The Patriot Post
Founders' Quote Daily

"I pronounce it as certain that there was never yet a truly great
man that was not at the same time truly virtuous."

-- Benjamin Franklin (The Busy-body, No. 3, 18 February 1728)

Reference: The Works of Benjamin Franklin, Bigelow, ed., vol. 1
(350)

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Founders' Quote Daily is a service of The Patriot Post, the most widely
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Dear Gov. Huckabee:

My name is Mike Minton. I know you don’t know me, and I doubt seriously that you’ve ever seen my blog, “Mr. Right Opinion,” although you don’t know what you are missing out on.

Firstly, I would like to thank you for your service to our country, as a pastor, a governor, as an aspirant to the presidency, and no doubt in many ways about which we may never even know.

However, despite all the good that you’ve done in your life, I feel compelled to tell you that, by staying in this presidential race, you are further dividing an already fractured Republican party. And, more importantly, by so doing, you are inadvertently making it more difficult to heal an already deeply divided nation.

Just earlier this week, we saw your former competitor, Rudy Giuliani, withdraw from his campaign and throw his support behind Sen. McCain; a move that will, without a doubt, put the senator in a superior position on “super-duper Tuesday.”

Mr. Huckabee, I can’t imagine that, in researching the backgrounds of your competitors and preparing for your campaign, you haven’t seen what John McCain is really all about.

Governor, you claim to be a conservative, and I have no doubt that you love America every bit as much as I. Well, sir, I am now asking you to demonstrate both of those attributes by putting an end to your candidacy.

This request has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not I agree with you on the issues on which you were running. The fact is that we now have two front-runners who truly have pretty diverse backgrounds, and two pretty different visions of where this country is going.

Senator McCain is undoubtedly a true American hero. I admire both his military and political service to America. However, Governor, he IS NOT the best option for either the Republican party, nor for the United States of America.

By remaining in a Primary which-and please pardon my bluntness-you simply cannot win, you are detracting votes from the other governor who otherwise could. And I am sure you, as a Christian and a patriot, are above staying in a presidential race merely to skew the results for one candidate or the other.

I realize that Gov. Romney has changed his position on abortion, but I am firmly convinced that he is sincere in his commitment to preserving innocent life. Sen. McCain, on the other hand, has been quoted as saying, “I would not support repeal of Roe vs. Wade….” Source: Ron Fournier, Associated Press Aug 24, 1999.

And while I know that Sen. McCain likes to say that he has been consistently pro-life, the fact is that he alluded to pro-lifers as, “the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance…” drawing parallels to the likes of Louis Farrakhan Source: Speech in Virginia Beach, VA Feb 28, 2000. So this means that Sen. McCain is either NOT pro-life, or that he is, in his own words, an agent of intolerance comparable to Louis Farrakhan.

Furthermore, Gov. Huckabee, it is a well-known fact Sen. McCain supports amnesty for illegal aliens. This is yet another area in which he has been, shall we say, less than honest. No matter what euphemism you may wish to put on it, McCain-Feingold is an amnesty bill. And, in fact, the senator has as an advisor one of former Mexican president Vicente Fox’s Cabinet members, Juan Hernandez.

Here is a quote from CNSnews.com: “’The fact that (McCain) would pick a person who has worked as a foreign government official is very troubling,’ Steven Camarota, director of research with the Center for Immigration Studies, told Cybercast News Service. ‘That person has taken an oath to a foreign government, and now (McCain) wants to make him an integral part of his campaign.’”

Gov. Romney has gone on the record as saying we must “Secure The Border, Implement An Enforceable Employer Verification System, Reject Amnesty, Punish Sanctuary Cities, Improve Interior Enforcement, and finally, Encourage Legal Immigration, if we are to restore Americans’ faith in the rule of law.”

Gov. Huckabee, you know that over the past two decades, Americans’ faith in the federal government’s willingness to stop illegal immigration has been decimated. That faith desperately needs restoration. I believe Gov. Romney can accomplish that. Sadly, I don’t think Sen. McCain is even interested in restoring that faith.

On another issue, Governor, Mitt Romney is strides ahead of Sen. McCain on economic issues. He has supported lower taxes, and has run businesses with budgets the size of the entire economies of some countries.

Sen. McCain, on the other hand, has not had the benefit of that type of experience. What’s more, the senator has been dishonest about his alleged fiscal conservatism. I have heard him say that he has ALWAYS supported lower taxes. However, he was one of a very few Republicans to vote AGAINST the Bush tax cuts.

For all of these reasons: social conservatism; fiscal conservatism; cohesion of the Republican party; and, most importantly, the betterment of America in general, I am asking you to gracefully drop out of the 2008 race. That will allow true conservatives like myself (and like you claim to be) to rally around a candidate whom we can trust to represent our values in the White House.

Again, thank you for your unselfish service to our country, and God Bless!

Sincerely,
Michael A. Minton

Former Mexican Statesman Joins McCain Camp
By Penny Starr
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
January 31, 2008

(CNSNews.com) - Juan Hernandez, the man who served in Vicente Fox's cabinet when the latter was president of Mexico, is now advising Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on reaching out to Hispanics during his presidential bid.

Hernandez is the son of a Mexican father and American mother and has dual citizenship in the United States and Mexico.

He has not responded to requests by Cybercast News Service to answer critics who say a man who allegedly took an oath of office to the Mexican government and has been an outspoken advocate for open borders and illegal immigrants should clarify how his views comport with those of McCain, who reportedly has toughened his views on illegal immigration since entering the presidential race.

"The fact that (McCain) would pick a person who has worked as a foreign government official is very troubling," Steven Camarota, director of research with the Center for Immigration Studies, told Cybercast News Service. "That person has taken an oath to a foreign government, and now (McCain) wants to make him an integral part of his campaign."

McCain's campaign didn't return calls to Cybercast News Service, but Brian Rogers, spokesman for the campaign, has told news outlets that Hernandez is only an adviser and does not have a policy role.

But Camarota said Hernandez's job with the campaign calls into question McCain's claim that he "gets it" concerning immigration after the collapse of the federal government's proposed comprehensive immigration reform last year.

"It's not at all clear if (McCain) believes in securing our borders," Camarota said.

A Rasmussen poll in May 2007 showed that 72 percent of Americans think it is "very important" for the government to improve its enforcement of the borders and reduce illegal immigration.

Some 48 percent opposed last year's immigration reform bill, the so-called amnesty bill backed by McCain and President Bush, while 26 percent were "not sure" of their position on the legislation.

On her Web site, conservative Michelle Malkin said of Hernandez's advisory role: "McCain knew what he was getting and so should Republican voters."

But perhaps Hernandez himself has provided the most fodder for his critics by making countless appearances on television touting his open borders message. Diggersrealm.com posted a video montage of some of those appearances, including one on "Lou Dobbs Tonight" on CNN.
br>"If we become a different kind of nation that doesn't open its borders to immigrants, we will lose what makes this nation work," Hernandez said. On another show, he said if Mexicans live and work in America they should "think Mexico first."

But some experts say Hernandez has the right credentials to advise a presidential candidate, including his heritage and experience.

"My dealings with Juan Hernandez have been entirely positive," Dan Griswold, director of the libertarian Cato Institute's Center for Trade Policy Studies, told Cybercast News Service. "He is a very thoughtful person who brings a thoughtful perspective to a presidential campaign."

In a May 15, 2007 essay for the Reform Institute, where Hernandez is a senior fellow, he wrote under the headline "Immigration Debate a Test of Our Core Values."

"This debate goes to the heart of what America is all about. Two fundamental pillars of our society are our dedication to achieving prosperity through hard work and our devotion to the Judeo-Christian values of compassion, mercy and inclusion," Hernandez wrote.

"Instead of backing away from these core beliefs and fencing ourselves in, we must renew this spirit through a sensible and effective immigration policy that provides a path to permanent legal status for immigrants who strengthen our economy and society," he added.

The Patriot Post
Founders' Quote Daily

"It is the duty of every good citizen to use all the opportunities
which occur to him, for preserving documents relating to the
history of our country."

-- Thomas Jefferson (letter to Hugh P. Taylor, 4 October 1823)

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Founders' Quote Daily is a service of The Patriot Post, the most widely
read conservative journal on the Internet. If you would like to receive
Founders Quote Daily, and this highly acclaimed Digest of news, policy and
opinion delivered FREE by e-mail to your inbox, link to:
http://PatriotPost.US/subscribe/