The Political Inquirer

“I think if they knew [his record] it would totally de-energize them,” he said. ” . . . His policies are just wrong.” -Jim Holt, Arkansas State Senator (R)

For the past six months or so of the Republican primary race, Mike Huckabee was nothing more than a nuisance, not really worthy of taking a look at why he was low in the polls. But recently, it seems every idiot with a fridge full of beer and religious television shows on 24/7 found out that Mike Huckabee is an ex-preacher. They began drooling over the concept of a religious man running, and are now frantically supporting him as the primaries grow near. Huckabee, a mediocre governor at best, and scum at worst, is finally worthy of being looked out now, and to be undressed as the empty container that he really is.

Taxes and Finance

The first subject at hand, is the claim by Huckabee himself to be a “fiscal conservative.” This is so out of touch with reality, and his record as governor, it is amazing that anyone would buy it. I’m not sure if anyone really does. Lets take a look at some quotes from people who would know about what really happened:

John Capps, Arkansas State Senator (D): “[Huckabee] outshines (other Republican hopefuls) with his glibness and ability to speak…He’s quick with answers and leaves a good impression. In the past, he blamed Democrats for raising taxes…We voted for them, but he proposed them.” — Democrats going with the tax raises that a Republican governor was proposing.

Ernie Dumas, Arkansas Newpaper: “Mike Huckabee raised more taxes in 10 years in office than Bill Clinton did in his 12 years.“

Let’s take a look at a sample of what Mike Huckabee raised during his time as governor:

- Imposed an income tax surcharge of 3 percent on tax liabilities of individuals and domestic and foreign corporations (Act 38, 1st special session of 2003). (It was temporary until revenues improved. The legislature repealed it in 2005.)

- Increased the sales tax by 1/8 of one percent by initiated act (but it was a personal campaign by Huckabee, who campaigned across the state for it and took a celebrated bass boat trip for 4 days down the Arkansas River holding press conferences in each river city to urge passage of the act)

- Increased the sales tax by one-half of 1 percent (Act 1492 of 1999)

- Increased the sales tax by 7/8ths of 1 percent and expand the sales tax to many services previously exempt from the tax (Act 107, 2nd special session of 2003)

- Collected a 2 percent tax on chewing tobacco, cigars, package tobacco, cigarette papers and snuff (Act 434 of 1997)

- Levied an additional excise tax of 7 percent on tobacco (Act 38 of 1st special session of 2003)

- Increased the tax on cigarette and tobacco permits (Act 1337 of 1997)

- Increased the tax on cigarette and tobacco – cigarettes by $1.25 per thousand cigarettes and 2 percent of the manufacturers’ selling price on tobacco products (Act 434 of 1997)

- Increased the tax on cigarettes by 25 cents a pack (Act 38, 1st special session of 2003)

- Levied a 3 percent excise tax on all retail sales of beer (Act 1841 of 2001 and extended by Act 272 of 2003 and Act 2188 of 2005)

- Revived the 4 percent mixed drink tax of 1989 and added a 4 percent tax on private clubs (Act 1274 of 2005)

- Increased the tax on gasoline by 3 cents a gallon (Act 1028 of 1999)

- Increased the tax on diesel by 4 cents a gallon (Act 1028 of 1999) Note: Contrary to what Huckabee has said repeatedly in debates, speeches and TV shows, the 1999 gasoline and diesel taxes were not submitted to the voters and approved by 80 per cent of them. It was never submitted to a vote. It was the governor’s bill and it became law without a vote of the people. What the voters did approve in 1999 was a bond issue for interstate highway reconstruction but it did not involve a tax increase. Existing taxes and federal receipts were pledged to retire the bonds.

- Increased the driver’s license by $6 a person, from $14 to $20 (Act 1500 of 2001)

Dumas eventually comes to the conclusion that its hard to quantify the tax raised under Clinton and Huckabee, but:

But if you look at the major taxes, I see the aggregate Huckabee taxes as greater, especially if you deduct the 4 cent gasoline and diesel taxes that Clinton vetoed in 1985 and that the legislature enacted over his veto.

Anyway, the sales tax is the big revenue producer. Both raised it by 1.5 cents on the dollar and both expanded it to cover a myriad of services. Clinton raised motor fuel taxes a little more, Huckabee cigarette taxes a lot more.

Dumas then exposes a number of false claims by Huckabee, who has stated he was responsible for the first major tax cuts in the state (false) and that he had to force the Democratic legislature to not raise taxes (also false):

A further note: Huckabee claims credit for a major tax cut in 1997, saying it was the first tax cut in Arkansas history (there had been many prior to that) and that he forced the Democratic legislature to curtail its impulse to always raise taxes.

The facts: The omnibus income tax cut bill of 1997 was proposed by Gov. Jim Guy Tucker in the spring of 1996. It had multiple (7) features, all aimed at relief for middle-class families or the elderly. He asked interim legislative committees to expand on his plan. Tucker then resigned before the legislature convened after his conviction on Whitewater-related charges, and Huckabee took office.

At the legislative session that followed, the Democratic caucus of the House (88 of the 100 members) made the Tucker tax cuts its chief program. The bill was introduced with 83 sponsors (all Democrats) and all Democrats voted for it. It was unopposed. Huckabee’s tax cut was to give each taxpayer a check for $25 each fall, saying it would help offset the burden of sales taxes on groceries (the repeal of which he repeatedly opposed). The legislature rejected Huckabee’s plan and passed the Tucker bill. Huckabee signed it into law.

Here are some more opinions about Mike Huckabee on taxes and finances from people who know best.

“The criticisms of Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee as a spendthrift tax-raiser when governing the state of Arkansas have been met with a few “yes, buts” that have not been very persuasive.” - Paul Chesser, The American Spectator

Randy Minton, former Arkansas State Representative (R): “[Huckabee] says he’s pro-family. If you’re raising taxes on the families of Arkansas, causing wives to go out and get jobs to make ends meet, that’s not pro-family.“

Club For Growth is an organization with small government and low tax principles, and have led the charge in criticizing Mike Huckabee for his fiscal policies while being governor of Arkansas from 1996-2007. They have done a thorough analysis of his actions and policies, putting into doubt most of the ex-governor’s claims. Their report begins with:

Governor Huckabee touts himself as an economic conservative, writing in his biography that he “pushed through the Arkansas Legislature the first major, broad-based tax cuts in state history” and “led efforts to establish a Property Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights” early on as governor, but he only offers a small piece of the picture. It is true that Governor Huckabee fought for an $80 million tax cut package in 1997 that was passed by the Arkansas Legislature; cut the state capital gains tax in 1999; and passed the Property Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights in the same year, limiting the increase in property taxes to 10% a year for individuals and 5% per taxing unit. However, his record over the rest of his ten-year tenure tells a starkly different story.

Huckabee was then responsible for the following as governor:

• Immediately upon taking office, Governor Huckabee signed a sales tax hike in 1996 to fund the Games and Fishing Commission and the Department of Parks and Tourism.
• He supported an internet sales tax in 2001.
• He publicly opposed the repeal of a sales tax on groceries and medicine in 2002.
• He signed bills raising taxes on gasoline (1999), cigarettes (2003), and a $5.25 per day bed-tax on private nursing home patients in 2001.
• He proposed another sales take hike in 2002 to fund education improvements.
• He opposed a congressional measure to ban internet taxes in 2003.
• In 2004, he allowed a 17% sales tax increase to become law.

Big increases were seen in motor fuels tax, sales tax, and the cigarette tax. On the issue of making the Bush tax cuts permanent, he sided with Democrats, spitting out their rhetoric that those cuts were only helping those at the top of the income pyramid:

By the end of his ten-year tenure, Governor Huckabee was responsible for a 37% higher sales tax in Arkansas, 16% higher motor fuel taxes, and 103% higher cigarette taxes according to Americans for Tax Reform, garnering a lifetime grade of D from the free-market Cato Institute. While he is on record supporting making the Bush tax cuts permanent, he joined Democrats in criticizing the Republican Party for tilting its tax policies “toward the people at the top end of the economic scale,” even though objective evidence demonstrates that the Bush tax cuts have actually shifted the tax burden to higher income taxpayers.

This picture shows that Huckabee was responsibility for some small cuts at the beginning of his administration, but the massive tax hikes to follow far overshadow that, and make him similar to a Democrat in many fiscal policies. Taxes are only one part of the story, here is what the Club for Growth had to say for Huckabee on spending:

Under Governor Huckabee’s watch, state spending increased a whopping 65.3% from 1996 to 2004, three times the rate of inflation. The number of state government workers rose 20% during his tenure, and the state’s general obligation debt shot up by almost $1 billion, according to Americans for Tax Reform. The massive increase in government spending is due in part to the number of new programs and expansion of already existing programs initiated by Governor Huckabee, including ARKids First, a multimillion-dollar government program to provide health coverage for thousands of Arkansas’ children.

The Editorial Board at the Wall Street Journal has said:

Some say Mr. Huckabee is the tribune of the “religious left,” and that strikes us as about right. He exhibits protectionist instincts, distancing himself from Nafta and saying he would insist on penalties and barriers to countries that don’t support his conception of “fair trade.” He delivers populist sermons against income inequality, but in favor of farm subsidies and an expanded government role in health care. He regularly knocks Wall Street, and he borrows from the Democratic playbook with digs at “the rich.“

I find this analysis by the Wall Street Journal to be accurate. It seems he takes sides with Democrats on financial issues, including the liberal viewpoint that the Bush tax cuts would only help “the rich” and not everyone else, which has been disputed. Increased government spending on healthcare and softness on illegals are two similar issues, which will be discussed later.

Semi-recently, a Mike Huckabee video has circulated quite heavily on the internet, which shows Huckabee during his governor years, talking with the state assembly, basically begging for a new tax, and lists off a wide number of taxes that he would find acceptable. The Arkansas Journal found the video and brought it up, saying:

Governor Mike Huckabee addressed the Arkansas General Assembly, pleading with them to pass a tax, any tax. He ticked off a list of various taxes that he would find acceptable, a tax on tobacco, a surcharge on the income tax, a sales tax… “I will very happily sign that,” he proclaimed.

Both Huckabee and his supporters have claimed that the people of Arkansas mandated him to raise taxes via having the issue on a ballot, specifically the gasoline tax that was passed in 1999. This has been stated a number of times by Huckabee (see video here) and is not true. The Arkansas Journal states:

I’ve also seen that Huckabee supporters are claiming that Arkansas wanted him to increase taxes. That’s simply not true. It highlights the fact that he LIED about the ‘99 gas increase that he’s claiming that 80% of the people of Arkansas voted for. We didn’t vote on a tax. We voted on a BOND ISSUE. Huckabee signed the tax into law himself, which he repeatedly lied about.

Mike Huckabee is simply not being honest about his record on taxes and spending. He really is a “tax and spender” as many opponents are claiming he is. His record is readily available for anyone who wishes to check the sources. I’ll end this section with a quote from Pat Toomey, president of Club For Growth:

“No doubt, Huckabee is an engaging speaker, but even the most gifted politician can’t talk his way out of the laundry list of tax hikes Mike Huckabee is carrying around. Sooner or later, Mike Huckabee is going to have to answer for his liberal tax-and-spend record, and humorous one-liners and half-truths won’t cut it. The American people deserve honest answers, not a stand-up routine.”

Ethics Complaints

The Politico reported that, as Huckabee’s numbers rose, the numerous ethics complaints during his stint as governor also began to wind up out in the open, numbering fourteen complaints total, with a wide number of questions about his integrity “ranging from his management of campaign cash to his use of a non profit organization to subsidize his income, to the destruction of state computer files on his way out of the governor’s office.

Some of the complaints were very minor, but not all of them, and “they did, however, yield five admonitions and $1,000 in fines from Arkansas’ Ethics Commission and, perhaps more significantly, a pattern that strategists for two competing GOP campaigns privately predict could become fodder for attacks playing on the culture-of-corruption theme Democrats used to pound Republicans in the 2006 midterm elections. ” Now that doesn’t sound like a principled Christian preacher to me.

The Fred Thompson campaign made a press release about some falsities that Mike Huckabee stated on Fox News Sunday, one of which included:

Huckabee Claim: “Here’s what the Club for Growth won’t tell you… They won’t tell you who gave them money. They like to take money from anonymous donors, fire shots at folks without accountability.”

Ø Fact: Huckabee created a ‘charitable’ organization - Action America - so he could funnel his speaking fees through the organization and avoid disclosure requirements: “In 1995, [Huckabee] avoided reporting individual sources of income by funneling money through a nonprofit corporation, Action America, that was created and managed by his campaign staff.”

Here’s some information that’s slightly more specific about the Action America organization:

The commission found Huckabee unintentionally failed to disclose $23,500 he received from a nonprofit organization set up to handle his speaking engagements and supplement his income before he became governor.

The nonprofit, Action America, paid Huckabee a total of $41,500 in 1994 and 1995 but missed IRS filing deadlines for those years.

Huckabee has repeatedly declined to disclose the handful of benefactors who financed the group.

On the campaign cash issue, the ethics commission found some faults in Huckabee’s behavior:

The ethics commission fined Huckabee $1,000 for failing to report that he paid himself $14,000 from his 1992 U.S. Senate campaign and $43,000 from his 1994 lieutenant governor’s campaign.

The latter payment — for the use of his eight-seat, twin-engine plane — was reported in a cryptic way that didn’t identify Huckabee and his wife as the owners of the plane.

And lastly, the destruction of computer drives as he was going out of office, and even spent public funds to do this to over one hundred computers in the governor’s office:

Before leaving office Jan. 9, Huckabee spent $13,000 in state funds to destroy the hard drives of nearly 100 computers in the governor’s office.

He pointed out that he had backed up the data and argued that the hard drive destruction was standard practice to prevent the dissemination of sensitive information related to employees or constituents.

Critics suggested he was hiding something. But the ethics commission dismissed complaints alleging violations of record management rules.

These are not even all the ethics problems that Huckabee faced in office. For someone who claims to have principles and be free of such ethical problems, he sure has a lot of questions to answer, and he hasn’t been answering them very well. His policies and behavior in Arkansas, both fiscal and otherwise, appears to have not left a good impression on the people of his sate:

In the final analysis, Huckabee’s failure in nine months to raise in Arkansas an amount equivalent to what Bill Clinton raised at the outset of his entry into the presidential race (when the dollar was worth more and campaign contribution limits were lower) is a telling read on the depth of affection Huckabee left here. Instructive, too, are the polls that show Hillary a likely winner over Huckabee in Arkansas.

It seems he probably wouldn’t even win his own state. For more reading on this issue, try out “The Tale of Two Candidates” from the American Spectator.

Illegal Immigration

Despite unveiling a hard stance against illegal immigration, it seems that Huckabee has changed his ways, conveniently during his run for the White House, in a nation where the overwhelming majority want the borders secured, and no amnesty. A Washington Times article about Huckabee and immigration begins with:

Groups that support a crackdown on illegal aliens haven’t settled on their champion in the race for the White House, but there’s little doubt which Republican scares them most — former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Let’s see what various people have to say about Huckabee and border security:

“He was an absolute disaster on immigration as governor. Every time there was any enforcement in his state, he took the side of the illegal aliens.” - Roy Beck, President of NumbersUSA

“Huckabee is the guy who scares the heck out of me.” - Peter Gadiel, President of 9-11 Families for a Secure America

“I would say that Huckabee comes from the same perspective on the issue that George W. Bush came from — that out of a strong sense of compassion, he tries to identify with someone who comes to the United States, even if they came illegally.” - Steven Camarota, Director of the Center for Immigration Studies

So there we have the problem. Mike Huckabee has the same type of compassionate style that George Bush has. So what does that mean? It means you can expect the same border situation under a Huckabee presidency as you can the Bush presidency, or in simple: absolutely nothing.

A question was brought up during the CNN/Youtube Republican debate, pressuring Huckabee about his plan to give scholarships to children of illegal aliens, which might have been better treatment than to the children of veterans.

He also said he’s willing to take the heat for pushing for illegal alien students to be able to get taxpayer-funded financial aid and college scholarships.

“Our country is better than that, to punish children for what their parents did in breaking the law. If that costs me the election, it costs me the election, but somewhere along the line we cannot just pander to the anger and hostility without challenging it,” he said.

By now you should be seeing how this all fits into the greater picture of Mike Huckabee. A compassionate, fiscally liberal, big government man running as a Republican. Now there’s nothing wrong with being compassionate, but to give tax payer money to illegals for scholarships is astounding to me. Don’t expect much action against the immigration problem in a Huckabee presidency. All those who take a close look at his record are frightened by it, and rightfully so.

You can view a youtube clip of Huckabee pleading for the scholarships for illegals: here.

Pardons and Execution

The most chilling aspect of Huckabee’s record is his large number of pardons, and most particularly, aggressively pushing for the release of a convicted rapist, and was warned he was dangerous and would strike again. He went on to rape and murder at least one other woman afterwards.

While on the campaign trail, Huckabee has claimed that he supported the 1999 release of Wayne Dumond because, at the time, he had no good reason to believe that the man represented a further threat to the public. Thanks to Huckabee’s intervention, conducted in concert with a right-wing tabloid campaign on Dumond’s behalf, Dumond was let out of prison 25 years before his sentence would have ended.

“There’s nothing any of us could ever do,” Huckabee said Sunday on CNN when asked to reflect on the horrific outcome caused by the prisoner’s release. “None of us could’ve predicted what [Dumond] could’ve done when he got out.”

An aide to the former governor released papers that were kept secret because they were considered politically dangerous.

Huckabee kept these and other documents secret because they were politically damaging, according to a former aide who worked for him in Arkansas. The aide has made the records available to the Huffington Post, deeply troubled by Huckabee’s repeated claims that he had no reason to believe Dumond would commit other violent crimes upon his release from prison. The aide also believes that Huckabee, for political reasons, has deliberately attempted to cover up his knowledge of Dumond’s other sexual assaults.

Here is a portion of a letter to Huckabee from one of Dumond’s victims, which clearly shows that she does not believe he is a criminal who should be set free again, bringing into doubt that “no one could have predicted” the results of setting Dumond free:

You can see all the letters and allegations: here.

The Arkansas Leader has also exposed that Huckabee has pardoned more people than the six states that neighbor Arkansas combined. Most governors do not do this type of thing with murderer’s serving life without parole, or with rapists, but it seems it was habit for Huckabee during his term as governor. He has issued over 700 pardons since he came into office in 1996. Here are the numbers of the neighboring states during the same time, keep in mind their populations are also larger:

Louisiana – 213.
Mississippi – 24.
Missouri – 79.
Oklahoma – 178.
Tennessee – 32.
Texas – 98

That’s a total of 624 to Huckabee’s 703, which includes about a dozen murderers. That’s pretty amazing. Thou shalt not kill? The Arkansas newspaper goes on to say:

Last January, after Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, a Democrat, lost his re-election bid, he issued 16 clemencies, and there was a huge outcry. That’s how many Huckabee averages per month.

“These facts de-monstrate that our governor has an extremely skewed approach to granting executive clemency. He seems to believe that granting clem-ency to murderers, rapists, drunk drivers and other convicted criminals is a part of the everyday affairs of the governor’s office rather than something that he should approach cautiously and selectively. Executive clemency should be rare, and there should be very specific reasons.” - Robert Herzfeld, Prosecuting Attorney

And as for Dumond:

But, he says, Huckabee has gone overboard and has made clemencies look like acts of favoritism. During all his years in office, the only time Huckabee has claimed a miscarriage of justice was in the case of Wayne DuMond, who he thought had been framed for rape.Although Huckabee changed his mind about commuting DuMond’s sentence, DuMond went free after the governor met with his parole board.
DuMond is now serving a life sentence for murder in Missouri, where, the record shows, it’s unlikely the governor will pardon him any time soon.

Conclusion and Other Musings

Mike Huckabee has surged in recent Iowa polls, mostly from the religious population, who probably look no further than to his ex-preacher status, and kind personality rather than looking at the real facts behind this man, who is nothing more than a slanted politician. Huckabee has mastered the art of knowing how to talk to evangelical Republicans .. bring up religion early and often, and say some smart sounding things about it, and suddenly they are your best friends. I would like to think that the Republican Party had a little more depth than that.

Unlike in Iowa, where Huckabee is now challenging Romney for the top spot, this has not happened in New Hampshire, perhaps they are smarter, and more interested in liberty, than their counterparts in Iowa. It’s no secret that Huckabee had weight and health issues, and overcame them. He now believes that the government should control peoples lives in regards to healthcare, and embraces things like higher taxes on cigarettes and other non-healthy items.

Armed with religion on his side, and a pathetic endorsement from Chuck Norris, to which he is milking for all its worth, Huckabee now looks to make a splash in the Republican race. Speaking of Chuck Norris, it is pretty hard to separate the two men these days, here is a video of Huckabee desperately trying to defend his immigration views with Norris next to him, who now apparently is traveling with him on the campaign trail. He also appears in ads for Mike Huckabee, and even went to the Youtube debate, where they kept randomly showing him in the audience .. what’s up with that? Norris claims he did a lot of research on Huckabee before endorsing him. So I wonder if he ignored all the information I found quite easily, or just didn’t bother to read into anything at all?

“Put the IRS out of business”? Don’t buy that one.

“A principled, authentic, conservative”? Now he’s just trying to be funny, I guess.

More Reading on this Topic:

“The False Conservative” by Robert Novak

“Romney to Huckabee: You’re No Reagan” from CNN

“God-o-Meter: God Talk in Elections“

“Huckabee’s Republican Paradox” by Patrick Briney