Pat Toomey's National Review column today does nothing to alleviate my concern over Mike Huckabee as another Republican of mixed stripes. I've heard nothing to undermine claims that he is solid on abortion and marriage, but in many other areas he leaves a LOT to be desired.
During Huckabee’s tenure as governor, the average Arkansan’s tax burden increased 47 percent, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A dyed-in-blue tax hiker, Huckabee supported raising sales taxes, gas taxes, grocery taxes, even nursing home bed taxes. He virulently opposed a congressional moratorium on taxing Internet access, and sat on the sidelines while his Democratic legislature pushed the largest tax hike in Arkansas history into law. What’s more, on his watch, and frequently at his behest, state spending increased by 50 percent, more than double the rate of inflation, and the number of state government workers rose by 20 percent.
Pat Toomey also has this to say:
Huckabee makes no secret of his desire to turn the GOP leftward, calling himself a “different kind of Republican,” adopting protectionist positions, and peppering his campaign speeches with the kind of class warfare rhetoric one expects to hear from John Edwards. No doubt, this is the reason that the liberal media is so smitten with him.Instead of talking about curtailing government spending, Huckabee refuses to endorse President Bush’s veto of a vastly expanded S-CHIP. He is an unabashed fan of No Child Left Behind and an opponent of private school choice. Huckabee is also quickly becoming the labor unions’ favorite Republican, recently gaining a union endorsement along with Hillary Clinton.
And consider this on the environmental front, from Point Carbon on Oct. 16, 2007:
Former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee, said he supports a mandatory cap-and-trade system to cut US greenhouse gas emissions, becoming the second Republican presidential candidate to call for a carbon market to address climate change.
Do we really need a Republican candidate who buys into the global warming fantasy (which is rapidly being debunked on all fronts) and this carbon market scam?
2 comments:
I hope this helps with your concern. Huckabee supporters have been dealing with these dishonest and misleading attacks for some time.
Here is an excellent rebuttal to that hit piece that ran in the WSJ today
http://roebuckreport.blogspot.com/2007/10/funds-column-assassination-of-huckabee.html
It really shows the arguments , the same used there in the piece you quote, are very serious sins of ommision as we Catholics call them by the Toomey camp
Thanks, James. But while it alleviates some, it doesn't explain nearly all these problem areas.
For instance, while it answers the gas tax issue, what about the rest of that 47% tax increase, including sales, food and nursing home taxes? I don't see how increased gas taxes to pay for roads--a legitimate tax--can account for a 47% increase. Even with the Lake View school funding lawsuit, I find it hard to believe the total reaches that 47% increase.
Then there's Huckabee's support of SCHIP, which is an unconstitutional expansion of socialized medicine.
Then there's Huckabee's opposition to vouchers and school choice.
Then there's his support for government spending for arts and humanities, something fine for the private sector but not authorized by the constitution.
Then there's his over-emphasis on Christian grace, at the expense of the righteousness we're called to pursue. This willingness to go soft on crime and bad behavior almost certainly has a connection to his support of parole for Wayne Dumond...who then raped and killed a woman.
Then there's Huckabee's support of the global warming myth and the carbon credit scam.
No, while the piece may have rebutted the gas tax and the state of conservatism in Arkansas, I'm afraid it didn't do anything for these more important issues.
It's great that Huckabee is pro-life and pro-marriage. But conservatives and Christians can do much better than that. And the average voter will demand much better than that before they'll support Huckabee.
Post a Comment