Posted on 12/22/2007 6:36:25 AM PST by LowCountryJoe
Reconsidering Huck Membership issues.
By Mark Hemingway
MEMORANDUM
DATE: December 20, 2007
TO: Mike Huckabee
FROM: The Conservative Movement
RE: Membership Renewal Application
Mike: It’s your old buddies in the conservative movement here. We know the Iowa caucuses are only two weeks away but we’ve got to talk. We know you’ve endured the slings and arrows of some establishment folks and to a certain extent the piling on hasn’t been terribly fair. Many of your critics — George Will comes to mind — seem far more comfortable with the idea of Rudy Giuliani as president despite the fact that he’s pro-choice, and has an overall troubling record on social issues that seems about as bad as your fiscal record.
Furthermore, nobody has given you credit for the conservative stands you have taken. As only the fourth Republican elected to statewide office in Arkansas since Reconstruction, you held your head up proudly as a Republican. Certainly that took political courage. Further, it needs to be said that most of your tenure as governor of the state involved having to work with one of the most Democratically lopsided legislatures in the country. Given what you were up against, it’s hard not to admit that you did some good in difficult circumstances.
We were perusing your most recent book, and you even seem to have done a good job of anticipating the complaints that would be leveled against you. "Some of the most hostile things said to (but more often about) me have come from those who claim and proclaim that they are more conservative than I am and their particular and self-proclaimed brand of conservatism is more pure than mine," you wrote. [emphasis yours]
That said, what is all this poppycock about how you’re not owned by the “Wall Street-to-Washington axis,” and how you really represent the people? Is that really the way to respond to substantive criticism from us?
Of course it’s hard to sort out what criticism is substantive and what is not just the mud that slings in the midst of a political horserace — with people groaning about floating crosses in your ads and all. (By the way, props to you on the “Paul is dead” bit. That was a great response.)
But, bottom line, Mike: We’re concerned about our relationship here. You want to claim the mantle of a conservative, even if you’re vying to be the “anti-establishment” guy. So as part of our review for your application for renewed membership in the conservative movement, we read your two most recent books — Character Makes a Difference, and From Hope to Higher Ground: 12 STOPs to Make a Difference. Given that both of these books contain your undiluted personal and religious worldviews, as well as how they impact specific policy prescriptions, we decided to confine our evaluation to them.
We here in the conservative movement are happy to have you, but first we need to try and get a few things straight.
Mike, you have some pretty disturbing views about the role of government. You desperately need to explain yourself here. Anyone who calls himself a conservative should be deeply suspicious of those who wield power or aspire to. As such, true conservatives wouldn’t elect anyone dogcatcher who is capable of writing the following paragraph on page 64 of From Hope to Higher Ground:
There are those who believe that America cannot break or shake its addiction to fried, sugary or over-salted foods. These people believe that we are incapable of shifting our unhealthy culture, which is making us fatter, unhealthier, and more likely to die prematurely. History shows that we can, in fact, help Americans to change, not by force-feeding them government restrictions or requirements but by first changing the attitudes and atmosphere in which we live. Eventually, having shifted public opinion, we can solidify the attitude and atmospheric changes with government actions that define the will of the majority.
Emphasis ours. So just to review here, you think that as a politician it’s your job to 1) determine behavior bad for us, 2) build consensus that it’s bad and 3) once you have a majority, make that bad behavior illegal.
I know that personally you’re not big on coarse language, but are you *&@!'*# kidding us?
It also doesn’t help that you have some serious nanny-state tendencies and your books show you to be disdainful of those who don’t share your moral views. You brag about making the Arkansas governor’s mansion smoke-and-alcohol free; you further crow about making it illegal to smoke in private workplaces in the state; you lament “celebrities like Dean Martin building their routines around the hilarity of being falling down drunk”; and you’re proud that you set up a toll-free line where people can anonymously rat out their fellow citizens for littering (with fines for the offenders to follow).
You’re free to have your opinions about what is unhealthy, Mike. Just don’t pass laws based on them and shove them down our throats, mmkay? Besides — it’s an objective fact that after about seven 7&7’s Dean Martin was hilarious!
Second, you’re just not serious about governance. Mike, you’re GREAT on the big picture. Really, you’ve got some of the best rhetoric around. The Baptist preacher in you can speechify like no other Republican candidate.
Based on your books you do seem to have an excellent grasp on budgetary issues in Arkansas, but come on! You’re playing for keeps now. Trying to get a grasp on the policies of a potential Huckabee administration is nearly impossible. Your book From Hope to Higher Ground is particularly egregious — it’s clearly written for the lowest common denominator, but we expect a bit more. You should probably educate the voter, not try to talk down to him.
In each chapter you take on a particular political issue or (God-forbid) moral abstraction and explain why “stopping” it will help the republic. There is “Chapter 2: STOP Thinking Horizontally.” And, “Chapter 9: STOP the Heat and Turn on the Light for Hot Issues.” Each chapter concludes with “12 Action Steps” for the citizen reading the book to do his part to remedy that particular problem.
Let’s examine some of those steps shall we? In order to “STOP Being Cynical” we should among other things, “Watch TV Land and Nick @ Nite more; network TV less.” In order to “STOP Moving the Landmarks of Liberty” — whatever that means — three of the 12 steps you recommend are “Don’t watch TV during dinner,” “Avoid Reality TV Shows,” and “Watch the History Channel or the Biography Channel Often.”
You watch a lot of TV, don’t you Mike? But the coup de grace has to be in “12 Action Steps to STOP the Loss of America’s Prestige at Home and Abroad.” Number nine is “Eat at the International House of Pancakes (just kidding — wanted to make sure you were really reading the list!)”
Mike, I can assure you that we are reading the list — at least when we’re not, at your recommendation, glued to reruns of Joanie Loves Chachi on the upper reaches of basic cable. And we’re not laughing. As a former governor of a state of only two and half million people, you might want to seize every opportunity to convince us you can handle America’s current foreign-policy challenges.
Your recent article in Foreign Affairs was widely panned, and justifiably so. It is also no surprise. The chapter in your book on restoring “America’s Prestige” may be well-intentioned, but, as you might put it, “Where’s the beef?” The chapter is ten pages long — the word “Iraq” appears on only three of those pages. Meanwhile, you talk about hunting rifles and dish out useless pearls of would-be wisdom such as “A true leader shares his power rather than shows his power.” Get serious, Mike.
And sometimes, Governor, you are just plain baffling.
In chapter 7, “STOP Robbing the Taxpayers,” you approvingly quote Ronald Reagan saying, “The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on earth is a government program.” But on page 72, you describe the passage of a new sales tax for management of natural resources in Arkansas as one of your “proudest moments” as the tax “forever dedicates a small but vital revenue stream to the conservation of our state’s vast, valuable, and irreplaceable resources.” Is it a good idea to create any government revenue stream in perpetuity?
In fact, your whole chapter on “Robbing the Taxpayers” devolves into a defense of your record of tax increases as governor, which you blame on court-ordered increases in education spending. “I was not the only governor forced into a corner when it came to tax increases,” you write. Defensive much? Conservatives look to leaders who can fight tax-and-spend liberals, not kowtow to them.
Mike, your gifts as a speaker are not in question. When you talk about education, health care, and the environment you can be really convincing. Your explanation of how you consider yourself a conservationist rather than an environmentalist is compelling and other Republicans would do well to emulate it. You’re also the only Republican articulating a good defense of charter schools.
But far too often you paint your word pictures with very broad strokes and there’s little policy substance behind your demagoguery. If you really care about the poor and disadvantaged — and we’re not convinced you do, despite your pleading — outcomes should matter more than rhetoric. Unless you get serious, you will quickly reach a point where your silver tongue won’t save you.
There’s a lot more, but for the sake of expediency we’ll leave it at that. (We thought it unfair to discuss some visceral objections to the way you invoke religion and your cornpone persona, just know that a pretty significant percentage of the electorate is going to groan in disgust when you say things like “Faith is like a bass boat…”) Your renewal application for membership in the Movement is still pending, awaiting your response to this assessment report. And we can assure you, we will take into account your outstanding track record on social issues before any determination is made.
We really doubt it will come to this, but if we decide to kick you out, remember you signed a nondisclosure agreement when you joined. There are legal penalties if you let anyone in on the secret handshake. (Though I can’t even remember if the scissors come after the fist pound or vice versa.) But if you do get expelled in the meantime, don’t sweat it. Gerson seems to be thriving since we gave him the boot.
Stay warm on the campaign trail — it’s cold in Iowa this time of year.
Regards,
Your Friends in the Conservative Movement
Regarding that Huckabee advisor's soon-to-be-regretted comments about Limbaugh, Huckabee actually encourages people in his book From Hope to Higher Ground: 12 STOPs to Restoring America's Greatness to "listen to less talk radio" as part of his "12 Action Steps to STOP Being Cynical." No doubt he wants everybody to follow that advice today.
I had (largely) refrained from piling on Huckabee because I wanted to give him a fair shake. I've now read his last two books (you can read my piece about them on NRO today) and am here to tell you they were terribly written and totally insubstantial. Thought his Foreign Affairs piece was bad? Read his chapter in From Hope to Higher Ground on how to "STOP the Loss of America's Prestige at Home and Abroad." His relentless use of folksy aphorisms and corny rhetorical sleight of hand provokes visceral objections — but the criticism isn't merely superficial. In the TNR I piece I linked to yesterday a member of the Arkansas press corps observed, "He thinks and speaks in metaphors. And, often, they're not right." That, well, hits the nail on the head. And his ideas about the limits of governance are frightening:
History shows that we can, in fact, help Americans to change, not by force-feeding them government restrictions or requirements but by first changing the attitudes and atmosphere in which we live. Eventually, having shifted public opinion, we can solidify the attitude and atmospheric changes with government actions that define the will of the majority. [Emphasis Added]
I don't think I'm being uncharitable when I say that's disturbingly authoritarian. Huckabee should probably start answering some critics instead of dismissing this all as "The Establishment" trying to keep a good ol' boy down.
*****************************************
UPDATE: I described the source of the anti-Limbaugh comment as an "advisor" — that's probably overstating it. Ambinder described him as a "DC-based Huckabee ally."
My hackles rose when I first started seeing this guy, and the more he talks, the worse I feel about him. Now I know why.
The man is as dangerous as I thought he would be.
Thanks for posting this.
A friend of mine said the airline machinist’s union was endorsing Huckster. That’s all I need to know about him. BZZT! REJECT!
It takes a sly chess player to be CIC of the most powerful country in the free world and I don't think he's got it in him.
Besides that...you thought the leftist commies had fun calling GW a crusader in their propaganda...just wait and see what the Islamofascists will do with "Pastor in Chief".
Please drop out Huck!
The recent level of animosity towards Mike Huckabee from the Republican establishment, and conservative talk radio hosts and columnists in particular, is simply amazing. It manifests itself in a daily waves of distortion and half-truths concerning Huckabee’s record and positions. They have obviously learned their lessons well from the mainstream media and Clinton Inc. The uniformity of their misinformation and talking points is impressive. A solid case can be made that they could be more in agreement about Mike Huckabee, than Senator Clinton, D NY.
This raises the question, WHY?
The fractured nature of the Republican field has prevented the emergence of a clear favorite. All the candidates have serious real or perceived defects. Giuliani is an arrogant Liberal from NY with Slick Willie’s moral compass, McCain has been disloyal to the party, and is to blame for McCain-Feingold and the attempted Shamnesty, Romney is a manufactured flip flopper from Kennedy country, and is the anointed heir of Bush Inc., Huckabee is a Christian, who is so simple minded that he actually believes in Christianity, and therefore can’t be trusted with high political office. Thompson was supposed to be the guy, but his campaign has been a dead horse from day one.
The one name that the Republican establishment never expected to see on this list is Mike Huckabee. The front loading most of the primaries means that all the shouting will be over in less than three months. It also means that a complete unknown can actually upset the apple cart. Huckabee is the wild card that was not supposed to be in the deck. And worst of all he is not beholden, in any way, to the Beltway/Wall Street axis of the Republican establishment. This is an unacceptable sin and the reason why the Huckaboom must be crushed ASAP.
The foundation of the Republican Party used to consist of a combination of fiscal and social conservatives tempered with a healthy dose of free trade and foreign policy expertise. The convention has been that the free traders a fiscal conservatives are the brains of the operation and the social conservatives have been the muscle.
However that all started changing with the election of Dubya and the emergence of an Imperial Congress who together have essentially exterminated fiscal conservatism and have ceased responding to the plebeians who elect them. Life is good with everyone gorging and enriching themselves at the public trough. Currently the principle difference between Republicans and Democrats appears to be a slight disagreement over whether their lust for profligate spending should be paid for entirely with debt, or a combination of debt and higher taxes.
I keep hearing about fiscal conservatives from our esteemed talk radio hosts and columnists, but I challenge them to name names. Who EXACTLY are they talking about? Who is at the barricades trying to prevent the complete looting of our treasury and the mortgaging of our children’s future? All I see is Ted Stevens building another bridge to nowhere. Ted Kennedy and John McCain trying to shove a Shamnesty bill down our throats, while Dubya lurks in the White House rose garden with his pen in his hand. Seriously, how can the President and Congress claim to be serious about the war on radical Islam, when they ignore the will of the people and refuse to secure our borders. I call BS.
The free traders have decided that our National Sovereignty is an impediment to their stampede to accumulate the most toys. Luckily for them, plenty of our former elected officials are for sale, in order to buy the current ones. Am I the only one who understands that the real war against the United States is being fought right now against the our dollar? I hope not. The collapse of our national wealth will cause the gutting of our military. What can’t be done on the battlefield by our enemies will be accomplished by our Congress scrambling to payoff our social Ponzi schemes.
What passes for our foreign policy is confused because our State Department and CIA are unclear about which side they are actually supposed to be on. On the bright side, I suppose it is slightly better than the Clinton administration, which did not have any foreign policy at all.
In short the purported Republican brain trust is flunking lunch, and selling us down the river.
All of which brings us to the case FOR (gasp) a social conservative, Mike Huckabee.
He has THE strongest prolife position. He has a perfect understanding of the Second Amendment, which tells me where he stands on individual rights. He is an honest guy who relies on his core convictions, not the lastest poll. On the fiscal front, he understands that it is immoral to squander our children’s legacy. He actually believes that the American experiment and our Sovereignty are worth defending. His foriegn policy experience is comparable to Ronald Reagan’s. He will communicate effectively and directly with the people to go over the heads of a reluctant Congress. Best of all, he is clearly understands which side he is on... OURS!
How is he going to tell the Islamofascists not to have a theocracy?
That's not to say he's a bad guy. He's actually a good guy with good intentions. I could support him as VP, but only if the president was someone who had the time and management skill to train him and keep him on a very short leash. I don't know if Fred Thompson has both the energy to do that and run uphill against Hillary.
I am confused by your question. As an example, Saudi Arabia (our close ally, according to Dubya) is a Theocracy founded on Whabbism (the most extreme form of Islam).
What exactly has Dubya been telling THEM for the last seven years?
I would bet that person posts here.
Short answer..we didn’t win a war in SA. :)
Still waiting for you to answer the question...
I have only seen the distortions and half-truths posted by his supporters.
DOH
There are several already.
The American Crusader President Huckabee tells the Leaders of Afghanistan and Iraq not to elect a Mullah to the office of the Presidency.
(Hypocrisy in action).
The reason you won't answer..is because you can't.
Yeah. He’s on our side so he can steal our money, accept
“tribute” of expensive gifts, let murderers and rapists free to prey on us and to force us to change our personal behavior.
Some “Christian”.
Having read so many posters on Free Republic demanding we have to support the party's nominee even if many of his positions are in conflict with ours, I have to laugh.
Apparently, that rule does not apply to Mike Huckabee even if he should win the Republican nomination.
Mike Huckabee does not need arch-conservatives to win election.
He won elections in Arkansas as a Republican where Democrats have completely dominated politics there forever.
This man is a serious and formidable candidate who should not be lightly dismissed. Anyone who can come from so far in the back of the pack to lead, without benefit of serious money, is no joke.
That he scares the establishment is delightful. His outsider status and personal charm are making him attractive to more and more voters.
I love all the mudslinging that Huckabee is a con man.
Hell, all politicians are con men. They have to convince voters they can do something.
What's a guy gonna say? "Elect me. I can't do a damn thing to save this listing, sinking ship of state, but at least I freely and openly admit I'm impotent!"
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