Posted on 01/30/2008 12:39:09 PM PST by NormsRevenge
Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said Wednesday he has no intention of following Rudy Giuliani's planned exit from the GOP race and he dismissed suggestions that his candidacy could split the conservative vote and help rival Sen. John McCain.
With a narrowing Republican field, Huckabee could draw votes from Mitt Romney because of his strong support among the religious right - a possible boost for McCain.
"If the true conservatives are looking for a true conservative, they'll pick me. Romney's record is not a conservative record, his rhetoric is not conservative, even with what he's said and done," Huckabee said.
Huckabee surprised by winning the Iowa caucus, but has little money and finished a distant fourth in Florida.
The former Arkansas governor and Baptist preacher was in Newport Beach for a fundraiser at a supporter's home before traveling to Los Angeles for an Americans of Faith event and to Simi Valley for the GOP presidential debate.
Huckabee also pledged not to drop out of the race, despite his poor showing in recent primaries. He said he would focus his campaign on Southern states that are slated for the Tuesday round of primaries.
"Those are all states where we believe we are not only in play, but we are poised to win," he said.
"This boy isn't on the ropes. There's a saying in the South: 'It ain't the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog,'" Huckabee said.
His morning fundraiser in Newport Beach netted more than $100,000, according to organizers.
"Our campaign is so frugal we could go a month on that," Huckabee quipped to about 200 boisterous supporters and volunteers.
Huckabee also was schedule to attend a dinner fundraiser in Thousand Oaks.
Thats a mighty big creek.
To the point, in 2000, 2002, 2004, & 2006 the party's overall standing withered. NO other Southern state had that happen.
I seem to remember that many of the Republican loses in Arkansas were attributed to Republican party volunteers, many of them Christians, that were disheartened and demoralized by the actions of their senator, Tim Hutchinson .
According to the article, Senator Tim Hutchinson, a graduate of Bob Jones University and a former pastor divorced his wife of twenty-nine years and then married a congressional aide in 2000.
Now, I know what your thinking. This does not bode well for electing Christian ministers to public office. Maybe you're right, but it should apply equally to handsome Mormon Bishops.
I’m interested. You are against Huckabee and Romney. That leaves McCain or Ron Paul for your vote. Are you supporting anyone at this point or just pointing out the flaws with the current candidates?
“Huckabee gets negative press for the sales tax going up in a state with a balanced budget amendment. “
It was a very large 15% INCREASE!
You put out “Huck did this good stuff on taxes” yeah, his first year, then he turned into a tax-and-spend liberal Democrats in years 2 though 10 that more than made up for the one tax decrease he did.
These are the tax hikes he engineered or supported:
* Sales Tax, 1996 (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 11/07/96)
* Gas and Diesel Fuel Taxes, 1999 (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 04/02/99, 04/25/99)
* Sales Tax, 2000 (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 09/25/02)
* Cigarette Tax, 2001 (Associated Press, 04/02/01)
* Nursing Home Bed Tax, 2001 (Associated Press, 06/25/01)
* Sales Tax, 2002 (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 11/15/02)
* Income Surcharge Tax, 2003 (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/09/07)
* Tobacco Tax, 2003 (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/09/07)
* Internet Taxes, 2004 (Bond Buyer, 02/24/04)
According to the Democrat-Gazette, “the average Arkansan’s tax burden grew from $1,969 in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 1997, to $2,902 in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005, including local taxes,” a whopping tax increase of 47% under Huckabee’s tenure. Tax legislation passed while Huckabee was governor totaled “a net tax increase of $505 million, a figure adjusted for inflation and economic growth,” according to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.
HUCKABEE: “Did we raise taxes on fuel? Yes. But 80% of the people voted on it because it was on the ballot” (“Meet The Press,” 01/28/07).
TRUTH: Governor Huckabee signed a gas and diesel fuel tax increase that was not contingent on voter approval. A second bill, which raised $475 million dollar in bonds, did require voter approval. Governor Huckabee shouldn’t falsely blame the voters for his tax increase.
HUCKABEE: “We were under a Supreme Court order to raise revenue for our schools” (“Meet the Press,” 01/2/07).
TRUTH: The Arkansas Supreme Court required the Legislature to devote more funds to education, but the Legislature had the option of cutting spending on other programs. It was not forced to raise taxes. When the Legislature raised sales taxes by 17%, Huckabee did not sign the bill, but he did not veto or fight the tax increase either. He also opposed repeal of the sales tax on groceries and medicine in 2002 and proposed a sales tax increase of his own shortly thereafter.
HUCKABEE: “I have always been staunchly opposed to any tax on Internet access. I am adamantly opposed, always have been. For them to say anything otherwise is an outright lie” (National Review, 09/10/07).
TRUTH: In February of 2004, Huckabee joined with two other Democratic governors in urging Congress to reject a bill that would make the Internet access tax moratorium permanent and embrace a temporary two-year extension of the ban instead.
HUCKABEE: “I’ve earned my stripes in government. I’ve run something. I’ve made tough decisions. I’ve balanced budgets” (Human Events, 06/18/07).
TRUTH: Balancing the Arkansas state budget is not a demonstration of Huckabee’s alleged fiscal responsibility but a function of Arkansas law that requires governors to produce a balanced budget each year. In fact, every Arkansas governor over the past fifty years has balanced the budget, from Orval Faubus, to Bill Clinton, to Mike Huckabee.
“If Governor Huckabee thinks he can wave away his tax-and-spend record with clever nicknames and half-baked stories, he has another thing coming,” Mr. Toomey added. “Make no mistake: Governor Huckabee is no economic conservative and—here’s a little bit of advice—making fun of the Club for Growth won’t actually make him one.”
Thanks for that. I don’t know my Arkansas political history but the “Huckabee hurt Republicans after winning 4 straight elections” didn’t ring true.
“Huck lies before God. Huck is in this to help McCain. McCain knew that somehow he had to neutralize the Conservative base. Huck was part of that strategy. McCain’s first order as President will be to issue EO’s giving defacto Amnesty and 2nd, he will carry out a plan to “punish” the conservative base. McCain is a very vengeful, petty man. May God grant us a miracle and not have McCain as our nominee. Our Republic is truly at risk.”
I know what you say is true. Friends of ours said he was he was a terrible Governor and they considered him to be a liberal. They also said they doubt Huckabee would carry his own state! I pray that the voters put Mitt Romney on top on Super Tuesday!
“How many times are you going to post this piece of crap?”
my guess:
All the way up to the McCain nomination and his pick of Lindsey Graham as his running mate.
“Romney, as you noted, has flopped all over the place, and recently, too. To his credit, on most issues (not all — guns, for example), he’s NOW saying largely the right things. But can his recent conversions be trusted?”
YES.
Better a convert than a traitor.
RINO MCCAIN DOESNT FIT - VOTE FOR MITT - Another Conservative for Mitt!
I don’t care where you went to school or what degree you have. If you’re supporting McQueeg’s stalking horse as though he’s a real candidate, you have fatally flawed judgement and zero political sense.
It’s just a Huckabee love fest for the 2007 sign-ups. Thanks goodness you guys found us in time for election season...
Bhagdad Bob is now working for Huckabee.
I look out at the gulch in my side-yard and feel connected to it. When it fills up with rain, it leads into another always-flowing creek across my street, which then leads to another bigger creek called Mill which, in turn, empties into a bigger creek called the Cumberland, which in turn empties into a bigger creek called the Ohio which then flows into that big creek known as the Mississippi. And it all starts in my yard. ;-)
"I seem to remember that many of the Republican loses in Arkansas were attributed to Republican party volunteers, many of them Christians, that were disheartened and demoralized by the actions of their senator, Tim Hutchinson."
I've discussed that before with some other FReeper. The Hutchinson affair was a singular and overblown event. I remember some describing it as some guy who abandoned wife and kids to chase after some staffer. No mention of the fact that his "abandoned kid" was a grown man, a member of the AR legislature, who was married and had a child himself. The problem here is that the Governor is the one whom is ultimately responsible for the positive or negative growth of his or her party. If Hutchinson had been the Governor, it would be a different story.
Huckster was handed a golden opportunity to drastically change the political face of Arkansas. With term limits implemented, a drastic increase in GOP representation was inevitable. For a very brief time, we jumped from the teens to nearly 30% of the House. Now we've eroded down to the 20s when we should be in the mid 40s. There should be several statewide Republicans a la Louisiana and MS, the latter of which struggled to elect one or two, now all but one are Republican, and in the case of LA, which once was far more Dem than AR, just elected enough Republicans to the legislature that for the first time since Reconstruction, elected a GOP Speaker this month.
Simply put, Huckster singularly failed across the board. He really never bothered to make the effort (aside from trying that stunt with his wife, the kind of thing crooked rodents try to pull off), and from the reports I heard, harrassed and cajoled the GOP minority into supporting an agenda that was anything but Conservative. The gains we were beginning to make were crushed to dust and a lot of people got driven out when they should've been encouraged to get involved. Worse yet, thanks to Huckster, he allowed a lot of Democrats to get to the right of him, so at a point where we should've been dividing their party and forcing them to become like the national party, they can be whatever ideology they choose, and hold between 75-80% of the legislature. Absolutely inexcusable, and one for which it will take years to recover from.
I thought I made it plain in the post you responded to. It’s on my FReeper page.
And yes, I am also pointing out the flaws of the RINO candidates. My prerogative as a Conservative in a field of liberals or kooks.
There is a REASON Duncan Hunter could not even convice 4000 people to vote for him.
Seriously in FL he lost to KEYS!
Hunter’s campaign in the end was a joke. He was beaten by KOOKpaul of all people.
Every vote for Romney is a vote for McCain.
Go Mike!
LOL, I thought you lived right next to the Mississippi River.
Since you are from the neighborhood, I'll consider your argument. If I find anything further I'll ping you.
Sorry, I should of pinged you to my answer in #199
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