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 ...
Why can’t we stick to the issues? Huckabee is bad on immigration. All these other stupid nit-picky things just distract from the real issues.
Pile-on time, hm?
Where are all the stories on that adulterer, the former governor of New York?
Since they reported an in depth investigation into Hillary’s $1 million of illegal campaign money, going after Huckabee seems even handed. </sarcams>
I recall a similar defense made by liberals on behalf of Bill Clinton during the impeachment hearings.
Huck is demonstrably dishonest, an ethics disaster. This isn't "nit-picky" stuff. It goes right to the core of the man, it defines the kind of leader he would be--one that cannot be trusted or believed.
I'm astounded that you would defend him on these grounds.
stupid nit-picky
piling on
—
Thanks for your comments. I’ll try and stay on topic in the future. ;-)
Actually there may be some truth to this, but it's clear from this, Salon, et.al., Democrat ruling classes have determined Hillary is melting down, and would drag the ticket down with her nationwise. The Christmas "Loss Of Signal" marketing period is now officially underway, and the NYT's sudden interest in Gov. Huckabee indicates the Democrat Party line is also being directed at him, as well.
His Republican opponents have been shouting the back story of Huckabee for weeks, but when the NYT starts discovering what all of us have read in detail here as "news," then the other Drive By's will pick up the same strategies. Huckabee is going to be in trouble long before he could possible do anything about it before Iowa.
Where did Huckabee’s son go to college?
If you saw my denunciation of Huckabee as a “defense” of the man, then you’ve got some serious issues. He’s wrong on a lot of issues, and I plan on not voting for the guy. But calling him Satan is beyond ridiculous, and will rouse some people to actually vote for him.
How many different versions of his theology degree has Huckabee described? In the Times he says communication and speech. To CBN he says theology. To NRO he says religion and speech. To WND, he says some new combination. Normally, at the Presidential level, people expect no red flags except Huck has this 2 year something and he wants to dictate foreign and domestic policy, and he sounds like a corrupt televangelist.
‘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?
‘
unless you wanted to discuss it in the context of a court martial, maybe not. Some animals are more equal than others.
being an elected official at the state level (or federal, see congress), though, is generally understood to include self-enrichment as a goal for most applicants, despite the proclamations of shock among many.
’ This isn’t “nit-picky” stuff. It goes right to the core of the man, it defines the kind of leader he would be—one that cannot be trusted or believed. ‘
also, any huckabee administration would just be spectacularly corrupt, aka bill clinton.
Not AK but AR is Arkansas...just to be sure not to confuse anyone! NO HUCK-fo-me!
I too will never cast my vote for Chucklebee. You know I have never applied for a job that could not afford me. If the $ 25,000. job didn’t meet you financial needs why did you ask for it? I think he is just another po boy like clintoon looking for the big bucks. Why did you quit being a preacher? God couldn’t supply all your needs??? He is supplying all mine and hundreds million of other people too.
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