Day One In The Major League, And Huckabee Whiffs

To the roar of the crowd, ex-AR Gov. Mike Huckabee stepped up to the plate yesterday. A fast ball. Swing and a miss. Strike one.

Huckabee was asked to respond to the unflattering video of him "begging," in the words of the Romney campaign, the state legislature to raise taxes in 2003.

On Fox News, Huckabee said that he was following the will of the state Supreme Court, who had ordered the state government to pay more for education.

But the video clip in question showed Huckabee referring to a regular budget plan and had nothing to do with the state supreme court decision.

So -- about half of Huckabee's press coverage was positive -- Huckmentum -- and half of it was negative -- particularly the Fox News-Drudge-conservative blog half.

This wasn't an underhand pitch -- it wasn't a question about his weight loss, his guitar or his sense of humor -- it was about an issue that has the potential to trip him up.

Welcome to the big show.

Comments

Marc:

Check your facts...the Supreme Court mandate required a large increase in the state's budget...which created a budget shortfall that they had to account for. That's what he was addressing in the video that was taken out of context. Doesn't it make you wonder why the entire video wasn't shown...but instead just an unflattering clip?

Huckabee cut taxes 94 times while governor of Arkansas. He cut capital gains taxes by 25%, eliminated the marriage penalty, doubled the child care tax credit, eliminated capital gains on the sale of a home, passed the FIRST broad based tax cut in the history of the state of Arkansas. He balanced the budget every year he was in office, cut income taxes and left the state with an $850mil surplus.

I'm okay with that record...and anyone who isn't is just plain kidding themselves. There's not another GOP candidate with anything close to Huckabee's resume on cutting taxes.

Posted by Chris Slusser | November 15, 2007 1:07 PM

Why didn't Huckabee cut waste in the enormous Arkasas budget to raise the money?

taxhikemike.com

Posted by Eric | November 15, 2007 1:19 PM

I think that the promotion of this video is mis-leading and unfair. Govenor Huckabee was not so much asking for tax increases as he was asking his democrat controlled legislature to make SOME decision to get to the legally required balanced budget that he and they had a duty to achieve.

Posted by mike | November 15, 2007 1:42 PM

Enormous budget? Education makes up the lion's share of a state's budget. I like how people make statements like this...yet ignore the tax cuts that I listed (which are just a few of many). You also fail to recognize that the Arkansas House (92 out of 100 were democrats) and Senate (31 of 35 were democrat) had the power to override any of his vetos.

Until the Club For Growth can provide specific examples of where there was wasteful spending in Arkansas' budget that was promoted by Mike Huckabee...I'd suggest you folks get a life.

If you wanna talk big government, and raising taxes on the upper class...take a look at Mitt Romney's record in Massachusetts. He closed loop holes in the tax code for many corporations, which resulted in a much higher tax bill for the upper tax brackets. He also installed a watered down universal health care plan that was using tax payer money to fund abortions.

Mike Huckabee's record on cutting taxes is unmatched by any of the other GOP candidates, and he (along with Romney) has signed the No Tax Pledge...promising no tax increases and no new taxes.

Posted by Chris Slusser | November 15, 2007 1:44 PM

Before claiming something as fact in a blog, at least validate your claims prior...

Posted by anonymous | November 15, 2007 2:00 PM

That video is weak. Proof that Romney is getting desperate. The editing reminds me of when John Edwards claimed to be attacked by Ann Coulter. They purposely cut out anything that would give clear explanation & context.

If you want to see some really interesting videos, look for Mitt the rich guy on youtube. The flip-flopping is dizzying.

Posted by Mitch Larson | November 15, 2007 2:33 PM

The author of this article has been misinformed. Mike has been characterized by people who knew him while governor of Arkansas as the most frugal they have seen. The accusations distorting the facts came in an election year by those trying to keep him from being re-elected. It didn't work. The people saw through it, and he was re-elected for a 2nd term.

Huckabee has said he is in favor of every penny spent by government disclosed to the people, down to how much is paid to have the lawn cut at the white house! Seems like THAT would sure make everyone accountable for foolish spending. That's a president for the people!!

His grassroots support is building -- because of his message. He has certainly been fiscally responsible in managing the money he's raised!! Check him out at Huckabee.com and see what all the excitement is about!!!

Posted by Pat | November 15, 2007 2:38 PM

Hillary and Romney crack me up. How can campaigns go from a strategy of "inevitability" to one of abject panic in less than a week?

Take your meds, people; you're both still leading. (For now at least.)

Posted by Exurban Jon | November 15, 2007 2:48 PM

Marc:

I live in AR and remember the context of the clip well. The point wasn't that Gov. Huckabee wanted to raise taxes but that a decision had to be made about how to deal with the shortfall caused by the Supreme Court. If Gov. Huckabee was such a "tax-hiker" I wonder why he kept getting elected? Yep, you guessed it...I voted for him every time. Go figure.

Check your facts and quit drinking the Kool-Aid.

Posted by Lisa | November 15, 2007 2:58 PM

I'll pass on a pro-amnesty, fiscally liberal politician. Thanks anyway, Huck.

Posted by Lisa | November 15, 2007 3:08 PM

I live in Arkansas and am a very conservative voter.

And I will never vote for Huck in a primary.

Huck was a big-time tax raiser and nanny-stater - even when the state had a large SURPLUS after the Bush economic explosion.

When Reagan had a surplus in California, he cut the people's taxes - giving it back to them. Not so with Huck. When we had a large surplus, there wasn't even TALK of cutting taxes. It was all "how can we spend this money?"

Huck didn't just raise taxes. He created an entire new class of taxes on services that have cost regular folks big time. Any service... things like pest control are now taxed with a sales tax. They weren't before. For instance, my pest control bill used to be about $105 per quarter. Now it's $116 - just from this tax. This affects a LOT of services, too, and even used items like used cars. Thanks, Huck.

Just look at the Cato Institutes report card for Governors for fiscal matters in 2006:

http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa581/reportcard_table.html

Yes, Huck gets an "F". He's tied for last place amongst Republicans and there are only four Democrats that rank worse than he does on the Governor's list. There's your "conservative", eh?

This guy also did other liberal and nanny-state things such as raise the minimum wage and institute a freedom-sucking state-wide smoking ban.

And he is absolutely atrocious on illegal immigration - one of the best friends an illegal could have. He even called a state lawmaker and fellow Republican "unchristian" for opposing tuition breaks for college for illegal immigrants and other goodies Huck wanted.

Add to this the many ethical questions about Huck and his gift-receiving, wedding registry(three decades after he got married), and other things(just google this stuff, you'll see), and I can't imagine how Conservatives are being fooled by this guy.

Huckabee is NOT a Conservative. He started out that way, but like so many other bureaucrats, he "grew" in office and became a nanny-state liberal by the end.

Posted by Dunn | November 15, 2007 3:10 PM

I'd never vote for him, because he's far too conservative on issues of importance to me, but if the Republican indictment of Huckabee is that he doesn't hate illegal immigrants and that he was willing to raise taxes (whether he jumped or was pushed) in support of public education, I'm inclined to send him a contribution.

Republicans have become the party of misanthropy in a way that even The Onion couldn't convey.

Posted by Rich | November 15, 2007 3:12 PM

Fred Thompson (for once) said it best: Mike Huckabee is a pro-life liberal.

Posted by James | November 15, 2007 3:15 PM

I live in AR too the budget is largely education but it is still *enormous.* AR has a tremedously inefficient state bureaucracy that micromanages state purchasing, education paperwork (especially special ed - for example, IEPs that are many times the size of other states, with duplicated entries for data), school foods, and a number of other areas.

The budget crisis was a product of the Lakeview lawsuit (that Rogers, one of the most well off school districts in the state signed up to as well) for adequeacy in education. The State Supreme Court decision required certain mandates regarding equity in funding and more especially in quality of education. More spending was expected but consolidation, fairer distribution of state funds (a very political problem in Arkansas), and an improvement in the core curriculum were also tools towards that end.

The state did spend some money on technology to bridge some curriculum gaps, and personnel, but they backed off in a number of other areas. Huckabee's decision to support a tax hike was not the inevitable response to the lawsuit.

I'm no Romney fan, but Huck has definitely moderated well away from a steady supply-side philosophy. The only ones drinking Kool-Aid around here are those who think Huckabee will be any more trustworthy on taxes than say, George H.W. Bush.

Posted by AA | November 15, 2007 3:18 PM

Mike DID cut taxes 94 times, and he will be the best candidate to take control of the moral situation in the country. (illegal imm., abortion, and marriage)

Posted by Matt | November 15, 2007 3:31 PM

Phylis Schalfly can smell a RINO as good as anyone, and she said the following about Huckabee-

"He destroyed the conservative movement in Arkansas, and left the Republican Party a shambles," she says. "Yet some of the same evangelicals who sold us on George W. Bush as a 'compassionate conservative' are now trying to sell us on Mike Huckabee."

Im sorry Huck fans, he is not the real deal. You are probably more enamored with his charming personality rather than his record as governor, and he is not the conservative hero he claims to be.

The closest we have to that this election is Fred Thompson.

Posted by gatorbait | November 15, 2007 4:38 PM

Fred Thompson calling Huckabee a "pro-life liberal" is pretty comical....considering Thompson opposes a federal ban on abortion and same sex marriage, once lobbied for Planned Parenthood, supported McCain-Feingold, and NEVER authored a single meaningful piece of legislation in his two terms in the Senate.

And his polling in Iowa (9%) and New Hampshire (5%), the two early states, are a clear indication that people are bored with him.

Posted by Chris | November 15, 2007 5:02 PM

Rich,

The argument is not that he doesn't "hate illegal immigrants and that he was willing to raise taxes (whether he jumped or was pushed) in support of public education", it's that he is not for ENFORCING THE LAW and securing our borders(two very common-sense positions that have nothing to do with "hate"), and he raised taxes and gave us an entire new class of taxes EVEN DURING A GOVERNMENT SURPLUS. And when it was not necessary - even for education.

Yes, how horrible for Conservatives to want the laws enforced, to have an actual border, and for the government to cut wasteful spending rather than raise taxes - especially during a surplus.

All that's just SO unreasonable!

Give me a break.

Posted by Dunn | November 15, 2007 5:13 PM

I was neutral when I started reading this blog. I just spent 4 hours researching the accusations. I looked for myself! The truth is out their if you dig for it. Everytime somebody says something positive or negative, you need to look for the other side to get the full story. If you don't, you legitimately are a koolaid drinker. And I have to say that I waffled back and forth for a while. But after finding the facts behind the "facts", I can see who the "repeat the mantra", mentally lazy posters are. So this was fun to see who thinks for themselves and who doesn't. My results are overwhelmingly that the comments about Huckabee's tax and spend bent are out of context and based on emotional irrationality. He appears to have been an excellent fiscal manager, GIVEN WHAT HE HAD TO DEAL WITH IN THE LEGISLATURE. Here is an example of the perverted attacks: He raised sales taxes 37%. While this is true, that tax hike came out to be less than half a cent on the dollar. WHOO HOO! There is a half cent on the dollar difference between the county I live in and the next one over. Here's another one: He increased spending by 50%. 50% of what? When I looked at the dollar amount, I found he actually increased spending by 4.1%, on social programs. And guess what else? The population increased by almost 14%. So if you use the same logic the democrats used in the last election when they said that the Bush wanted to cut Social Security when what he really wanted was not to raise it as much as the democrats wanted to raise it, you could say that Huckabee actually cut spending (per person). There were a number of othe "facts" people got all bent over. And they sounded pretty bad when you just do percentages. But when you look at the dollar amounts and compare them, you get the real picture. The truth: all you people who dissed Huckabee just made me want to find out what was really going on. When I did, it convinced to vote for him and pray you are as lazy about going to the polls as you are about thinking for yourself.

Posted by Cathy | November 15, 2007 5:43 PM

Dear fellow conservatives: Huckabee is yet another flim flam artist from Arkansas. We'll pass, thanks.

Rudy Giuliani is far and away our best candidate, even though he's nice to gay people and doesn't stay up nights worrying about whether other people are having abortions. Frankly, if a mother doesn't love her unborn child enough to carry it full-term, you can pretty much guarantee that the taxpayers will end up raising it (or incarcerating it) if she's not allowed to get an abortion. Again, I'll pass.

Wake up and smell the coffee...if we nominate Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney or Fred Thompson, we're going to lose, big time. Giuliani and McCain are the only candidates with a chance in the general election, though McCain has pissed off far too many in his own party to get the nod.

Posted by mike | November 15, 2007 6:13 PM

Mike Huckabee is being used by Giuliani, to help double team Mitt Romney in Iowa, due to Giuliani's inability to sell his line of bull to the people of Iowa.

Their plan isn't going to work, because choosing Huckabee or Giuliani to represent the Republican Party in 2008, would be equivalent to selecting Janet Reno to be Miss America.

Mitt Romney is the only "Best Choice".

Posted by Bruce | November 15, 2007 6:40 PM

Cathy,

You need to do more research, or try living in Arkansas, before you start tossing around accusations of laziness. Huck's not Ted Kennedy, but he's not the fiscal conservative he pretends to be or that you seem to think he is (and that's the root of the debate here).

The tax increase was unnecessary but he called for it anyway. You say he only increased spending 4.1%? Why the tax increase with state coffers overflowing then?

Also, if you'd really done the research, you'd know that sales taxes in Arkansas have been widely criticized in the past by people on both sides of the aisle, because they included food. BOTH governor candidates to replace Huckabee campaigned on ending the food tax, something Huck never accomplished, even though there was popular support for it.

And now he wants a national sales tax. Hope it doesn't include milk.

Posted by AA | November 16, 2007 12:03 AM

Deep discussions are not needed when it comes to Huck.

He is a pro-life, high spending, amnesty seeking, tax loving liberal.

If that is who you want to vote for, then by all means do.

He will not win. He will only help Rudy.

A vote for Huck is a vote for Rudy.

Posted by Carolina | November 16, 2007 10:47 AM

Great job Cathy, thanks for the TRUTH among the way-too-many anonymous and unaccountable bloggers.
I always get my daily chuckle from Huck-angry Arkansas bloggers, the ONLY people that actually had the chance to stop Huck after his 1st "disasterous" term as gov. Amazingly, in a democratic state, you couldn't do it then, and you can't do it now. Arkansas anti-Hucks and Dems, take a Viagra, you're the very definition of impotence.

Posted by Mark M | November 16, 2007 11:44 AM

Folks who don't know, much of the fiscal criticism of Mr. Huckabee coming out of Arkansas and from the MSM (especially through Club For Growth) is all because a wealthy Arkansas businessman named Stephens couldn't get his way with Huckabee back in 2002. Stephens and his 'money men' have been after Mike Huckabee ever since. I believe Stephens has been on the CFG board and is one of the biggest CFG contributors over the last few years.

personal vendetta + money = twisted 'facts' of MH

Ask yourself, why would CFG put out the only commercial ads against a candidate who at the time months ago was polling nationally at 2-3%???

Posted by TJ from AR | November 17, 2007 3:23 AM

You article was a BORING read. Let's get past all the media propaganda. Go on the campaign trail and actually ask Mike Huckabee some questions and you will learn why he is surging. Over the past two months his numbers have increased on the national and each of the big four states Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. He's also surging in Michigan, so I would advise you to do a fair and balanced story or don't do one at all.

Posted by James Jenkins | November 17, 2007 10:01 AM

My guess is that Mike Huckabee is not running for President of the United States. He is running for Vice President. He will not get the momentum from Iowa to carry him the distance. He knows this. He will get a push though towards V.P. and he will be satisfied to take it. I think he will hook up with Giuliani in the end. I wouldn't doubt that both the Huckabee and Giuliani camps have spoken to this union. It could be a powerful ticket but I don't see how true social conservatives could be happy with this. I think Mike Huckabee is more interested in popular vote than in the nation's population or its problems.

Posted by Wendy73 | November 17, 2007 2:13 PM

I, too, am an Arkansan who remembers the Huckabee administration well.

Max Brantly, who wrote the bashing article in Salon, is an extreme liberal who hounded Huckabee throughout his governorship, primarily through the use of sleazy, low-rent tactics and misleading statements in his articles. The Salon article is no exception.

The video is a clip taken out of context, and as others have said, Huckabee was simply urging a highly Democratic legislature to act as required to get the job done.

Huckabee left the state in far better shape than he found it in almost every respect. While I'm not a religious person, his religion leaves room for those of a different view. He is inclusive, decisive, and a fundamentally decent individual.

Having a president support the Fair Tax is a major step toward getting it done (although, the real trouble comes with having a Charlie Rangel as House Ways & Means Chairman). It is far and away the best thing that could ever happen to the nation's economy.

Those who are buying into the lies and misleading remarks about Huckabee should take time to actually educate themselves more deeply about the man. I believe if every voter would actually become informed about Huckabee, he would win in a landslide.

Posted by Arkansan for Huckabee | November 18, 2007 12:06 PM

I worked for two years on the Arkansas Murphy Commission, a citizen's commission empowered by Huckabee's first proclamation as Governor, to make suggestions for streamlining AR State Government. He implemented almost NONE of its recommendations. The savings to State Government would have eliminated any need for the tax fuel tax increase or any other tax increases, even for education.

K-12 Education takes 50% of the State budget and highred education, 20%. If Huck had implemented the Murphy commission suggestions, the Dept. of Education would have been totally reorganized, which he had TOTAL control over and the Legislature could have been manuvered into cost savings like eliminating the State CO-OPs.

Huckabee raised taxes, not cut them, over the objection of real conservatives and Murphy Commissioners. If you want to know more, go to http://arkansaspolicyfoundation.org/murphy_comission.html

Posted by Murphy Commissioner | November 18, 2007 5:43 PM