I like Huckabee as a person, and he’s really solid on some issues. I could even believe he “sees the light” on some immigration issues, because frankly immigration is a POLICY issue, not a philosophical one.
What I mean by that is that any person, liberal or conservative, can be on either side of that issue, just because of what facts they deem important and how they THINK different solutions will work. So all you need to do is demonstrate that the solution we espouse will work, and you can bring a lot of people to our side.
I’m most concerned about his approach to using government as a “parental figure” to help us child-citizens to do what he knows is right for us, like stopping smoking, eating healthy, etc. And his willingness to raise taxes to help pay for that service.
That’s a philosophical position, and one that does not bode well. It’s actually the thing I like most about Fred Thompson. He’s so committed to the idea of Federalism that he sometimes goes against the “conservative” policy view because he thinks it clashes with the Federalist view.
That’s commitment, and it tells me that when something NEW comes up that I haven’t thought to ask about, Fred will probably choose the limited-government approach.
The one BIG exception to that was campaign finance reform. And to defend Fred (only slightly), that did DEAL with the federal government, namely how we elect the leaders, so it’s not technically a federalism issue, or a government meddling in our affairs issue. It was still almost entirely wrong.