Tax Hike Mike
Check out this new website from the Club for Growth: Tax Hike Mike.
I believe Mike Huckabee has been very impressive in the Republican debates, and he is great on social issues, but it bothers me that another tax-hiker from Hope, Arkansas may be elected President.
Huckabee, among other things, has supported taxes on Internet sales and access, while supporting tax increases on gas, cigarettes, and nursing homes, opposed the real of the sales tax on food (something that is unconstitutional in Ohio, even though the state’s new, Republican-created, commercial activity tax is a tax on food), and allowed a 17% sales increase to become law! I’m glad The Club is there to point these facts out.
In the last issue of National Review, Huckabee essentially admitted that the Club for Growth’s (which he calls the “Club for Greed”) claims are true, but he needed to fix bad roads, and he had to support tax increases because the Arkansas supreme court ruled in 2002 that the state’s system of funding schools was unconstitutional (sound familiar?).
And, in fairness, I must point out that Mike Huckabee has signed Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform’s pledging to oppose tax increases. That is something which Fred Thompson, John McCain, and Rudy Giuliani have not done.
Also Mike supports replacing the income tax with a national consumption tax (the “fair tax”). This would be a good idea, but if we are getting in the business of supporting improbable changes to the ugly federal tax code (the TRUE “living, breathing document”), I’d rather have everyone get a monthly “tax bill” in the mail, which every American would have to go to the post office and pay, in cash. When people have their income withheld for tax purposes, or taxes are included in the cost of buying goods, it’s easy to forget how high our taxes really are- But if people had that money physically in hand, and then they watch that money being sent off to the government, I can’t think of a faster way to change how people think about taxes.
And as E. Frank Stephenson points out, the fair tax has caused a lot silly squabbles between conservatives who should be unified in their fight against taxes.
So… pray tell, who do you like? You don’t like thompson, you don’t like huckabee? Guiliani? Romney? Or a democrat?
At this point, my only concern is to convince Republicans to not be so quick to support candidates who may have a bad record on taxes, abortion, social issues, the war, et cetera. I don’t feel a particular need to pick a horse in this race. No candidate particularly strikes me as Goldwateresque.
The candidate will basically be decided in 4 months, and there is more than a year left for us to beat the snot out of “her thighness” Hillary.
You disappoint me….let’s take a look at Huckabee’s REAL response to these obnoxiously ridiculous charges.
I quote:
“Governor Huckabee cut taxes 94 times and returned almost $400 million to Arkansas taxpayers, including the first broad-based tax cut in the history of the state. He doubled the standard deduction and the child care tax credit, eliminated the marriage penalty and the capital gains tax on the sale of a home, and reduced the capital gains tax for both businesses and individuals. After serving as governor for more than ten years, Gov. Huckabee left the state with almost $1 billion in surplus.
“More than 80% of the voters supported a 4-cent tax on diesel fuel to fix the roads. Similarly, the voters approved a 1/8 cent increase in the sales tax to preserve their natural and cultural heritage. The Governor would have violated his oath of office if he did not go with the will of these voters. He did not raise taxes — the people did.
“Governor Huckabee did not raise spending by 50%. With respect to the spending that the Governor had under his control, spending rose about six-tenths of one percent a year during his ten-and-a-half year tenure. As far as taxing the internet, in 2004, Gov. Huckabee joined with 43 other governors in asking Congress for help in creating a level playing field for Main Street businesses and preserving revenues for schools as well as state and local government.
OK fine, then here is his actual record:
http://clubforgrowth.org/2007/01/a_report_on_mike_huckabees_fis.php
It’s amazing how conservatives, and I am one, cry and moan that we have no real conservative candidate for President. Mike Huckabee is a phenominal candidate who would be a tier one candidate if more of us conservatives, who are fed up with our choices, would send him a few bucks.
Huckabee is a true conservative and he’s the best candidate in the race. Check out his website or the Huckabee for President blog. Watch the videos of his interviews. Watch how he handled Jon Stewart. This guy has more charisma and savvy in his little finger than any other candidate since Ronald Reagan.
He’s the only candidate who can beat HillBilly, because he understands what “real’ people in middle America want out of government. Mike Huckabee is the first national candidate to figure out the secret. Most Americans are Christians, but we don’t want religion rammed down our throats from politicians.
Contrary to popular opinion, most Americans don’t think “right” or “left” when picking someone to vote for. They think is this guy going to make my life better or worse. The pundits and the media have it all wrong. America and Ohio for that matter didn’t move to the left the last election cycle. Look at the Congressional approval ratings if you don’t believe me. Americans simply woke up and realized the people currently in office have done didly squat for them over the past decade. It just so happens most of those people were Republicans. They were Republicans who stopped acting like Republicans, and they got what they deserved.
For those of you calling Mike Huckabee a tax raiser. You should be ashamed. Have you ever been to Arkansas? Keep in mind the state is over 60% Democrat and IT’S A HELL HOLE! He did a great job down there improving the infrastructure and the economy.
Mike Huckabee deserves our support.
Jeff said it well, the “Club for Greed” is doing a hit job on a conservative who scares conservatives only because he has conservative solutions for problems considered to be the domains of liberals alone. he has been one of the most creative intelligent executives in state office this past decade and is strongly pro life and pro 2nd amendment (In fact he is easily the strongest on both those issues).
He is for securing the border with a fence and also new techniques made available thanks to new technology. He is for rebuilding our infra structure in a way that it will return to us our tax dollar. He will cut down pork spending and like he did in Arkansas, destroy the liberal corruption in the government (including liberal Republican corruption).
He is by far the most solid conservative in the race and the best candidate period for America.
Thank you for the article and the chance to have a dialog, God bless and good luck!
OK how about this sort of nonsense?
First off, thanks for the well-written article. I must tell you, I’ve really appreciated Club for Growth’s radio commercials during the Republican primary in the MI-07th - where the incumbent was unseated by Tim Walberg, an honest-talking, FairTax proponent, and now co-sponsor. The incumbent was demagoging the FairTax, and Club for Growth supported Walberg’s challenge.
Now, here comes Mike Huckabee - at first, a flat-taxer. The man learns about the FairTax, not only scours the book, but actually pays a visit to Americans for Fair Taxation in Houston for an up-close, and personal, briefing. Just listen to him during the Republican debate on “This Week with Geo Stehanopoulos,” and again during a recent Rotary Club gathering in New Hampshire. This man is not only for the single-greatest return of power to the American people in almost a hundred years! but realizes that the enactment of the FairTax is essential for increased productivity and global competitiveness.
And the Club for Growth now put’s up an anti-Huckabee website!?? I wonder who has provided the funding for this effort under their banner!
Upon learning of Huckabee’s ardent FairTax support, I dropped support for Romney; this, after having made repeated attempts to educate Romney’s people, and encouraging his support for the FairTax. I saw how Romney, at first, began to dodge questions about the FairTax - pleading unfamiliarity - despite the volume of information we sent out to his operatives here in his birthstate of MI, and despite results of his tax question to the Yahoo community where tons of FairTax supporters voiced why they wanted to see the FairTax. Thus, Romney appears to be a somewhat disingenuous opportunist, hiding behind a “club-shedding, ‘aw shucks’ affability,” who compromised his significant Mormon anti-abortion beliefs when it suited a quest power in liberal MA, and then conveniently returned to the fold in his run for the presidency.
I actually think that Hillary would beat Romney because of this flip-flopping (that scorched John Kerry!), and because of the privilege he has enjoyed - growing up the Bloomfield Hills son of the former president of the pre-Chryslerized American Motors, then Governor of MI, George Romney (on whose watch, btw, the Michigan Income Tax was implemented. Hmmm, the “seed may not fall far from the tree”).
Huckabee, on the other hand, understands what it is to exist in humbler real world. He certainly far-lacked the advantages available to Romney, and has risen remarkably. Unlike Romney - and maybe even Giuliani (less so) - Huckabee is an adroit public speaker who communicates his message in well-integrated, cogent terms, with compelling examples like the story he told (at the Ames Straw Poll) of what his then-11-yo daughter entered into the “Comments” section of a Visitors Book after visiting the Yad Vashem holocaust museum: “Why didn’t somebody do something?” Very effective.
Huckabee is all about calling his listeners to “do something,” to awaken them to their own empowerment, and summon them to action in order that “Main Street,” and not (Rommey’s) “Wall Street,” will prevail in guarding the values and beliefs upon which the Republic was founded.
Huckabee puts his listeners at ease, and reassures them, articulating clear concepts in a natural, easy style (no doubt something well-cultivated as a pastor). He’s not angry or demanding, like a Ron Paul, nor is he as “rigidly-scripted” as Romney, and his large brown eyes peer through a humble demeanor, drawing a striking contrast to a somewhat mechanical-squinty Brownback. One can easily imagine sitting comfortably with this man over a cup of coffee at the Main Street Cafe!
Mark my words, Mike Huckabee will be our next President - in spite of (or maybe because of!) Club for Growth’s efforts. He is the only Republican who can draw Democrats away from Hillary in sufficient numbers to win in 2008.
Wait a minute, Matt. Your “gold standard” is Barry Goldwater, yet you adore Ken freakin’ Blackwell?
You are aware that Goldwater was NOT a social conservative, right? This is what the man said in the 90’s:
If I had to guess, I’d think that Goldwater would not look very fondly upon people like Ken Blackwell and George W. Bush. We know he hated Jerry Falwell, and was pretty upset with Reagan in the late 80s.
I’m not going to debate Goldwater with you, other than to say that in 1964, the issues such as gay marriage and gays and the military were simply not an issue.
And, as President, I want someone to be as Calvin Coolidge-like as possible. Frankly, social issues shouldn’t be much of a concern of the executive branch anyway.
However, my “gold standard” is Russell Kirk. I read everything of his I could get my hands on in high school, and he has shaped my views, and my pessimism, the most.
And of modern writers, I’m a fan of John Derbyshire, even though his books are mostly about math.
Gay people didn’t exist in 1964? Well, regardless, we can’t deny the fact that his daughter had an abortion at 20 years old, and that his first wife founded Arizona’s Planned Parenthood. Social conservative he was not.
I have a lot of respect for Goldwater, despite the fact that he defended McCarthy to the end and is essentially responsible for Ronnie Reagan and George W. Bush (by being the first GOP candidate to embrace the Southern Strategy, he essentially started the romance that ended with the current entanglement of southern religious conservatives and the GOP).
That makes a hell of a lot more sense than Barry Goldwater. Hillary was a Goldwater Girl, for crissakes.
Actually, Hillary was, and still is, more of a Saul Alinsky girl.