Will Shooting Suspect Become Mike Huckabee’s Willie Horton?
Mike Huckabee is a media star (although not at the level of Sarah Palin) and a GOP presidential contender for 2012.
But now Huckabee’s history is intersecting with a suspect accused of killing four police officers in Washington state – who he granted clemency as Arkansas Governor in 2000.
The Seattle Times reports Huckabee granted Maurice Clemmons clemency after he served 11 years for burglary and theft of property. “News accounts say Huckabee commuted Clemmons’ sentence, citing Clemmons’ young age at the time the crimes were committed,” reports the Times.
But Clemmons’ history of crime started up almost immediately after, including posting bail just six days ago for second-degree rape of a child. This morning he’s being surrounded by cops at a family home after he’s been accused of executing four police officers in Lakewood, WA.
And now Huckabee is being tied to the story. His blog, HuckPAC, responded with a blog post last night, that served to divert the blame and attention away from Huckabee:
He was recommended for and received a commutation of his original sentence from 1990, this commutation made him parole eligible and he was then paroled by the parole board once they determined he met the conditions at that time…It appears that he has continued to have a string of criminal and psychotic behavior but was not kept incarcerated by either state.
One key conservative media member, Michelle Malkin, is putting some blame on Huckabee, however. And this isn’t the first time a Huckabee-ignited pardon has reached mainstream media status – Ben Smith of Politico brings up the 2008 presidential campaign when Mitt Romney made the story of a rapist Huckabee advocated parole for raped and murdered another woman.
This comes on the heels, however, of the strongest hints by Huckabee that he’s not even looking to run in 2012. On FOX News Sunday yesterday, he told Chris Wallace, “The reason I wouldn’t is because this Fox gig I’ve got right now is really, really wonderful,” describing his weekend show on FNC. “I am nowhere near ready to say that’s what I want to do three years from now.”
More from Huckabee: “A lot of it depends on how the elections turn out next year, and whether Roger Ailes continues to like my show on the weekends.”
And maybe some of it will depend on if an upcoming Clemmons trial turns into a referendum on Huckabee’s clemency tactics as Arkansas Governor.
Here’s Huckabee’s appearance on FOX News Sunday, with the presidential discussion beginning around the 10-minute mark:
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20 comments
StewartIII says: Michelle Malkin: Huckabee’s Willie Horton II?
Violent felon granted clemency by Huckabee now sought in Lakewood, WA police ambush; Update: Huck PAC posts statement; Update: SWAT team surrounds Clemmons’ family home
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/11/29/violent-felon-granted-clemency-by-huckabee-now-sought-in-lakewood-wa-police-ambush/
JunkJunk says: This is absolutely devastating to any political aspirations Huckabee may have had. While I personally could find it in my heart to forgive the man because of his compassion, the fact remains that the man he released became a mass murderer – of cops, no less.
It’s a good thing he has that FOX gig – you can bet the FOXophiles won’t mind his transgressions. My only question at this point: will one of the “journalists” at FOX ever question him about this story?
I await with great interest…
Not that I care for Huckabee, but Clemmons had 8 felony charges against him in Washington State and that was before he was released on bail for seven additional felony charges including child rape.
I’m surprised the Lamestream media is following up on this angle. They love Huckabee. They’ve been priming him to be the GOP’s next McCain-didate, knowing he’s completely unelectable.
He must have struck some nerves with his show and they’ve decided to drop him down a peg or two.
Still, it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/mobile/?type=story&id=2010385617
em says: YES
Nachi says: Good for Huckabee! Unlearned, theocratically-crazed Right-Wing leader of group-goonery. Another Jesus-crazed, misogynistic, lug-nutted GOP Juhadist. His evengelical genes being used to mask his personal hatreds and failures. He’s a fine candidate. And his past actions predict his future adventures. Shucks – he may well be the next – Grand Lizard!
ImNotBlue says: I’m inclined to say no… and here’s why:
According to what I read on Huckabee’s site (I know… research, what a crazy concept), his commuting the sentence didn’t actually result in this guy’s release. Here’s the quote:
He was recommended for and received a commutation of his original sentence from 1990, this commutation made him parole eligible and he was then paroled by the parole board once they determined he met the conditions at that time. He was arrested later for parole violation and taken back to prison to serve his full term, but prosecutors dropped the charges that would have held him.
So it looks like Huckabee commutes the sentence and allows for parole. He get’s paroled, but is arrested again. At that point, IMO, Huckabee’s responsibility is (to a great deal, but not completely) over. Once he was arrested again, his previous sentence is irrelevant. Prosecutors should have put him back in prison for life for parole violation… the fact that they didn’t leaves much of the responsibility on their door step.
I’ll give a hypothetical example: If Criminal X commits a crime, Governor B lets him out. After a while, Criminal X commits another crime and goes back to jail. In 10 years, Criminal X is paroled, and commits another crime. Is Governor B still responsible? Perhaps he’s responsible for the crime Criminal X committed that put him back into jail, but not the subsequent crime… the timeline of responsibility doesn’t fit.
Now, I know this will upset folks like Keith Olbermann and those on the left who like to blame any and everything on the right… and I know there are a lot of folks on the right who don’t like Huckabee and will try to blame him for this as well… but I’m not sure you can really pin this on his actions. He shouldn’t have allowed the parole board to hear this guys case, for sure… but this crime was not a direct result of him getting paroled. It was the result of later crimes, and their failure to be punished appropriately.
Huckabee is a Jekyll-Hyde figure whose dark Hyde side (as dark as he gets, anyway) comes out when he campaigns. In the 2008 campaign, he stabbed Mitt Romney in the heart with a corkscrew, but so calmly, gradually and stealthily that it seemed to non-news junkies like he was being a perfect gentleman. His Jekyll side is displayed when he was in office, acting as the folksy and pious — but not strident — archetype of the so-called “compassionate conservative” who suspends fiscal responsibility when the “needs” of the underprivileged require it (and, as Jesus himself said, the poor will always be with us).
A second murderous criminal freed by Huckabee goes straight to his judgment as a leader, and SHOULD doom any chance for 2012 candidacy the same way Willie Horton did Dukakis’s (sounds like a disease). But it’s hard to tell — with the dearth of authentic conservative pols currently in office who can rally the base as of this moment, it may very well settle for another “I’m a conservative when I wanna be, and I really wanna be, honest” pretender like in 2008.
Palin? I honestly don’t think she’s running — at least, not in 2012. She must know that her current deliberate antagonizing of the “lamestream” media will make it impossible for her to be treated any more fairly than she was in 2008, and I don’t see any indication she can overcome her polarizing effect (or clarify the reasons for her resignation as Governor) in two short years.
This situation will test the “Fair & Balanced” mantra of the Fox News Channel — will they demand answers from Huckabee the way they would if Dukakis hosted a show on MSNBC?
(Hey, it could happen. John McEnroe once had an CNBC show. And yes, I AM serious).
Sunnyr says: You can stick a big fork in Huckabee, HE IS DONE! He let this ANIMAL out over the objections of everyone on the Prosecution side and had this ANIMAL remained in prison a child in Washington would not have been RAPED and 4 cops would still be alive and NINE CHILDREN WOULD NOT BE FOREVER CHANGED BECAUSE OF LOSING A PARENT IN THIS SLAUGHTER! Huckabee is just another RINO trying to pass himself off as a Conservative. His record as Governor is very mixed and some of his LIBERAL agenda totally sucks! I hope old HUCK lies awake for the rest of his live, pondering his disastrous decision to let this ANIMAL out to prey on innocents. Have a nice day, Huckabee!!
This is a perfect example of the burden of executive decisions laid at the feet of governors. How fortunate to never have been a decision-maker, have no record of lives affected by executive signature, good or bad. Huckabee fans should lament the fact he didn’t aspire to be an organizer and leave it at that.
ImNotBlue says: LNSmithee says:
November 30, 2009 at 2:16 pm
This situation will test the “Fair & Balanced” mantra of the Fox News Channel — will they demand answers from Huckabee the way they would if Dukakis hosted a show on MSNBC?
Huckabee will appear tonight on “The O’Reilly Factor.”
How’s that?
libra blue says: You better believe Huckabee is responsible for this! How the hell do you commute a 95-year prison sentence? This is why I always say life in prison, or in this case, 95-years, doesn’t mean these scumbags won’t get released by some idiot like Huckabee! I wonder if he can live with this.
Why isn’t the MSM calling this a hate crime? They aren’t even mentioning that all four police officers were white, I don’t even think that CNN bothered mentioning that this piece of crap is black. If the races had been reversed CNN, MSNBC, Sharpton and all the rest of the race-baitors would be out in full force today screaming about this being a hate crime and how racist this country is.
The MSM are a bunch of cowards!
libra blue says: Mediaite has posted 7 blogs on Tiger Woods’ little accident, complete with photos and videos, but only one story on the four police officers executed in Seattle and not a single photo of the victims.
It looks like they are trying to downplay this story because the officers were white and the scumbag perpetrator is black. Well, they aren’t alone, as expected CNN is trying to avoid showing the photos of the murdered officers and has neglected to mention race at all.
m says: Libra blue, if you want to call the murder the n-word you should just do it since you obviously have a grudge against black people. Stop falling into the traps of political correctness that you accuse Mediaite of. Just be a man and stand by your own principles instead of doing cheap-shots you damn well know aren’t true.
libra blue says: @m. Typical rhetoric from guys like you who don’t like it when someone points out the double standards in the MSM when it comes to race. When Private Long was killed by that Muslim terrorist in June at the Little Rock recruiting center it was barely talked about and never labeled a “hate crime,” but when Von Brunn killed the black security guard at the Holocaust Museum everyone in the MSM labeled it a “hate crime.”
Stop shooting the messenger and look at the facts for a change.
All right all you Obamabots, If you want to blame him for this, remember how many JUDGES have turned loose so many Pedofiles without even bein imprisoned at all. There are several that have had confessions that they had done what they were being charged with, AND the judges just gave them a slap on the wrist and said , O. K. you can go out now an live your life as you wish. NOW those judges are the ones that need to be BLAMED for SO many children that have been raped, beaten and then murdered. This man did serve time for what he did, and now days, they ALL GET OUT for something or other. Do NOT blam Huckabee for a mistake he made, HOW many have you made that caused a problem? Look up the list of pedofiles that were not even given ANY jail time!!
libra blue says: @Maggie Denson, Huckabee does take some responsiblity, but CNN is already making this more about Huckabee than about the scumbag who pulled the trigger. In fact, it is listed second to the Tiger Woods story. Here is what AC360 posted on its FB page:
“Why Tiger’s not talking, why Huckabee commuted the Seattle suspect,”
I think CNN’s priorities are screwed up, or maybe they are deliberately downplaying these shootings. Not a word about this guy’s violent actions or his recent troubles with the police.
ImNotBlue says: I really hope Mediaite posts the O’Reilly interview.
It provides some very interesting perspective.
Winghunter says: Read about The Huckster before Clemmons left Arkansas!
Huckabee, Prosecutors Go On Offensive
http://tinyurl.com/yguo6wf
Winghunter says: Then read as much as you can stomach about The Huckster’s record;
Mikey “The Huckster” Huckabee
http://mikeyhuckabee.blogspot.com/
libra blue says: Well Anderson had Judge Marion Humphrey on the show last night and he proceeded to make excuses for why he recommended leniency for Clemons and continued to show support for him. In fact he was the justice of the peace at this scumbag’s wedding!
Anderson started out strong during the interview, but weakened and lost control and allowed this guy to dump a bunch of BS about Jesus and everything else on him. In fact the change in Anderson’s attitude was so sudden that I suspect someone whispered in his ear to back off.
Oh yeah, and did I mention that the judge is black?
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