It had been quite some time since Mike Huckabee had insulted, crossed, and otherwise annoyed limited-government conservatives. As one of the very few high-profile Republicans to openly oppose TARP, he had a tremendous opportunity to rebuild bridges.
Today, at King’s College (NYC), Huckabee not only refused to rebuild those bridges, but he set fire to a few more (Brian Stewart – NRO: The Corner):
Huckabee flatly denied being a “pro-life liberal,” an accusation often made in certain quarters on the right. Not a trace of defensiveness could be detected on this point. To the contrary, the governor gave an all-out defense of his tax hikes while governor of Arkansas on the grounds that they were the only responsible course of action to repair state roads. He snorted with derision at “libertarians” who fail to recognize that “we don’t have a health care crisis in this country, but a health crisis.” He spoke with passion and knowledge on the need for preventative care to bring down exorbitant costs. And then, without the least amount of prompting, he mustered a vigorous defense of Mrs. Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign against childhood obesity. This was the “art of governing,” he argued, rather than the cheap “science of campaigning.”
Where to begin!
For starters, the tax-hikes-for-roads nonsense is a common feature here in Virginia, at least until Speaker Bill Howell and his fellow Republicans in the House of Delegates finally got over their HB3202-induced tax-fever. The rest was just Huckabee’s typical drivel. In fact, his last line about the “art of governing” – citing a First Lady campaign – would be hilarious if it wasn’t so tragically ignorant.
He then digs himself even deeper with this:
Invited to plea for cuts in defense spending, he delicately declined, but noted that combat operations in Afghanistan were futile and therefore constituted government “waste.”
Let that sink in for just a minute: fighting the Taliban is now government waste to Mike Huckabee.
Stewart called Huckabee “The Face of Conservative Populism.” That Huckabee can still manage to get “conservative” attached to himself is all the more reason I call myself a right-wing liberal.
Also cross-posted to Virginia Bloggers Against Mike Huckabee
Filed under: 2008 Elections, Economics, International Politics, National Politics, Republican Party of Virginia, Republicans, RINOs, Spending, Taxes, Virginia Politics
[...] to Virginia Virtucon and Virginia Bloggers Against Mick [...]
[...] Also cross-posted to Virginia Virtucon [...]
Yes, fighting the Taliban is government waste. We’re wasting millions upon millions in Afghanistan on a war that CANNOT be won.
So what happens the next time al Qaeda hits us? Do we get on one knee and beg their hosts to be nice to us?
Huckabee denies he’s a pro-life liberal and then goes on to prove it. What a jerk. Just because he lost sone weight doesn’t mean he needs to use the government to force everyone else to the same.
When are we going to get a real conservative candidate for 2012?
BTW I think Huckabee has actually been gaining weight lately.
DJ, what do you think about Tim Pawlenty?
I’m going to guess DJ isn’t a big fan of Mr. Global Warming.
“fighting the Taliban is now government waste to Mike Huckabee.”
Even a blind pig finds an acorn now and then.
Was our mission in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban? No, we never had a problem with the Taliban running Afghanitan until they refused to turn over Osama Bin Laden.
Our mission in Afghanistan was to destroy Al Qaida and capture or kill Bin Laden. The first appears largely to be accomplished, the second is the biggest failure of both the Bush and Obama administrations.
Re: the Taliban. We should still have an offer on the table to them…turn over Bin Laden and we’re out as soon as we can get on the planes.
Who cares who governrs Afghanistan? It was a failed state when we got there and will be a failed state when we leave, no matter how many years or American lives we waste there.