Huckabee: Why?
Mike Huckabee has been using a clever phrase against Mitt Romney that needs exposing. He’s repeatedly said that “There’s a great need in this country to elect someone who reminds [voters] of the guy they work with, not the guy who laid them off.”
My question to Gov. Huckabee is why he thinks that. That’s the type of thing that Democrats say. They’re the party that hates business, at least in their stump speeches.
Gov. Huckabee’s repeating this raises the question of what he thinks about business owners. More than likely, his use of that bromide was his attack vehicle against Mitt. It was cute then but it’s starting to wear thin now. Still, Huckabee persists in using it. Why? Can’t he move onto more substantive things than cute bromides?
This raises another question: Is Gov. Huckabee capable of getting beyond clever sayings and lightweight allegations? Yesterday, he accused Fred Thompson of lobbying for Libya:
“Fred Thompson talks about putting America first, and yet he’s the one who is a registered foreign agent, lobbied for foreign countries, was in a law firm that did lobbying work for Libya,” Huckabee charged Sunday morning on CNN.
Sen. Thompson swatted that lightweight accusation away with ease:
Thompson Sunday acknowledged he was “in a law firm that did some lobbying work for Libya,” but his involvement was minimal. He said he’d registered with the government because of “five minutes’ worth of contribution” to discussions about another client, Haiti.
As I said yesterday, this type of cute attack won’t work against Team Clinton. Gov. Huckabee will get buried by Team Clinton.
Let’s return to that first question. Does the nation need a guy who’s a co-worker more than they need someone who’s experienced at making difficult decisions under pressure? Looking at Gov. Huckabee’s record, it’s difficult to find a time when Gov. Huckabee didn’t cave into the prevailing popular choice. He certainly didn’t fight to keep taxes low. He definitely didn’t fight to keep spending under control.
As near as I can tell, Gov. Huckabee did these things because they were the popular thing to do. That desire to be on the popular side of issues is reflected in his saying that the military should shut down Gitmo. It’s apparent that he didn’t think that through because shutting Gitmo down means that the remaining terrorists there would then get access to our courts and get the same rights as you and I have.
Gov. Huckabee’s desire to be popular has led him to say some of the most foolish things I’ve heard in presidential campaigning. By saying that we need a president that “reminds [voters] of the guy they work with, not the guy who laid them off” is a cheapshot against business owners everywhere. Had he said it once, that might’ve been ok.
Now that he’s repeated it numerous times, one wonders how far his liberal populism stretches. What I don’t have to wonder is if I’ll vote for him. I won’t because I demand real conservatives that stand for the things that made this country great.
Technorati Tags: Populism, Liberalism, Mike Huckabee,, Cheapshots, Fred Thompson, Conservtism, Lobbyists, Hillary, Election 2008
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
January 14th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Time for “The Schuckster” to head back to Arkansas.
The LAST thing America needs is another slick talking con-man Gov from Arkansas.
Go Fred GO!
January 14th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
What Tax Hike Mike needs to add is “and not the guy who put the faux criminals in TV jail, just like Frederick of Hollywood!”
But seriously… funny you should pose the question
because the country had W. foisted upon us, and one of the prevailing explanations for W.’s victory (well, it wasn’t a win, now, was it…) was that the electorate would rather have a beer with him than Gore. And certainly, W had no experience making tough decisions, unless you count running a oil company into the ground, followed by a baseball team, and some would say even more. Clearly, W
hadstill has no experience making the tough decisions.But what the Huck. If the economy tanks as everybody says it is, Mike’s point will actually resonate with voters.