Thread: Washington Times: Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee
December 11, 2007

The fifth installment in an occasional series leading up to the Iowa caucuses.

Until he began shooting toward the top in the Iowa polls several months ago, Mike Huckabee was generally seen as a curiosity piece rather than a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination. Mr. Huckabee was best known as a pro-life Christian and a minister from Bill Clinton's hometown who triumphed over obesity and an amiable man with a self-deprecating sense of humor — but not someone whose record or governing philosophy needed to be looked at closely.

Now that Mr. Huckabee has reached first place in Iowa polls, those days are over. His 10 ½ years as Arkansas governor and his conservative credentials are now relentlessly scrutinized, and Mr. Huckabee is under fire for substantial increases in taxes and spending by the Club for Growth and the CATO Institute. Numbers USA, a research and advocacy organization which opposes illegal immigration and monitors politicians' records on the issue, is sharply critical of his record as governor.

So, who exactly is Mike Huckabee? He is a 52-year-old ordained Southern Baptist minister from Hope, Ark., who was elected lieutenant governor in 1993 after Mr. Clinton resigned the governorship to become president. In 1996, Gov. Jim Guy Tucker, a Democrat and Clinton ally, was convicted in the Whitewater scandal and forced to resign. Mr. Huckabee succeeded him and held the governorship until the end of 2006, when he was barred by term limits from seeking re-election. Mr. Huckabee was questioned about the relevance of the Christian gospel regarding government and life-and-death emergencies. "When 75,000 evacuees came to my state from Hurricane Katrina, it was my Christian faith that said, 'We're not going to wait until paperwork is done to take care of these people.' These are fellow human beings, and I want them treated like people, not pieces of paper. It's why we made sure that they had a place to sleep and that we had food for them."

When it comes to dealing with emergency situations like Katrina, that sounds fair enough. But Mr. Huckabee's embrace of a large role for government goes well beyond this.

To his credit, Mr. Huckabee in 1997 fought for an $80 million tax-cut package that was passed by the Arkansas legislature and that subsequently cut capital-gains taxes and limited increases in property taxes. But the overall thrust of his record appears to be big-government liberalism. As governor, this included such things as: signing a sales-tax increase; supporting an Internet sales tax; opposing repeal of a sales tax on groceries and medicine; signing bills raising taxes on gasoline and cigarettes; and opposing a congressional ban on Internet taxes.

On Mr. Huckabee's watch, state spending increased by 65.3 percent, three times the rate of inflation, and the number of state government workers increased 20 percent during his tenure.

As for his positions on economic issues, Mr. Huckabee is a mixed bag. On the one hand, he has endorsed making the Bush tax cuts permanent. On the other hand, he has pleased environmentalists by endorsing a "cap and trade" system, which has proven to be a mess in Europe, to deal with global-warming emissions. He also has endorsed the massive Medicare prescription-drug entitlement; he was the only Republican presidential candidate who refused to support Mr. Bush's veto of the SCHIP health-care program expansion pushed by congressional Democrats; he is a supporter of No Child Left Behind, a vast expansion of the federal government's educational role; and he has joined Democrats in complaining that Republican tax policy is tilted toward the wealthy.

Mr. Huckabee has come under withering fire from critics of illegal immigration. Asked last month about complaints that he is "soft" on illegals, the former Arkansas governor said he opposed sanctuary cities and opposes amnesty, although he contradicted himself somewhat by adding that he believes illegal aliens can be put on a path to citizenship.

Asked on ABC Television's "This Week" about his Arkansas record on the issue, Mr. Huckabee replied: "You don't punish a child because a parent committed a crime, or committed a sin, you just don't do it." He didn't rule out extending this principle to the federal level, but suggested that he might view state and federal benefits differently. On Friday, Mr. Huckabee unveiled a plan for tougher immigration enforcement and border security, pledging to complete a border fence between America and Mexico by 2010. He also said that immigrants who failed to register within 120 days and then leave the country would be deported and barred from re-entry for 10 years.

With no experience conducting or voting on foreign policy issues, Mr. Huckabee's comments and writings are closely scrutinized. Within the past week, he has decried waterboarding of captured terrorists, called for shutting down the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and suggested that America could bolster its standing in the world by treating other nations with more "respect." You can bet that if Mr. Huckabee continues his surge in the polls, his opponents will go to great lengths to try to force him to give more structured, coherent explanations of his world view.
http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... /112110003

added to the homepage

http://www.alipac.us/article2782.html

although he (Huckabee) contradicted himself somewhat by adding that he believes illegal aliens can be put on a path to citizenship.

There it is. He supports amnesty! And as Amnesty Mike said on Fox News, his "path" for illegals would amount to only days.

Huckabee is Hillary in a new pants suit!!!
No wonder the MSM is promoting him so much. A Huckabee vs. Hillary campaign will give the Elites, Corporations, CoC, MSM, Anarchists, Libidiots, ultra Conservotards, La Raza and all their wannabees exactly what they want no matter who wins!

Originally Posted by zeezil

Huckabee is Hillary in a new pants suit!!!
No wonder the MSM is promoting him so much. A Huckabee vs. Hillary campaign will give the Elites, Corporations, CoC, MSM, Anarchists, Libidiots, ultra Conservotards, La Raza and all their wannabees exactly what they want no matter who wins!

CLOSE, but I wouldn't go that far.

Hillary IS BAD NEWS. ALL of the democrat nominees are bad news.

But, Huckabee is being pushed by the MSM because they know any democrat can beat him.

There are some interesting posts on the DA portal about Huckabee. Take a look and see what they think of him.

http://www.dreamact.info/forum/showthre ... 756&page=4

There are some interesting posts on the DA portal about Huckabee

When I go over to DAP and read their posts I leave with a sickening feeling in my stomach.

I don't know who aligns with whom, but today Jim Gilchrist came out and endorsed Huckabee!

Not only that, Numbers USA totally revamped Tax Hike Mike's record and now shows him in a favorable light.

Michelle Malkin (I'm no fan....but somebody gave me a link) is just floored over this. She wrote "We are entering Alice in Wonderland territory."

Here's the link - if it is not allowed please delete it and accept my apologies.

http://michellemalkin.com/2007/12/11/mi ... -huckabee/

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZHiaC0o2k-U

This is Jim Gilchrist on Roger Hedgecock Show in San Diego.

12/17/2007

Here is Gilchrist complaining about ALIPAC.

Is this guy nuts or what?

Originally Posted by jimbaugh

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZHiaC0o2k-U

This is Jim Gilchrist on Roger Hedgecock Show in San Diego.

12/17/2007

Here is Gilchrist complaining about ALIPAC.

Is this guy nuts or what?

Thanks for the post. Gilchrist makes me cringe whenever he says alley-pack.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZHiaC0o2k-U

This is Jim Gilchrist on Roger Hedgecock Show in San Diego.

12/17/2007

Here is Gilchrist complaining about ALIPAC.

Is this guy nuts or what?