In Part I, the contrasts shown between the outsider Governor's responses and those of the Washington DC-insider señior citizen señátor were both stark and bleak. Well, hold on to your trunks, fellow Republicans. They're about to get even more so.


ere's the meat of the matter. Each candidate's "philosophy of what it means to be a conservative President."

In answer to the American Conservative Union's fourth question — "What is conservative governance in your view and how would your philosophy manifest itself in your principles, policies, plans, and priorities as President?" — Governor Mike Huckabee (R-USA) responds,

To me conservative governance means following the "original intent" of the Founding Fathers, it means recognizing that Jefferson won the debate with Hamilton, and that we want very strong, energetic, innovative states, with government both as limited as possible and as close to the people as possible. The states should not usurp functions that can be handled locally, and the federal government should not usurp functions that can be handled by the states. An important part of being a conservative President for me would be strengthening federalism. Conservative governance also means an emphasis on personal responsibility and letting the free market function unencumbered, so that Americans have tremendous opportunity, but not a guaranteed outcome. It means smaller, more efficient government; lower government spending; lower taxes. It means keeping the government out of our lives and letting families keep as much of the money they earn and make as many of their own decisions as possible. It means allowing younger workers to have personal Social Security accounts. It means getting entitlements under control.

Nice and specific.

Then, after reading the other candidate's, we see how that meat has long since dried up on the bones of señior citizen John McCain Juan ShAmnesty MqQuisling III (D-MEX), who's painfully made clear that his idea of "limiting the reach of government" doesn't include, for him, giving his federal government the "right" to impose itself between us and our once-legal aspirations to freely speak out before our elections against decades-long backstabbing incumbents like himself. No philosophy of "government that governs least governs best" need ever apply when it comes to his abridging our right of speech — "free exercise of the rights and responsibilities of liberty" be damned. Neither does it apply at all when he wants to have practically unlimited government imposition on and abridgment of our rights of assembly and engagement in lawful commerce whenever we hold any gun shows. In MqBackstabber's MqWorld, government that governs most governs best for him then. These render the remainder of Juan Skipout MqQain't's response no more than another laundry list of empty platitudes.

The contrasts further widen with the answers to the fifth set of questions — "What are the most important governing principles that you would rely upon as the framework for your presidency? Describe how those principles would guide your decision-making process in conducting the affairs of the nation as President. Relate each of your governing principles to the U.S. Constitution and the vision of the Founding Fathers."

Governor Huckabee's:

I believe that our rights come from God, not from our government; that the people should retain as much power and be left alone as much as possible; that the federal government should not do what can be done at the local or state level; that our government belongs to the people, not the lobbyists and special interests; that government at all levels exists to serve the people and not the other way around; that we must respect the separation of powers and no branch should usurp the authority of another; that my greatest responsibility is to protect the American people from all threats; that the free market, low taxes, and minimal regulation are the keys to economic growth and prosperity; that Americans are owed equal opportunity, but not an equal outcome; that we are a culture of life and recognize that each individual has intrinsic value and worth; that we are only as strong as our families; that we owe a huge debt to those who have given their lives for this country to protect the freedoms and way of life for which they sacrificed.

I would weigh all of my decisions in the context of those principles to assure that I am doing the right thing and not the popular or expedient thing. I will always err on the side of protecting life, strengthening our families, and protecting our citizens and our country from possible threats to their safety.

The Founding Fathers shared my vision that our rights come from God. I share their concern that we never become victims of tyranny, and I will scrupulously honor the separation of powers and checks and balances they conceived for us and will staunchly defend all of our individual rights, including the Second Amendment, which some don't take as seriously as our other rights. I will appoint judges who will uphold the original intent of the Founding Fathers and preserve their wisdom.

Señior citizen of Aztlán Señátor MqFraud, on the other hand, when he's not skipping out on over half our Senate's votes, can't get past his particular brand of "respecting" even our First Amendment. That is, with his outright breach of all the "personal, political, and economic freedoms" that our Founding Fathers meant for it to protect.

Next the ACU asks, "Discuss your philosophy of and vision for the federal government in the 21st Century — its structure, personnel, operations and functions. What are the innovations you envision to modernize and restructure the federal government in keeping with the governing principles you described in your response to question #5 above?"

Governor Huckabee's response:

The federal government must be as small and efficient as possible. We must cut and consolidate by ruthlessly ferreting out unnecessary or duplicative functions and positions. Appointees must be chosen entirely on their credentials and not their crony connections, they should inspire and raise the morale of those who work under them by their dedication and professionalism. I strongly support reviving the line-item veto in a way that will pass constitutional muster.

Then the Governor does what none of señátor Juan "F*ck You!" MqBadtemper's fellow Washington DC-insider politicians ever bothers to do. He specifically tells us how:

I would always question whether some of the functions the federal government performs should be done by government at all and whether some of those functions that should be performed can be returned to the states and localities. For example, if states want tougher standards to protect their chemical plants from a terror attack, I would not support the federal government pre-empting those standards. I wouldn't walk into the Oval Office and assume that the government I find is the government we should have. I would always seek to eliminate and to consolidate. I would have outside experts review each department because no cabinet secretary is ever going to tell me that his budget should be cut. I would make certain that the government has the same resources as our top corporations — that the FBI, for example, finally has the state-of-the-art computer system that it needs to face 21st century threats.

When Congress put FEMA in the Department of Homeland Security, they moved its director too far down the food chain. I will restore FEMA to cabinet status, so that the Director reports directly to me. I will reassess and strengthen the focus and mission of the Department of Homeland Security. The Department brought together 180,000 people from 22 agencies. Its size and structure are unwieldy and inefficient. We must create a leaner structure with a passionate esprit de corps dedicated to identifying threats and foiling attacks.

I will fight to enact the Fair Tax, a simple tax on consumption, which would eliminate all existing federal taxes, personal and corporate, and eliminate the IRS. The Fair Tax will reward productivity instead of punishing it. The Fair Tax will lower the lifetime tax burden on all Americans: single or married; working or retired; rich, poor or middle class — no more tax loopholes for those with high-priced lawyers and lobbyists, no more tax evasion by the underground economy. The Fair Tax will take embedded corporate taxes out of the prices we pay, so everything we buy will be cheaper.

This reform is needed to make us competitive globally, so that instead of exporting our jobs and even whole industries, we will export our goods. Other countries rebate taxes on their exports, giving their products an advantage of about 18% on the world market compared to our goods. We are the square peg trying to fit into the round hole of international trade. The rest of the world isn't going to change — it's time that we do. Under the Fair Tax, trillions of dollars that have been moved offshore for tax reasons will come home. American companies will be far less likely to move overseas and foreign companies will be far more likely to come here, hiring Americans to build and work in their new plants. We can become the world's tax haven.

What would the septuagenarian señátor for the North American Union, Juan "Say No To Borders" MqFluke do? Why, he'll make sure that bureaucrats "issue public progress reports" — as if we don't have enough of those; he'll "rely on... a free and informed citizenry to help me" — although he never bothered paying any attention to them before; and he'll make bureaucrats behave less bureaucratically — and the leprechauns among them will all turn in their pots of gold at the end of the rainbow and start driving hay-efficient pink unicorns to "work," too.

Questions 7-10 will be covered in Part III.

Labels: President Huckabee, Sealing the fate of freedom's enemies

	3:53 PM

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