Robert Novak, Mike Huckabee, John McCain and Associates, Frank Donatelli and Roy Blunt appearing in Republicans are just crazy.

There's more important news out there, we still have troops dying, for apparently no reason, in Iraq and Afghanistan, the mess in Burma and the earthquake in China.

But this morning I was just trying to comprehend, what on earth would make any rational human being want to vote Republican.

While I'm no fan of Bob Novack, I did read his piece about Huckabee wanting to deep six McCain's presidential run.

You remember Mike Huckabee? He ran for the Republican nomination and he is the poster boy for the Religious Right. He's also the guy who wants to do away with the Constitution and replace it with his own interpretation of the Bible.

"[Some of my opponents] do not want to change the Constitution, but I
believe it's a lot easier to change the constitution than it would be to change
the word of the living God, and that's what we need to do is to amend the
Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's
standards," Huckabee said, referring to the need for a constitutional human life
amendment and an amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Well, Huckabee's been making kissyfaces at McCain for quite a while now and Novak comes along and says that's all a front for an evil plan to help Obama win in November. Somehow the country deserves the plague of an Obama presidency to get it back on the right track and open the door for the Right Reverend Mike Huckabee to take over the country in 2012.

Nevertheless, reports out of the evangelical community dispute Huckabee's
support. One experienced, credible activist in Christian politics who would not
let his name be used told me Huckabee in personal conversation with him embraced
the concept that an Obama presidency might be what the American people deserve.
That fits what has largely been a fringe position among evangelicals, that the
pain of an Obama presidency is in keeping with the Bible's prophecy.

Of course, Huckabee's denying everything. Would a Baptist preacher lie?

I e-mailed Gov. Huckabee for a response, and he quickly shot back: "it’s total
and absolute nonsense! I told Bob this last week in a phone call. He went with
the story with his 'unnamed source.' Should have been listed as an 'unbrained
source.' He must have liked the story no matter how ludicrous it is. There was
NO conversation between Mike Farris and me to that effect. None. I don’t know of
anyone who feels that 'America deserves Obama.'

I, for one, do believe we deserve Obama.

Over on Huckabee's own blog, his denials are most vociferous and he even manages to put the usual right wing innuendo on Obama's character. Pretty slick for a country preacher.

Where do people dream up this stuff? Forget the “anonymous” sources—there’s
nothing anonymous about my stand and here it is. We don’t “deserve” Obama—we
DESERVE a President with the character, convictions, experience, and wisdom to
see the problems we face and try to lead us to solve them. We deserve a
President who truly loves this country and from whom there is no doubt as to his
respect for Faith, Family, and the kind of Freedom that those before us have
given their lives to pass on to us. John McCain meets that criteria and that’s
why I am campaigning for him and not hoping for Obama. The nonsense that I want
Obama to win this year so I can run in 2012 is absurd. I love my country more
than my own ambition. So let the record and truth be clear. And let the
“anonymous” sources either show the courage to stand up and be accountable for
their comments or shut up and leave commentary to people who aren’t afraid of
their own shadow.

Somehow, I just can't make myself believe that Mike Huckabee puts very much before his ambition.

If you go to Mike's blog, be sure to read the comments. Are these really the kind of people that we want making the decisions for our country? You can just feel the zeal dripping from their commentary.

Getting away from Huckabee, here's a quote from John McCain.

The people that surround me are honorable people.” - John
McCain [Town Hall Meeting, Exeter, NH 03/12/08]

And here's some of those "honorable" people that he surrounds himself with. They are all good Republicans, they'll do anything for enough money. The list is long, but here's one example.

Frank Donatelli

McCain Tapped Lobbyist Frank Donatelli To Run His Efforts At RNC. McCain
tapped lobbyist Frank Donatelli to become deputy chairman of the Republican
National Committee. The New York Times reported Donatelli will “act as the
main liaison between the committee and the McCain campaign.” Donatelli is
a lobbyist at McGuire Woods and previously served as a lobbyist at Akin Gump
Strauss Hauer & Feld. His clients have included AT&T, Exxon Mobil,
PhRMA, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Verizon. [New York Times, 3/7/08; McGuire
Woods, accessed 5/12/08; Senate Lobbying Disclosure Records, accessed
5/12/08]

Donatelli Enlisted to Improve Ethiopia’s Relationship with U.S. In a
September 2005 letter sent to Ambassador Kassahun Ayele of the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Donatelli set forth his obligations under their
contract, namely to provide “government relations and related public
communications services to assist and work with Ethiopia in Washington, D.C., in
promoting and strengthening Ethiopia’s relations with the United States and, in
general, providing such other appropriate advice and assistance as will serve to
achieve these purposes.” [FARA Database, accessed 3/18/08, Letter signed by
Frank Donatelli on 9/6/05] •

Human Rights Watch: “The Ethiopian Government’s Human Rights Record
Remains Poor.” According to Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2008, “The
Ethiopian government’s human rights record remains poor, both within the country
and in neighboring Somalia, where since early 2007 thousands of Ethiopian troops
have been fighting an insurgency alongside the Transitional Federal Government
of Somalia. Government forces committed serious human rights violations,
including rape, torture, and village burnings, during a campaign against
Ethiopian rebels in eastern Somalia Region (Region 5). Abuses took place
in other parts of the country, notably in Oromia State where local officials
carried out mass arrests, extra-judicial killings and economic sanctions.”
[Human Rights Watch, accessed 5/12/08, emphasis added]

It's not just the Republican presidential candidates that are so out of touch that they don't seem to realize what they're saying. House Minority Whip Roy Blunt went on CNN and admitted that McCain would be just like a third term for Bush. He thinks that's a good thing.

Why would anyone, with even a semi-functioning brain, vote Republican?

It's Wednesday. Think about it.

Later