Why I Think I Could Vote For Mike Huckabee
Before I get flamed (or lose readers), let me be clear in saying in am
not endorsing
Mike Huckabee for President of the United States. The thing is that we -- the urban, and people of
color -- need to be savvy and knowledgeable about the political scene, about the less-visible, but viable options for their vote.
I'm not doing the politically unthinkable, abandoning my liberal/libertarian roots. I am being introspective and open in examining the future choices we'll have to make as a nation.
Anyway, I'm really passionate about being in the know and thinking deeply about the direction of our communities and nation. It's nice to do funny pieces like showcasing the video of Bernard Pollard, or chronicling R. Kelly, but sometimes, you've got to get serious. So, to that end...
One candidate has me intrigued, and it's not the one of the usual suspects. That candidate is Mike Huckabee, most recently governor of Arkansas.
He seems to me to be genuine. He seems to stick to his convictions; and he's electable. I suspect that he'd even be acceptable to many non-Republicans because he's not an ideologue, dogmatically tied to conservatism.
Some background on Mr. Huckabee: he's 52 years old, an ordained Baptist minister and a former governor of Arkansas originally from Bill Clinton's hometown of Hope, AR. He's fiscally moderate-to-liberal, favoring, most famously, a massive redesign of the tax code -- more on that later -- and greater government services and money for the poor and needy. He's pro-fair trade, and walks a middle line on health care reform. and socially moderate-to-conservative. He's pro-life, pro-death penalty, and anti-gay-marriage.
To be sure, I disagree with him on a number of issues most notably a woman's right to choose, and gay marriage. That's to be expected because I'm fundamentally more liberal than he is. And that's OK. Honest difference and debate are the best things for the freedom of a nation.
The biggest reason why I'd be willing to consider Gov. Huckabee is that he offers nuanced answers to important issues, and I like that. He's not afraid of being visionary, where many of his fellow Repubs -- and Dems -- want to hold on to the status quo. Plus, I feel like when the chips are down, he'd stand by his convictions. I could never support the other leading Republicans because I simply don't trust them.
I can't take Mitt Romney at his word. He's become a chameleon in order to appeal to the conservative wing of the GOP. Romney has waffled on his (previously) pro-choice and decidedly liberal agenda as governor of Massachusetts -- kind of becoming a "conservative" John Kerry.
And then there's Rudy Giuliani. The former mayor of New York City still have a lot of explanation to do to the residents of Gotham. I never bought into his mastery during the crisis after 9/11, and I still hold tremendous animosity towards him because of the liberties taken by the NYPD, specifically with regard to the deaths of Amadou Diallo, Abner Louima, and Patrick Dorismond, as well as his administration's attempt to restrict the exercise of free speech, and 35 successful lawsuits were brought against his administration for blocking it. Not to mention, he left New Yorkers saddled with a billion-dollar deficit when he left office.
But back to Huckabee.
Taxation
I think his most interesting policy point is the complete revamping of the present tax code in favor of what's called "FairTax." In short, FairTax does away with the traditional graduated rates of taxation in favor of a progressive national retail sales tax, a "prebate" to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, (your first $27,000 or so of income). According to Americans for Fair Taxation, the FairTax system taxes us only on what we choose to spend on new goods or services, not on what we earn. Their research papers state that for the middle class, effective tax rates would decrease by 8 percentage points for the middle class, and double that for the poor (making their burden just about zero). That's interesting because we have the possibility of extending the tax base, unburdening the stressed middle class, and allowing the poorest citizens to live tax-free. If nothing else, I appreciate Huckabee's willingness to buck the orthodoxy on taxes. Such reform may never escape Washington inertia, but at least there can be debate over the issue.
Abortion
With respect to his pro-life stand, I think he's what I'll call 'enlightened.' "In this day in which we talk about choice and the importance of it, surely we can agree that if under the Supreme Court choice is mandated, that choice should be as educated a choice as is humanly possible," said Mr. Huckabee, and I agree with this. No woman wants to have an abortion and options need to exist in order to reduce the necessity of safe, and available abortion.
We can all agree that responsible persons should practice better sexual/reproductive choice, and every level of government needs drastic improvement in providing adoptive services for those women that do give birth an unwanted child. He understands, I think, that those of us who are pro-choice are still pro-life, and he doesn't demonize his opposition.
Health Care
His health-care stance is an example, to me, of the proper mix of personal responsibility and government intervention. He lost 110 pounds, reversing his own adult-onset diabetes, by a change in diet and lifestyle, walking more, being health-conscious and eating better. That's a fantastic example of taking charge of one's life and I applaud that. As an observer, his example of personal leadership is refreshing. He's walking the walk.
In Arkansas, he advocated and instituted increases in state spending on health care for children, and he oversaw the best reduction in child poverty in the nation. And more importantly, he's not screaming negatively about the "socialization" of health care. And he's advocating active government in assisting all employers including small businesses in offering low-cost health care to their employees. He's realistic and understands that access to basic health care needs to come through a mix of managed care, insurance reforms, and/or state funded care where necessary. I call that realism and pragmatism -- something many of his fellow candidates would do well to learn.
Iraq
The elephant in the room though, is Iraq. And while it might seem a cop out, I'm willing to give Huckabee a pass for the following reasons. Let's be honest: there are no individuals on either side of the aisle who know exactly what to do with the mess that is Bush's Operation Iraqi Liberation. And he's not one of them. I mean, what are our choices:
So what does it all mean?
Well, I think the election of November 2008 could be one of the most interesting in U.S. history. Huckabee performed well in Iowa, and should he get the nod, I think his message will play well with northern and western moderate Republicans as well as more conservative Democrats, depending on who the Dem's nominee is.
My dream match-up is Barack Obama versus Mike Huckabee. Both are moderate. Both are bright and relatively young. They're fresh faces, with strong ideas, who might actually elevate the debate above the overly-partisan malaise we've seen for the past seven years. I believe that an election of moderates will appeal to the vast majority of the nation. Perhaps Mike Huckabee is that moderate member of the Republican party that can restore some sanity to the Grand Old Party, and reduce some of the vitriol being spewed about.
And depending on who wins the Democratic nomination, Huckabee might be an acceptable alternative to the majority of the nation.
Anyway, I'm really passionate about being in the know and thinking deeply about the direction of our communities and nation. It's nice to do funny pieces like showcasing the video of Bernard Pollard, or chronicling R. Kelly, but sometimes, you've got to get serious. So, to that end...
One candidate has me intrigued, and it's not the one of the usual suspects. That candidate is Mike Huckabee, most recently governor of Arkansas.
He seems to me to be genuine. He seems to stick to his convictions; and he's electable. I suspect that he'd even be acceptable to many non-Republicans because he's not an ideologue, dogmatically tied to conservatism.
Some background on Mr. Huckabee: he's 52 years old, an ordained Baptist minister and a former governor of Arkansas originally from Bill Clinton's hometown of Hope, AR. He's fiscally moderate-to-liberal, favoring, most famously, a massive redesign of the tax code -- more on that later -- and greater government services and money for the poor and needy. He's pro-fair trade, and walks a middle line on health care reform. and socially moderate-to-conservative. He's pro-life, pro-death penalty, and anti-gay-marriage.
To be sure, I disagree with him on a number of issues most notably a woman's right to choose, and gay marriage. That's to be expected because I'm fundamentally more liberal than he is. And that's OK. Honest difference and debate are the best things for the freedom of a nation.
The biggest reason why I'd be willing to consider Gov. Huckabee is that he offers nuanced answers to important issues, and I like that. He's not afraid of being visionary, where many of his fellow Repubs -- and Dems -- want to hold on to the status quo. Plus, I feel like when the chips are down, he'd stand by his convictions. I could never support the other leading Republicans because I simply don't trust them.
I can't take Mitt Romney at his word. He's become a chameleon in order to appeal to the conservative wing of the GOP. Romney has waffled on his (previously) pro-choice and decidedly liberal agenda as governor of Massachusetts -- kind of becoming a "conservative" John Kerry.
And then there's Rudy Giuliani. The former mayor of New York City still have a lot of explanation to do to the residents of Gotham. I never bought into his mastery during the crisis after 9/11, and I still hold tremendous animosity towards him because of the liberties taken by the NYPD, specifically with regard to the deaths of Amadou Diallo, Abner Louima, and Patrick Dorismond, as well as his administration's attempt to restrict the exercise of free speech, and 35 successful lawsuits were brought against his administration for blocking it. Not to mention, he left New Yorkers saddled with a billion-dollar deficit when he left office.
But back to Huckabee.
Taxation
I think his most interesting policy point is the complete revamping of the present tax code in favor of what's called "FairTax." In short, FairTax does away with the traditional graduated rates of taxation in favor of a progressive national retail sales tax, a "prebate" to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, (your first $27,000 or so of income). According to Americans for Fair Taxation, the FairTax system taxes us only on what we choose to spend on new goods or services, not on what we earn. Their research papers state that for the middle class, effective tax rates would decrease by 8 percentage points for the middle class, and double that for the poor (making their burden just about zero). That's interesting because we have the possibility of extending the tax base, unburdening the stressed middle class, and allowing the poorest citizens to live tax-free. If nothing else, I appreciate Huckabee's willingness to buck the orthodoxy on taxes. Such reform may never escape Washington inertia, but at least there can be debate over the issue.
Abortion
With respect to his pro-life stand, I think he's what I'll call 'enlightened.' "In this day in which we talk about choice and the importance of it, surely we can agree that if under the Supreme Court choice is mandated, that choice should be as educated a choice as is humanly possible," said Mr. Huckabee, and I agree with this. No woman wants to have an abortion and options need to exist in order to reduce the necessity of safe, and available abortion.
We can all agree that responsible persons should practice better sexual/reproductive choice, and every level of government needs drastic improvement in providing adoptive services for those women that do give birth an unwanted child. He understands, I think, that those of us who are pro-choice are still pro-life, and he doesn't demonize his opposition.
Health Care
His health-care stance is an example, to me, of the proper mix of personal responsibility and government intervention. He lost 110 pounds, reversing his own adult-onset diabetes, by a change in diet and lifestyle, walking more, being health-conscious and eating better. That's a fantastic example of taking charge of one's life and I applaud that. As an observer, his example of personal leadership is refreshing. He's walking the walk.
In Arkansas, he advocated and instituted increases in state spending on health care for children, and he oversaw the best reduction in child poverty in the nation. And more importantly, he's not screaming negatively about the "socialization" of health care. And he's advocating active government in assisting all employers including small businesses in offering low-cost health care to their employees. He's realistic and understands that access to basic health care needs to come through a mix of managed care, insurance reforms, and/or state funded care where necessary. I call that realism and pragmatism -- something many of his fellow candidates would do well to learn.
Iraq
The elephant in the room though, is Iraq. And while it might seem a cop out, I'm willing to give Huckabee a pass for the following reasons. Let's be honest: there are no individuals on either side of the aisle who know exactly what to do with the mess that is Bush's Operation Iraqi Liberation. And he's not one of them. I mean, what are our choices:
- stay, fight the war, have more of our citizens die, and still lose the country to failure, or
- leave completely, create an even more intense power vacuum and create a failed state.
So what does it all mean?
Well, I think the election of November 2008 could be one of the most interesting in U.S. history. Huckabee performed well in Iowa, and should he get the nod, I think his message will play well with northern and western moderate Republicans as well as more conservative Democrats, depending on who the Dem's nominee is.
My dream match-up is Barack Obama versus Mike Huckabee. Both are moderate. Both are bright and relatively young. They're fresh faces, with strong ideas, who might actually elevate the debate above the overly-partisan malaise we've seen for the past seven years. I believe that an election of moderates will appeal to the vast majority of the nation. Perhaps Mike Huckabee is that moderate member of the Republican party that can restore some sanity to the Grand Old Party, and reduce some of the vitriol being spewed about.
And depending on who wins the Democratic nomination, Huckabee might be an acceptable alternative to the majority of the nation.
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Sorry... just can't see myself voting for someone who'd rather believe in creationism. If we could leave religion out of our elections, we might actually get somewhere.
Thanks, Tony. It would behoove us to take a closer and more objective look at all of the options, without the media's slant on "less sexy" candidates like Huckabee. Well done!
@TVgigi, I certainly don't agree with a strict creationism argument, as espoused by the evangelicals. But, I think all of us that believe in one deity or another are creationist to one extent or another.
I think in, Mr. Huckabee's defense, he did state that he didn't know whether creation happened over 6,000 or 60,000,000 years, he just believed that God was responsible. As far as I'm concerned, his personal religious views are just that. And as long as he doesn't use them as a blunt object, a la George W. Bush, I'm OK with him having his views.
Also, bear in mind, I am not saying I AM going to vote for Huck, just that I COULD be willing to closely examine him as a candidate. At least he's honest with his, and that has to count for something.
Tony
That's my point... If we can keep everybody's religious beliefs personal and not part and parcel of shaping American policy, that would be great. Worship whoever or whatever you want, just don't make it part of how you develop policy for ALL of us. It seems to me that many Republicans are voting on religious principals when there are so many more problems that need to be faced straight on. It is possible to be moral and not religious and religious and sorely lacking in morals.
And there's the rub, TVgigi... One thing that Dems have done well over the past three decades is to be "open tent:" that is, they've allowed virtually everyone to the party.
The GOP would be wise to learn the lesson, but for the most part, the party has been hijacked by those who believe their version of faith is the best or only version. I think Jesus Christ would have problem with that particular viewpoint; in fact, some evangelicals have more in common with the Islamic extremists than they do with the teachings of the Messiah.
I'd like to hope that Mr. Huckabee, or whomever the eventual GOP nominee is, learns that most American's sit squarely in the middle on a variety of issues, including religion, and to drift far to either extreme spells doom for the candidate.