- Posted by Christopher Estep on December 28, 2007
Mike Huckabee is running as a conservative in the GOP primaries, even though he doesn't have conservative positions on most things. Huckabee is soft on crime, soft on immigration and he rejects the very foundation of modern conservatism, Reaganomics.
ONE OF THE LEADING proponents of Reaganomics these days is an outfit calling itself "The Club for Growth." Founded by supporters of Reagan's supply-side economics, Reaganites one and all, the group is currently headed by former Pennsylvania Congressman Pat Toomey, the conservative who came within an eyelash of upending liberal Republican Senator Arlen Specter in the 2004 Pennsylvania senatorial primary.
The Club is famous for delving into the records of GOP candidates for not just the presidency but other offices as well, carefully combing the fine print of their speeches, programs and votes as office-holder or candidate and matching them to the Reagan ideal. Mike Huckabee, it seems, has supported any number of taxes while governor, and the Club has inevitably zeroed in on his economic beliefs.
What disconcerts is Huckabee's gut level response. Instead of either defending his record or admitting to a mistake or challenging the views of the Club he said this: "The Club for Greed, I call them. They hate that. Oh, they hate it. And I enjoy giggin' them about it..."
Hello? Is the Republican Party seriously considering nominating a candidate whose instinctive response to criticism from Reaganites is to use the favorite code word of Reagan's enemies? Does Huckabee really believe that Reaganomics represents a philosophy of greed? Does he agree that the 1980s was "The Decade of Greed"?
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If you want to do some real damage, you have to ball your fist like this. |
Words do mean things and the position you take on something is either your genuine position or it's a lie. When someone attacks Huckabee's economics record, does he respond by refuting what they accuse him of? No! He calls them a name like a petulant child and then takes delight in making them mad, also like a child.
Flip-flopping is going to happen and nearly every candidate is going to do it. That's a fact. Since we have to decide who is the best candidate of the available options, we need to determine what the candidate's true position is. The best way to do that is by their actions and their history.
Mike Huckabee has a history of raising taxes. It's not really up for debate. Huckabee could have made it up for debate if he'd just taken the Club for Growth's criticism and used it to clarify his position. Would it have worked? I doubt it, but it's another case where you have an arrogant politician dismissing and/or mocking conservatives who would take issue with his positions and his record.
On Christmas day when asked about the CEO pay and "golden parachutes", he said,
...if they don’t start showing some responsibility, then they’re going to end up forcing government to take action, which is the worst thing that could happen and it only exacerbates a problem rather than actually solves it.
This quote is chock-full of revealing statements about Huckabee's mindset. It's very clear he has no problem interjecting himself in the ongoing operations of corporations. They must fit his definition of "responsible" or the government will take action. That's conservative?
What's even more baffling is what follows. After declaring that his government would force a corporation to show "some responsibility" he states that it's not only the worst thing that could happen, but makes the problem worse!! What kind of doublespeak is that?!
One can only conclude from Huckabee's statement above that he's not afraid to use government to push an agenda even though he knows it will only make things worse. That twisted logic is the same thing that a wife beater uses (and given Huckabee's position on a woman's place, I'm not surprised). The abuser beats his victim while saying, "Why did you make me do that?! You know I hate having to do that!"
Mike Huckabee. The Ike Turner of the business world.
The American Spectator