United Citizens for Accountability in Politics (UCAP) has performed an independent review of the record and proposals of Mike Huckabee:
UCAP’s rating of Huckabee’s Ethics Record: Grade F
After a thorough review of Huckabee’s record we conclude, Huckabee looks to be ethically challenged:
The Arkansas Governor was plagued by series of ethics scandals including pardons for money, trying to take state furniture from the
Fourteen times, the ethics commission -- a respected body, not a partisan witch-hunt group -- investigated claims against Huckabee. Five of those times, it officially reprimanded him.
He used public money for family restaurant meals, boat expenses, and other personal uses. He tried to claim as his own some $70,000 of furniture donated to the governor's mansion. He repeatedly, and obstinately, against the pleadings even from conservative columnists and editorials, refused to divulge the names of donors to a "charitable" organization he set up while lieutenant governor -- an outfit whose main charitable purpose seemed to be to pay Huckabee to make speeches. Then, as a bonus, he misreported the income itself from the suspicious "charity."
Huckabee has been criticized, reasonably so, for misusing the state airplane for personal reasons. And he and his wife, Janet, actually set up a "wedding gift registry" (they had already been married for years) to which people could donate as the Huckabees left the governorship, in order to furnish their new $525,000 home.
UCAP is left wondering what he gave the people in terms of political favors and influence, who in turn gave the Huckabee’s gifts.
After Dumond made parole, he went on to rape again. The next time, he also murdered his victim. The Arkansas Times, reports that the parole process was "marked by deviation from accepted parole practice and direct personal lobbying by the governor, in an apparently illegal and unrecorded closed-door meeting with the parole board."
UCAP’s rating of Huckabee’s Fiscal and Tax Record: Grade F -
In making an assessment of Governor Huckabee’s record, we refer to the extensive review performed by The Club for Growth who concluded:
UCAP performed its own review of Huckabee’s National Sales Tax Proposal and concluded that Huckabee’s so called 23% Sales tax is really a 29.87% sales tax. Meaning that if something costs $1.00 after his tax is implemented, 23 cents is tax. This is really a 29.87% tax. So that gasoline you are paying $3.20 a gallon for will cost $4.15. We find that there is something inherently dishonest in the way he is understating the true cost to the American people.
However, that is not the worst part. This proposal will fall unduly hard on middle class senior citizens, who have saved all their lives and are shifting to spending mode. These people will now be taxed again for consuming some of their life savings.
Huckabee offers a “prebate” to bring all people up to the poverty line with no taxes. The poverty line for a household of two (let’s say retirees) was $12,830 in 2005 according to the Department of HHS. So let’s say in your retirement you want to consume $40,000 per year and you have $20,000 of investment income. You would be taxed at: 40,000 – 12,830 = 27,170 x .2987 = $8,115, or an 40.5% tax on income!
Alternatively, the hedge fund manager who makes $2,000,000 a year and spends $250,000 would be taxed 250,000 – 12,830 = 237,170 x .2987 = 70,842.68 or a 3.5% tax rate.
The irony of this proposal is that it flies in the face of Mr. Huckabee’s everyman persona. We believe the Governor is sincere in his populist rhetoric, so we are left to conclude that, like with so many complex issues, the Governor hasn’t done his homework and has only a superficial understanding of important issues and policies. In short, Governor Huckabee is a likable fellow, but he is not ready for prime time.
UCAP’s rating of Huckabee’s Social Issues: Grade D
Huckabee: Weak on Crime according to Arkansans:
Garrick Feldman of the Arkansas Gazette wrote:
___””When you talk to prosecutors around the state, many of them will tell you they're unhappy that Gov. Huckabee pardons criminals without letting law-enforcement officials or victims' families know why he's doing it, as he's required by law.
___ "He doesn't take giving clemency very seriously," complains
….. Herzfeld is not exaggerating when he says Huckabee's pardons policies are "fatally flawed." When the governor first came into office, he announced that convicted rapist Wayne DuMond had been framed and pushed for his early release.
___Confronted with the evidence against DuMond, Huckabee denied him clemency, although a backroom deal with the Post Prison Transfer Board allowed DuMond to move to
Huckabee on Pardons: He had a hand in twice as many as his three predecessors combined, granting 1,033 pardons and commutations in his 10 1/2 years in office. The acts of clemency benefited the stepson of a staff member, murderers who worked at the governor's mansion, a rock star and inmates who received good words from their pastors.
Huckabee on Social, Civil Rights and Women’s Issues:
Huckabee hangs himself with his own words:
"A wife is to submit graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ." Huckabee and his wife, Janet, signed a full-page ad in USA Today in support of the statement.
Huckabee on AIDS and Tolerance of Homosexuality:
As a Senate candidate in 1992, Huckabee told the AP in a questionnaire that "we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague"
When asked in December 2007 about his earlier comments Governor Huckabee said
"I still believe this today," Huckabee went on to liken homosexuality to "lying" and "stealing".
UCAP’s Overall Rating of Governor Mike Huckabee: F+