I like Mike Huckabee. I likely wouldn't vote for the man, but I find him the least offensive of all the Republican presidential candidates. I like that he views liberal opinions as undesirable rather than the product of brain damage. I like that he says what he believes rather than what's going to endear him to the party faithful. I like that he's willing to challenge President Bush's foreign policy strategy, even if it means diverging from his party. I like that he hasn't fall to prey to the exploitative, fear-mongering immigration rhetoric of his party's other candidates. I like that he stresses the importance of the arts in society. I like that he understands that harsher prison sentences for poor minorities convicted of the same crimes as affluent Caucasians is unacceptable. I like that he doesn't want to encroach on the educational decisions of state governments, but believes the federal government can influence those decisions through tone and values. I like that he doesn't have an irrational aversion to taxes if the situation calls for it. I like that he's so hated by Matt Drudge and The Weekly Standard.
To be sure, there are lots of things I dislike about Mike Huckabee. I'm aware of his early 1990s, comments regarding sequestering people with AIDS. I dislike his belief in a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. I dislike his stance on abortion. And so on and so on. Like I said, the man's not going to get my vote, but he's the least offensive of the bunch.
Recently there's been some controversy about a Huckabee ad wishing Iowa voters a Merry Christmas. The Catholic league has suggested that a book case in the background of the ad is placed to give the subliminal impression of a floating cross. Huckabee shrugged off the criticism, and responded with this:
"I will confess this: If you play the spot backwards it says, 'Paul is dead. Paul is dead.'"
This is easily the funniest line of the campaign. Anyhow, you can watch the ad and the floating cross here:
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2 comments:
I like that he doesn't have an irrational aversion to taxes if the situation calls for it.
Oh really?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWUxpS7anpo
It's fairer, it's flatter, it's family friendly -- it's a 30% national sales tax, the brain-deadest domestic-policy idea this side of Ron Paul's plan to eliminate the Fed! The national sales tax, by the way, was invented by Scientologists in a bid to eliminate the IRS. Huck read one book about it by a radio host, and now its in his platform. And this guy is going to win Iowa.
http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Issues.View&Issue_id=5
The elimination of an income tax in favor of a consumption tax is intriguing. However, it's never going to happen. What I was referring to was the way Huckabee utilized taxes during his Governorship of Arkansas.
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