Torch Debate: Chuck Huck

One can’t deny that Mike Huckabee’s persona is a refreshing blend of eloquence, humor, and down-to-earth charm, and it’s pretty darn hard to disagree with Chuck Norris, but for “true conservatives,” Mike Huckabee is a nightmare waiting to happen. Or, one could even say a continuation of the nightmare of Bush’s Republicanism: populist and pro-big government.

In truth, Mike Huckabee’s recent surge of popularity is a testament to how much the Republican Party has changed over the past few decades. No one is exactly clear what “conservative” means anymore. But, just as Bush promised to be a “different kind of Republican” when he ran in 2000, Huckabee promises to be both a different kind of Republican and a different kind of conservative, and anyone who disagrees with him is just plain mean. “I’m a conservative,” he says, “but I’m not angry at anybody.” This bleeding-heart, “compassionate” conservatism sounds sweet, but apart from his position on social issues, he’s really just a Democrat in sheep’s clothing.

Being a Christian myself, it warms my heart to see a candidate so openly express his love of God and his devotion to morals. And, you have to admit that his joke about Jesus being too smart to run for a political office in the first Republican debate was a funny way to answer a stupid question. But applying the Golden Rule is not a good way to deal with foreign relations. The current Republican candidates have all been vying for the “most like Ronald Reagan” prize, and in one respect at least, Huckabee is like Reagan (as he was quick to point out)—he has virtually no foreign policy experience. But the key difference here is that Reagan was debating and thinking about the Cold War long before he ever entered the White House. Based on Huckabee’s speeches and campaign comments, the only thing he’s been thinking about is that we apparently haven’t been sweet enough to other countries.  After all, he has said, “You treat others the way you’d like to be treated. That’s to me the fundamental issue that has to be reestablished in our dealings with other countries.” He thinks that we should talk to Iran in the same way that you would talk “to a parent, or a sibling, or even a friend.” I’m sure Islamic terrorists would be thrilled to shake his hand and talk to him like he’s a brother. 
Huckabee cannot and should not try to run government like a church, but he doesn’t seem to recognize the distinction.  Yes, people need love, but they cannot and should not try to get it from the government.  His bleeding heart conservatism leaks into all aspects of his domestic policies.  While he may call it concern for others, I call it nanny-statism.

Huckabee's record as governor of Arkansas on free-market policies is a mélange of conservative positions on trade and tort reform, mixed positions on school choice and political speech, and extremely pro-government positions on taxes and spending. This means that Huckabee’s economic policies look more like those of John Edwards than those of a fiscal conservative.  He did have some shining moments of economic conservatism during his early years as governor, but by the end of his ten-year tenure, he was responsible for a 37% higher sales tax in Arkansas, 16% higher motor fuel taxes, and 103% higher cigarette taxes, as indicated by Americans for Tax Reform. He also supports a national smoking ban, government programs to prevent obesity, and thinks that denying illegal aliens tax-paid welfare and health care, as well as low in-state college tuition rates, would not be “Christian.” Weeks after Dumond was released, he sexually assaulted and murdered a woman near his new apartment. While Huckabee is genuine enough in his apologies regarding the matter, he still refuses to oppose granting parole for violent felons, saying, “The concept of Christian forgiveness requires that we keep open the process of parole—use it sparingly, but keep it open.”

Our friend Huck’s policies, not to mention his recent statement that we need to “amend the constitution so it’s in God's standards” is slightly concerning for several reasons. Now, don’t get me wrong: a God-fearing leader with a strong mind for morals is a good thing, but so is separation of Church and State. It’s perfectly fine that Mike Huckabee is an evangelical Christian. Evangelical Christians should be able to express their beliefs from the podium just like anyone else, and their beliefs are certainly preferable to the secularism prevlent in today’s society. The problem is not that Mike Huckabee is religious, but rather that his campaign is centered on his religious platform, and his “Golden Rule” politics are not what this country needs in a time of terrorism, rampant illegal immigration, and government bureaucratic growth. So far his candid expression of religious fervor has helped him in Iowa, and has flung him into the public eye. But in this pluralistic society man cannot run on faith alone. If he truly wants to win the Republican nomination, and then the presidency, he needs to focus on building a coalition outside of his Evangelical base, which he doesn’t seem to be concerned with. Additionally, his populist and pro-government policies counter his claim to be any kind of “conservative” other than a social one. Let’s hope that small-government-supporting Republicans look past his easy humor and Southern preacher charm and see him for what he truly is. He’s a nice guy, but he probably can’t win the presidency and conservatives really wouldn’t want him to.