NPR: Huckabee Raises Some Conservatives' Hackles

Huckabee Raises Some Conservatives' Hackles

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee speaks during a meeting with retired generals and admirals in Des Moines. Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images.

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee speaks during a meeting with retired generals and admirals in Des Moines on Monday.

Yana Paskova/Getty Images

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee credits his emphasis on a conservative and faith-based message for his rise in the GOP presidential race. Polls in Iowa show him pulling into a statistical tie with longtime front-runner Mitt Romney.

But I've also seen more backlash lately from conservatives who are unhappy about Huckabee's surge toward the top of the GOP pile.

"Serious Republicans," conservative columnist Robert Novak wrote last week, see him as a big-government liberal in pastor's clothing. They accuse Huckabee of not acting much like a conservative when he was governor, saying he raised taxes, was weak on illegal immigration and played a role in the parole of a rapist later convicted of murder.

Huckabee has defended his record, but he also shrugs off the criticism. "The one thing it proves is that I'm prepared for a presidential campaign. I've been through this stuff," he has said. "I don't have a glass jaw."

I got a taste of this battle when I returned to my hotel room in Des Moines on Monday night. Slipped under my door was a flyer loaded with information meant to counter Huckabee's claims to be a "true" conservative. It came from a group with the interesting name of "Iowans for Some Semblance of Christian Decency."

"Mike Huckabee is affable, friendly and over all a nice guy on the campaign trial," the flyer reads. "But does his voting record truly show him to be a conservative?" The flyer accuses him of several unconservative actions, then warns the reader not to be fooled by his "smooth rhetoric."

11:59 AM ET | 12- 4-2007 | permalink

Comments

Huckabee and Ron Paul seem to be the only Republicans that could take any votes away from Democrats. The constant undermining of republican front runners by the religious base is not going to leave them with any viable option. The base needs to accept who they have if they want a chance at winning next November.

Sent by Tim Schaiberger | 12:29 PM ET | 12-04-2007

Why are "liberal" and "pastor" considered such a contradiction in terms in America these days?

The religious right seems to have succesfully convinced us all that Christianity demands right wing politics. Let's stop with this "Christian = Republican" nonsense. Policies that favor the rich and pre-emptive wars based on lies seem a far greater contradiction of the Gospel than letting two dudes marry each other in a civil ceremony.

He seems like a nice guy, but as a Christian I can't support Huckabee because he is not liberal enough.

Sent by TJ Biehler | 2:13 PM ET | 12-04-2007

Gov. Huckabee is a conservative. The tax burden in Arkansas rose less over his 10 years in office than it did in Massachusettes over Romneys 4 years. If Romney were ahead they would be hitting him too, and now that Huckabee has tied Guiliani in the national race, see today's Rasmussen poll, the attacks will only get stronger.

Sent by Eric Worthington | 2:21 PM ET | 12-04-2007

I guess when it comes to fiscal coservatism the proof is in the pudding. Would you rather have a guy running the country that spent 300,000 thousand in Iowa to get 29% of the vote or a candidate like Romney who has spent 7,000,000 to get 25% of the vote. To me that says most of what I need to know.
The other candidates are heavily packaged, shrink wrapped for freshness. I think it's going to be an uphill climb for the rest of them. After all does it make sense to go Bush / Clinton / Bush / Clinton. They all get there campaign money from the same Wall Street Bonus Managers that are demanding that taxpayers bail them out of their subprime mess. Why not Huckabee. I'm not even a Christian and I can tell this guy has something none of the others has. Integrity!!!

Sent by Rick Smith | 1:23 PM ET | 12-05-2007

"The tax burden in Arkansas rose less over his 10 years in office than it did in Massachusettes over Romneys 4 years."

Did you do any homework before posting this? The tax burden in Arkansas rose 37.5% under Huckabee. The tax burden in Mass rose 7.1%. Further, government spending in Arkansas increased 65% under Huckabee. Lay off the distortion juice, or at least try to cite some statistics before you post again.

As for our economics genious up there talking about pudding, Romney spent his own money and that of those who donated to him--not confiscated tax dollars, a la Huckabee in Little Rock. As if money spent in a campaign in any way reflected that which is spent in running the government.

If you're interested in someone who knows how to run things, Romney is a guy who turned around over 150 corporations from losers to profit-makers. Has any other candidate diplayed that kind of pattern of success? Didn't think so.

Huckabee is a disaster on the border. And he was a disaster fiscally.

I can't believe so many conservatives are buying into this phoney. If the border counts for anything, Huckabee should be sent packing into retirement to Cancun. But according to Huckabee, I'm just a racist white guy for caring...

Sent by CMartel2 | 4:02 AM ET | 12-08-2007

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