via Tom Blumer of Bizzyblog
Perhaps “The Speech†was well-delivered (full transcript here). I’m not going to judge that.
But it was also damning — perhaps fatally so.
This paragraph from “The Speech,†if and when the enormity of what Mitt Romney did in Massachusetts is ever fully understood, should — no, must — end his candidacy (bold, obviously, is mine):
“As a young man, Lincoln described what he called America’s ‘political 
religion’ – the commitment to defend the rule of law and the 
Constitution. When I place my hand on the Bible and take the oath of 
office, that oath becomes my highest promise to God. If I am fortunate
 to become your president, I will serve no one religion, no one group, no
 one cause, and no one interest. A President must serve only the common 
cause of the people of the United States.â€
Strong stuff.
But Mitt Romney swore this oath on January 2, 2003 when he assumed the governorship of the state known as The Cradle of Liberty:
“I, (Mitt Romney), do solemnly swear, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and will support the constitution thereof. So help me God.â€
Mitt Romney objectively violated that oath by ignoring the John Adams-authored constraints of the state’s constitution when he extra-constitutionally and unilaterally imposed same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. In doing so, now in his own words, he failed to “defend the rule of law and the 
Constitution,†and violated his “highest promise to God.â€
As noted in yesterday afternoon’s post, this is not arguable.
The extra-constitutional handling of the same-sex marriage ruling is part of a much deeper pattern. There are at least several other examples, some of which are referred to in the Sandy Rios-John Haskins interview excerpts here, of Mitt Romney’s blatant disregard for the rule of law and the constitution he swore to uphold. Others can be found at MassResistance.org’s “The Mitt Romney Deception†collection. I wouldn’t mind elaborating on these other examples further if necessary. But what is covered here and in yesterday afternoon’s post is more than enough for any person with an understanding of the rule of law, the Massachusetts constitution, and the actual facts and circumstances, to conclude that Mitt Romney is objectively unfit to serve as president.
I want to thank Mitt Romney for reminding America today of his solemn obligations. All that remains is for America to know how he failed to keep them.
For a full recap of the comprehensive list of Romney related posts entitled “The Mitt Romney Betrayal Collection” click here
Update. The latest Newsweek poll just out has Huckabee at 39% and Romney at 17%. This is an enormous turnaround representing a 41 pt swing from the last poll taken at the end of September when Romney was leading Huckabee 25% to 6%.
The placebo conservative media almost without exception (Hugh Hewitt, Bill Bennett, Sean Hannity, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, and even Rush Limbaugh) have supressed the real Mitt Romney Record of illegally institutionalizing “gay marriage” and establishing abortion as a “healthcare benefit” in his own healthcare plan. by attempting to use his “religion” as a smokescreen. Apparently, the voters are not as ignorant as the conservative elites think they are.
In addition to his solid policy proposals and committment to federalism, here’s another feather in Fred Thomspon’s cap for me,
‘Right With God’ But Not Churchgoer Says Thompson
Asked about his religious beliefs during an appearance before about 500 Republicans in South Carolina yesterday, Fred Thompson said he attends church when he visits his mother in Tennessee but does not belong to a church or attend regularly at his home in McLean, Va., just outside Washington. The actor and former senator, who was baptized in the Church of Christ, said he gained his values from “sitting around the kitchen table” and said he did not plan to speak about his religious beliefs on the stump. “I know that I’m right with God and the people I love,” he said, according to Bloomberg News Service. It’s “just the way I am not to talk about some of these things….And he did not seem particularly concerned that his admission would hurt him with voters. “Me getting up and talking about what a wonderful person I am and that sort of thing, I’m not comfortable with that, and I don’t think it does me any good,” he said. “People will make up their own mind about that, and that’s the way I like it.”
That’s good enough for me. In fact, that’s what I want to hear from a politician. I’m looking for a good and decent man or women who can be judged on their actions, not on what they say or don’t say about their faith. Bill Clinton made a big show of going to church and walked around clutching a bible, but what did that really mean? Nothing. I am sick and tired of all the talk about religion on the campaign trail, that’s just how I feel.
I’d prefer discussions about national security, how to increase the size of the military, improve veterans care, concealed carry laws in the wake of another shooting in a “gun free zone”. What about solutions to the subprime mess? The AMT and other onerous taxes? Anyone heard about the medicare problem or social security lately? If you have, you’ve been looking pretty hard for it.
Hat Tip: Andrew Sullivan
via Rep. Eric Cantor (R – VA)
Thanks to the leadership of Nancy and the Gang, the Iraq War is now twice as popular as Congress. That’s one accomplishment.
Hat Tip: Wizbang
Last week, I was looking at a research note from Tom Brown of Bankstocks.com defending First Marblehead, a student loan company that has had wild swings up and down the past few years. I knew that First Marblehead was one of his top holdings, but nonetheless I was impressed with the vigorous defense of the company. The fact that Tom Brown has forgotten more about financial stocks than I could ever hope to know was one factor in his favor. You see, Brown was the top Wall Street banking analyst for eight of nine years between 1989-1998, according to Institutional Investor.
I was actually thinking to myself, if Brown feels so strongly, maybe I should take a flyer on this one. Fortunately, I didn’t.
First Marblehead Shares Sink on Downgrade, Rising Concerns Over Ability to Securitize Loans
NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of First Marblehead Corp. sank Wednesday after an analyst downgraded the stock on rising concern over the student lender’s ability to securitize loans in December and beyond. Shares plunged $3.79, or 15.2 percent, to $21.19 in afternoon trading, after hitting a 52-week low of $20.88 earlier in the session. Shares have traded between $24.98 and $57.56 in the past 12 months.
This episode has just reinforced for me why I stopped trading eighteen months ago. It is simply too complicated, too risky and too time consuming for me to invest in stocks. Today, I only own two, and they are in retirement portfolios for the long term. They are EMC, the data storage company, and Chesapeake Energy, the natural gas company.
I have turned to exchange traded funds and to a lesser degree, mutual funds. Among my favorites are,
Oakmark Equity & Income
Oakmark Global
PowerShares Water Resources (PHO)
Rydex S&P Equal Weight (RSP)
iShares S&P Global 100 Index (IOO)
MidCap SPDRs (MDY)
I couldn’t be happier with my decision, I don’t need the stress that comes with owning stocks, and this week was a great reminder of that.
First it was Ted Kennedy and his wealthy friends fighting tooth and nail to stop BIG OIL from intruding on the sacred Nantucket Sound. Oh wait, it a Wind Farm they opposed, not BIG OIL. In the end, Ted K. won, and the environment lost. Seems like he has inspired other so-called environmentalists to stand up, against the evil that is Wind Power,
The famed King Ranch and a coalition of environmental groups sued Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson in federal court Tuesday, seeking to require extensive environmental review and public comment on two planned wind power projects along the Gulf Coast in Kenedy County.
The coalition, the Coastal Habitat Alliance, also sued over the wind project in state District Court in Travis County. That suit claims that the state’s Public Utility Commission illegally denied the alliance’s request to participate in permit hearings for the wind project’s transmission line.
The lawsuits threaten to delay or stop the two massive wind projects, which could place more than 600 turbines on 60,000 acres near Laguna Madre, south of Corpus Christi. Part of the wind projects would place about 250 turbines just east of a portion of the sprawling King Ranch.
These people are beyond parody.
Hat Tip: Instapundit
Mike Huckabee’s bandwagon is the equivalent of a Yugo, it won’t last for long. He has deftly exploited his religious beliefs in a state (Iowa) where evangelicals are a critical constituency. That won’t work in enough other places to carry him forward, New Hampshire included.
He’s got other problems too, big problems, on issues of law and order, and more importantly, national security.
Huckabee went on Imus today to defend his national security credentials. Powerline’s Paul Mirengoff listened and came away, well, rather unimpressed,
When it comes to foreign policy, Huckabee more closely resembles another former governor, Jimmy Carter. It was Carter, not Reagan, who viewed foreign policy as an extension of his own character and personal principles. Carter stood for a foreign policy “as decent as the American people.” Reagan stood for defeating our enemies. When Huckabee frets about how Gitmo is making us appear to foreigners, when he asserts that “we broke Iraq,” and when he says he’s qualified to be commander-in-chief because of his character rather than because of his understanding of our enemies, it’s pretty clear that his foreign policy roots extend nowhere near the fertile soil of Reaganism.
Check out the full post, as they also have an audio link to the interview. For the record, Mirengoff has defended Huckabee’s conservative credentials in the past.
The cherry on top, for me, is this little exchange from the campaign trail yesterday. I agree with Ann Althouse,
Will this doom the Huckabee campaign? It Should.
Kuhn: I don’t know to what extent you have been briefed or been able to take a look at the NIE report that came out yesterday …
Huckabee: I’m sorry?
Kuhn: The NIE report, the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran. Have you been briefed or been able to take a look at it —
Huckabee: No.
Kuhn: Have you heard of the finding?
Huckabee: No.
National security is my top issue for the next president. I predict his “moment” will be just that. Enjoy it while it lasts governor. You’re a good and decent man, but not someone I want to see in charge of the free world’s battle against Islamic extremism.