John Fund on the other man from Hope
This is uncanny considering I had just opined about Huckabee following in the path of Bill Clinton. Now John Fund confirms my conclusion regarding “The Huckster”.
Nor am I alone. Betsy Hagan, Arkansas director of the conservative Eagle Forum and a key backer of his early runs for office, was once “his No. 1 fan.” She was bitterly disappointed with his record. “He was pro-life and pro-gun, but otherwise a liberal,” she says. “Just like Bill Clinton he will charm you, but don’t be surprised if he takes a completely different turn in office.”Phyllis Schlafly, president of the national Eagle Forum, is even more blunt. “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.”
The business community in Arkansas is split. Some praise Mr. Huckabee’s efforts to raise taxes to repair roads and work with an overwhelmingly Democratic legislature. Free-market advocates are skeptical. “He has zero intellectual underpinnings in the conservative movement,” says Blant Hurt, a former part owner of, and columnist for, Arkansas Business magazine. “He’s hostile to free trade, hiked sales and grocery taxes, backed sales taxes on Internet purchases, and presided over state spending going up more than twice the inflation rate.”
snip…..During a visit to the Journal last spring, Mr. Huckabee joked that one of his biggest challenges is that “like Bill Clinton I hail from Hope, Arkansas, and not every Republican wants to take a chance like that again.” But it’s Mr. Huckabee who is creating the doubts. “He’s just like Bill Clinton in that he practices management by news cycle,” a former top Huckabee aide told me. “As with Clinton there was no long-term planning, just putting out fires on a daily basis. One thing I’ll guarantee is that won’t lead to competent conservative governance.”
Technorati Tags: 2008 Election, Mike Hiuckabee, Republican, John Fund
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This post highlights the problem facing Americans who really do care about our nation’s future; we cannot believe the politicians, because they are . . . well, politicians. But we are also unable to believe the press because they are politically biased. So then, who can we rely upon to help us to make informed decisions? I think that bloggers, such as yourself – and several media sources (other than television), neighbors, and selective (trusted) community leaders. Maintaining a democracy is hard word – if you do it right, but it is still worth the effort, right? Good job here, as always!
Comment by Mustang — October 26, 2007 @ 8:17 pm