{"id":128269,"date":"2015-10-09T17:09:27","date_gmt":"2015-10-09T23:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/?p=128269"},"modified":"2015-10-09T17:09:27","modified_gmt":"2015-10-09T23:09:27","slug":"mike-huckabee-is-a-dolt-shooting-off-ones-mouth-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/10\/09\/mike-huckabee-is-a-dolt-shooting-off-ones-mouth-edition.html","title":{"rendered":"Mike Huckabee is a Dolt (Shooting Off One&#8217;s Mouth Edition)"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_128272\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-128272\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Mike-Huckabee.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-128272\" title=\"Mike Huckabee\" src=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Mike-Huckabee-300x150.jpg\" alt=\"Mike Huckabee - Dolt\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Mike-Huckabee-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Mike-Huckabee-150x75.jpg 150w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Mike-Huckabee-650x325.jpg 650w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Mike-Huckabee.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-128272\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Huckabee &#8211; Dolt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Hey, Mike! Long time no talk with! Seems ages ago since you were the avuncular guest visitor on Jon Stewart. Y&#8217;know, the guy who was clearly conservative, but also clever, friendly, smiling, and probably a neat fellow to have over to the house. So what&#8217;s new?<\/p>\n<p>Oh, you have an op-ed at Fox News? That sounds fun.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/2015\/10\/09\/guns-arent-problem-obama-should-address-root-causes-violence-in-us.html\">Why is Obama more eager to politicize victims in Oregon than reduce violence in America?<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/2015\/10\/09\/guns-arent-problem-obama-should-address-root-causes-violence-in-us.html<\/p>\n<p>Are you going to ask him if he&#8217;s stopped beating his wife, too?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>President Obama\u2019s unwelcome\u00a0visit to Roseburg, Oregon Friday &#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Which, remarkably, actually occurred\u00a0<em>after<\/em> this op-ed was printed &#8212; amazing, Holmes! &#8212; and before he actually spoke with reporters or anyone else there.<\/p>\n<p>Also, &#8220;unwelcome&#8221;? \u00a0Would it have been better if he&#8217;d gone golfing? Oh, wait, Fox News criticized him last time he did that in what it deemed a crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Obama is visiting, as president, along with Oregon&#8217;s two US Senators and Rep.\u00a0Peter DeFazio. Were they unwelcome, too?<\/p>\n<p>Or was it his message, of late, that gun violence and &#8230; well,\u00a0<em>guns,<\/em> might somehow be linked?<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_128273\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-128273\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Anti-Obama-Protest.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-128273\" title=\"Anti-Obama Protest at Roseburg\" src=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Anti-Obama-Protest-300x218.jpg\" alt=\"Don't tread on us!\" width=\"300\" height=\"218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Anti-Obama-Protest-300x218.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Anti-Obama-Protest-150x109.jpg 150w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Anti-Obama-Protest.jpg 635w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-128273\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Don&#8217;t tread on us!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>According to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kgw.com\/story\/news\/2015\/10\/09\/obama-focusing-condolences-not-gun-laws-roseburg-visit\/73653164\/\">local press coverage<\/a>, there were in fact some protesters at Obama&#8217;s visit. And they had a message that seems eerily like yours, Mike. Wonder how that happened.<\/p>\n<p>There were also some folk who welcomed his visit.<\/p>\n<p>I haven&#8217;t heard from the families he visited privately to give his condolences. Did any of them not show up in protest? Were they a majority? Is that where we are now at with polarization in this country?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8230; makes one thing clear: he is clearly more interested in politicizing the nine dead victims at\u00a0Umpqua Community College\u00a0than reducing violence in America.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Because his immediate and continuing message has been, &#8220;This is all the GOP&#8217;s fault! If the Republicans didn&#8217;t hold the House, these nine people\u00a0wouldn&#8217;t be dead. Vote Democrat in 2016!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>No, wait, that hasn&#8217;t been it. Oh, yeah, he&#8217;s indicated that gun control might play a role in addressing these incessant &#8212; and increasing &#8212; occurrences of gun violence.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_128274\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-128274\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/tom-tomorrow-gun-control-too-soon.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-128274\" title=\"tom tomorrow gun control too soon\" src=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/tom-tomorrow-gun-control-too-soon-300x280.jpg\" alt=\"It's always too soon to talk about gun control. It was back in 2011, and it still is in 2015. (Click to embiggen.)\" width=\"300\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/tom-tomorrow-gun-control-too-soon-300x280.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/tom-tomorrow-gun-control-too-soon-150x140.jpg 150w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/tom-tomorrow-gun-control-too-soon-650x607.jpg 650w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/tom-tomorrow-gun-control-too-soon.jpg 767w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-128274\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">It&#8217;s always too soon to talk about gun control. It was back in 2011, and it still is in 2015. (Click to embiggen.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Now, there are certainly people who disagree with that. But, heck, there are people who disagree with almost any policy proposal one might make. The argument that to propose policy for an\u00a0<em>ongoing problem<\/em> that\u00a0<em>keeps recurring\u00a0<\/em>but that\u00a0<em>nobody seems willing to act on, or even talk about &#8212;\u00a0<strong>too soon! now is not the time!<\/strong><\/em> is somehow politicizing the matter is ludicrous. It&#8217;s almost like saying that a presidential candidate accusing another politicians of politicizing something is, itself, politicizing the matter.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, wait &#8230;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>If the president truly wanted to solve the issue, he\u00a0wouldn\u2019t call for new gun restrictions, he\u2019d\u00a0instead address the root cause of violence in America \u2013 sin and evil and the families broken and torn apart because of it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Yes, we need a debate about Theodicy, why God lets evil occur in this created universe when He is all-loving, omniscient, and omnipotent.<\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s that, Mike? You don&#8217;t want to go after\u00a0<em>that<\/em>\u00a0deep of a &#8220;root cause&#8221;? You&#8217;d rather just waive your hands about sin and evil and preach to constituency? \u00a0Hmmm. Got it.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_128275\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-128275\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/john-8-11.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-128275\" title=\"John 8-11\" src=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/john-8-11-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"The newest GOP campaign ad, no doubt\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/john-8-11-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/john-8-11-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/john-8-11-650x366.jpg 650w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/john-8-11.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-128275\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The newest GOP campaign ad, no doubt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>So, you&#8217;re running on the &#8220;no sin and evil&#8221; platform. Well, that&#8217;s certainly an interesting and, um, all-inclusive stand, Mike.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>President Obama\u2019s hometown of Chicago would actually be a perfect place to start.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Yes, because as President of the United States, he has complete policy control over his home town.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Despite restrictions on guns in Chicago, bullets spray like summertime\u00a0sprinklers in Obama\u2019s hometown.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Oh,\u00a0<em>now<\/em> you&#8217;re willing to grant that a major city in the United States is Barack Obama&#8217;s &#8220;hometown.&#8221; Got it.<\/p>\n<p>Before you go onto a litany of horrors about Chicago and gun control and gun crime, let&#8217;s step back a moment and look at a couple of things, Mike:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<figure id=\"attachment_128276\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-128276\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/St-Valentines-Day-massacre_1929.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-128276\" title=\"St Valentine's Day Massacre\" src=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/St-Valentines-Day-massacre_1929-300x217.jpg\" alt=\"Oh, for the good old days, when Chicago didn't have all these liberal gun laws\" width=\"300\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/St-Valentines-Day-massacre_1929-300x217.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/St-Valentines-Day-massacre_1929-150x109.jpg 150w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/St-Valentines-Day-massacre_1929-650x471.jpg 650w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/St-Valentines-Day-massacre_1929.jpg 871w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-128276\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oh, for the good old days, when Chicago didn&#8217;t have all these liberal gun laws<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Chicago&#8217;s gun control laws are <a href=\"http:\/\/chicagoist.com\/2015\/10\/08\/_gop_presidential_candidates_donald.php\">not all that tough<\/a>. And they&#8217;re hampered by Chicago&#8217;s immediate proximity to Indiana, which has very limited gun restrictions. Nearly half the guns taken by the police in relation to crime in Chicago were from Indiana or from nearby areas that have looser restrictions. Chicago&#8217;s own restrictions have been loosened substantially over the past decade, due to court rulings.<\/li>\n<li>You&#8217;re hinting at a good point, but going at it sort of behind the curtain, Mike. There is a definite difference between mass shootings of the sort in Oregon (and Sandy Hook, etc.), and the everyday gun violence that occurs in this country. The former get a lot of the press (and therefore political pressure); the latter is a hugely larger source of death and tragedy. Depending on which you want to fight, various measures might be more or less effective than others. Criticizing Obama for suggesting we should try to do something about mass shootings by lunatics because it won&#8217;t solve the problems of, say, gang violence, is like criticizing him for meeting with China when that does nothing about Mexico.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<blockquote><p>This year alone, there have been 2,300 shooting victims. \u00a0Obama\u2019s fellow community organizers on the South Side live in a war zone, and the dots marking crime spots\u00a0on these neighborhood maps look like a decade-old dartboard.<\/p>\n<p>Local gang territories mirror school district maps, so teachers and parents protest redrawn school districts because it inevitably means open warfare. On Sunday a man was shot to death and four others were wounded, including two 14-year-old teens, just a few miles from the President&#8217;s Chicago home.<\/p>\n<p>On weekend nights throughout the summer, ambulances and emergency rooms staff-up to treat the inevitable casualties. In the past two years, there have been 500 murders and more than 5,000 shooting victims.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Yes. There are gun violence problems in Chicago. Aside from hand-waving an implication that this is somehow all associated with Obama, or that since it&#8217;s in Obama&#8217;s &#8220;hometown&#8221; he should somehow focus on fixing\u00a0<em>that<\/em> problem first, what&#8217;s your point?<\/p>\n<p>Or, rather, what&#8217;s your solution?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The South Side of Chicago would be a perfect place for\u00a0the president to condemn the root causes of this senseless violence \u2013 the evil and sin. That evil and sin has\u00a0broken homes leaving children with no good role models, devalued life and made people believe the lie that one life is more important than another.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_128277\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-128277\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/go_and_sin_no_more.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-128277\" title=\"Go and Sin No More\" src=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/go_and_sin_no_more-300x141.jpg\" alt=\"Perhaps a new federal program for handing out free bumper stickers\" width=\"300\" height=\"141\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/go_and_sin_no_more-300x141.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/go_and_sin_no_more-150x71.jpg 150w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/go_and_sin_no_more.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-128277\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Perhaps a new federal program for handing out free bumper stickers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>President Obama\u00a0should use the White House pulpit to confront this issue head on\u00a0and\u00a0crush our culture of violence that glorifies death and destruction.<\/p>\n<p>Lack of respect for life and the ever increasing coarseness and crudeness in our culture contribute to a community of indifference, self-centeredness, and mayhem.\u00a0 This evil infects neighborhoods, parks, and bus stops every day.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Ah, right, the anti-evil, anti-sin (also anti-crudeness, I guess) platform.<\/p>\n<p>Aside from taking the Bully Pulpit and preaching to the people of Chicago &#8220;Don&#8217;t be so naughty&#8221; and &#8220;Evil and sin are wrong,&#8221; do you have something more concrete? Because I&#8217;m pretty sure that he&#8217;d be willing to do that if it would make a concrete difference.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Most of the victims are teenagers and young adults, but in the past decade, more than 90 children under five have been killed in the crossfire.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_128278\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-128278\" style=\"width: 207px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/gun-deaths-childrens-defense-fund.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-128278\" title=\"gun-deaths-childrens-defense-fund\" src=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/gun-deaths-childrens-defense-fund-207x300.png\" alt=\"Apparently the US is significantly sinful and evil compared to, say, France\" width=\"207\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/gun-deaths-childrens-defense-fund-207x300.png 207w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/gun-deaths-childrens-defense-fund-103x150.png 103w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/gun-deaths-childrens-defense-fund-448x650.png 448w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/gun-deaths-childrens-defense-fund.png 484w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 207px) 85vw, 207px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-128278\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apparently the US is significantly sinful and evil compared to, say, France<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Hey, Mike? Did you know that in the\u00a0<em>one<\/em> year after the Newtown massacre, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2014\/06\/25\/child-shooting-deaths-everytown_n_5527932.html\">100 children were killed through firearm\u00a0<\/a><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2014\/06\/25\/child-shooting-deaths-everytown_n_5527932.html\">accidents<\/a>? <\/em>That in over a third of the cases, the wound was self-inflicted?\u00a0And in three-quarters of those cases, the shooter was under 14? \u00a0Is that a case of sin and evil, too?<\/p>\n<p>And, yes, American kids are getting murdered &#8212; kids in the US ages 5-14 are\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.slate.com\/articles\/health_and_science\/medical_examiner\/2014\/06\/gun_deaths_in_children_statistics_show_firearms_endanger_kids_despite_nra.html\"><em>seventeen times<\/em> more likely to be murdered<\/a> than kids in other industrialized nations. And we&#8217;re not talking here just about kids in poor, gang-banging neighborhoods; the stats are still much higher even when you account for poverty, education, and city-dwelling. Just having a gun in the house increases the risk of death by firearm &#8212; from which I might conclude that having a gun in the house is, itself, a mark of evil and sin, but I suspect that&#8217;s not the point you&#8217;re trying to make, Mike.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>But instead of going to Chicago to address the real issue &#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Because Obama is president of Chicago.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8230; Obama travels to Oregon to politicize last week\u2019s community college shooting &#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>By suggesting that we should do something to keep it from happening on a near-weekly basis?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8230; and demand ineffective backwards gun-control policies that empower criminals and terrorists at the expense of law-abiding citizens.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_128283\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-128283\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/homicide-rates-for-similar-gdp1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-128283\" title=\"homicide-rates-for-similar-gdp1\" src=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/homicide-rates-for-similar-gdp1-300x135.jpg\" alt=\"Or maybe we Americans just like murdering people\" width=\"300\" height=\"135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/homicide-rates-for-similar-gdp1-300x135.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/homicide-rates-for-similar-gdp1-150x68.jpg 150w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/homicide-rates-for-similar-gdp1-650x294.jpg 650w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/homicide-rates-for-similar-gdp1.jpg 888w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-128283\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Or maybe we Americans just like murdering people (homicide and firearm homicide rates, 2006)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If we control guns, the terrorists will win! Gun-wielding criminals will run amok! That&#8217;s why there are so many criminal and terrorist killings in the UK! And Australia! And Switzerland! Be warned!<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>When it comes to advancing his liberal agenda, President Obama will exploit anything, even death and suffering.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Well, as long as we&#8217;re not politicizing our discourse, right, Mike?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00a0The Oregon shooting occurred in a \u201cgun-free zone.\u201d \u00a0It\u2019s time we realize\u00a0that\u00a0\u201cgun-free zones\u201d are \u201csitting duck zones.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Hey, Mike, guess what? That college was\u00a0<em>not<\/em> a &#8220;gun-free zone.&#8221; While the administration discouraged people from carrying guns on campus, it was not against the rules, and the school was not labeled anywhere as a gun-free zone. In fact, there were people on campus who\u00a0<em>had<\/em> guns &#8212; and either didn&#8217;t have an opportunity to do anything, or were concerned that they might do more harm than good (or, worse, get shot themselves by the police when they showed up).<\/p>\n<p>This has been known since the earliest coverage of this crime, Mike. Why are you not aware of it (or not correcting your stump speech for it)?<\/p>\n<p>Question, Mike. Back in your days in the Arkansas state house, what was the policy for visitors carrying guns in and around the offices of your administration? Did you encourage it? Or was it banned &#8212; leaving state workers as &#8220;sitting ducks&#8221;? Should the US Congress get rid of those metal detectors and, yes, no-guns policy? Will that make them safer than they are now?<\/p>\n<p>So, what&#8217;s your next fact-based policy observation, Mike?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>If existing gun laws did not prevent this massacre, there\u2019s no reason to believe more restrictive laws will.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, I keep asking liberals: \u2018What law could we pass that would\u2019ve prevented this?\u201d \u00a0Liberals never have an answer because there isn\u2019t one and they know it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_128279\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-128279\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Knee_Jerk_from_W_R_Gowers_Manual_of_Diseases_of_the_Nervous_System_1886.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-128279\" title=\"Knee_Jerk_from_W_R_Gowers'_Manual_of_Diseases_of_the_Nervous_System_1886\" src=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Knee_Jerk_from_W_R_Gowers_Manual_of_Diseases_of_the_Nervous_System_1886-300x217.jpg\" alt=\"Knee jerks with the doctors are good. Knee jerks with legislation is bad.\" width=\"300\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Knee_Jerk_from_W_R_Gowers_Manual_of_Diseases_of_the_Nervous_System_1886-300x217.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Knee_Jerk_from_W_R_Gowers_Manual_of_Diseases_of_the_Nervous_System_1886-150x108.jpg 150w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Knee_Jerk_from_W_R_Gowers_Manual_of_Diseases_of_the_Nervous_System_1886.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-128279\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Knee jerks with the doctors are good. Knee jerks with legislation is bad.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Now, see, that&#8217;s a good way of framing a policy debate: what would actually do something to have stopped this particular tragedy. If you were expounding on caution on that basis &#8212; &#8220;Let us not take rash actions in response to this crime that would not have actually stopped this crime&#8221; &#8212; then I could respect your position.<\/p>\n<p>Given how fact-challenged you&#8217;ve been elsewhere in this op-ed, though, I have grave doubts as to your &#8220;no reason to believe&#8221; or that &#8220;there isn&#8217;t an answer&#8221; assertions.<\/p>\n<p>And beyond that, to be honest, how &#8220;knee jerk&#8221; is any sort of gun control proposal at this point? It&#8217;s not like the Oregon tragedy was the first of its kind, after all. We&#8217;ve been debating this for mass shootings for many years; for gun violence in general for much longer than that.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Obama\u2019s hometown has some of the toughest, strictest gun laws in America.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>No, actually, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/news\/chicago-gun-laws\/\">it doesn&#8217;t<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Prohibitions, bans, registrations, confiscations, and mandates\u2014Chicago has it all. And what has it accomplished to make\u00a0the\u00a0streets safer? Absolutely nothing.\u00a0Chicago remains one of the most dangerous and violence cities in America.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Actually, it doesn&#8217;t even show up in the list of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.neighborhoodscout.com\/neighborhoods\/crime-rates\/top100dangerous\/\">the 100 most dangerous cities in America<\/a>, based on the chance of a person living there being involved in a violent crime. Which isn&#8217;t to say that there aren&#8217;t very dangerous parts of Chicago, but there are also a lot of place in Chicago where people\u00a0<em>aren&#8217;t<\/em> being mown down like weeds.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond that, consider as well: if guns were freely available within Chicago city limits (i.e., strike down all the current gun laws), would it make matters worse? Better? Or the same? Would the impoverished citizenry of the South Side be able to arm itself and drive out the gangs? Or would the gangs just be able to buy (or steal) more guns than they currently have?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>This real\u00a0issue, at its core, demonstrates\u00a0how conservatives differ from liberals whenever any\u00a0\u201cnew\u201d law is being discussed:\u00a0\u00a0Liberals ask,\u00a0\u201cHow does this law make me feel?\u201d\u00a0Conservatives ask,\u00a0\u201cWhat does this law do?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Talk of\u00a0gun control\u00a0makes the liberals feel warm and fuzzy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Well, as long as we&#8217;re stereotyping, I might argue instead that conservatives ask, &#8220;Will this hurt business?&#8221; Conservative politicians ask, &#8220;Will this torque off the NRA?&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>However, the cold reality is that when you disarm the good guys you put them at the mercy of the bad guys. That\u2019s\u00a0what\u00a0gun control\u00a0does.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Thus the mass violence and post-apocalyptic streets of Canada.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_128280\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-128280\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/This-Modern-World-20140805_8.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-128280\" title=\"This Modern World 20140805_8\" src=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/This-Modern-World-20140805_8-300x275.png\" alt=\"When Everyone Has Guns\" width=\"300\" height=\"275\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/This-Modern-World-20140805_8-300x275.png 300w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/This-Modern-World-20140805_8-150x138.png 150w, https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/This-Modern-World-20140805_8.png 626w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-128280\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">When Everyone Has Guns (click to embiggen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Alternately,\u00a0when you make arms freely available to &#8220;the good guys,&#8221; it means &#8220;the bad guys&#8221; can get them, too. Legally. Or by stealing them from the good guys. It also means the good guys are a lot more likely to use guns when they get really angry. Or really depressed. Or when they think someone else is a bad guy.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The Second Amendment is the last line of defense against evil and tyranny and it must be protected.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Oh, wait, we&#8217;re talking <em>tyranny<\/em>, too? See, Mike, you can&#8217;t bury something like that in your last line and hope that it will be noticed and accepted. Here I thought liberals wanted gun laws because it make them feel all fuzzy &#8212; now I have to consider that it&#8217;s because they are nascent tyrants who want to, um, take our guns and, um, let evil and sin reign. See? Your message is just too darned muddled. Along with your facts.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is a 2016 Republican candidate for president of the United States<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>God help us all.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hey, Mike! Long time no talk with! Seems ages ago since you were the avuncular guest visitor on Jon Stewart. Y&#8217;know, the guy who was clearly conservative, but also clever, friendly, smiling, and probably a neat fellow to have over to the house. So what&#8217;s new? Oh, you have an op-ed at Fox News? That &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/10\/09\/mike-huckabee-is-a-dolt-shooting-off-ones-mouth-edition.html\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Mike Huckabee is a Dolt (Shooting Off One&#8217;s Mouth Edition)&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[532,298],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elections-2016","category-guns"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Mike-Huckabee.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":128305,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/10\/13\/mike-huckabee-is-a-dolt.html","url_meta":{"origin":128269,"position":0},"title":"Mike Huckabee is a dolt","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 13-Oct-15 10:55pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Mike Huckabee is a dolt And not many years of avuncular Daily Show appearances can overcome that. https:\/\/twitter.com\/PoliticalLine\/status\/654117563115393024 View on Twitter","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~Tweets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~Tweets","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/tweets"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31781,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/15\/mike-huckabee-is-a-dolt-school-violence-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":128269,"position":1},"title":"Mike Huckabee is a Dolt (School Violence Edition)","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 15-Dec-12 12:52pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Mike. Mike, Mike, Mike. You come across as such a likeable, even sane, guy when you show up on The Daily Show\u00a0wit Jon Stewart. \u00a0It's only when you're preaching to your natural audience that you come across as a loathesome troll. I very intentionally refrained from commenting on yesterday's gun\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Church &amp; State&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Church &amp; State","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/church-state"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/mike-huckabee-dolt1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/mike-huckabee-dolt1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/mike-huckabee-dolt1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":129516,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2016\/01\/20\/mike-pitts-is-a-dolt-freedom-of-the-press-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":128269,"position":2},"title":"Mike Pitts is a Dolt (Freedom of the Press Edition)","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 20-Jan-16 9:11am","format":false,"excerpt":"Does anyone else see the irony in an ostensibly conservative politician filing legislation to create a state registry of journalists, to define what the requirements are to be a journalist before one can be hired, and to fine people and organizations who violate state journalistic regulations?Would South Carolina Rep. Mike\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33615,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/05\/06\/bryan-fischer-is-a-dolt-atheistic-counter-terrorism-disarmament-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":128269,"position":3},"title":"Bryan Fischer is a Dolt (Atheistic Counter-Terrorism Disarmament Edition)","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 6-May-13 5:16pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Bryan Fischer is a Dolt (Atheistic Counter-Terrorism Disarmament Edition)The idea that Obama's about to open up a new front in some mythical War on Christianity by classifying all faithful Christians as terrorists in order to have the justification to take all their guns away ... well, is zany enough to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51525,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/06\/19\/on-what-the-charleston-shooting-was-really-about.html","url_meta":{"origin":128269,"position":4},"title":"On what the Charleston shooting was REALLY about","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 19-Jun-15 10:06pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Rick Perry referred to it was an \"accident\" and probably involved overuse of prescription drugs: http:\/\/www.rightwingwatch.org\/content\/rick-perry-charleston-shooting-accident-due-drug-use-manipulated-obama-ban-gunsMichael Savage thought it might be drugs, too. Or maybe a government assassin: http:\/\/www.rightwingwatch.org\/content\/michael-savage-maybe-charleston-shooter-was-set-loose-governmentBut Rick Santorum said it was all about attacks on religious liberty: http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/blogs\/post-politics\/wp\/2015\/06\/18\/rick-santorum-reacting-to-charleston-shooting-denounces-assaults-on-our-religious-liberty\/Fox & Friends agreed, it might very well be part\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/11265297_111398835859264_82145487461570196_o.jpg.CROP.promo-mediumlarge5B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/11265297_111398835859264_82145487461570196_o.jpg.CROP.promo-mediumlarge5B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/11265297_111398835859264_82145487461570196_o.jpg.CROP.promo-mediumlarge5B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11741,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2008\/02\/12\/cheers_to_the_chief.html","url_meta":{"origin":128269,"position":5},"title":"Cheers to the Chief","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 12-Feb-08 4:19pm","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Who do you want to have a beer with?\" As of this writing, voting is going to: 43% Barack Obama 20% John McCain 18% Ron Paul 10% Hillary Clinton 7%...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Elections 2008&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Elections 2008","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/elections-2008"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128269"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128284,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128269\/revisions\/128284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}