The Huckster was not a conservative governor while in Arkansas. He had conservative moments, but that was in the minority.
Posted on 01/10/2008 9:13:41 AM PST by batter
Plotting his presidential candidacy along the y-axis, Mike Huckabee, ever the vertical politician, claims he wants to "change the Republican Party." What exactly does he mean? Does he want to do for the national party what he did for the Arkansas party?
If so, then one can't help but wonder if Republicans would be enthusiastic about Huckabee's candidacy if they knew more about his time as the titular head of the Arkansas' GOP.
(The numerous out-of-town journalists who've dropped in have focused their on-the-ground assessments, justifiably so, on Huckabee's commutations, lavish gifts and scheme to supplement his income with money from a tobacco lobbyist. The conservative press continues to suffer apoplectic shock trying to figure out how the party of Reagan could possibly nominate a candidate whose populist rhetoric sounds more like John Edwards than the Gipper.)
In July of 1996, Huckabee entered the governor's office with high expectations. Arkansas had missed out on the rest of the South's Republican realignment during the 1980s. Republicans here thought Huckabee would lead their party into the political promised land.
And why not?
Most of Bill Clinton's political machine had moved to Washington. Of those who remained in Arkansas, politics took a back seat to more pressing matters. Special Prosecutor Ken Starr was busy investigating Whitewater and had accumulated an impressive list of convictions, which included the sitting Democratic Gov. Jim Guy Tucker.
Of course the 1996 elections were said to have ushered in a new Republican era. Win Rockefeller was elected lieutenant governor, U.S. Rep. Tim Hutchinson was headed to the U.S. Senate (a first since Reconstruction), the 3rd and 4th District Congressional seats were Republican and the GOP increased its seat count in the state Legislature.
But Huckabee's relationship with the party faithful got off to a rocky start when he retained high-profile agency heads who worked in the Clinton and Tucker administrations.
Despite cutting taxes in his first legislative session, Huckabee also embraced the ARKids First program, which was then the cornerstone of an agenda pushed by an advocacy group started years earlier by Hillary Clinton. Even then, some were concerned that Huckabee's conservative instincts didn't stretch beyond social issues.
What should have been a close working relationship with his party organization wasn't and it wasn't entirely his fault. As early as 1998, distrust of Huckabee by many conservatives, as well as an emerging rivalry between his supporters and those of Hutchinson, turned internal party politics into a family feud. But while Republicans fought each other, Democrats regrouped. Later that year, Blanche Lincoln was elected to the U.S. Senate.
In 2000, Huckabee insisted on controlling the state party's separate Victory Committee, but the committee's finances were so poorly handled that a Federal Election Commission investigation resulted in the largest fine ever handed down by the FEC to a state party. That same year Republican Rep. Jay Dickey lost the 4th District seat he'd held for eight years.
In 2001, when conservative Republican lawmakers opposed a higher sales taxes and fees the governor supported, he began calling them "Shiites." Huckabee's positions on fiscal policy became indistinguishable from Democrats' positions. A year later, he openly campaigned against a ballot initiative to remove the sales tax on food and medicine. While he and Rockefeller won re-election in 2002, Sen. Tim Hutchinson didn't.
In 2003, Huckabee not only begged lawmakers for new taxes to make up a budget shortfall, but he rebuffed conservatives' (Republicans and a couple of Democrats) plan to cover the shortfall by tapping one-time money and cutting pork. In 2004, President Bush won re-election, but Huckabee campaigned for some Democrats - even some who had Republican opponents - and Republicans lost state legislative seats for the first time since 1990.
In 2005, a term-limited Huckabee frustrated conservatives when he pushed a bill to give in-state college tuition and scholarships to the children of illegal immigrants. The next year, Democrats swept Republicans in every race for statewide constitutional office and Republicans lost legislative seats for the second consecutive election cycle.
Shortly after becoming governor in 1996, one of Huckabee's top aides predicted that his boss would do for Arkansas what Gov. Carroll Campbell did for South Carolina, meaning that Arkansas would cast aside its Democratic past and whole-heartedly embrace Republicanism by the time he left office.
Yeah ? that didn't happen.
Under Huckabee: taxes up, government up, Democrats up and Republicans down. In the end, Republicans may prefer Huckabee keep his vertical politics to himself.
It’s funny that we some candidates who have PR unfriendly last names. Huckabee “The Huckster”....Obama (rhymes with Osama)...and of course, “Clinton.”
It’s interesting that both sides have put lots of effort in selling ‘change”. What do they want to change? I like our country just the way that it is. I am suspicious of Hillary’s “change” agenda. And politician’s with the Bible on their sleeve who want to change our country bother me. We have been changed before, right into the tank.
If it’s one thing that Rudy got right in last weekend’s debate is was to question the mantra of “change”. Good change or bad change? Change how?
Are some factions of the right so gullible or single minded to fall for this left winger’s act? Seems so. Are there enough of them to give him the most powerful position on earth? God help us.
The Huckster was not a conservative governor while in Arkansas. He had conservative moments, but that was in the minority.
So far, the Huckster has succeeded in bufaloing thousands od gullible Republicans.
Instead of “changing” the Republican Party to look more liberal like the Dems, why doesn’t he just save his time and run as a social engineering populist Democrat.
If a pro-choice guy like Rudy, or Arnold or Christie Whitman can run as an R, why can’t Huckabee go where he belongs and run as a D?
http://www.atr.org/content/pdf/2008/jan/010908pr-rudyplus.pdf
01/09/08 Americans For Tax Reform:
Rudy Giuliani Tax Cut Plan the Biggest in History and Most Pro-Growth in GOP Presidential Field
(It would be nice to talk about the candidates actual campaigns they are running, these is new from RG yesterday).
Also, each candiate has a foreign affairs white paper here: http://www.foreignaffairs.org/special/campaign2008
Wouldn’t it be nice?
I’m so tired of people tearing apart others’ candidates rather than promoting their own. Thank you for that!
South Carolina, are you listening?
“It’s funny that we some candidates who have PR unfriendly last names. Huckabee “
Can’t you just see it? In honor of a Huck presidency, they’ll add on to Mt. rushmore...............Lincoln, Washington, Roosevelt...............Huckabeee........??????
He ought to be eliminated just for that silly name.
The reason they do that is because (1) people assume the change will be for the better, which is a faulty assumption, and (2) it keeps them from talking about issues since they can just spout of “change” and imply that the change is going to be good.
I am only for changes that are good for our country, and the liberal agenda does not meet that definition of change.
Going up and down the y-axis of some guy from Hope, Arkansas?
I think I’ve heard this one before.
I know it. Just goes to show what a slick talker can do in politics. P.T. Barnum would be proud.
But, we certainly do not have enough discussion on each ones white papers they have issued. And the MSM has completely ignored FT’s social security reforms, the Fair tax from Huck, on and on.
Their foreign policy essays are very interesting also.
One must go to other sites to get info, pressers, townhalls, speeches, policy papers, ect.
Even Rush today is talking about Hillary crying and her hair ALL DAY.
I give up, lol.
See my response to you in #16.
(sorry I posted back to myself for some reason,lol)
LOL!
Huck is much slicker than “Slick Willie” That worries me : )
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