Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is under fire for having released a convict who murdered four police officers in Washington State before being killed this morning by police pursuing him.
This release happened back in the year 2000 when Huckabee was still governor, and way before he sought the Presidency in 2008.
He is considered now one of the top three Republican possibilities for the Presidential nomination in 2012, at least in polls, along with Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin. He has, however, earlier expressed the thought that he might not seek the Presidency, as he has done it already and really likes his talk show on Fox News Channel on Saturday evenings, along with his syndicated radio talk show.
It seems to me that he will be now off limits to conservatives for support in 2012, with them already having expressed doubts in 2008, based on his alleged high spending budgets in Arkansas. He has already received a storm of protest over the release of this convict, and if one goes by history, it will doom him for any future in politics.
This condemnation of a governor for pardoning a convict who later committed more crimes was certainly utilized by the first President Bush in his campaign against Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis in the 1988 Presidential campaign. The Massachusetts governor never recovered from the “Willie Horton” ads used against him.
It will be interesting to see how far and how long the attacks against Huckabee will go, but I think the odds are he is finished in American politics as a result of this unfortunate set of circumstances.
But one other question: will the Democrats go after Huckabee as the GOP went after Dukakis? I highly doubt it, but it will be very reflective of the differences between the two major political parties. More likely is the conservative purists in the GOP will make mince meat of Huckabee while the Democrats sit on the sidelines!
An asute observation about the difference between the two parties, Ron.
No, I highly doubt that Democrats will go after Huckabee! But still I wouldn’t count him out just yet. Spending like crazy and pardoning unremorseful people – doesn’t that sound a lot like Bush? Maybe the Republicans will forgive Huckabee . . . perhaps if he was interested in starting another war . . . then they could overlook this little incident and welcome him back to the fold. Sorry, just venting I guess.
It may not damage him completely. Dukakis was ineffective in fighting back. Huckabee at least has made an attempt at saying he was following the parole board recommendation and if he could see the future, he certainly would not pardon the man. I don’t remember that from Dukakis.
Perhaps, more seriously, it puts forth the possibility that no governor will ever grant another parole based on future political desires. You don’t want it to come back and haunt you.