Huckabee selling conservative message

Mike Huckabee is confident Republican primary voters will buy his conservative message. The question is whether he can stick around the presidential race long enough for them to have a chance to hear it.

With only $544,157 raised during the first quarter and $373,918 cash on hand, the former Arkansas governor's campaign account pales compared with the three best-heeled GOP candidates -- former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

But Huckabee suggests the Big Three aren't anywhere close to having a lock on the nomination because his natural constituency -- religious conservatives, an important group in GOP primary politics -- is still searching for a Republican to rally behind.

"I have to stay in the field long enough for them to know me. These are not impulse buyers," Huckabee said in an interview with Politico editors and reporters as part of a series of sessions with Republican candidates in advance of the May 3 GOP Presidential Candidates Debate. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is hosting the debate in conjunction with MSNBC and Politico.com.

Ten candidates have accepted invitations to participate in the debate, the first of the cycle for Republican presidential candidates. It will air exclusively on cable's MSNBC, with full coverage on MSNBC.com. The Politico will stream the debate live on Politico.com, providing an exclusive and unprecedented opportunity for viewers to ask and vote on questions via the Internet.

The Aug. 11 Ames, Iowa, Straw Poll will be key for Huckabee's chances. Huckabee said he doesn't necessarily have to be among the first two finishers but that he can't be much farther behind that.

Huckabee, 51, is trying to break out of a crowded pack of Republican presidential candidates, each of whom is trying to portray himself as the most conservative. A Baptist pastor before entering politics, Huckabee cites his record of opposing abortion and gay marriage and his views on other socially conservative issues.

Like several other candidates, Huckabee is walking a fine line between backing President Bush, who has some deep pockets of support among conservatives despite unpopularity overall, and playing up his own independent stands on issues.

The Bush administration's biggest mistake, Huckabee said, has been the runaway federal spending it presided over with the recently expired Republican Congress. Relations with Congress would improve if he's elected, Huckabee said, citing his work with the Democratic-controlled Arkansas legislature during his 10½ years as governor.

In addition, the president has not always explained himself and his policies well, Huckabee said. "I would spend a lot more time communicating with the American people."

Still, Huckabee has little patience for many Bush critics, particularly over Iraq. Huckabee said as president he would convene panels of experts to assess the war and leave military planning to the generals. It's pointless to harp on Bush's decision to launch the Iraq invasion in March 2003, he added.

"Knowing what we knew then, yes, it was the right decision," he said, noting dictator Saddam Hussein's past, trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction and gassing Kurds in Northern Iraq. "The easiest job in the world is quarterbacking the game that was played yesterday."

Huckabee is straddling a middle ground on immigration, a potentially volatile issue among Republicans, some of whom prefer strict border enforcement, while others are attracted to the benefits of cheaper labor from abroad.

Enforcement of sovereign borders is very important, he said, but there has to be a "rational" way to process workers already in the nation. Instead of angry rhetoric decrying porous borders, said Huckabee, Americans should take it as a compliment that so many people are clamoring to enter the country.

Huckabee was born in Hope, Ark., and graduated from Ouachita Baptist University. A longtime pastor, he was president of Beech Street Communications (the parent company of the UHF TV station owned by the Beech Street Baptist Church) from 1986 to 1992. He made his first run for public office in an unsuccessful 1992 U.S. Senate bid.

Then-Arkansas governor Bill Clinton won the presidency that year, and his lieutenant governor, Democrat Jim Guy Tucker, moved up to the top job. Huckabee won a special election to be lieutenant governor and won a full term in 1994.

When Tucker resigned in 1996 after a Whitewater-related conviction, Huckabee moved into the governor's seat.

During his decade in office, Huckabee signed a series of tax cuts, signed a law requiring parental consent for abortion, increased penalties for church arson and beefed up the right of parents to home-school their children, among other acts.

Despite holding similar positions on issues as others in the GOP field, Huckabee has at least one distinguishing characteristic in his political arsenal -- his relatively recent role as a health guru and marathon runner. He is often recognized as much for his dramatic weight loss -- more than 100 pounds -- and newly adopted health-conscious lifestyle as for his public policy prescriptions.

Huckabee's faith is also an important part of his campaign. He easily expounds on how his religious beliefs would inform his policy choices as president, and he challenges Republican rivals to do the same. He's also on the prowl for inconsistencies among other presidential candidates, including Giuliani's statements that he supported gun control as New York mayor but would not push those policies elsewhere.

"You don't have a different application of the Second Amendment in one state from another," Huckabee said.

Andrew Dowdle, assistant professor of political science at the University of Arkansas, said Huckabee should appeal to religious and business conservatives, but a lack of campaign cash and low name recognition will be ongoing problems.

"He's somebody who on paper would look like a good candidate," Dowdle said. "The big hurdle is that viability question: Can he raise enough money and can he get enough press coverage to be considered a serious candidate?"

Moreover, primary front-loading will make it difficult for a long-shot candidate to gain momentum quickly in late 2007 and early 2008.

"His big challenge is finding people who believe enough in his prospects to give him significant chunks of money," Dowdle said.

About a month ago, in an interview with Tom Bevan from “Real Clear Politics” (see article here http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/03/interview_with_mike_huckabee.html), this is what Mike Huckabee said:

- ABOUT IMMIGRATION:
RCP: In the interview earlier today, you said that we have to secure our border. If securing our borders is first and foremost, how do we go about getting control of the border?

HUCKABEE: A physical border coupled with an electronic border, to me, is paramount. It’s essential. And it’s going to be expensive but it’s probably less expensive than to continue to do what we’re doing now which is to leave these borders open with no idea of who’s coming and where they are and what they’re doing.

RCP: Are you in favor of the fence?

HUCKABEE: I am. Again, whether it’s electronic or physical, in some places electronic may be more practical than a physical one, but the border ought to be secure. I don’t see why that’s controversial to some people, they say that it is.
[...]
RCP: So you’re essentially supportive of the Bush administration’s position.

HUCKABEE: I don’t want to have an amnesty program. You can’t let people break a law and say “hey we’re going to look the other way, don’t worry about it, we’re going to let you in, no problem.” People have to make restitution, there’s got to be a penalty paid for the crime committed. But it ought to fit the crime; you don’t put somebody in jail for ten years because they came across the border to make a living.

You make them pay something, you make them go through a process, you may put them in the back of the line for the process, but you create a process that’s realistic. You don’t say the back of the line starts and for the next 12 years you’re going to be filling out paperwork.

What you do say is you’re going to pay the fine, we’re going to have a system that can be done in an orderly fashion, and you’ll be able to be legal but we’re not going to let you off scot free. That’s important.

- ABOUT THE SURGE IN IRAQ:
RCP: Let’s talk about specific issues, starting with Iraq. You support the surge, correct?

HUCKABEE: I support the president’s right as Commander-in-Chief to make the decisions that he feels like will work and General Petraeus is the person in whom he has placed his trust and the Senate has given unanimous confirmation to him. I don’t know if it’s going to work, but let’s hope it does. I have to respect that he’s looking at information that I don’t have and he’s based this decision on those intelligence reports and the reports that he’s getting from his generals in the field.

My conclusion: From these excerpts, we can get the feeling that Mike Huckabee tries to have a fair attitude while addressin such difficult issues. There is no doubt that some people may think that Mike Huckabee is not “tough enough” or is “too tough” on certain points, depending on which perspective the “beholder” comes from. However, we must realize also that no candidate can agree with everybody on everything. We need to compare each candidate and try to find the one who may have the best position on most issues and the one who is the most consistent with workable conservative views. I am sure that Mike Huckabee is not perfect, but among all the present presidential candidates, he certainly is worthy of serious consideration.

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