To Mr. Huckabee

Once again, Dr. Paul has proven himself to be more intelligent than the rest of the pack in tonight's New Hampshire Republican debate. Rather than posturing and sucking up to the audience, Dr. Paul stuck to his guns (which the airline pilots should have) and educated the other candidates on what it means to be a true conservative.

But the highlight of the evening came in the exchange between Huckabee and Dr. Paul:



To Mr. Huckabee,

Your position is just incredible. Are you even in touch with the reality of the situation, or do you truly believe that more spilled blood will do the very thing you think it will do?

Congressman, whether or not we should have gone to Iraq is a discussion the historians can have, but we're there.

We bought it because we broke it. We've got a responsibility to the honor of this country and to the honor of every man and woman who has served in Iraq and ever served in our military to not leave them with anything less than the honor that they deserve.

Mr. Huckabee, we are talking about the blood of Americans and of the Iraqi people. This isn't just something "we broke". This isn't an accident like your analogy of that you made just before the start of the video. I quote:

When I was a little kid, if I went into a store with my mother, she had a simple rule for me: If I picked something off the shelf at the store and I broke it, I bought it. I learned I don't pick something off the shelf I can't afford to buy.

Further more, we didn't buy it because we broke it. We bought it first, then broke it! You have it completely backwards! The Iraq War is ours because we went there! And now that we "broke it", you want to try to put the pieces back by continuing the same irrational and destructive ways that "broke it" in the first place?

No, sir, what you propose is foolishness. It's prideful. Foolishness and pride doesn't restore honor. As a pastor, shouldn't you know this? Perpetuating the same foolish policies will never bring honor and will certainly not restore pride, even if we are victorious in Iraq. Do you know why, Mr. Huckabee? Because a river of spilled blood over an unjust war will not cover the multitude of sins our government has committed.

Congressman, we are one nation. We can't be divided. We have to be one nation, under god. That means if we make a mistake, we make it as a single country: the United States of America, not the divided states of America.

So if the government makes a horrible and detestable decision, we ought to be united like sheep and just follow the leader over a cliff? Sir, you have it backwards. It is the government who should be following the people, not the other way around. The government heads need to be united with the people. This is why Dr. Paul responded to you, saying:

No, when we make a mistake -- when we make a mistake, it is the obligation of the people, through their representatives, to correct the mistake, not to continue the mistake.

You may posture about us being the "United States" and not the "divided states," but when 70% of the American people oppose the war, and you refuse to listen to them, then we are a "divided states of America". The division is between the people and the government. That is what Dr. Paul was trying to convey to you.

Even if we lose elections, we should not lose our honor, and that is more important (inaudible) the Republican Party.

Again, our honor is already lost. To paraphrase Dr. Paul from a previous debate, our government made a wrong diagnosis, so we must change the treatment. Continuing the same treatment is stupid and foolish. Upping the dosage is outright criminal. There is no honor in being committed to a crime.

And Dr. Paul nailed it when he asked:

What do we have to pay to save face? That's all we're doing, is saving face.

Mr. Huckabee, this war has gone past the point of no return. Honor cannot be restored, and sadly, neither can we save face. What you hope to do is avoid eating humble pie. But our government, through its destructive policies, is going to have to eat a huge slice of humble pie. No, scratch that. Try a four-course humble meal. And "we the people" will suffer for it.