that brain, sir? In public?

“Isn’t much to blame Huckabee for?”Other than the fact that the killer was behind bars, and Huckabee let him go, sure. There isn’t much to blame old Huck for, that’s, wow. That’s a really, really asinine thing to say. 

And, in case you forgot, the ads run against Huckabee would trash his judgement, and they would be damning and effective in that regard. Oh, wait a minute—they already ran those ads and made those points. Pardon me. Few elected officials ever make this kind of mistake and survive. This is what you call a career-killer. Professionals know it, and professionals act accordingly. Amateurs make blog comments.

Godspeed, Jason Tolbert. Your word means nothing and your loyalty is conditional, temporary, and fleeting, and subject to the blowing of the wind. Whoever you support is going to keep one eye on your twitchy hands and watch for any sign of faltering from now on, sir. You might as well go be a liberal. They’ll give you that touchy-feely stuff you need.