Huckabee's Fiscal Record Is Fine
By Anteater Posted in 2008 — Comments (45) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Here, I would like to make the case that Mike Huckabee's fiscal record, while not perfect, should be perfectly acceptable to conservatives. Should he receive the nomination, I believe that Huckabee will be able to unite the three major factions of the Republican party, with his acceptable fiscal record, his impeccable social conservatism, and his strong stance against Islamofascism.
First, Huckabee was governor of Arkansas for 10.5 years, and lieutenant governor before that. Governors are responsible for running the state and balancing budgets, and thus, Governors Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney (and mayor Rudy Giuliani) should be graded on a totally different curve than Senators John McCain and Fred Thompson when it comes to economic issues. I believe it is much easier to be fiscally conservative as a Senator than as a Governor of a very economically liberal state (Arkansas) with a legislature composed of 86% Democrats.
Huckabee's very long record as an pragmatic executive is a boon to critics who are trying to nitpick and find places in his record where he has not been ideologically pure on fiscal matters. Critics of Romney have no such luxury, since Romney only served one term and was never re-elected.
The Club for Growth has been in attack mode against Huckabee for the past couple of months. Back in August, when Huckabee was registering less than 2% in national polls, the Club for Growth spent thousands of dollars in ads to try to prevent Huckabee from performing well in the Ames Straw Poll.
I have argued in past threads that the Club for Growth has been unfairly biased against Huckabee. Why would I make this claim? The Club for Growth has not evaluated the candidates with the same impartial metrics. Let me give two examples.
The Club for Growth slammed Huckabee for not taking the ATR "no tax" pledge, and based on this action, they suggested that Huckabee would raise taxes once President:
On January 28, 2007, Governor Huckabee refused to pledge not to raise taxes if elected President, first on Meet the Press and then at the National Review Conservative Summit. The evidence suggests that his commitment to protecting taxpayers evidenced in his early gubernatorial years may be a thing of the past.
Huckabee did eventually sign the pledge. The interesting thing is that Rudy, John McCain, and Fred have refused to sign this "no tax" pledge. Here is Grover Norquist's statement on Fred's hesitance to sign the pledge:
In an interview with The Hill last week, Norquist said he was led to believe by Thompson’s economic advisers that Thompson would sign the pledge.
"I think he will," Norquist said. "However, he did not sign the pledge when he was in the Senate."
Norquist added that Thompson’s hesitance to sign "makes me nervous."
Perhaps sensing that Thompson would rule out signing the pledge, Norquist said such a decision could come back to haunt Thompson’s campaign in conservative areas.
"If he decides not to [sign], it wouldn’t end his race tomorrow," Norquist said. "But over the next several months, I think it would be a tremendous drag on the ticket."
Did the Club for Growth ever mention that these three candidates have refused to sign the pledge? No. They are absolutely silent on the issue. Did the Club for Growth update their assessment of Huckabee to reflect the fact that Huckabee has signed the pledge? No. This one data point alone is evidence that the Club for Growth's information is both biased and outdated.
Let's look at another data point. The Club for Growth attacks Huckabee for raising taxes on nursing home beds. Did they use the same metric in judging Romney? No. They were silent on the fact that Romney also was supportive of a tax on nursing home beds.
When it comes to big issues, like tax cuts, Mike Huckabee gets it right. Huckabee has always supported the Bush tax cuts. Contrast this to a "fiscally conservative" candidate like Romney, who refused to support the Bush tax cuts as governor. Huckabee's record also contains instances where he vigorously fought for fiscal conservative principles.
Joe Carter at the Evangelical Outpost gives a very strong rebuttal to the Club for Growth's claims:
After being elected Governor of California in 1967, Ronald Reagan reneged on a campaign promise and signed into law the single biggest tax increase in the state's history: $1 billion. (At the time, the total state budget was only about $5 billion. Adjusted for inflation and population growth, the increase in today's dollars would be $10 billion.)
If the Club for Growth had been around in 1980, Reagan might not have become President. The influential fiscal conservative group would surely have done everything in their power to prevent the Gipper from gaining the nomination. They would have attempted to derail Reagan's campaign just as they are now doing to Gov. Huckabee.
For several months the Club for Growth has been attacking Huckabee's bona fides as a fiscal conservative. In the process, they've slandered the Governor's record, deceived numerous trusting conservatives, and cast doubts on the organization's honesty and trustworthiness. It's a disgraceful situation made all the more shameful by our continued willingness to be duped.
Joe Carter makes the shocking point that the Club for Growth would have tried to block Ronald Reagan too, just as it is attempting to block Mike Huckabee from the nomination.
While Mike Huckabee cut many taxes as Arkansas governor, it is true that he did raise some taxes. The taxes that Mike Huckabee raised were used to lift Arkansas out of a deplorable infrastructural condition, and Arkansas overwhelmingly approved of Mike Huckabee's actions, re-electing him over and over again, and giving him high approval ratings once he left office. The public obviously thought that the tax money was put to good use.
Grover Norquist thinks that Huckabee will be just fine:
Huckabee has signed the pledge circulated by Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform, promising to fight future tax increases. That has satisfied Norquist. "He has a troublesome history in supporting tax increases as governor, as did Ronald Reagan," Norquist tells me. "But in running for president, he has made a written commitment that he would oppose tax increases." Unless Huckabee breaks his word, he’ll be okay with Americans for Tax Reform.
In conclusion, while Huckabee's record on fiscal matters is not perfect, it should be acceptable to mainstream conservatives. Couple that record with an unwavering stance on social conservative issues, and we have a stellar candidate who will absolutely crush Hillary in the general election.
He does not favor amnesty, he is totally against it. He did not favor instate tuition to illegals. He said that if children of illegals, went through the public school system they should be allowed to receive the same scholarships as everyone else. The qualification? If they aren't citizens they must apply to be citizens (many of the illegals children are citizens).
So here's a tip. If you are going to offer links as "sources" it helps if they actually say something that would back up the point you are trying to make.
I mean this is kind of amusing and all:
He also criticized Senate Bill 206 by Sen. Jim Holt, R-Springdale, that would impose new restrictions on illegal immigrants in Arkansas. The governor's comments were in response to a caller who expressed concern about the bill's effect on plans for a Mexican consulate's office in Little Rock.
"I don't think that bill is going to pass," Huckabee said. "If it were to pass, it might have an impact but ... the impact would be greater than even the Mexican consulate."
He said the bill could hurt the state's ability to recruit industries based in countries outside the U.S., such as Toyota or Nestle, a Swiss company.
"If we send a message that essentially if you don't look like us, talk like us and speak like us we don't want you, it has tremendous economic repercussions," Huckabee said.
But doesn't help reinforce your point in the slightest.
---
Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. - Milton Friedman
I have lost all respect for Huckabee as he has just sold out for the Hispanic vote. If you think the Dream Act is not amnesty you are either delusional or haven't read the bill.
[quote]To qualify for immigration relief under the DREAM Act, a student must have been brought to the U.S. more than 5 years ago when he or she was 15 years old or younger and must be able to demonstrate good moral character.
Once such a student graduates from high school, he or she would be permitted to apply for conditional status, which would authorize up to 6 years of legal residence.
During the 6-year period, the student would be required to graduate from a 2-year college, complete at least 2 years toward a 4-year degree, or serve in the U.S. military for at least 2 years.
Permanent residence would be granted at the end of the 6-year period if the student has met these requirements and continued to maintain good moral character.[/quote]
>Permanent residence would be granted> OK can anyone tell the word that could replace this sentence? need a hint? It starts with an "A" and Huckabee was touting the Dream Act in the CNN interview yesterday. He is a pandering SELL OUT!
Can we DISQUALIFY Rudy for getting an award from NARAL, McCain for numerous offenses, and Thompson for being lazy and working for Planned Parenthood?
Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
I have disqualified both from possible primary candidates for me, but would vote for either in the general.
I do think that Huckabee is bad on illegal immigration, worse than McCain.
Plus his instincts are to have big government fix everything.
Oz
Read my most recent story, "The GOP race: My 1st runner up -- Mitt Romney" on First Cut Politics
He is with Bush on SCHIP in terms of policy; he just criticized Bush for allowing the Democrats to frame the issue politically.
As for amnesty, Huckabee is against it. Roy Beck of Numbers USA praised Huckabee for becoming stronger on the issue of immigration, and he gave Huckabee a B on the issue.
and proved he is a fraud. He is very preachy and comes across as a know it all. He can deliver a line but frankly it's getting a little old. He has ZERO substance.
but this is a very good diary imo.
Thanks much!
Sy
If you agree with Mike Huckabee's message, I invite you to take my challenge at: www.abuckforhuck.com.
With your help, he will make a difference!
Great come-back, just not quite worth a score of 5
Did the Club for Growth ever mention that these three candidates have refused to sign the pledge? No. They are absolutely silent on the issue. Did the Club for Growth update their assessment of Huckabee to reflect the fact that Huckabee has signed the pledge? No. This one data point alone is evidence that the Club for Growth's information is both biased and outdated.
The only two explanations here really are actual maliciousness or sheer incompetence. I like Grover Norquist's position here--Huckabee is certainly not his favorite based on his record, but he's not going to misrepresent the facts to improve his case.
however, his chance of getting the veep slot is several times that amount.
Molon Labe!
I agree with you there. About HALF the likely Republican primary voters aren't yet familiar with Romney or Thompson!
Anteater, as a fellow Huckabot, I just wanted to thank you for writing this diary--it had a lot of really good points. One excellent point, in particular, was that The Club for Growth seems to cut Romney a whole lot more slack than Huck for the same offenses. In fact, I remember Tucker saying, the other day on his show, that Romney raised taxes on the blind and gun owners. Anyway, I've had a long day and I should be in bed, but here I am on RS "botting" for Huck. OH, the things you do for the candidate who inspires you. Hey, at least I can still laugh at myself. Y'all have a good night. :-)
I am amazed at how the media and conservative leaders in general are ignoring Huckabee. Let's not forget that recently he received 51% of the vote at the Values Voter Summit.(Of voters in attendance) Romney was second with 10%. He has the character, charisma, and experience needed to beat Hillary. The main reason Republicans lost big last year was because they forgot the people who put them into office, social conservatives, let's hope they don't make the same mistake again....
The main reason Republicans lost big last year was because they forgot the people who put them into office, social conservatives ...
I'm as SoCon as they come and even I can't fathom how you came to this conclusion ...
For starters, the overwelmingly republican house and senate failed to pass a marrige amendment (The liberal voters of Massachusettes and Oregon even supported it). Secondly, they tried to pass an embryonic stem cell bill (thank God the President vetoed it). They also failed at making it a crime for anyone other than a parent to transport a minor over state lines to obtain an abortion. Again they failed at getting the presidents well qualified conservative judges confirmed, judges who could have stopped the insane rulings on, the 10 commandments, christmas, gay marrige, the list goes on. What's with all the scandals? What happened to family values? The christian right which makes up half of the republican party lost all motivation.
For starters, the overwelmingly republican house and senate failed to pass a marrige amendment
Are you thinking of the Reconstruction Congress? That would be the last time, I think, that the GOP had a big majority in both houses. I think 55 is the largest number of Republican Senators since 1994, in fact, the largest number since the number of Senators rose to 100. Contrast that with the Democratic congresses in the 60s and 70s. Up to 1994 Democrats had controlled the House for 40 years, and almost always by bigger margins than the GOP has had since then.
Quentin Langley
Editor of http://www.quentinlangley.net
International Editor of
Is of taxes going up overall.
I believe I am right in saying that the reverse is true of Ronald Reagan (as a governor, as well as as President), Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. All of these had to cope with strongly Democratic legislatures and environments that were more liberal overall than Arkansas.
Add to this the fact that Huckabee raised taxes above what they were under Bill Clinton and you have a record that is not fine and, to most conservatives, not even close to acceptable.
No wonder the CfG is hard on him. This is not bias, this is the CfG doing what it does - standing up for fiscal conservatism.
Quentin Langley
Editor of http://www.quentinlangley.net
International Editor of
is the greater likelihood we will see the former. The man isn't a presidential contender and will not be a Veep or even a cabinet officer. He's nothing, and Ron Paul (hiss now) has a greater chance, and that is almost non-existent.
This isn't worth space let alone thought.
Huckabee has a better chance of winning the nomination than either Thompson or McCain. Right now I would rank them:
1. Giuliani
2. Romney
3. Huckabee
4. Thompson
5. McCain
People are just finding out about Huckabee and his fundraising has quadrupled in the past month. Ignore him at your own risk.
Exactly. And fund raising numbers aside, since all he was raising was school lunch money before, as his record in AR is made public and he's forced to defend it, he will peak and - likely - fall like a falling star.
On every issue save abortion, marriage and 2nd Amendment the guy is virtually indistinguishable from Obama or Edwards. He's not a Compassionate Conservative, he's a Closet Socialist.
____
CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
The war is a great area of weakness for Huckster. And as for taxes - well with Edwards, Obama and Huckabee it would be tax increases not cuts.
Quentin Langley
Editor of http://www.quentinlangley.net
International Editor of
On tax cuts we come back to the debate from the last couple of days. Your guy is the worst in the GOP field on taxes. He's got a long record of raising them. Don't even start up with the crap about all the taxes he cut in AR, because it's just that: crap. Overall, he raised taxes. Overall, he made government more intrusive in AR during his tenure. The fact that he signed a meaningless piece of paper ("read my lips...") and supports the FairTax gives me NO comfort. First of all, there is no reason to trust that he will abide by his "pledge", none whatsoever. Second, even if he could get FT implemented, the dislocation in how much is collected and how it's colleted gives him the ability to tweak the life out of it in a very progressive manner. I'm not fond of the FT for that very reason, and the idea that a socialist wannabe like Mike Huckabee is going to do the tweaking scares the bejabbers out of me. The guy has no cred on this.
On the war and on SCOTUS, again, I do not trust him in any way on these issues. He's built a record of being willing to work with liberal Democrats over a long history in AR. Coming to DC and having to deal in the big leagues against what will likely be a Democrat controlled House and Senate and hostile media the likes he's never had to deal with gives me no comfort. Huckabee may be many things, but a street fighter ain't one of 'em. He'll be worse than GWB when it comes to facing down the Democrat leadership and the pinheads on the Republican side, especially in the Senate. Nothing he's ever done says to me he's going to go to the mat for any of his nominees - and the Ds will make every nominee for every position toe the line - and nothing he's ever done says to me that he'll fight the Ds on the conduct of the war.
Bottom line, Mike Huckabee is a tax loving mush. He makes GWB look like a real political infighter and guy with a titanium spine.
He is EASILY the worst candidate the GOP has had in the field in my lifetime.
____
CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
...that he fought against the Clintonian Democratic machine in Arkansas four times (his four elections), and he won all those four matches. We need this guy to fight Hillary
He took over Clinton's economy in Arkansas and put taxes *up*. Anyone who thinks the problem with the Clintons is they don't tax enough is dangerous.
Quentin Langley
Editor of http://www.quentinlangley.net
International Editor of
As Chris L. points out in the comments, this is a sales tax and thus not adjusted for inflation. I apologize for that error. I thought the CFG was using the percentages to be misleading, it didn't occur to me just how misleading they were willing to be. The CFG doesn’t provide the baseline tax rate so let's go with the current rate of 6%. If Huckabee increased the rate by 36%, then he raised the sales tax .0384 cents during his ten years in office.
http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/004053.html
Do you have any comment on the assertion that CfG would have tried to derail Reagan too?
For one thing, arithmetic doesn't appear to be the man's strong point. 36% is a little over a third and one third of six is two.
But, even if he were right, it would not matter. Huckabee put Clinton's tax rates up.
My understanding is that while Ronald Reagan was governor of California taxes went down overall.
Quentin Langley
Editor of http://www.quentinlangley.net
International Editor of
He is EASILY the worst candidate the GOP has had in the field in my lifetime.
A small tax rise is something the economy could shrug off. It has before. Don't get me wrong, it is a bad thing, but it is nowhere near as bad as protectionism. Buchanan is the worst - and Duncan Hunter closely follows.
Quentin Langley
Editor of http://www.quentinlangley.net
International Editor of
The primary will come down to two issues for conservatives #1
Terrorism and #2 illegal immigration. After the CNN interview yesterday and with Huckabee supporting amnesty I think Roy over at Numbers will have to readjust Huck's immigration report card.
Bottom line is he has been and will be an amnesty supporter and conservatives won't like it. Just look at what happened with CIR last June, the switchboard at the capitol crashed. You can gift wrap Dream Act all you want but bottom line, it's still SHAMNASTY!
Huck's 2005 plan> I see nothing has changed!
http://www.nwanews.com/story.php?paper=adg§ion=News&storyid=104629
Huckabee plan would give aid to illegal aliens
BY LAURA KELLAMS
Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Email this story | Printer-friendly version
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Gov. Mike Huckabee is proposing extending eligibility for state-funded college scholarships to illegal aliens who graduate from Arkansas high schools — an idea that several legislators predicted will go nowhere.
Huckabee said it’s "terribly unjust" for a child who arrived in Arkansas at a young age and graduated from high school to be denied state-funded college scholarships because of a "a status that he had no control over." "Do we want to change the future for these kids? Then let’s give them the opportunity. Let’s not say that our doors are open but our opportunities are closed," Huckabee said Tuesday in his State of the State Address to the General Assembly.
The governor never used the words "illegal alien" in his speech but referred to high school graduates’ "status," which confused some lawmakers. "We think he’s talking about illegal aliens, but we don’t know," said Sen. Dave Bisbee, a Republican who said he opposed the idea.
Huckabee’s spokesman, Rex Nelson, confirmed that Huckabee, also a Republican, was referring to illegal aliens.
Bisbee said he thinks his hometown of Rogers has done a better job welcoming Hispanic immigrants to its community than others in Arkansas. "So I’m not coming from a position of prejudice," Bisbee said. "But illegal is illegal... and even if the child came here when he was 3 years old or 4 years old, he’s still undocumented."
Rep. Denny Altes, R-Fort Smith, said citizens’ children should come first in college scholarship eligibility. "What kind of message are we sending to the people south of the border, you know?" Altes said. "Are we saying, ‘Yeah, come on,’ or are we saying, ‘No. There’s still a border there. ’"
Rep. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, said she had already planned to file a bill granting instate status to the children of immigrants who live in Arkansas and have applied to state universities. "It’s nice to know we will have an ally in the governor’s office," said Elliott, chairman of the House Education Committee. "I did not know that was coming."
Several states allow immigrant children, regardless of their legal status, to pay in-state college tuition, including California, Illinois, Oklahoma, New York, Texas, Utah, Washington and, most recently, Kansas. Proposed federal legislation would grant such students temporary legal status and arrange for their expedited citizenship if they maintain a good record.
In-state tuition rates are cheaper. In many states, including Arkansas, students who aren’t citizens and can’t prove their legal immigration status have to pay out-of-state tuition.
R. Shawn McGrew of Rogers, director of the Arkansas chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said he didn’t know about Huckabee’s proposal but that his group had hoped to find a sponsor for similar legislation. It probably would include a time element as to how long a student should have been in the public school system to be eligible for in-state tuition or scholarships, say, three to six years, he said. "It’s good to encourage these students who want and have the will to continue their education," McGrew said. "In the long term, we’ll have a more educated society."
Otherwise they end up paying what an international student would pay, and that deters them, McGrew said.
In his speech, Huckabee mentioned an unnamed high school graduate from El Dorado who was one of the top students in his class but was denied scholarships and grants because of his legal status.
Nancy Varnell, the coordinator for El Dorado’s English as a Second Language program, said the student Huckabee referred to is about 24 now and working in a plant that makes molding. "He’s brilliant, really smart," she said of the student, whom she wouldn’t identify because of his illegal status.
Varnell said she was surprised and "thrilled to death" that Huckabee would include the proposal in his legislative package. She said she has been writing letters to officials about the issue for several years. "It’s not by their choice that they’re brought into this country," she said of the illegal alien students.
The Department of Education’s latest count of "language minority" students in the state’s public school system is 26,803, or about 6 percent of the student population.
Bisbee said the real solution is to change the immigrants’ status, as President Bush has proposed. "We need to make these people legal. That’s the way it should be done.... Change their status, but don’t give illegal people scholarships," Bisbee said. "I mean, what kind of example does that set for our children?"
Rep. Keven Anderson, RRogers, said that if the state had an unlimited pot of money, he might feel differently. As it is, he’s against Huckabee’s proposal. "You’re potentially taking these scholarships away from someone who is here legally," Anderson said
_________________
"That cultural unity, that sense that we were one people, is gone."
Pat Buchanan-State of Emergency
praises of GWB and McCain's CIR plan.
Give it up guy. Just accept the fact that your guy is the best in the field on abortion/family issues and 2nd Amendment issues. You can't teach this pig to sing and dance on everything else.
____
CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
First, it needs therapy against the romantic impulse to view newly popular candidates through rose colored glasses- a phase it has gone through repeatedly with Mitt, Rudy and Fred.
Then the party activists need to figure out what they really want. If the pro-life GWB drove them crazy with his social spending, then Huckabee is not their guy. If he is their guy, they need to stop bitching about GWB.
** and hopefully the couch will not take the form of opposition role-playing therapy in the Billary Administration.
http://conservablogs.com/nuke/2007/11/06/more-on-the-club-for-growths-sm...
A journalist needs to look into this, but what's here is well documented.
A journalist needs to look into this, but what's here is well documented.
To summarise the argument, CfG's campaign against Huckabee is all personal pique because Huckabee opposed a tax cut supported by a wealthy Republican activist in Arkansas.
Whoever wrote this doesn't seem to have the slightest conception that some people support tax cuts for very good reasons. Oh no, if an initiative for tax cuts is defeated thanks to Huckabee's campaigning, the only reason the sponsor might hold this against Huckabee is some disreputable sulk. It couldn't possibly be that anyone holds it against Huckabee because they actually think high taxes are bad and wish to oppose politicians that support raising taxes.
This analysis is rather typical of liberals. Everyone who supports tax cuts is evil and selfish. Opposing tax cuts is a sign of virtue and it just isn't possible to have good reasons for believing in low taxes.
Quentin Langley
Editor of http://www.quentinlangley.net
International Editor of
...an example of a "good" fiscal record? Say what you want about his "position" on SCHIP, he wanted Bush to sign the thing. So, he was either in favor it (that's a disqualifier) or he thought it was a political move and would sign to "bump up" his approval ratings (a bigger disqualifier).
He favors amnesty. He favors in-state tuition for illegals.
DISQUALIFIED.
“.....women and minorities hardest hit”