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Arkansas
Editorial Says Mike Huckabee Is Closest of all Candidates to Hillary Clinton
A recent editorial (Sept. 10, 07) entitled “Hillary vs.
Huckabee?” in the Arkansas paper, The Leader, begins by
saying: “Mike Huckabee said on ABCâs ‘This Week with George
Stephanopoulos’ that he would be the Republicansâ best candidate because his
record contrasted the most sharply with hers. Our former governor might be the
GOPâs best candidate against Sen. Clinton, at least among the present and forthcoming
challengers, but his strength would be that he is closest to, not farthest
from, Sen. Clinton on the issues and their records. (See
below for more excerpts from the article and the link to the article: )
The Leader’s editorial reminds me of one of
Arkansas’s best known liberal writer John Brummett’s article, February 1,
2000 in which he says : “As it happens, Huckabee governs about as
Clinton governed, and Boozman [Huckabee’s appointee] directs the
state Health Department about as Dr. Joycelyn Elders directed it, save the
brutal and over-the-top rhetoric…The state’s leading liberal Democratic
journal (the only one), the weekly Arkansas Times at Little Rock, has in recent
issues put Boozman on the cover and suggested it might have been wrong about
him and put Huckabee on the cover as ‘Arkansan of the Year’ and extolled his
Clintonesque moderation... His moderation is evident in that his most
touted program is a form of liberal-lite. It is the expanded and modified
Medicaid for kids in families of the working poor that he calls ARKids
First. In another article Brummett had this to say ” Mike
Huckabee, despite his rhetoric and religious conservatism, has been more of a
moderate progressive, like modern Democrats, at least in a broad historical
context encompassing race and immigration and spending.”
Monday,
September 10, 2007 Excerpts from The Leader Arkansas paper.
EDITORIALS>>Hillary
vs. Huckabee?
Fantasizing
about a race for president against Sen. Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee said on
ABCâs âThis Week with George Stephanopoulosâ that he would be the Republicansâ
best candidate because his record contrasted the most sharply with hers.
Half of his equation could be right.
Our former governor might be the GOPâs best candidate against Sen. Clinton, at
least among the present and forthcoming challengers, but his strength would be
that he is closest to, not farthest from, Sen. Clinton on the issues and their
records. Better than the others, he might carve into the middle ground of
independent voters who would otherwise tilt toward the Democrat.
We noticed that he was not very specific on their contrasts. It was strange
that he vaguely mentioned two comparisons: education and health care. It would
be hard to separate the former Arkansas governor and the former Arkansas first
lady on those issues, based on their Arkansas records. It was on education and
health care that as Arkansas first lady she made a lasting imprint.
She was the author of the higher school standards that were approved in 1983
over her husbandâs imprimatur, and she worked to expand childrenâs health-care
initiatives, founding the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.
Huckabee claims education and childrenâs health care as his best innovations.
So what is the contrast? You will remember that ArKids First, the great
expansion of government-paid health insurance for children, was Arkansas
Advocatesâ suggestion to the newly sworn in Gov. Huckabee in 1996. He eagerly
embraced it and calls it even today his proudest achievement. Sen. Clintonâs
husband, as president, brought it about on the national level a few months
afterward.
We presume that Huckabee, alone among the GOP presidential candidates, favors
expanding the national childrenâs health initiative, which Sen. Clinton and all
the Democratic members of the congressional delegation favor.
As governor, Huckabee sought and won a federal waiver for a plan to have the
federal government â thatâs you â subsidize health insurance for poor adult
workers. Other Republicans, including President Bush, are opposing that remedy
as creeping socialism.
Education affords the best comparison. Huckabee likes to lump the Clintons
together as a unit, which is fair. So how do they stack up? Hillaryâs tough
school standards in 1983 forced some gradual school consolidation as school
districts failed to measure up to the standards over five years.
Huckabee demanded wholesale and immediate school consolidation and abolished
more than 50 of them in one swoop. He wanted more than 100 other school
districts consolidated but the legislature balked. Does he dare boast about
that?
Taxes? Huckabee raised them considerably more in 10 years than Clinton did in
12. Clinton vetoed a 4-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax, and it passed over his veto.
Huckabee fathered a 4-cent increase in gasoline and diesel taxes. He claims
before conservative audiences that the voters, not he, approved those taxes,
but that is not true. Debt? The Clinton regime produced a small increase in
general state indebtedness, to fund water projects and college construction.
Huckabee accounted for bigger increase in general state debt â the kind that
taxpayers are obliged to service â than all previous Arkansas governors
combined. Sen. Clinton is nailing down union endorsements in the Democratic
primary. Huckabee is the only Republican candidate to seek them.
For rest of article see this link: http://www.arkansasleader.com:80/2007/09/editorialshillary-vs-huckabee.html
Quotes from other Arkansas articles that support the thesis that Mike
Huckabee Is Closest of all Candidates to Hillary Clinton:
Huckabee’s pro illegal alien agenda- unbelievable!
·
See following link for n Arkansas newspaper articles that outline
Huckabee’s pro illegal alien agenda. One quote from the article
will give you an idea: “Gov. Mike Huckabee said Thursday that a bill to
deny state government benefits and voting rights to illegal immigrants is
‘inflammatory… race-baiting and demagoguery.’ He challenged the Christian
values of its main sponsor.” We don’t believe that Hillary could
do any better! http://www.wpaag.org/Huckabee%20pro%20illegal%20alien%20agenda%20-%20unbelievable.htm
Government Control
·
As an example of Huckabee’s idea of government control vs
local control, he actually called for superintendents to be appointed by the
State Department of Education, saying in his educational plan, A
superintendent, who will have the authority to hire and fire principals and
central office staff, will administer each district. The
authority to hire and fire the superintendent will rest with the director of
the state Department of Education, [whom Huckabee appoints].
Only Hillary Clinton could dream of such arrogance and power.
For this and other such outrageous government control ideas from
Governor Huckabee’s own paper on education , see this link: http://www.wpaag.org/Huckabee’s%20Ed.%20Plan%20-2%20Parts.htm
Also see this link with numerous examples of how Huckabee and his appointed
Director of Arkansas Department of Education did a better job than Hillary in
government takeover of the schools in Arkansas. http://www.wpaag.org/Simon%20Appointment%20Cause%20for%20Concern.htm
Ray Simon
Health Care & Other Issues
· Getting health
coverage for every Arkansan is now a goal of Gov. Mike Huckabee’s
administration, the governor and top administration members confirm. (Isn’t
that just what Hillary tried at the very beginning of her husband’s
presidency?) “Health care for all ranks high on list for governor,”
Monday, June 5, 2000 Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
· Concerning
Huckabee’s Arkansas Kids First Department of Human Services Director Tom Dalton
said, “This program will put us in a very small group of states that
virtually provides a kind of universal coverage for children.
Few states will cover children up to 20 percent oft he poverty level. I
don’t know of any in the South. ” Plan would bridge gap in
health-care system” “Plan would bridge gap in health-care
system”, by Kevin Freking, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Feb. 9,
1997
· Advertised on
handouts to use in schools to recruit people to sign up for Arkansas Kids First
the following quote is found: “We are looking for organizations
to partner with us in an outreach effort to contact families and children….When
children are enrolled in ARKids First, their coverage includes the following:
(How many of you have insurance this good, even with your exorbitant priced
plans?) Name of pamphlet “About ARKids First” obtained from school
counselor who said they were given instructions to find as many children as
possible for the program.
Physician Office Visit
Immunizations
Inpatient Hospital
Dental Care
Home Health
Chiropractor
Laboratory and X-ray
Durable Medical Equipment
Prescription Drugs
Outpatient Hospital
Vision Care
Outpatient Mental and Behavioral
Health
Speech Therapy
Podiatry
Medical Supplies
Nurse Midwife and Nurse
Practitioner”
· Concerning
“Our Kids First” health insurance for children, Huckabee is quoted as
saying, “The program will push Arkansas from near the bottom among the
50 states in expenditures for health care for children to first in the
country. The program is already being “heralded as a model for other
states,” (“Session could be regarded as very effective”
March 28, 1997 Jonesboro Sun.) On the same day this article was
published, The Sun also published an AP article
saying, “The intense focus is (health insurance) is driven
by Democrats’ effort to incrementally expand access to health insurance…Clinton
aims to cover 5 million children over the next four years by enrolling more who
are eligible for Medicaid, and by giving states $750 million a year to develop
or expand subsidy programs. (Arkansas Our Kids First children’s health care is
paid for by state and federal money.)
· Huckabee wrote an
article entitled “Why I Am Against Instituting School Prayer”
published July 1999. At the following link a liberal praises him for that
article saying, “But Huckabee said he never could understand why so
many people ‘railed against (the absence of) prayer in schools when they didnât
even pray at home.’ ⦠âI felt it was not the schoolsâ job,â he said, to teach
his children to pray, but the familyâs… For himself, Huckabee quipped, âI
prayed in school every time I took a math test.’ This writer goes on to say,
“Thatâs, um, right. In fact, when I worked at Americans United for
Separation of Church and State, Iâd make practically the same argument on a
regular basis.” http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/9855.html
At the close of the article this writer said “He [Huckabee] doesn’t have a
prayer” in getting the conservative nomination. Name of article “I
prayed in school every time I took a math test”
· Another article with
headline reads: “Huckabee says year-round school in Tennessee model for
Arkansas.” Hillary Clinton wants schools to be open from 6:00
am. to 6:00 p.m. year round to match the parents’ work schedules.
Arkansas Democrat Gazette, September 23, 1997.
· “Huckabee touts national
certification as goal for Teachers“ is the headline of another
article. Arkansas Democrat Gazette, August 9, 1999.
· Gov. Mike Huckabee
on Friday announced another condition he wants before he calls a special
legislative session on education â the appointment of a panel of teachers to
meet in secret to offer advice to himself and the Legislature⦠The
panel of teachers Huckabee would appoint would consist of nine teachers who
would be current or former state âteachers of the yearâ or Milken Award
winners. http://nwanews.com/adg/News/141121/
( Milken Awards are Presented on the Basis of Innovation, Not on Test Scores or
Academic Achievement and are given to Educators who incorporate global UNNESCO
curriculum) For another article that gives extensive details on Milken
Award Winners, see this link: http://www.wpaag.org/Huckabee%20Wants%20Milken%20Award%20Winners’%20Input.htm
” Huckabee Wants Teacher Input from Milken Award Winners”
· “Clinton, Huckabee joins
obesity fight.” is the headline of an article in Arkansas Democrat Gazette
May 4, 05 with a picture of Huckabee and Clinton together at a
microphone. The first paragraph reads, “Arkansas
Governor Mike Huckabee addresses reporters during a news conference with former
President Clinton on Tuesday in New York. In many schools in
Arkansas now the teachers can no longer allow cupcakes to celebrate their young
students’ birthdays, and all students have to be weighed annually and parents
notified of their weight problem. (Some teachers have nicknamed
Huckabee’s obesity fight as “The Fat Police”.)
Taxes
· The
House of Representatives approved Thursday what would be the largest ever
Arkansas state tax increase, sending the $360 million-a-year measure for
education to the Senate for expected approval today. (Arkansas Democrat
Gazette, February 6, 04 by Michael Rowett and Michael Wickline) This was
at the request of Governor Huckabee.
·
Mike Huckabee said Monday that he supported a set of proposed changes
in state education law that includes $ 309 million in increased school funding,
and told state lawmakers to tentatively prepare for a special session starting
on April 3. Arkansas Democrat Gazette by Jake Bleed. http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/149336/
March 21, 2006
· Headline:
Spending nearly double ’97 figure. State lawmakers learned Tuesday
that state government’s expenses nearly doubled the past 10 years.
the state Department of Health and Human Servicesâ expenses increased from $ 2.
139 billion to $ 4. 198 billion. The General Education Divisionâs expenses
increased from $ 1. 689 billion to $ 2. 873 billion. Huckabee was governor
during all those years. (Arkansas Democrat Gazette Oct 11, 2006 by
Wickline. http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/169317/
·
By the end of his ten-year tenure, Governor Huckabee was responsible
for a 37% higher sales tax in Arkansas, 16% higher motor fuel taxes, and 103%
higher cigarette taxes according to Americans for Tax Reform (01/07/07),
garnering a lifetime grade of D from the free-market Cato Institute⦠Under
Governor Huckabee’s watch, state spending increased a whopping 65.3% from 1996
to 2004, three times the rate of inflation (Americans for Tax Reform
01/07/07). The number of state government workers rose 20% during his tenure
(Arkansas Leader 04/15/06), and the state’s general obligation debt shot up by
almost $1 billion, according to Americans for Tax Reform. http://www.clubforgrowth.org/2007/01/a_report_on_mike_huckabees_fis.php
“Mike Huckabee’s Record on Economic Issues” Club for Growth Releases First Presidential White
Paper
· Arkansas
state government jobs increased 10.3% from
1997-2004 (7 years) Total salaries increased by 74.1% “Payroll increased. Arkansas
Democrat Gazette, Arkansas state government payroll January 9, 2005
· “Arkansas
one of three states to raise taxes by 5 percent-plus,” study finds is
headline in article, Wednesday, July 22,04 by Doug Thompson, Arkansas News
Bureau.
We don’t hear Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee touting these things on
the campaign trail now that he is appearing before conservative voters in the
nation.
To those that have followed Mike
Huckabee’s governing philosophy in Arkansas, this editorial that says Huckabee
is closest of all the candidates to Hillary Clinton comes as no surprise. Mike
Huckabee was able to push Hillary Clinton’s governmental controlled educational
reforms faster than she, herself, was able to do as the Governor’s wife.
If there is any surprise, it is that a paper would have the courage to say it.
Women’s Action Group
wpaagorg@gmail.com