Remember Mike Huckabee?

By Mande Wilkes • on June 17, 2008

YEAH, AFTER THIS RANT YOU MIGHT WANT TO FORGET HIM

By Mande Wilkes

FITSNews - June 17, 2008 - Aside from being the subject of some vague VP rumors, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee’s political contribution is currently about nil. Consequently, we’re not really sure why he’s being still courted by the press, and we’re particularly confounded by the high-and-mightiness he displayed in one such interview that somehow escaped our notice last month.

When asked how Republicans should proceed in an increasingly conservative-hostile political arena, Huckabee launches into a puzzling diatribe against libertarianism. Despite the fact that the Republican Party was born of libertarianism, Huckabee believes that libertarian ideology poses “the greatest threat to classic Republicanism.”

Geez, and the FITS gals once wanted to make out with this guy?

“It’s this new brand of libertarianism, which is social liberalism and economic conservatism,” Huckabee says. “But it’s a heartless, callous, soulless type of economic conservatism because it says ‘look, we want to cut taxes and eliminate government.’”

“Cut taxes and eliminate government?” Well yes, that is the general idea, though we can understand Huckabee’s confusion.

After all, incumbent Republicans apparently didn’t get the memo about smaller government either. And even though the whole RINO thing is relatively new, the idea of decreasing taxes and shrinking government is certainly not new, as Huckabee asserts.

Now that Republicans can’t promise to shrink government and lower taxes, it’s probably time that we did away entirely with the Republican Party.

Seriously, there’s just not much left for Republicans to do, except bellow about Christian morals – which incidentally is Huckabee’s forté.

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Comments

By Linda on June 17th, 2008 at 2:36 am

Do we remember Mike Huckabee? Do you mean the guy who came from out of no where, got more votes per $ spent than any candidate, has held positions as radio broadcaster, pastor, politician, bass player, and even paramedic when he recently saved a choking fellow politician? The politician who stood on principle,had a clear vision and the best oratoral skills, clever one-liners and focused on issues not attack? The guy who has been courted and hired by Fox News as a political analyst and to have his own show? Surely this article is written by democrats, jealous that we have in Mike Huckabee a visionary strong leader for the future of the Republcan party.

By Twin1 on June 17th, 2008 at 6:45 am

We remember Mike Huckabee. He is a breath of fresh air. He is honest, funny and my whole family was excited about what he brought to the political scene. We heart Huckabee!

By Rob W. on June 17th, 2008 at 6:58 am

Hey, a post from Mande I completely agree with. Way to keep it going for freedom.

By Margaret on June 17th, 2008 at 7:33 am

Nice article, Mande, though I beg to differ in part. While I’ve never actually had the urge to make out with Huckabee, I do think he’s onto something, here (despite the fact that this interview appeared on icky Huffington Post!) The words that followed Huck’s quote about cutting taxes and eliminating government were:

“‘If it means that elderly people don’t get their Medicare drugs, so be it. If it means little kids go without education and healthcare, so be it.’” Well, that might be a quote pure economic conservative message, but it’s not an American message. It doesn’t fly. People aren’t going to buy that, because that’s not the way we are as a people. That’s not historic Republicanism.” Agreed.

Then Huck makes the point that when traditional social structures (i.e. family, community, etc) fall apart, government’s going to have to do more, so it’s going to cost more. If these once-sustaining social structures were stronger today, we wouldn’t need big government, nor would we have so many Republicans “bellowing about Christian morals.” We’d just be living them, and all would be right with the world. (Or better, anyway.)

A country that allows its core social structures to deteriorate is doomed to big government. (Witness Western Europe.) A culture that turns away from God will look to someone else for sustenance and inspiration. Enter President Obama.

By CL on June 17th, 2008 at 7:34 am

#1,

I think she means the guy who made a cowardly smear directed at Romney’s faith. The guy who oversaw record tax increases in Arkansas. The guy who was so lacking in judgment that he went out of his way to help secure the release of a raping,murdering psychopath. The guy who wanted all AIDS patients to be isolated from society. The guy whose record shows he is as soft on immigration as McCain, yet pretended otherwise during the campaign.

Your last statement is an oxymoron. The Republican Party has no future if it continues to rely upon RINOS like Huckabee. The party’s only problem is that it has forgotten its own principles of limited government and free markets. Bobby Jindal in 2012!

By Joseph Reynolds on June 17th, 2008 at 8:00 am

I doubt he is against the reduction of government..

he is against the view in vogue today that essentially totally eliminates government.

By sha on June 17th, 2008 at 8:08 am

There is no way anybody in there right mind could say that huck was anything less than the best. If all you got CL is those crappy comments about what he did you do not have nothing. The future of the party is that they remain true to its core beliefs, if they become as liberal and money hungry as the democrats then there would truly be no difference. To be a conservative means more than being a CEO or All about money. If the social ills are not delt with there will be no future for the Republican party!

By candace bergen-belsen on June 17th, 2008 at 8:30 am

You mean the guy that didn’t believe in evolution? Yeah, I remember him. Good riddance - we really need someone in office whose understanding of science is not firmly rooted in the middle ages.

@ #6: Dude, lay off the adverbs. They essentially totally water down your message.

By I can't believe this! on June 17th, 2008 at 8:32 am

Mande is the most pathetic thing in the world… We can count on her to vote for Obama….

She admits that the news is a month old… Just makes you wonder how many $$$ she is making…. If she has to go back further (last week was a story out a week prior to her “analysis”) this one a month late…. If she continues at this rate…. By December she will report “South Carolina fired on Ft. Sumter!”

For this to allegedly be a conservative blog…. it recently in the past has not proven to be so.

Mike Huckabee is a has been in the political arena and why Mandee wants to rant on this bewilders me.

We are facing the election of all times…. and she wants to editorialize on a -non-player…..

We know she is young, but I didn’t know that this blog was a highschool paper…

By baker on June 17th, 2008 at 8:38 am

Mike Huckabee is not a fan of the Club for Growth, if I recall correctly.

By Huck Always Sucked on June 17th, 2008 at 9:37 am

Way to go Mande!

By CL on June 17th, 2008 at 9:42 am

“if they become as liberal and money hungry as the democrats then there would truly be no difference.”

This self-contradictory statement says much about the awareness and intelligence of the typical Huckabee supporter. Do you not understand that the further left you go (i.e. the more “liberal” you become), the more socialist you become? The liberals are only “money hungry” in the sense that they are neo-marxists who want to take our money and redistribute it to others in the name of social justice. I’ll take a money hungry CEO who appreciates the fact that capitalism is what has allowed this country to thrive on an unprecedented scale.

By ThePerennialSkeptic on June 17th, 2008 at 10:09 am

Do we remember him?

Yes — the one who started the whole “government is not God” thing?

Yes — the one who would gladly help stir TX CPS to action to smear “the Mormons”, giving Mitt Romney yet another media hurdle?

Yes — the one the gullible MSM touted with artistic renderings of Huck in halos and angel wear, the celestial candidate?

Yes — we remember him. And think he is dangerous to true liberty.

By mijeel on June 17th, 2008 at 10:33 am

Whether the blogger leans politically to the left or right notwithstanding, it is disheartening to observe what passes these days for intellectual discourse. If one can move beyond meaningless labels (conservative, liberal, Republican, Democrat), hyperbole (”money hungry,” “record tax increases,” etc.) and mere political bloviating, it is possible to evaluate the real point of Gov. Huckabee’s argument: neither pure capitalism nor pure socialism will ever solve the problems facing America today. The libertarian philosophy du jour is trending towards self-centered isolationism. The liberal philosophy du jour is trending towards marxism. The conservative philosophy du jour is trending towards, well, I don’t know anymore. There isn’t a candidate standing, in my view, that brings to the table an ideology that calls for: genuine respect for the U.S. Constitution as it was written and intended by its signers; a government only as big as needed to fulfill its Constitutional responsibilities; full recognition of state’s rights; and properly balanced social policies based on primarily individual responsibility and not government entitlements.

Although I think Huckabee comes pretty close…

By Crooner on June 17th, 2008 at 12:31 pm

Strip away Huck’s pro-life, pro-death penalty and anti-gay marriage stances and he’s a good Democrat.

By CL on June 17th, 2008 at 1:19 pm

If you think Huckabee was even close to advocating limited government or federalism (deference to state rights), then you are kidding yourself. He is conservative only on social issues. I know for most that is enough to excuse a lot of liberal lapses, but that type of compromising of our principles is what led us to having John McCain as the standard bearer of the party.

The only person advocating conservative values was Romney, and his record was inconsistent with his platform as well. It is sad that Mitt Romney was the “true conservative” in the Republican primaries.

By Carol on June 17th, 2008 at 1:33 pm

Hilarious! And spot on! And to think some of your commenters think you must be a Democrat. Sheesh. They really don’t understand how far they have strayed from their own former principles or where they are even presently at. But like my dad used to say, “If you keep flying a plane just 1 degree off course, you invariably end up somewhere unrecognizable.”

Bob Barr ‘08

By chukmaty on June 17th, 2008 at 1:37 pm

I thought Huckabee’s attack on fiscal libertarianism was misguided, however he is still a tremendous candidate. I think he had a problem with people calling for an end to social security, essential organizations like the CIA, and state level medicaid. He was essentially trying to lash out at the Club for Growth. Ironically he was considered an anti Tax fundie during his time as Governor and presidded over a sate that had huge economic growth and a consistently low tax burden. People always cited the increase in government and tax revenue as some kind of proof that he was a tax and spender, considering Arkansas grew and its per capita income increased by 50% we should know that Huckabee was not a tax and spender. I like Huckabee, I would not mind having him and Bobby Jindal run together, they seem to be built out of the same stuff.

By Carol on June 17th, 2008 at 1:49 pm

The problem, people, is that you keep squabbling about which candidate was where on a particular political map, but your maps are faulty, so you can’t agree.

I think you need a new paradigm, something that explains the political spectrum more precisely. This ulta-simplistic liberal/conservative left/right paradigm is just too faulty.

Go to the highly acclaimed Nolan Chart and take their little quiz.

http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html

Every question (there are only 10) contains 2 implied questions.

The first implied question, which you actually need to think about, is:

Is this the proper role of government? If the answer is yes, the second implied question is: What does government do?

The answer to the first implied question moves you up or down on the chart. The answer to second implied question moves you left or right.

Have a go at it.

After you have done your quiz, do it again as if Huckabee were answering — then McCain, then Obama. It is curious how they all end up in the same quadrant — and that quadrant is not the one that any of them are campaigning in….

By JustSayIt-You'llFeelBetter on June 17th, 2008 at 4:22 pm

Mitt Romney for the R’s ————- 2008!!!

Mitt Romney, people, before it’s too late……….!

By Huckster is a war loving "Christian" on June 17th, 2008 at 5:23 pm

That was a good quiz to take-up above. Most people who think they are conservative will find out they are very liberal .

The first question reporters should ask Obama and McCain but never do is “Which federal agencies would you eliminate when you take office? I think we all know their answers.

How do you propose to balance the budget if you do not dramatically reduce the size of our government? There are only two other ways- raising taxes or printing more money- printing money is what is happening right now. The price of everything is going up -well no not really -the dollar is just going down.
The Huckster is a Democrat, Socialist-and a war loving “Christian” pandering to the religious folks who so desperately want a President who has God tell him what to do.

By Eric on June 17th, 2008 at 6:25 pm

Carol:

They’re all in the statist quadrant. That can’t be good….

By Brenda on June 17th, 2008 at 8:12 pm

Who is there better than God to tell you what to do? If you think an ordinary man is capable of knowing what to do by himself,just look at the shape those ordinary men have gotten the world in today. But obviously that thought hasn’t occured to the liberals! They’re too arrogant.

By reggie on June 17th, 2008 at 8:48 pm

if huck was so good, then y didnt he get the nomination?

By WildCardVoters on June 17th, 2008 at 9:32 pm

Reggie, he’s not that good.

But also, because McSubversion has a stranglehold on military, law enforcement, media, and legal professionals across this country. People that used to think independently.

It is One Big Delusion. McNightmare!!!!!!!

By Vagabond on June 17th, 2008 at 11:32 pm

Huckabee and anybody else who wants to donate their money for these social giveaways is welcome to do so. Forcing other citizens to follow suit is not charity, it is state sponsored theft. Spin it however you like, but when the government controls the fruits of your labor you are not living in the free country our founders gave us. Like it or not, cold hearted libertarianism is the only sustainable form of government. When the fiat currency house of cards finally collapses you’ll have only yourself to rely upon. Get used to it.

By Eric on June 18th, 2008 at 1:28 am

Just curious Brenda,

Of all the sincerely religious candidates, how did you determine which one spoke for God?

By David Anderson on June 18th, 2008 at 5:28 am

Always the same lies and distortions about Huckabee from the haters on the far left (as well as the far right). People with little real knowledge of him grasping at straws because they fear that a man of religion will interfere with their self-centered lifestyles (he won’t). America desperately needs the vision, integrity, and courage of Mike Huckabee. The corrupt establishment will do everything possible to destroy his reputation because they do not want reform. The young people of America with any conscience at all should get behind him and help him any way they can.

By CL on June 18th, 2008 at 7:28 am

#28,

You do not cite a single “lie” or refute anything posted about Huckabee. You simply talk about him like he is the 2nd coming. Geez, I thought Obama supporters were delusional.

The fact that Huckabee was a man of faith was one of the few things I liked about him. However, there were certainly other “men of religion” in the race whose policies actually resembled the Republican platform. Pop quiz: who said

“I have a great respect for Barack Obama. I think he’s a person who is trying to do in many ways what I hope I’m trying to do and that is to say let’s quit what I call ‘horizontal politics.’ Everything in this country is not left, right, liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican.”

That’s right, Mike Huckabee, who apparently sees Obama as a kindred spirit.

By Toyota Kawesaki on June 18th, 2008 at 7:50 am

Mande this Mork calling once again phone home

By Scott H. on June 18th, 2008 at 9:20 am

“Despite the fact that the Republican Party was born of libertarianism,”

This is factually incorrect. The Republican Party was founded by Abolitionists, Free-Soilers (a party that felt the government should give away land in the west to would-be settlers free of charge), and what was left of the Whig Party (who, by the time they joined the Republicans were in favor of major governmental intervention into economic areas).

I think your argument would have been better made if you had said something like: “The modern Republican Party is founded on libertarian principles.”

You could then define “modern” however you wished: Barry Goldwater small gvt principles or even Republican opposition to the New Deal. However, giving away gvt land free of charge, the government telling people what they are allowed to do, and favoring government intervention into the economy is hardly libertarian.

Slavery was a moral evil, but for southerners, it was to foundation of the entire economy…so in their minds…it was gvt meddling in the economy. Additionally, the “American System” advocated by Whig Henry Clay was in favor of tariffs (i.e. not free trade) and the use of tax money to invest in infrastructure and the economy….i.e. meddling in the economy.

Even rants should be accurate if you wish to cultivate credibility.

By LonelyBathTubGuy on June 18th, 2008 at 9:23 am

Mande, why is nobody posting on the bath-tub dude piece? He is sad.