Posted on 12/15/2007 6:57:02 PM PST by NormsRevenge
When Mike Huckabee became lieutenant governor of Arkansas in 1993, he complained of being burdened by college tuition bills for his son, the expenses of two residences — one in Texarkana and the other in Little Rock — and the cost of commuting between the two.
With an annual salary of $25,452, he said he was falling short in covering the bills. “It was costing me money to be lieutenant governor,” Mr. Huckabee recalled in a 1997 newspaper interview.
To bridge the gap between his income and his expenses, Mr. Huckabee and a few close political advisers came up with a plan. They formed a nonprofit organization that raised money for Mr. Huckabee to travel the country promoting conservative politics to fellow ministers and attacking Hillary Rodham Clinton’s health care plan.
In its three-year life span, the organization, Action America, collected $119,916 from a dozen or so donors. Among them were former Senator Bob Dole’s political action committee, an Arkansas cotton gin owner who had been jailed for stock fraud, and R. J. Reynolds, the tobacco giant that had opposed the Clinton health plan.
As for Mr. Huckabee, he ended up with $61,500 for his efforts before becoming governor in July 1996 and shuttering the group.
As information about the secretive group began to leak out in 1997, Democrats in Arkansas pressed for the identity of its donors, which Mr. Huckabee has refused to disclose. ...
As Mr. Huckabee moves to the top tier of Republican candidates, his involvement in Action America and accusations of ethical lapses while he held office in Arkansas are drawing new scrutiny. In all, at least 16 ethics complaints, including the one involving Action America, were filed against Mr. Huckabee, with violations found in five of them and a $1,000 fine assessed.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
So....is that a big deal that the Reynolds Tobacco people backed him? Does this disqualify for him because he didn’t get in all of his paper work, dot his í’s and cross his t’s? Small stuff for me to give it much worry.
You do realize that this joker called for a national smoking ban, do you? Can you say "hypocrisy?"
You gotta admit that $25,452 is not a huge salary.
Politicians have to weigh sacrifice against need all the time.. that wasn’t a lot then but it’s what he signed on for..
I can, and I agree with you.
I’ll never cast my vote for Chucklebee.
No arguments. But a $25k salary is more or less encouraging the officeholder to “supplement” his salary, as the old New Orleans police force did. The idea was that it saved the taxpayers money over funding a fully paid force.
Good point,, shades of part-time legislators actually being a sane and safe way to govern the masses,, a great idea and one we could readily afford today across the nation as many states have become nothing more than ‘puppy mills for legislation’ that does more to grease their palms than benefit the public.
I think the main point on this piece is that he refused to acknowledge he was getting tobacco money even as he denied it.. and expected others to accept him at his word. The record would seem to speak otherwise, however.
At that time I was making less than that in base pay as a service member.
Should I have considered myself “encouraged” to “supplement” my income in unsavory ways?
I’m not condoning what he did. I’m saying that a state should pay a reasonable salary to its high officials. A part-time legislator is one thing. A lt. gov. is another.
Also, as I understand it a service member generally has certain basic living expenses (food, lodging, clothing) partially or fully paid by the service. Is this incorrect?
the rombotho’s must be runnin’
scared!
Low government salaries seem to inspire Arkansas politicians to all sorts of creative endeavors to supplement their pay. Can you say Whitewater?
Huckabee should be toast. Why he isn't is way beyond the capabilities of my pea-brain to discern.
Not just the smoking ban EEE. He put Hillary’s health plan through in Arkansas.
Healthy People 2010 IS Hillary’s health plan.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1563271/posts
http://www.jbpub.com/samples/0763735205/35205_CH02_FINAL.pdf
Promoting Health for a Nation: Healthy People 2010
Excerpt:
OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, the student should be able to 1. Explain the historical development process of Healthy People 2010.
2. Describe the goals, objectives, and function of Healthy People 2010.
3. Identify the 10 leading health indicators used to monitor progress toward Healthy People 2010 objectives.
4. Describe the processes used to evaluate the impact of Healthy People 2010 objectives.
Snip, snip, snip, etc.
Chapter 2 Promoting Health for a Nation: Healthy People 2010
Access to Health Care
The health care system is really designed to reward you for being unhealthy. If you are a healthy person and work hard to be healthy, there are no benefits.
Mike Huckabee, Governor of Arkansas
Snip, snip, snip, etc.
http://www.cbn.com/700club/guests/bios/mike_huckabee_121504.aspx
Arkansas Gov. Huckabee Reverses Type-II Diabetes
Snip, snip, snip, snip etc.
[Mike Huckabee] has created “Healthy Arkansas,” an initiative that sets the state on a course to reach the Healthy People 2010 goals in obesity, physical inactivity, and tobacco use. The program is a comprehensive effort to clearly define specific areas where behavioral changes can lead to healthier citizens. Efforts include enlisting the media in disseminating information and presenting awards to encourage the participants.
Mike Huckabee even publishes his books under grant initiatives from Robert Wood Johnson, the main funders of Healthy People 2010.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Annual Report:
http://www.rwjf.org/files/publications/annual/2006/presidents-endnotes.html
Mike Huckabee’s books are listed here.
“Also, as I understand it a service member generally has certain basic living expenses (food, lodging, clothing) partially or fully paid by the service. Is this incorrect?”
You are quite correct. I specified “base pay” for that reason. I am sure that the Lt.Gov. also received other compensation as well.
Although in my case it was shipboard food (an abuse of the concept of food) and a sleeping area referred to as a “coffin” (for good reason). The clothing allowance came nowhere near to replacement costs of uniforms wiped out onboard ship. I feel safe assuming that the Lt.Gov. had a better deal ;)
Thanks you, and you are probably right.
It sure adds a bit of intrigue to the mix, eh?
I guess we’ll have to wait it out thru a few more weeks before the rubber hits the road and then we’ll see which way the wind truly blows besides up Crusty’s skirt
My thought is that it is not so much that he got money from this “Action America” thing but that he consistently refused to reveal who was donating the money.
If his trips around the country to urge pastors to get their congregations to oppose the Clinton health plan were indeed financed by Reynolds Tobacco, both the pastors and the congregations should have been told of the Reynolds backing. Since many evangelicals oppose smoking altogether, it might well have made a difference in the weight they gave Huckabee’s speeches.
“is that a big deal that the Reynolds Tobacco people backed him?”
Yeah — I think to some folks it might be a “big deal”. He was going around the country on Reynolds money telling pastors to tell their congregations to oppose the Clinton health plan. A lot of those evangelicals he was talking to absolutely oppose smoking; they should have been told he was doing it on tobacco money.
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