Thread: And Huckabee SAYS He's a Christian???

Huckabee rivals unearth ethics complaints

By: Kenneth P. Vogel

As Mike Huckabee gains ground on his rivals for the Republican nomination, opponents have quietly begun highlighting the slew of ethics issues the social conservative faced during his political career in Arkansas.

A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll found Huckabee trailing only Mitt Romney — and by less than the margin of error — in Iowa, where the primary season kicks off with Jan. 3 caucuses.

But opposition research files on Huckabee’s ethics stand at the ready, and their contents have begun seeping into press releases.

An ordained Southern Baptist minister known for his charm, Huckabee rose swiftly through Arkansas politics, culminating with his decade-long stint as governor.

But his career has also been colored by 14 ethics complaints and a volley of questions about his integrity, ranging from his management of campaign cash to his use of a nonprofit organization to subsidize his income to his destruction of state computer files on his way out of the governor’s office.

Some of the ethics complaints deal with fairly penny ante stuff, and most were dismissed.

They did, however, yield five admonitions and $1,000 in fines from Arkansas' Ethics Commission and, perhaps more significantly, a pattern that strategists for two competing GOP campaigns privately predict could become fodder for attacks playing on the culture-of-corruption theme Democrats used to pound Republicans in the 2006 midterm elections.

In fact, when Huckabee entered the presidential race in January, the Democratic National Committee was quick to highlight a couple of the ethics issues that have dogged him and urged him to “come clean about his … history of ethical lapses."

Huckabee didn’t get many ethics questions — or many tough questions about anything — as he languished at the bottom of the polls and the fundraising race through the summer.

But his surprising second-place finish in the influential August straw poll in Ames, Iowa, and strong debate performances have turned heads and started bringing more scrutiny.

[b]After Huckabee fielded ethics questions last weekend on “Fox News Sunday,â€

Governor Huckabee's attitude toward those who do not share his liberal views on illegal immigration reminds me of Lindsey Graham. He does acknowledge that he hears about the subject, but he still pushes the give a ways, especially to the children and young adults, which we all know would be a BIG foot in the door for the illegal alien family members. Huckabee is an AMNESTY man.

Psalm 139:14

Huckabee makes me want to puke. He is another pathalogical liar, much like George Bush.... but to think he hides behind the title "Minister" is what shocks me the most. He is a wolf in sheep's clothing and a disgrace to the ministry.