Outside of maybe 5 – 6 candidates running in this election, many of them are what you might call “also-ran’s” or unserious candidates. However, nobody knew who Howard Dean was either until he but the fear of God into John Kerry and Dick Gephardt back in 2003. So it is in the spirit of the fact that you never know who might just run away with an American election, that I bring you the …in a 1,000 words or less series.
They say that governors make better presidential candidates than those from either house of Congress, namely the Senate. In nearly all of last century’s modern presidential elections, two have gone directly from the Senate to the Presidency. In most cases the President-elect was either the previous terms sitting Vice President or the former Governor of one the 50 states.
A relatively popular sitting governor with name recognition and a relatively popular sitting Vice President who was a former senator in his own right contested the 2000 election. In the 2008 election, four of the strongest candidates are either current senators or former senators and the only other likely candidate was the mayor of the biggest city in the country.
This set-up has left many conservatives wondering, “Where is a good, strong, socially conservative governor to be found that can win this election for us and stand up for what we believe in?” The first candidate that comes to mind is Mitt Romney, but not only is he a Mormon but he’s also more liberal than his GOP namesake might allude to.
That my friends is why we should talk about former Arkansas Governor and 5 time author, Mike Huckabee. For those of you that vote mostly on issues of social concern such as abortion and gay marriage, Mike Huckabee may just be the man you are looking for.
On the subject of abortion, in an interview with Tim Russert Gov. Huckabee was challenged on his life long pro-life stance and had this to say when asked whether or not he’d ban abortion, “I would seek always to promote the view that life is precious and should be protected. Would I be able to singularly do that? Of course not. But I think it has to be won on, on a battlefield of one heart at a time rather than pieces of legislation at a time.”
Gov. Huckabee seems to be saying here that he wouldn’t necessarily, nor could he in actually, outright ban abortion, but he would try to set a moral imperative for Americans to follow that all life is precious and must be preserved. In accordance with that philosophy, Gov. Huckabee stated that just birthing a child does rise to the level of preserving and caring for it, but rather the child’s environment should also support the best life possible as well.
From that same interview, “As a pro-life person, as a governor, look at my record. Yes, did we pass pro-life legislation? We did. But we also did things that improved the environmental quality and the conservation issues that would affect a child’s air and water. We also made sure that he had a better education, that access to affordable health care would be better. So I think that real pro-life people need to be concerned about affordable housing, we need to be concerned about safe neighborhoods, access to a college education. That, for me, is what pro-life has to mean.” (Source)
The problem with presidential politics is that more time is spent on “gotcha!” type journalism and tactics and not enough time is spent on looking at the candidate’s actual record while in office.
For example, on the subject of education, an issue sure to pour sugar in the gas tank of any candidacy when you consider the abysmal state of our public education system, “As governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee has a proven and consistent track record as ardent advocate of the right for home school options. He led efforts in Arkansas resulting in enactment of some of the most friendly home school laws in the nation and appointed the first ever home schooling parent to a position on the State Board of Education. Mike's comments regarding education policy, and his actions, are clear. According to Mike Huckabee, "I believe the most effective way to improve education is through creating competition within the system and then providing parents the right to choose the educational format they feel best suited to their own thoughts for their children. I believe this is a choice ultimately best left to parents and not to government."
Under Mike's leadership, Arkansans saw an expansion of charter schools and watched as he pushed for and achieved tough education standards through measuring performance and significant accountability. He fought for and eventually signed into law language providing the state with authority to close completely failing public schools, a measure now implemented on several occasions. In those instances, this drastic step was undertaken in order to ensure students are not wasting their time and taxpayers are not wasting their money.”
On the subject of healthcare, in 2000, Huckabee led a campaign to funnel 100% of the state's tobacco settlement revenues into the state's health care system, rather than into the general fund. This resulted in the creation of a health insurance program for those who could not afford private health insurance but do not qualify for Medicaid. Huckabee has also been about the need to reform Medicaid.
While I happen to be a rather devout believer in evolution, there are those that cannot accept science, no matter what, and are perfectly fine allowing faith, and nothing more, to be the guiding principle of their life. Here again, Huckabee may be the choice for those that just cannot accept evolution nor those who support it.
According to the National Center for Science Education, Gov. Huckabee stated that, “I think schools also ought to be fair to all views. Because, frankly, Darwinism is not an established scientific fact. It is a theory of evolution, that’s why it’s called the theory of evolution. And I think that what I’d be concerned with is that it should be taught as one of the views that’s held by people. But it’s not the only view that’s held. And any time you teach one thing as that it’s the only thing, then I think that has a real problem to it…I think that the state ought to give students exposure to all points of view. And I would hope that that would be all points of view and not only evolution. I think that they also should be given exposure to the theories not only of evolution but to the basis of those who believe in creationism…I think it’s something kids ought to be exposed to. I do not necessarily buy into the traditional Darwinian theory, personally. But that does not mean that I’m afraid that somebody might find out what it is…”
Surely this will present problems for him in bluer, more evolution friendly states but one cannot deny that his view us unpopular with the red crowd below the Mason Dixon line.
Mike Huckabee will strike a chord with Southern Values voters as well as those concerned about healthcare. He will also most likely play on the fact that he ran a state and made some serious improvements as opposed to his competitors in the Senate. He may be the spoiler candidate in Red State primaries such as Iowa and South Carolina. That is Mike Huckabee; healthcare reformer, education advocate, pro-lifer, creationist – in 1,000 words or less.
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