Save the GOP has decided to add new bloggers, and I am the first to come aboard. My name is Michael Korns. I was the University of Pittsburgh College Republican President, and while in college I ran a conservative magazine called the Pitt Patriot. I also ran for Westmoreland County Commissioner in 2003. After that race, I went to law school, and I currently work for a law firm in DC. I’ve also worked in one way or another on every major Republican campaign in Western Pennsylvania from 2000-2003.

I believe that the Republican party is in deep trouble right now, and I’m excited to be part of a group that is dedicated to turning around my party. I may take a slightly broader or more philosophical view about what I post than some other bloggers here, although I believe that we will largely agree on most things. I believe that what is needed is a wholesale re-shaping of the conservative coalition, and an entirely new way thinking about what conservatism is going to mean in a 21st century that is very different than the 20th. I will try to comment on area’s where my legal training can add a useful perspective to the discussion. I will also continue posting on my personal blog, The Pittsburgh Patriot. Thanks.

Social conservatives may begin to close ranks behind Mike Huckabee, but the same cannot be said for the Club for Growth:

Of course this leftward swing is not a new development but an echo of his ten-year record as Governor of Arkansas, where Huckabee accumulated a record that ought to make the folks at Daily Kos proud:

• A sales tax hike to fund the Game and Fish Commission and Arkansas parks (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 11/07/96)
• Higher gas taxes (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 06/29/99)
• Higher taxes on nursing home beds (Associated Press, 06/25/01)
• Allowed a 17% sales tax increase to become law (The Gurdon Times, 03/02/04)
• Supported taxes on the Internet (Reuters, 02/23/04)
• Supported a 50% increase in government spending (Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration, Office of Budget)
• Raised the minimum wage and encouraged Congress to do the same (US Newswire, 08/03/06)
• Signed a bill into law that would prevent companies from raising their prices a mere 10% ahead of a natural disaster. Services like roof repair and tree removal were targeted (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 03/07/97).

To be sure, Huckabee hasn’t been blacklisted by all fiscal conservatives.  He signed the ATR Taxpayer Protection Pledge and is a supporter of the fair tax, both of which please conservative leader Grover Norquist.   How far Huckabee can go in the primaries depends in part on which Huckabee voters see on the ballot, tax-hiking Governor Huckabee or pledge-signing candidate Huckabee.