Huckabee Throws His Party Under The Bus
Saturday, December 15, 2007 at 08:05AM The more Governor Mike Huckabee speaks on foreign affairs, the more he begins to morph into the likes of...Senator Chuck Hagel. The Governor is staking out a position as the latest GOP "maverick." As such, conservatives had best be very wary of his candidacy.
Huckabee is on record supporting populist economic policies that eschew core conservative policies such as free trade and market-based compensation. His record as Governor of Arkansas illustrates a softness on issues like illegal immigration, criminals, taxes and spending. He embraces environmental policies favored by the Left. He supports nanny-state policies like federal smoking bans. He has been criticized in recent days for being a little light on the details of what his foreign policy views might be. After finally articulating his outlook on current events abroad, he would have been better advised to remain silent:
"American foreign policy needs to change its tone and attitude, open up, and reach out," Huckabee said. "The Bush administration's arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad. My administration will recognize that the United States' main fight today does not pit us against the world but pits the world against the terrorists."
In one specific criticism, Huckabee said Bush did not send enough troops to invade Iraq. And he accused the president of marginalizing Gen. Eric Shinseki, the Army chief of staff, who said at the outset of the war that it might take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to control Iraq after the invasion. "I would have met with Shinseki privately and carefully weighed his advice," Huckabee said.
He said this year's troop increase under Bush has resulted in significant but tenuous gains, and he said—much as Bush has—that he would not withdraw troops from Iraq any faster than Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander there, recommends. The military has now slowly begun to reverse the troop increase.
In his article, Huckabee also thumped Bush for failing to pursue al- Qaida in Pakistan, noting recent terrorism plans, since thwarted, that were planned there: "Whereas our failure to tackle Iran seems to be leading inexorably to our attacking it, our failure to tackle al-Qaida in Pakistan seems to be leading inexorably to its attacking us again."
When exactly did Senator John Kerry switch parties and decide to run for president as a Republican? The arguments laid out by Huckabee should sound nauseatingly familiar to Republicans. An "arrogant, go-it-alone" strategy, a "bunker mentality," revisiting the initial strategy of the war after several years have passed, taking our "eye off the ball" by not fully-pursuing Al-Qaeda and the "Bush should have listened to General Shinseki" argument are simply tired echoes of the Left. Someone should tell Mike Huckabee that those arguments didn't help John Kerry in 2004, are rendered moot by the current dynamic resulting from the surge, are generally unhelpful in advancing the ball in Iraq and will only embolden the Left if Huckabee were to become the GOP standard-bearer. Someone also needs to implore Huckabee's Evangelical supporters in Iowa and elsewhere to seriously reconsider what they seem on the verge of doing -- electing a generally left-of-center nominee simply because he agrees with them on abortion, guns and a few other social issues. As someone who considers himself an Evangelical, I can assure you that I support the Evangelical position of the aforementioned issues. Other candidates running in the primary support the Evangelical position and have the added benefit of holding strong, right-of-center positions on the most important issue of our time -- national security. In my case, Mitt Romney is the ideal candidate because his conservatism reaches into the realm of social, economic and foreign policy issues. Huckabee only passes one-third of this important three-pronged test. I fear that a Huckabee nomination would ultimately dilute the Republican position on national security issues and thereby erode the biggest and most important distinction between the parties. This will dispirit the Republican ranks and dampen turnout in the general election. Those voters who believe that a Hillary candidacy will serve to motivate GOP voters to come out in droves had better consider this -- Hillary may not win. A race pitting Huckabee against Obama in which both candidates were in fundamental agreement about national security and America's place in the world would drastically advantage Obama. Needless to say, the Senator from Illinois does not share the positions of Evangelicals on pivotal social issues. Huckabee seems to be adopting the persona of the insurgent candidate. Based upon how the national GOP has reacted at times to political leaders like John McCain, Chuck Hagel and Lindsey Graham, that's not a recipe for electoral success. Insurgent GOP candidates like Ronald Reagan had success because they took on the "establishment" with principled positions from the right. A GOP candidate taking on the "establishment" from the left is unlikely to be successful.
Reader Comments (4)
That's what's so puzzling. Conservatives who vote in GOP primaries typically want four things: low taxes, strict constructionist justices, free markets and a strong national defense. This is the Republican formula that has been successful for so long.
Huckabee isn't the most complete conservative in the field among the viable candidates. That would be Romney. The conservative base, in this case Evangelicals, should be opposed to a Huckabee candidacy based upon his positions on economic and national security issues. Polling indicates that the majority of the GOP endorses the present course in the GWOT and Iraq. The GOP certainly supports free trade and market-based compensation.
Huckabee has staked out significantly different positions on these issues. My suspicion is that the Evangelicals in the early states that are fueling Huckabee's surge in the polls are doing so based upon his "likability" and background as a baptist minister. They need to take a much harder look at the total package lest they end up very disappointed about the preponderance of his record.
But they won't.