Posted on 01/06/2008 9:11:08 AM PST by Ol' Sparky
They're back, the out-of-state media types who want to know who this guy is, this presidential candidate out of Hope, Ark.
This year the subject is Michael Dale Huckabee, who's not just a highly effective preacher but a populist. He has a knack for reducing complex issues to simple terms.
There's a species of Republican true believers in Arkansas who've always suspected his bona fides as an honest-to-goodness fiscal conservative and social reactionary. Much the same anti-Huckabee line is now being repeated by the high-powered Club for Growth, which has launched an all-out effort to dub the Huck just another tax-and-spender.
The Club has a point - but only on paper. When you compare the dramatic tax cuts enacted early in the Huckabee administration with the later tax increases, you come up with some $500 million in additional taxes.
But some $400 million of that went to carry out the state Supreme Court's order to keep Arkansas' schools constitutional. Huckabee had little choice.
And as governor, Huckabee did more to improve education than pour money into it; he's been interested in improving outcomes, not just raising inputs.
There were other tax increases in his more than a decade as governor. But should he have left highways in miserable condition? Should he have left the poorest children without health insurance? He left Arkansas a healthier, wealthier state - economically, educationally, physically.
The Huck has his failings as a policymaker. He's got a weakness for untested schemes like the national sales tax he's supporting as a substitute for the income tax. His experience in foreign policy is a vacuum.
But his usual, practical approach to pressing problems isn't anything Huckabee need be ashamed of. Quite the contrary. If he's failed the Club for Growth's litmus test, he didn't fail his state.
He at least seems to think he's going to be able to graft Evangelist teats onto the federal sow.
Mike Huckabee’s plans for border security and immigration policy enforcement.
The Secure America Plan
A 9-Point Strategy for Immigration Enforcement and Border Security
Overview: Implement a broad-based strategy that commits the resources of the federal government to the enforcement of our immigration laws and results in the attrition of the illegal immigrant population.
1. Build the Fence
Ensure that an interlocking surveillance camera system is installed along the border by July 1, 2010.
Ensure that the border fence construction is completed by July 1, 2010.
2. Increase Border Patrol
Increase the number of border patrol agents.
Fully support all law enforcement personnel tasked with enforcing immigration law.
3. Prevent Amnesty
Policies that promote or tolerate amnesty will be rejected.
Propose to provide all illegal immigrants a 120-day window to register with the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services and leave the country. Those who register and return to their home country will face no penalty if they later apply to immigrate or visit; those who do not return home will be, when caught, barred from future reentry for a period of 10 years.
This is not a “touchback” provision. Those who leave this country and apply to return from their home country would go to the back of the line.
4. Enforce the Law on Employers
Employment is the chief draw for most illegal immigrants and denying them jobs is the centerpiece of an attrition strategy.
Impose steep fines and penalties on employers that violate the law.
Institute a universal, mandatory citizenship verification system as part of the normal hiring process.
Prevent the IRS and the Social Security Administration from accepting fraudulent Social Security numbers or numbers that don’t match the employees’ names.*
5. Establish an Economic Border
Move toward passage of the FairTax.
The FairTax provides an extra layer of security by creating an economic disincentive to immigrate to the U.S. illegally.
6. Empower Local Authorities
Promote better cooperation on enforcement by supporting legislative measures such as the CLEAR Act, which aims to systematize the relationship between local law and federal immigration officials.
Encourage immigration-law training for police. Local authorities must be provided the tools, training, and funding they need so local police can turn illegal immigrants over to the federal authorities.
7. Ensure Document Security
End exemptions for Mexicans and Canadians to the US-VISIT program, which tracks the arrival and departure of foreign visitors. Since these countries account for the vast majority of foreigners coming here (85 percent), such a policy clearly violates Congress’ intent in mandating this check-in/check-out system.
Reject Mexico’s “matricula consular” card, which functions as an illegal-immigrant identification card.
8. Discourage Dual Citizenship
Inform foreign governments when their former citizens become naturalized U.S. citizens.
Impose civil and/or criminal penalties on American citizens who illegitimately use their dual status (e.g., using a foreign passport, voting in elections in both a foreign country and the U.S.).
9. Modernize the Process of Legal Immigration
Eliminate the visa lottery system and the admission category for adult brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens.
Increase visas for highly-skilled and highly-educated applicants.
Expedite processing for those who serve honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Improve our immigration process so that those patiently and responsibly seeking to come here legally will not have to wait decades to share in the American dream. Governor Huckabee has always been grateful to live in a country that people are trying to break into, rather than break out of.
*This policy will be drafted to comply with the final federal court decisions on this issue.
Simply an ignorant statement or a lie.
I heard only the last ten minutes and what I heard was very disturbing......a man unable to answer straight, but constantly spinning and sliming Mitt Romney instead. It honestly reminded me of Slick Willy. I wanted to hear the rest of it to make sure I hadn't heard a small excerpt that wasn't indidcative.
That covers it well.
BS. I live in Texas. The lavender mafia runs Austin, Dallas and Houston. There are southern baptist here but not any in control of the big cities. Parts of Dallas are very much like San Francisco. If you are in Dallas, you are not under Christian rule of any stripe.
One of the great things about Huckabee is his ability to connect with ordinary people. He is a great communicator. While other candidates claim to be pro life, Huckabee would use the bully pulpit to sway public opinion and move the country in the right direction. I think that he will also have a real chance of getting the Fair Tax implemented because he will be able to sell it to the American people and create a groundswell of support.
Ol’ Sparky,
You are from Arkansas, do you think Huckabee did a good job as governor?
Huckabee is a socialist.
His support of the RAT version of SCHIP is proof enough.
Even if the Huck cared about Life he would still be a socialist.
Huck is a liar.
No candidate has a stronger record on the sanctity of life than I do. I have always been actively and aggressively pro-life. I first became politically active
when I helped pass Arkansas’ Unborn Child Amendment, which requires the state to do whatever it can to protect life.
As Governor, I used that Amendment to pass pro-life legislation. The many pro-life laws I got through my Democrat legislature are the accomplishments that give me the most pride and personal satisfaction. I banned partial birth abortion, I required parental notification, I required that a woman give informed consent before having an abortion, I required that a woman be told her baby will experience pain and be given the option of anesthesia for her baby, I allowed a woman to have her baby and leave the child safely at a hospital, and I made it a crime for an unborn child to be injured or murdered during an attack on his mother.
What I accomplished as Governor proves that there is a lot more that a pro-life President can do than wait for a Supreme Court vacancy, and I will do everything I can to promote a pro-life agenda and pass pro-life legislation. If I’m saddled with a Democrat Congress, I’ll veto any pro-abortion legislation they pass. I will staff all relevant positions with pro-life appointees. I will use the Bully Pulpit to change hearts and minds, to move this country from a culture of death to a culture of life. I have no desire to throw women in jail, I just want us to stop throwing babies in the garbage.
Did you copy and paste this from Huck’s website?
You did not even begin to answer the question.
Not true, either back this up with a source or stop lying.
social security for illegals
Not true
college scholarships for illegals
Yeh, for the CHILDREN of illegals who didn’t have a choice in whether or not they broke the law. You may disagree with this but stop mis characterizing his position.
Everyone knows Huck supports those things.
Rush even stated it. Is Rush a liar?
The only liar here is Huck and his “christian” socialist acolytes.
BTW, Christ and socialism are not compatible.
That is from his website. I put it in italics because it is in his own words.
I don’t have data on percentages of pro life vs pro death in Arkansas but I did see Huckabee on Meet the Press defend LIFE and slap Russert around. (figuratively speaking of course, I didn’t actually see him slap Russert but in a sense, I did but it depends on what the definition of is is...)
Huckabee does a good job of defending LIFE, something socons care about.
Rush has been lying about Huckabee’s current positions and his record. Whether it is because he is ignorant of the truth or for some other reason, Rush hasn’t been truthful.
Which is why I know that someone who believes in the power of the state will never be able to defend life.
I do not trust anything Huckabee says. I have been following him since june 2003 and I would rather have anyone but Huckabee.
The best social cons are always fiscal cons (Coburn,Pence,Hankins).
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic Ping List:
Please ping me to all note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of interest.
Improved roads, schools, teachers pay and left a $800 million surplus..
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.