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Orthodox Jew Hosts Presidential Candidate


prez can cover.jpg(By Shmuel Hakoton) Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican presidential contender, gave a stump speech and answered questions today at the home of New Hampshire State Representative Jason Bedrick, the first Orthodox Jew elected to the NH House of Representatives.

“People often tell me that they agree with what Huckabee has to say, but don’t think he can win,” said Bedrick, “Not only can he win, he must win if we’re going to put this country back on track.”

Bedrick also noted that though Huckabee isn’t a household name yet, he believes that he will be. “No one had ever heard of the last governor from Hope, Arkansas, Bill Clinton, the summer before he was elected. Huckabee is polling well in all the early states; he’s a long shot but he’s the best shot we’ve got.”

New Hampshire is the home of the first primary in the nation and it has a history of picking lesser-known candidates who go on to become President.

In response to a question about the Middle East from Rabbi Moshe Bleich of the Wellesley-Weston Chabad Center, Gov. Huckabee expressed frustration with Israeli politicians who wanted to give away the Golan Heights and firmly opposed dividing Jerusalem.

When asked about a Palestinian state, Gov. Huckabee stated that he supports creating a Palestinian state, but believes that it should be formed outside of Israel. He named Egypt and Saudi Arabia as possible alternatives, noting that the Arabs have far more land than the Israelis and that it would only be fair for other Arab nations to give the Palestinians land for a state, rather than carving it out of the tiny Israeli state.

Gov. Huckabee, who has visited Israel nine times, also expressed support for moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and stressed the importance of making America energy independent in ten years for both environmental and national security reasons. “We just can’t continue to be dependent on Saudi oil,” explained Huckabee, “I want to be able to tell the Saudis that we need their oil about as much as we need their sand.”

A crowd of over seventy people came to meet Gov. Huckabee and listen to him answer questions while they enjoyed kosher pastries and coffee. Gov. Huckabee also spoke of the need to overhaul the tax code, eliminating the IRS and replacing all taxes on income and production with a consumption tax.

Gov. Mike Huckabee served as governor of Arkansas for ten years and he is a past chairman of the National Governors’ Association. Rep. Jason Bedrick is a first-term state representative serving the towns of Windham and Salem, NH. He is also the gabbai of the Wellesley-Weston Chabad synagogue in Wellesley, MA.



8 Responses

  1. Flatbusher, what planet are you on? First of all, whether or not the Palestinians will approve of the idea, it’s a GREAT idea and I’m definitely supporting someone with the courage to take that position.

    Also, who do you think has a better idea about who can win this election: some Flatbusher or an elected official in NH? Hmmm…

  2. I don’t know if you saw this in the article:

    Bedrick also noted that though Huckabee isn’t a household name yet, he believes that he will be. “No one had ever heard of the last governor from Hope, Arkansas, Bill Clinton, the summer before he was elected. Huckabee is polling well in all the early states; he’s a long shot but he’s the best shot we’ve got.”

    New Hampshire is the home of the first primary in the nation and it has a history of picking lesser-known candidates who go on to become President.

  3. I agree, we have this guy in N.H who is a frum Yid, State Rep, (it seems that he is also one of the youngest State Reps in the US as well as maybe one of the highest ranking frum Yid in the US, with a beard. I have followed his (short) career and he seems like the real deal.I am not saying that he knows better than everyone else, but being in NH, the first state to vote, at least we should give him the benefit of hearing him out instead of chas vshalom attacking him.

  4. I agree!!
    This guy is a frum Yid, State Rep in NH, which is the FIRST State to vote in the US and he makes good points, I will give him the benefit of the doubt over some guy eating heering in Brooklyn.

    By the way, I have followed his (short) career since it was on YW that he was elected. He is proabaly one of the youngest State reps in the US as well as maybe the highest ranking frum yid (with a beard) in the US!!

    I dont know why someone would knock him, as opposed to support him.

  5. I like Huckabee. He seems honest with good policies. He is a long shot but has a good chance of being vice president candidate since he is from the south while Giuliani, who will probably win, is from NY.

  6. I would not say “Hardly registers in any polls” when he actually has 11 percent in N.H.
    By the way, Clinton had even less than that in NH in 92′ and won.

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