If there is a Mike Huckabee supporter out there, could you please post either a regular post or something in the comments section on why we should support Mike Huckabee. I would like to have someone who can layout some good reasons other than just "He is a born-again Christian so we should support our brother in Christ." Please post your own reasons, not just a link to an article somewhere else.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Need Help: Why Should I Vote for Mike Huckabee
Posted by CRCHAIR at 9:59 AM
Labels: mikehuckabee, politics, presidentialcampaign, republican
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13 comments:
Parody response if you care for a laugh.
I know this is not what was asked, but here are the three reasons I would be unlikely to vote for Mike Huckabee:
1. He is a HUGE "Fair Tax" supporter. Just what we need a MORE COMPLEX tax system than what we have now. (The complexity won't be in the tax, but in the so-called "prebates")
2. The number of scandals and corruption charges in his past rival the Clintons. Yes, he has been cleared, but he has also been declared by Judicial Watch one of the most corrupt politicians in America.
3. No candidate could do more to split the Economic and Social Conservative blocks than Mike Huckabee, and lead to the fall of the modern Republican consensus. Well, maybe Rudy could. If Mike wins, expect he Unity 08 party to pull off a lot of prominent economic conservatives.
Fair tax would be less complex and would cut out sooo much corruption and power of congress.... that is why it will never happen. It takes power away from congress.
Cause he has Chuck Noris!
The front end of the Fair Tax (30% tax on all purchases) may be simpler, but the "prebates" (where every family in America gets a check from the government to balance out the tax burden) will not be. It is ripe for abuse and for all the kinds of social engineering that the current tax system provides. It will only be a matter of time until instead of filling out tax forms, we are filling out complex "prebate" forms, and instead of the IRS auditing our payments they will be auditing our prebate applications and how we use that money.
Just my opinion - I am certainly no economist - but I have a good idea of human nature, and this seems inevitable to me. A Flat Tax is simpler, uses the strength of the current system, and is less prone to abuse. In my opinion. Obviously, given time and inattention, both systems will eventually be abused, because money and power always corrupt.
1) The Fair Tax is a vastly simpler system -- including the prebates. It closes loopholes and eliminates the "need" for the tax-lobby industry.
2) Huckabee supports school choice and was the first governor ever to appoint a homeschooler to a state board of ed.. He also wants to see public schools strengthened. In Ark., he passed legislation that improved teacher salaries AND made it possible to replace under-performing teachers.
3) Huckabee is not a partisan idealogue. He wants the country to be a better place, not just to defeat the Democrats.
4) Huckabee cares about and is consistent in his issues. The winds don't blow him around.
5) Huckabee has more executive experience than any other candidate running.
6) Huckabee was ranked as one of the top governors in the country for his job performance in AR.
... those are a few basic reasons. I could go on and on, but I'll spare you.
As I see it...
The fair tax... whatever. It won't happen unless more people and Congress get on board.
I have heard that he is AGAINST school choice from other very credible sources (including but not limited to the Home School Legal Defense Association). And he passed the legislation and paid for it with higher taxes.
He may want to make the country better, but he is to willing to give in to liberal ideology for "unity" than to stand on principle and what really is best for the country.
His consistency is questionable in several areas, such as tax cuts (he raised them), school choice (questions abound, why does the NEA like him?), illegal immigration (a big question mark there) terrorism and the present administration (again, big questions and changes).
Yes, he is more experienced, but that alone isn't enough, was he good at it.
And who ranked him? Some would put Jimmy Carter as a good governor, but he botched the presidency.
Huckabee is very populist, which appeals to many people, he is also socially conservative, which appeals to evangelical Christians. However, he is NOT a principled conservative, if that is what you are looking for.
And way to go Fred Thompson... if nothing else it will get more of these things out in the open, and then people can decide based on fact and truth, not rumors. It will help Huckabee if he is right and consistent, but doom him if he isn't.
Good question CRChair. I'm on the fence about most of the candidates.
Nick - the HSLDA endorsed Mike Huckabee.
He is NOT against school choice. He opposed a law in AR that would have given vouchers for private schools -- and also put government control over said schools.
The NEA doesn't like him. The NH affiliate of the NEA, which is more than 25% Republicans and well to the right of the national group, endorsed him for the GOP primary.
If you question his Foreign Affairs article in which he referred to Bush's "arrogant bunker mentality," I recommend reading the article (I've yet to meet a critic who had, no one seems to know more than that one phrase.)
The terms "principled conservative" and "partisan idealogue" are sometimes interchanged. I would argue, though, that he is the former and not the latter.
Yes, taxes were raised. But he had roads that were state responsibility and had not been repaired, and a $200 million deficit left by his predecessor, Jim Guy Tucker when he went to jail.
Huckabee had to do something, and there wasn't the wiggle room simply to cut spending. I've yet to find a critic who could find the spending that he should have cut, either.
Just as Ronald Reagan did -- both as governor and President -- he had to raise taxes to meet the obligations responsibly.
Growth in spending, not counting federal pass-throughs, was kept to 1/2 of one percent per year during Huckabee's tenure.
Keep this stuff coming. Thanks to everyone for trying to use issues and positions. You guys are doing a great job.
Huckabee's argument that he had to raise taxes to pay for government things is a different philosophy from most conservative economists that argue that tax cuts raise revenue by stimulating the economy. Guliani would definitely disagree with Huckabee on this point and should have challenged him at one of the debates.
i don't know if the fair tax w/prebates is going to become corrupt or worse than what we currently have, but i do give Huckabee credit for at least being willing to try something different. almost anything is better than what we currently have.
i really like his views on education and how to beef up our current system. i also like his views on health care. i know that he's going to be pro-life so that's not an issue.
he did raise taxes in ark., but he had to work out a compromise with a mostly democratic legislature. at some point a compromise had to be struck. is this contrary to conservative principles, yes. but he did manage to get things done and he did cut taxes during his time, so in the end they cancel each other out for me.
the fact that ark. was so improved at the end of his tenure shows that he managed to work with the legislature in order to make things happen. and really isn't that what it's all about - making things better?
Vote for the candidate who is best able to promote the pro-life cause. That is the number one issue.
I believe Mike Huckabee is the one.
My bad on the school choice, although again, sounds like he is trying to have it both ways (like terrorism and immigration).
I guess I would just like him to be a bit more specific about WHY he makes decisions (and not "the Lord tells me when I pray" like he kind of does). What are his principles? Cause he sound kind of like Mike Bloomberg... very pragmatic, wanting to fix a problem the easiest way possible, not based on principle.
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