How did Huckabee have control over the Lakeview case? I thought that was controlled by the state Supreme Court.
How did Huckabee control the road conditions? Could he have gotten them magically repaired without paying for it? Everyone here seems to be satisfied with the road improvements with the pay-as-you-go program.
How did Huckabee control federal mandates for Medicare and Medicaid?
The Supreme Court doesn't raise taxes. It merely required equity in education. Here in Texas the Supreme Court did the same thing - made a decision that required the education funding to be changed. Liberals wanted more money and a broad-based tax increase. The Texas Republican leadership added a tax, but then cut property taxes by one-third, rejiggering in a way that was a tax cut. Not net tax increase.
Huckabee showed zero fiscal conservative leadership in response to the decision. He could have held the line on spending or gone another way than a large tax increase. HE DID NOT. He begged for a tax hike, got it, and signed it. And now he squeals like a stuck pig for his lack of leadership and lack of conservative cohones?!? pathetic!
How did Huckabee control the road conditions? Could he have gotten them magically repaired without paying for it? Everyone here seems to be satisfied with the road improvements with the pay-as-you-go program.
Every other governor faces the same challenges you mention. And yet Huckabee was ranked 45th out of 50 among governors by Cato on how he met those challenges. He was one of the most fiscally irresponsible governors. The state tax burden climbed from 30th place to 13th place; spending grew faster than the economy (which it did not under Mitt's watch in Massachusetts nor in most other states). The points you make are not refutations of Huckabee's tax-and-spend record THEY ARE EXCUSES THAT BASICALLY SAYS WE SHOULD BE TAX AND SPENDERS. That mindset is a liberal tax-and-spend mindset. It is wrong.