Republican AR Legislators Say No to Huckabee
Written by Sam on December 15th, 2007Former Arkansas House Minority Leader Jim Hendren, a Romney supporter, said Republicans made a lot of sacrifices under Huckabee and that the then-governor pushed tax increases on nursing home beds, sales, gasoline and the Internet.
“To our surprise, it wasn’t the Democrats that were bringing ‘em. It was many times the Republican governor and certainly supported by him with liberal Democrats in the lead,” Hendren said.
Rep. Donna Hutchinson, also a Romney supporter, opposed Huckabee’s push for college scholarships and loans for children of illegal immigrants while on the Arkansas student loan board.
“I want a president who is concerned about others. But I don’t want him to solve problems in a manner that he creates more problems and he creates more victims,” Hutchinson said.
Mike Campbell, who is running Huckabee’s South Carolina campaign, said Romney’s camp is simply trying to snag some attention before voters turn to the Christmas holiday and tune out the latest polls.
I suppose they would know better than anyone having experienced it firsthand.
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I want to support Mike but am having a problem getting my questions answered about the pardons, immigration issues and tax increases. Please tell me where to go to get Mikes answers to these.
Thanks for any help you can give!
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As best as I can tell, he has given no answers to the pardons.
On immigration he says that he was softer as governor than he will be as president. Arguing for half a second for him, the role of President and Governor are different. But I still don’t believe him. He generally defends his immigration stands as Governor by arguing that you don’t hold the sins of the parents against the children–and he is weakest on immigration relative to children’s programs. Some argue that his NOT arguing against Consular ID cards and by pursuing the Mexican Consulate are weak on immigration. I think he is bad on immigration, but I don’t hold this last item against him.
On his tax increases, I have heard many things: 1. He actually cut taxes–but on a net basis he did not. 2. He didn’t have a choice, there was “no money” to do the things that he needed to do. 3. He was forced to raise taxes by the Democratic majority in the state legislature. None of these hold any water for me, but those are the arguments.
All of these make me ask what Huckabee would do as President with a Democrat majority in Congress. He has expressed a desire for what amounts to a “compassionate conservative” solution to health care. How will it be paid for? Just look at that video of him begging for a tax increase. He may talk tough on immigration, but I am sure there would be aspects of amnesty come into a solution–at least he would accept it from Congress. The actual issue with the pardons is that he allows undue influence to cloud his judgment.
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And notice how recently he started talking tough about illegal immigration. Up until very recently, he was giving the impression that he doesn’t have a problem with illegal immigration–only with those who oppose it.
I’m aghast at the level of support the least conservative candidates (Huckabee and Giuliani) enjoy. It’s almost as if Republican primary voters are TRYING to inflict the most possible damage on the conservative cause.
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I would be fine with Rudy in the white house. There are worse options.
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Huckabee is a far worse option. He could do the most damage in foreign policy and economic policy: the two things the President has the biggest say in.
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Alan, I completely agree with you. I hope what the support for the least conservative in the party means is that the majority of the party are not paying attention yet.
Rudy is a far site more conservative than Huck–but that is not saying anything. Rudy is quite liberal on social issues and probably on fiscal issues. McCain is conservative, but very unpredictable.
To me the choice is between Mitt and Fred. I like Fred because he has not had to change his positions to be a conservative and he operates out of principle rather than a “pragmatism” like Mitt.
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I don’t agree with the idea that McCain is unpredictable. In fact, I think he is the most predictable.
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Huckabee is becoming more frightening than ronpaul…
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Huckabee is worse than Ron Paul in the sense that Paul could never win.
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Fred Thompson is the only across-the-board conservative. Congress needs strong leadership on immigration. Obviously, President Bush did not provide it, instead pushing for comprehensive “shamnesty.” Fred Thompson is truly the candidate for the people; a leader who wants what is best for America; a man who understands the Founding Fathers’ vision and their reasoning for keeping the federal government small and efficient. He has faith in the People to make wiser choices than the government. Fred’s experience in foreign affairs is extensive and he understands not only the global threat we face, but also the domestic threat from political jihadists such as CAIR.
Fred has plans for saving social security, as well as ideas on how to make healthcare less expensive without creating more bureaucracy and how to give back to parents the control of their children’s education.
Fred Thompson is an individual who stands head and shoulders above others in his refusal to pander to get votes. He is an honest no-nonsense thinker who puts America first and the games of politicians last.
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For more on Huckabee, here’s the full NYTimes magazine article on him that was discussed in the media last week:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/12/magazine/16huckabee.html
(This is the one where the “Don’t Mormon’s think … ?” quote originated.)