Mike Huckabee was my guy in the 2008 presidential election and it was pretty exciting to see him speak in person and to shake hands with the man afterward. It was also disappointing to see his chances end in Texas, a state that should have gone his way rather than ~60/40% McCain.
Mike Huckabee’s new book is out and in it he says, after ripping many of his competitors, that people like me are the “real threat” to the Republican party. Time:
He is not so much concerned with the libertarian candidate Ron Paul’s Republican supporters as he is with a strain of mainstream fiscal-conservative thought that demands ideological purity, seeing any tax increase as apostasy and leaving little room for government-driven solutions to people’s problems.
“I don’t take issue with what they believe, but the smugness with which they believe it,” writes Huckabee, who raised some taxes as governor and cut deals with his state’s Democratic legislature. “Faux-Cons aren’t interested in spirited or thoughtful debate, because such an endeavor requires accountability for the logical conclusion of their argument.”
Something tells me that Mike might not be getting my vote next time around. This is not the voice that Republicans need from a fiscal perspective. Where is the Republican leader who will reject the Bush administration’s spending extravaganza? Who will remember that one critical principle of conservatism is that the purpose of government is not to solve people’s problems?
It’s not?
No. The government exists to ensure national security, domestic tranquility, and to create a framework for trade; i.e., business. It’s not to create a bloated welfare state or ensure that the wealth is spread around.
From the perspective of a true conservative, new taxes for infrastructure might make sense because a new highway might reduce transportation costs and make new business ventures possible or increase the success of existing ones. Alternatively, a new tax to fund a healthcare plan doesn’t make sense because there’s no direct correlation with the purpose of government.
What should also be considered quite seriously is the financial health of the United States. Speaking frankly, the generation that is leading the nation at the moment has to come to its fiscal senses. The baby boomers cannot be allowed to drain the country dry of its remaining resources. That’s exactly what will happen if they persist in adding more and more unfunded programs to the welfare and healthcare side of the economic ledger.
The cut-down 30 minute of I.O.U.S.A, a great movie about the state of America’s financial health, makes that perfectly clear. This short film cuts right to the heart of the U.S.’s financial and leadership problems and should be considered required viewing for every American because that fact is that we can’t keep doing what we’re doing.
Mike Huckabee needs to recognize that fundamental fact if he’s going to become a major figure in the Republican party. If he thinks voters like me are the problem, he’s dead wrong. In fact, if that’s truly his belief, he’s the problem and we’ll look elsewhere for a solution to the present woes of the conservative movement.