True Politics: What does Mike Huckabee's "libido" comment mean for GOP efforts to attract women voters?
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is a longtime critic of the Affordable Care Act. At the Republican party's annual winter meeting today this is what he said about the law's birth control coverage:
"If the democrats want to insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government, then so be it."
This comes as Republicans are working to win over women voters ahead of the midterm elections. Anderson takes a look at the GOP's efforts.
Democrats were quick to fire back. Dana Bash has the latest on the fallout.
Huckabee draws contrasts between him and Palin
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CNN Political Unit
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said he hasn't decided whether he'll run for president, but thinks people should be paying attention to him.
"I just don't understand how it is that a person can read these polls day after day and the narrative is constantly everybody but me," Huckabee told Politico.
"Whether I do it or not, the fact is that if one looks at the overall body of information that's available, nobody would be in a better position to take it all the way to November."
Huckabee also drew a contrast between the attention given to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, with whom he shares a base of support among religious and conservative groups.
Palin, who is also considering a presidential run, has drawn large crowds – and intense media attention – across the country during her book tour for her latest bestselling book, "America by Heart."
"She's brought an enormous amount of energy to the party. As to why she seemingly draws 10 times the attention, I don't know," Huckabee said of his Fox News colleague. Huckabee noted that his own book signings have drawn crowds of up to 1,400 people, a feat the media has largely ignored.
"You're never going to read that. I'm never going to be breaking news because I made a comment on Twitter and Facebook. Why is that? I don't know," he said.
Interactive: Who will be the 2012 GOP Presidential candidate?
Find out who's on the shortlist, what they bring to the table, and what critics say could hurt them.
CPAC reveals 2012 straw poll ballot
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/02/18/art.cpac.crowd.gi.jpg caption="The annual CPAC conference started Thursday in Washington."]
Peter Hamby
CNN Political Producer
Eleven top Republicans are listed on the 2012 presidential straw poll ballot at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference.
Over the next three days, conservative activists will fill out a ballot that asks: "Who would you vote for as the next Republican nominee for president?"
The choices, as listed in order on the ballot: Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, South Dakota Sen. John Thune, and a slot for "Other."
Video: Huckabee in the hot seat
Drew Griffin | BIO
CNN Investigative Correspondent
Documents: Maurice Clemmons' 2000 appeal for Arkansas clemency
(Documents courtesy of Seattle Times and the Arkansas Parole Board)
AC360°
Police are still looking for the perpetrator in the deaths of four uniformed police officers who were shot Sunday in a coffee shop prior to going out on patrol.
A manhunt was under way Monday for a suspect in the shooting deaths of four police officers after he apparently eluded authorities in an east Seattle neighborhood.
Following a standoff that stretched to nearly 12 hours, Maurice Clemmons was not found in the home in the Leschi neighborhood, Seattle police spokesman Jeff Kappel told reporters. There is evidence that Clemmons was outside the home Sunday night, but apparently fled the area, he said.
Clemmons was given a 95-year prison sentence in Arkansas in 1989 for a host of charges, including robberies, burglaries, thefts and bringing a gun to school. His sentence was commuted in 2000 by then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
The Seattle Times has obtained documents released by the Arkansas Parole board including the application Clemmons originally filed for clemency. Clemmons wrote at the time:
Please keep in mind that before this crime spree I had at no time in my life ever been into any kind of problems with the law. I come from a very good Christian family and I was raised much better than my actions speak. (I'm still ashamed to this day for the shame my stupid involvement in these crimes brought upon my family's name.)
But, as mentioned I was only (16) sixteen years old and had just moved into a very crime ridden neighborhood. Where I was unable to resist the negative influence of the other neighborhood boys because I only wanted to fit in and be accepted because I'd just moved away from all my childhood friends and had no friends in Arkansas.
Clemons also added:
Where once stood a young (16) sixteen year old misguided fool, who's own life he was unable to rule. Now stands at 27 year old man, who has learned through the 'school of hard knocks's to appreciate and respect the rights of others. And who had in the midst of the harsh reality of prison life developed the necessary skills to stand along and not to follow a multitude to do evil, as I did as a 16 year old child.
Read Maurice Clemmons parole information and appeal for clemency...
Huckabee pans Palin's interview with Couric
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Peter Hamby
CNN Political Producer
Sarah Palin has complained repeatedly that she was given unfair treatment by the media during her rapid political ascent last year.
But Mike Huckabee – a potential rival for Palin in 2012 should they both decide to seek the White House – apparently doesn’t agree.
In an interview in the current issue of Esquire, Huckabee speaks sympathetically of Palin, saying she had been subjected to “sexist things that would never have been asked of a male candidate.”
But he pushed back against Palin’s assertion that high-profile journalists – particularly Katie Couric of CBS – were biased in their interviews with her.
Channeling Mike Huckabee
Steve Brusk
CNN Senior assignment editor
Here’s a little comparison of Hillary on the stump this week compared to Mike Huckabee in his final days.
Just wanted to share:
________________
Please debate me
Huckabee in Cleveland February 26th:
“I wish Senator McCain was debating me this weekend. I wish we were going to be in Cleveland tonight on stage or in Dallas or in Houston or San Antonio or ustin or somewhere between now and Tuesday having a debate. I think Republicans deserve that across the country, I think certainly Republicans in these states that are voting deserve that.”
Hillary in Central Point, OR late Thursday:
“They asked would we be willing to debate. I said absolutely, anytime, anywhere. I heard that my opponent just changed his schedule. He’s going to be in Portland tomorrow. I’m going to be in Portland tomorrow. I’ll meet him anywhere for a debate. There should be a debate about Oregon’s issues. I think that all of you deserve to have a debate particularly about these specifically Oregonian issues."
________________
What’s the rush?
Mike Huckabee in Houston on March 2nd:
“All of these people who for the last two or three weeks have been saying, let’s hurry and get ours over with. Well, what’s the hurry? It’s March. It’s barely March. The convention isn’t until September.
Clinton at the women’s fundraiser Wednesday in Washington:
“There is no cause for alarm, sometimes you got to calm people down a little bit. My husband did not get the nomination until June 2nd.”
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FULL POST
Morning Buzz
Good morning folks!!! Another political primary day. Today is the battle is along the Potomac. Voters in DC, Maryland and Virginia will head to the voting booths. Will Barack continue his sweep? OR will Hillary rally back? AND will Huckabee continue to be a "nuisance," as some political pundits are saying.... SOOO watch CNN tonight for full coverage!!!
In Top Stories a new study out about how the U.S. military is deficient in meeting "the threat of Islamic insurgencies"...AND the steroid controversy continues...baseball player John Rocker is admiting steroid use...so we are Keeping Him Honest!!!
AND thing are looking really gloomy on the real estate front and it ain't because of sub-prime mortgage rates! If you are living in Oklahoma or Florida, you may want to move!! Folks in those states have been repeatedly hit by natural disasters over the last 30 years. AND are you living in a miserable city? There is a new study out of the worst cities to live in...so scroll down and check out What YOU will be talking about today...There are lots of headlines to get through this morning... including why Dolly Parton is postponing her tour....so grab your coffee and let's get started.... Top Stories
U.S. vs. Muslim insurgents...
The U.S. military is seriously deficient in meeting "the threat of Islamist insurgencies," says a Pentagon-commissioned study released Monday.
Outcry over U.S. marine arrest...
Condemnations rang out from several corners in Japan Tuesday after a 38-year-old U.S. Marine was accused of raping a 14-year-old local girl on the southern island of Okinawa.Terror plot...
Danish authorities have arrested several people who allegedly were plotting a "terror-related assassination."
Immigrants flee...
The signs of flight among Latino immigrants here are multiple: Families moving out of apartment complexes, schools reporting enrollment drops, business owners complaining about fewer clients.
A changing face...
If present trends continue, within two decades the nation’s foreign-born population will surpass the historic 19th-century peak of nearly 15 percent of all residents, according to projections released Monday.
Repeated disasters...
When it comes to bad weather — or just bad luck — some parts of the USA seem to attract disaster.
Raw Politics
What is at stake?
Presidential candidates in both parties have a lot at stake in these Potomac primaries.Coming off his sweep in five weekend contests, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois will be aiming for a political hat trick over Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.
Battle along the Potomac...
Democratic presidential hopefuf Barack Obama offered himself as "something new" at a pair of spirited, arena-size rallies in Maryland yesterday, while his primary rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, portrayed herself as a "battle-scarred" fighter for the middle class at more intimate events held across the region on the eve of today's primaries.
Obama favored in Potomac primaries...
A new battleground looms in a state where picnickers still flock to venerated fields of Confederate glory. The campaigns of Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are gearing up for today's presidential primary in Virginia, a key Southern state rife with knotty demographics and shifting party loyalties.
Bid hinges on Texas and Ohio...
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and her advisers increasingly believe that, after a series of losses, she has been boxed into a must-win position in the Ohio and Texas primaries on March 4, and she has begun reassuring anxious donors and superdelegates that the nomination is not slipping away from her, aides said on Monday.
New Poll: Dems happy with choices...
Democratic voters haven't settled on a nominee but are enormously excited about both their prospects. Republican voters have made a choice but aren't thrilled with him.
Crime & Punishment
L.A.P.D cannot police itself...
Los Angeles Police Department investigators routinely fail to fully investigate citizens' complaints against allegedly abusive officers, often omitting or altering crucial information in ways that help exonerate the officers, according to a report to be released today.
Ex cop takes the stand...
A former police officer accused of killing his pregnant lover sobbed on the witness stand Monday that he accidentally struck her when she wouldn't let him out of her house.
Keeping Them Honest
More Sterioid use in MLB...
John Rocker claims he flunked a drug test ordered by Major League Baseball in 2000 and that he, Alex Rodriguez and other Texas Rangers were advised by management and union doctors following a spring training lecture on how to effectively use steroids.
Medication mix up...
When Tabitha Jones picked up her stepson's medicine at a Walgreens store near Nashville in 2004, she had no way to know the pharmacy was so busy that its manager had asked for more staffing months earlier to "decrease the pharmacist's stress."
What YOU will be talking about TODAY
Dolly Parton postpones tour....
Dolly Parton’s breasts may be two of the wonders of the entertainment world, but the country music icon says they are a pain in her back.
Patty Hearst at Westminster dog show...
Far, far removed from the days when her image as a machine gun-toting revolutionary captivated a nation, Patricia Shaw Hearst was in more genteel surroundings Monday. She was tending to Diva at Madison Square Garden, petting her soft head on dogdom's biggest day.
Do you live in a miserable city?
Imagine living in a city with the country's highest rate for violent crime and the second-highest unemployment rate. As an added kicker you need more Superfund dollars allocated to your city to clean up contaminated toxic waste sites than just about any other metro.
Morning Buzz
Morning Folks....Happy Monday!!! A few more victories for Obama and Huckabee over the weekend on the Raw Politics front...NOW it is onto Maryland, Virginia and DC. Is the former Democratic front-runner now the underdog? AND if McCain is the assumed nominee, why is Huckabee still pulling in votes? PLUS we are keeping the Bush budget honest, this morning...Sooo grab your coffee and take a look at today's headlines...
Top Stories
Future of U.S. troops in Iraq...
A pause in the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq after the current reduction is completed in July "makes sense," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Baghdad Monday.
Death penalty for 9-11 roles...
Military prosecutors have decided to seek the death penalty for six GITMO detainees who are to be charged with central roles in the Sept. 11 terror attacks, government officials who have been briefed on the charges said Sunday.
Iraq War planning buried...
The Army is accustomed to protecting classified information. But when it comes to the planning for the Iraq war, even an unclassified assessment can acquire the status of a state secret.
Get out of Iraq to boost economy...
The heck with Congress' big stimulus bill. The way to get the country out of recession — and most people think we're in one — is to get the country out of Iraq, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll.
New problems in the market...
A widening array of financial-market problems threatens to trigger a new phase in the global credit crunch, extending it beyond the risky mortgages that have cost banks and investors more than $100 billion in losses and helped push the U.S. economy toward recession.
Paintings stolen...
Works by Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh were stolen from an art foundation's gallery in Zurich, Switzerland, according to Bernd Quellenberg, a spokesman for the Kunsthaus, a major art museum in Zurich.
Raw Politics
Obama wins Maine...
With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Obama was leading Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York 59 percent to 40 percent. At stake are 24 delegates to August's Democratic national convention in Denver.
Huckabee wins again...
Just as Senator John McCain appeared poised to become the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, he was reminded over the weekend that many Republican voters still have not climbed aboard his bandwagon.
Clinton staff shakeup...
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton has replaced her campaign manager with a longtime adviser, Maggie Williams, the campaign announced Sunday.
DC, Maryland blitz...
Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, their family members and surrogates swept through the Washington region yesterday, appearing in packed churches, schools and retirement communities in a blitz of activity two days before the high-stakes "Potomac Primary" in Virgina, Maryland and the District.
Keeping them Honest
Bush earmarks...
President Bush often denounces the propensity of Congress to earmark money for pet projects. But in his new budget, Mr. Bush has requested money for thousands of similar projects.
Clemens doping denials...
A lawyer for Brian McNamee believes the Justice Department will open a criminal investigation into Roger Clemens' denials of doping.
What YOU will be talking about TODAY
And the Grammy goes too...
Winehouse, the troubled singer and songwriter who was let out of rehab to perform via satellite at the 50th annual Grammy Awards Sunday night, took home awards in five of the six categories in which she was nominated, including three of the big four general categories: record of the year, song of the year (both for "Rehab") and best new artist.
