As of February 1st, Mike Huckabee has suspended his presidential campaign.
ISSUES
Environmental Regulation and Climate Change
Even though he has held a different view in the past, Huckabee has said that he does not believe climate change exists, that humans affect our climate, or that many environmental regulations are necessary. He is especially against regulations on the environment that would hurt businesses.
He has been critiqued for his change in position because it occurred directly after the rise of the Tea Party in 2010 and denied that he ever believed in climate change.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
He has been critiqued for his change in position because it occurred directly after the rise of the Tea Party in 2010 and denied that he ever believed in climate change.
Policy Proposals
- Explore the arctic and the outer continental shelf for energy opportunities.
- Wants the US to be more energy independent, so he believes that there should be less regulation on energy production.
- In order to reduce restrictions on businesses, would create a stricter check system on the EPA so that jobs aren’t lost due to regulations.
- Supports the Keystone XL pipeline bill.
Relevant History
- Signed, as governor of Arkansas, the Clean Indoor Air Act of 2006, which created a smoke-free workplace.
- Enacted a conservation tax in Arkansas to support state parks.
Representative Quotes
- “We have hundreds of years of available energy underneath our feet and all around us. We can power ourselves out of this deep economic hole with common sense energy independence.”
Gun Control and Gun Violence
Mike Huckabee is against federal legislation restricting gun rights, believing the Second Amendment to be a central component of liberty. He himself owns guns and does not believe that restrictions on firearms would have an effect on the rate of violence in society. He is a supporter of the concept of self-defense and of the ‘Castle Doctrine’ (which allows people to use deadly force to protect their home). He has stated that if elected president he would oppose gun control laws, in order to “protect the rights of gun owners from big government.”
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Policy Proposals
- Eliminate gun free zones.
- Support programs to research potential warnings or signs of violent crimes.
- Take a more aggressive approach, through the use of databases, to ensure that those who are mentally ill do not have access to guns.
Relevant History
- During his time as Governor of Arkansas, Huckabee opposed all attempts to put restriction on guns in the state.
- He was the first governor in the United States to have a license for a concealed handgun, and he has been a lifetime supporter of the NRA.
Representative Quotes
- “The real 'gun nuts' are the ones who know the least about firearms or freedom, but who most want to make sure the good guys are unarmed when the bad guys decide to murder a few.”
- “In the world I come from and choose to live in, 'gun control' means that you hit the target.”
Drugs and Criminal Law
Mike Huckabee takes a unique approach to drugs and crime: he wants to help good-natured people who made mistakes, but at the same time wants to lock away the guilty and immoral. For example, he believes that “those who deal drugs and entice others into enslaving addictions deserve prison sentences,” but also favors drug-courts over prison for handling drug addicted people. He believes that punishments for drug abuse are more effective than education, and that all illegal drug users should face some sort of punishment, and opposes recreational and medical marijuana use. Huckabee has been critical of excessively long sentences and of mandatory minimums, especially for nonviolent offenders, and is also against removing parole and good behavior rewards in prison. He also pardoned many ex-offenders who were trying to get their lives together but unfairly held back by their criminal records. Mike Huckabee believes that the death penalty is “a necessary part of our criminal justice system for those crimes for which there is no other alternative.”
In 2007, Mitt Romney portrayed Mike Huckabee as “soft on crime” because he granted so many commutations and because of his more forgiving, rehabilitative proposals.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
In 2007, Mitt Romney portrayed Mike Huckabee as “soft on crime” because he granted so many commutations and because of his more forgiving, rehabilitative proposals.
Policy Proposals
- Enforce federal marijuana laws.
- Huckabee has not proposed any other policies as he has focused on other topics.
Relevant History
- Issued over 1000 pardons during his tenure as governor of Arkansas, primarily to help citizens unfairly affected by previous convictions.
- Gave order to carry out the death penalty 16 times more than any other governor in Arkansas.
- Passed legislation and worked with law enforcement to drop murder rates by 20% and denied “over 85% of all commutation requests” as governor.
Representative Quotes
- “We really don’t have so much a crime problem in this country. We have a drug and alcohol problem. 80% of the people who are in our prisons and jails are there for a drug or alcohol crime. They either were high or drunk when they committed the crime, or they committed the crime to get high or drunk. And what has made a huge mistake is that we’ve incarcerated so many of the people who really need drug rehab more than they need long-term incarceration.”
- “In our state, we established over 20 drug courts, that gave people an alternative course, rather than just putting them in prison, giving them the opportunity to get what they really needed, which is off the addiction. We’ve got to quit locking up all the people that we’re mad at and lock up the people that we’re really afraid of, the people who are sexual predators and violent offenders. I would go for more drug courts and for a lot less incarceration of drug-addicted people.”
- “Imagine saying to an inmate, “If you learn a useful skill and act respectfully toward others, you will still serve a full sentence.” What kind of incentive is that? Yes, I believe in “commit the crime and do the time,” but it is in society’s best interest to have a system that keeps hope alive in the minds of violators.”
Civil Rights - Gender and Sexual Orientation
Huckabee has consistently been against laws protecting LGBT individuals. While he served as Governor of Arkansas, he argued against local legislation that would protect LGBT Americans from discrimination. Huckabee does not support gay and transgender couples having the ability to adopt. He has also demonstrated support for “conversion therapy” (a treatment that supporters claim can "cure" LGBT individuals). Because of Huckabee’s religious views and interpretation of the Biblical positions, he believes that we must “defend, protect, and preserve traditional marriage.” He strongly opposed marriage equality and believes that judges who feel otherwise are worthy of impeachment. Huckabee also believes that opening the door of marriage equality for same-sex couples will ultimately lead to polygamy. Aside from the Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality, Huckabee still disagrees strongly, claiming this goes against “nature’s law” and encourages other governors to defy the law also. Huckabee is also firmly pro-life, believing that “life begins at conception.” However, he claims that this belief goes beyond Biblical views and that it is actually “affirmed by modern science and every unique DNA schedule, which is present at conception.”
Huckabee has been criticized for a joke he made about gender identity, when he said, had he known about gender identity in high school, "I would have found my feminine side and said 'Coach, I think I’d rather shower with the girls today.'" CNN responded to this statement by saying that “Political figures like Huckabee should be held to a higher standard of either informing themselves on such an important issue or keeping their mouths shut.”
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Huckabee has been criticized for a joke he made about gender identity, when he said, had he known about gender identity in high school, "I would have found my feminine side and said 'Coach, I think I’d rather shower with the girls today.'" CNN responded to this statement by saying that “Political figures like Huckabee should be held to a higher standard of either informing themselves on such an important issue or keeping their mouths shut.”
Policy Proposals
- Intends to have the U.S. Department of Justice "criminally prosecute Planned Parenthood for violating federal law and selling body parts."
- Argues that solely defunding Planned Parenthood that “isn’t enough for me. That’s low-hanging fruit. Let’s do something bolder than that. Let’s stop abortion completely.”
Relevant History
- Huckabee has previously been an avid supporter of Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. He escorted Davis when she was released from prison and declared that she should have never been imprisoned in the first place. After learning about the Pope’s private meeting with Kim Davis, Huckabee’s comments strongly favored Davis’s actions. Huckabee denounced that the “media mocked and derided millions of Americans who supported Kim Davis’ constitutional right to religious liberty” until this private meeting with the Pope finally caused the “out of touch political class in Washington” to see that Davis was “standing for her religious liberty.”
- As Governor of Arkansas, signed a fetal protection act that imposed a ban on partial abortion. This legislation also stated that an “individual convicted of attacking a pregnant woman and causing the death of her unborn child [should] be charged with murder.”
- Proposed and signed a bill that would prevent mothers who left their newborns at hospitals or fire stations from facing prosecution for child abandonment.
Representative Quotes
- “I may stand alone, but I am absolutely faithful to the issue of marriage. Not because it’s politically expedient, but because it’s the Biblical position, the historical position and the right position.”
- “We can get into the ick factor, but the fact is two men in a relationship, two women in a relationship, biologically, that doesn’t work.”
- “If all a candidate can promise is stop funding to Planned Parenthood, that isn’t enough for me. That’s low-hanging fruit. Let’s do something bolder than that. Let’s stop abortion completely.”
- Huckabee made this statement in response to Paraguay’s decision that denied a 10-year old girl the right to an abortion: “A 10-year-old girl being raped is horrible. But does it solve a problem by taking the life of an innocent child? That's really the issue. … There are two victims. One is the child; the other is that birth mother who often will go through extraordinary guilt years later when she begins to think through what happened – with the baby, with her. And again, there are no easy answers here.”
Civil Rights - Race and Ethnicity
Mike Huckabee is generally sympathetic to the issue of racial and ethnic inequality. He has spoken out against racial profiling, and has commended Obama for showing through his election that people should be indifferent towards a candidate’s race. Since Obama’s election, however, Huckabee has criticized Obama for not endorsing police officers. He said that by endorsing the Black Lives Matter organization, Obama was endorsing violence towards police officers. Although he understands that racial inequality needs to be fixed, he believes that Black Lives Matters and Obama have only created more tension between African Americans and police officers. He is also a firm opponent of affirmative action policies.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Policy Proposals
- Mike Huckabee has not stated any specific policy proposals regarding racial or ethnic inequality.
Relevant History
- In a 2007 Republican Debate, Huckabee criticized the Republican Party for ignoring African American and Hispanic voters.
- In 2007, proposed creating more drug courts to deal with offenders of drug laws, in response to a question about how he would increase fairness for black and Hispanic men. He emphasized locking up people who pose serious danger to society, such as sexual predators and violent offenders, rather than drug-addicts.
Representative Quotes
- “Folks, I'm going to be honest with you -- we don't have a skin problem in this country; we have a sin problem in this country.”
- “It’s time for President Obama and the Democratic Party to stop pandering to a movement that riots and supports violence against police. . . . A very small minority of police officers certainly abuse their power, and when they do, they should be punished accordingly. But most police officers are overworked and underpaid public servants, and take risks that most of us would run from.”
Fundraising Sources
Money Raised & View of Campaign Finance
Huckabee has raised $3,246,200 with his campaign committee and an additional $4,492,421 from outside groups, such as super PACs and nonprofit organizations, as of October 16, 2016. $25,500 has been accepted by the campaign from super PACs, which accounts for one percent of Huckabee’s total funding. Huckabee is of the opinion that candidates should be able to receive unlimited amounts of donations from companies and individuals, stating, “Prohibit nothing, disclose everything and disclose it on the spot. And let the voters make up their mind. And if you want to beat me up for having taken a check from someone — OK, do it.”
Super PACs
Criticism
$3 million of the $3.6 million raised by the Pursuing America’s Greatness PAC is by one person, Ronald Cameron, the CEO of Mountaire Farms. Also, Mike Huckabee’s traveling agency, Blue Diamond Travel, is Huckabee’s personal traveling agency for his campaign, being paid by the super PAC that is backing him. His company has received nearly $30,000 from the Pursuing America’s Greatness PAC, causing some concern that Huckabee is profiting from his presidential campaign.
Huckabee has raised $3,246,200 with his campaign committee and an additional $4,492,421 from outside groups, such as super PACs and nonprofit organizations, as of October 16, 2016. $25,500 has been accepted by the campaign from super PACs, which accounts for one percent of Huckabee’s total funding. Huckabee is of the opinion that candidates should be able to receive unlimited amounts of donations from companies and individuals, stating, “Prohibit nothing, disclose everything and disclose it on the spot. And let the voters make up their mind. And if you want to beat me up for having taken a check from someone — OK, do it.”
Super PACs
- Huckabee has additional assistance in funding from the HuckPAC ($887,400).
- The largest amount of funding is from the Pursuing America’s Greatness PAC with $3.6 million, another super PAC designed for the Huckabee campaign (however, Huckabee has only used $147,500 of this PAC’s donations in order to cover travel costs and fundraising).
Criticism
$3 million of the $3.6 million raised by the Pursuing America’s Greatness PAC is by one person, Ronald Cameron, the CEO of Mountaire Farms. Also, Mike Huckabee’s traveling agency, Blue Diamond Travel, is Huckabee’s personal traveling agency for his campaign, being paid by the super PAC that is backing him. His company has received nearly $30,000 from the Pursuing America’s Greatness PAC, causing some concern that Huckabee is profiting from his presidential campaign.
Defense and Foreign Policy
Huckabee supports a lot of familiar Republican foreign policy ideas like supporting Israel and rejecting the Iranian nuclear deal. He also has put forth a lot of different ideas over the years, like demanding accountability for the $10 billion the U.S. has given in aid to Pakistan, rejecting the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, and maintaining support for the Cuban embargo. He is firmly against the Iran Deal because he believes “It jeopardizes the survival of western civilization” due to America’s history of conflict with Iran. Huckabee also supports tougher sanctions on Iran to stop nuclear proliferation. Like most other Republican candidates Huckabee also believes that the military needs to be strengthened. Additionally, Huckabee believes that the NSA should not be allowed to spy on Americans. He also takes a very aggressive stance towards ISIS and states that Islamic terrorism is America’s most pressing issue.
Huckabee believes that the U.S. can defeat ISIS by increased bombing followed by ground troops. This is in opposition to candidates such as Ted Cruz who has said that he would increasing the bombing of ISIS but would not go as far as deploying U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Syria. Another candidate in opposition to Huckabee's strategy is Bernie Sanders, who contends that it is the responsibility of the more moderate nations in the region to handle ISIS. He also supports the Iran Deal as he believes it is the best way to combat Iran’s quest for a nuclear weapon, a belief that Huckabee seems to strongly disagree with. Huckabee disagrees on this point as he feels it endangers us and the state of Israel. This led to him commenting that it “will take Israelis and march them to the door of the oven.” Candidates such as Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush criticized Huckabee for these Holocaust-related comments. Clinton commented that “It should be repudiated by every person of good faith and concern of the necessity to keep our political dialogue on the facts and within suitable boundaries.”
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Huckabee believes that the U.S. can defeat ISIS by increased bombing followed by ground troops. This is in opposition to candidates such as Ted Cruz who has said that he would increasing the bombing of ISIS but would not go as far as deploying U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Syria. Another candidate in opposition to Huckabee's strategy is Bernie Sanders, who contends that it is the responsibility of the more moderate nations in the region to handle ISIS. He also supports the Iran Deal as he believes it is the best way to combat Iran’s quest for a nuclear weapon, a belief that Huckabee seems to strongly disagree with. Huckabee disagrees on this point as he feels it endangers us and the state of Israel. This led to him commenting that it “will take Israelis and march them to the door of the oven.” Candidates such as Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush criticized Huckabee for these Holocaust-related comments. Clinton commented that “It should be repudiated by every person of good faith and concern of the necessity to keep our political dialogue on the facts and within suitable boundaries.”
Policy Proposals
- Believes that tougher sanctions need to be imposed on Iran, which would lead to the collapse of the government and stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
- Wants to increase defense spending from 3.9% to 6% of GDP.
- Supports monitoring mosques.
- Supports limiting NSA monitoring of domestic communications.
- Supports arming the Kurds to fight ISIS.
Relevant History
- Mike Huckabee frequently visited Israel and other countries as a governor. He also was a major supporter of entering Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks.
- Huckabee has advocated that the U.S. must support democracy in the Middle East. He believes this can be done by, for example, repealing the Iran Deal and placing tougher sanctions on Tehran to put pressure on them to change their system of governance.
- Huckabee supported sanctions on Cuba as well. He believed that these sanctions would help to improve the Arkansas rice markets while simultaneously punishing Cuba.
Representative Quotes
- “I think the greatest way to export democracy is not to force it, but rather to build the best possible version of it right here so people are attracted to it.”
- "Each and every day, Iran undermines our allies, threatens our vital interests and murders innocent civilians across the globe.”
- When Huckabee was asked about if he thinks we should be in Afghanistan, he responded, “Only if there is a concerted effort to destroy the advance of radical Islamists who are against us."
Business Regulation and Corporations
Mike Huckabee believes that local and state governments, as opposed to big federal government, understand the people’s needs and should be given more control. He is opposed to regulations that attempt to govern the marketplace and shares a Republican ideal of a free market. His FairTax plan would abolish the IRS and corporate income taxes by creating a national sales tax that is meant to incentivize savings and bring back money from overseas that can be reinvested into domestic businesses. When it comes to energy, Huckabee is against any regulations on harnessing energy domestically, and will encourage Americans to produce energy from our own oil, gas, wind, solar, and coal. Huckabee is also against raising the minimum wage.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Policy Proposals
- Would abolish corporate income taxes. Huckabee believes that in reality, even with corporate income taxes, the corporations don't pay taxes. He wrote in his book, “They [corporations] collect taxes for the government and help the government deceive you into thinking that they are paying. But corporations and businesses simply do what they have to — pass the cost onto you, the unsuspecting consumer. It is for them the simple cost of doing business. For you, it's another way in which your government has collected taxes from you that you weren't even aware of.”
- Although Huckabee has been quoted saying that $7.25 is a poverty wage, he does not support raising it. In fact, when asked about the minimum wage he frequently says he wants to help Americans earn their ‘maximum wage’ instead, but has not proposed a specific plan in this regard.
Relevant History
- In 2008 Huckabee wrote a book, Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America, in which he wrote, "The cost of regulatory burden is enormous but also felt unequally. As governor, I could see that small employers were generally ill-equipped to handle a visit from an inspector. Mom-and-Pop outfits didn't have lawyers and lobbyists running interference for them, so they just had to take the hit and pay the fine — only big companies could afford to take the government to court."
Representative Quotes
- “The federal government needs to ease the regulation burden on businesses, and eliminate many of the fees, procedures, rules and forms that make small business so difficult.”
- “One thing that has to happen in America is moving the power away from Washington, where people are so disconnected from the way that so many ordinary Americans live. It's a disaster. Power needs to be local and limited, because the closer government is to the people, the more accountable it is to the people who are being governed. Washington is out of control. It's time to return power to state and local governments, break the cycle of poverty and government dependency, and quit apologizing for being America.”
- Regarding President Obama’s Clean Power Plan (including EPA rules to reduce CO2 emissions) was "job-killing" and “a handout to Chinese businesses, Arab oil sheiks, Russian energy despots, and Washington insiders completely detached from reality. . . . President Obama’s crusade against carbon shows he’s more committed to confronting American coal miners than Iranian clerics who chant ‘Death to America.’”
Education
In his ten years as Governor of Arkansas, Huckabee advocated for a return of parent, student, and local control over education. He believes education is a family function, not a federal function. Therefore, Huckabee opposes the Common Core and wants to abolish the Department of Education. During campaign events in Iowa, Huckabee acknowledged that he supports allowing borrowers to refinance their loans at lower interest rates, typically a more left-leaning policy. By doing so, Huckabee believes he can stop rising tuition costs from hurting middle class growth. Huckabee also sided with the Democrats when he said on Meet the Press that he supported legislation to give in-state tuition to undocumented immigrant “DREAMers” in Arkansas.
Some who oppose Huckabee’s education policy believe lowering interest rates on student loans is ineffective. "You're showering people with money who don't necessarily need it and are struggling in order to make the problem go away for people who actually need a bit of help," said Jason Delisle, director of the Federal Education Budget Project at the New America Foundation. According to Brookings Institution, in 2014, higher-income families tended to be far more likely to hold student debt than lower-income families.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Some who oppose Huckabee’s education policy believe lowering interest rates on student loans is ineffective. "You're showering people with money who don't necessarily need it and are struggling in order to make the problem go away for people who actually need a bit of help," said Jason Delisle, director of the Federal Education Budget Project at the New America Foundation. According to Brookings Institution, in 2014, higher-income families tended to be far more likely to hold student debt than lower-income families.
Policy Proposals
- Stop federally mandated standardized testing.
- Abolish Department of Education to allow education standards to be created at a state and local level.
- Allow borrowers to refinance loans at lower interest rates.
- Reinstate the “full-blown” GI Bill from the 1950s, providing college education to returning veterans, thus increasing participation in the Army by offering college education as an incentive.
Relevant History
- As chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association, Huckabee has continuously promoted homeschool education. As Governor, he appointed a former homeschooling parent to the State Board of Education. He also signed a charter school bill creating Arkansas’s first ever charter schools.
- Huckabee used federal dollars intended to move students off welfare to expand Community College system in Arkansas.
- In 2013, Huckabee wrote a letter to Oklahoma lawmakers to persuade them not to delay the implementation of Common Core standards any longer; however, 6 months later, he wrote on his blog saying that the Common Core was being taken “too far” and the power needs to return to the states.
- In 2012, Huckabee supported a bill proposed by Senator Elizabeth Warren which allowed borrowers to refinance their loans at lower interest rates.
Representative Quotes
- “If you want a college education, let's go back and reinstate the full-blown G.I. bill. You give something to your country; your country gives something back to you."
- “The rising cost of college also threatens middle class families, students, and the American dream. For too many, college is where students discover mountains of debt—but not a lifelong career. We must tackle the establishment and reform our colleges and universities so they make sense for the jobs of tomorrow.”
Taxes and Economic Policy
Mike Huckabee is a self-proclaimed “fiscal conservative.” He values lower tax rates and wants less government involvement in citizens’ personal financial information. He claims that his tax proposal is progressive and wants to combine the various federal taxes into one consumption tax. He believes it’s necessary to impose a flat tax, and that this tax plan will help the economy to grow by 6% (which is more than the 4% Jeb Bush is promising).
Critics question Huckabee's assertion that his tax proposal is "progressive." Even conservative critics of Huckabee have said that his proposed consumption tax will result in “an enormous shift in the tax burden from the wealthy to those with lower and middle incomes.” As a result, the anti-tax groups that dominate the Republican party have indicated that they will fight against his nomination. A former senior economist for President George H. W. Bush said that the “notion that a tax on consumption will help the poor and hurt the rich is contrary to just about everything that is known about rich/poor spending and income habits…” The head of the Tax Policy Center claims that Huckabee's FairTax advocates “repeatedly and willfully flubbed the math...High-income people spend only a fraction of their income, so they effectively benefit from a giant tax exemption compared with an income tax.”
Policy Proposals
Representative Quotes
Critics question Huckabee's assertion that his tax proposal is "progressive." Even conservative critics of Huckabee have said that his proposed consumption tax will result in “an enormous shift in the tax burden from the wealthy to those with lower and middle incomes.” As a result, the anti-tax groups that dominate the Republican party have indicated that they will fight against his nomination. A former senior economist for President George H. W. Bush said that the “notion that a tax on consumption will help the poor and hurt the rich is contrary to just about everything that is known about rich/poor spending and income habits…” The head of the Tax Policy Center claims that Huckabee's FairTax advocates “repeatedly and willfully flubbed the math...High-income people spend only a fraction of their income, so they effectively benefit from a giant tax exemption compared with an income tax.”
Policy Proposals
- Replace personal, gift, and estate taxes with one national consumption tax on purchases. Under the plan the government would provide money each month to taxpayers in an amount equal to what a poverty level individual would pay in taxes for “necessities.” Huckabee says that these “prebates” will help poor people do better than they do now. As a result of the prebate, taxpayers would not be taxed until they reached the poverty level.
- Eliminate the IRS. Taxes would be collected by stores and other businesses at the state level, which Huckabee thinks would be more effective than tax collection by the IRS.
- Huckabee claims that as governor of Arkansas he reduced taxes to a great extent. He increased tax deductions, increased the tax credit for childcare, and eliminated the “marriage penalty.”
- Under Huckabee, the Arkansas legislature eliminated tax on the sale of a home, eliminated income tax for poor families, and lessened capital gains taxes for companies and individual taxpayers.
- Throughout 10 and a half years while he was governor, $505 million in tax increases took place, specifically with respect to sales taxes and gasoline taxes were raised in that period.
Representative Quotes
- “Wall Street executives should have gone to jail in 2008.”
- “Corporations don't pay taxes, they collect taxes for the government and help the government deceive you into thinking that they are paying. They pass the cost onto you, the unsuspecting consumer.”
- “Our tax system can't be fixed--not even with duct tape and WD-40.”
- “The FairTax empowers the consumer. That’s power to the people.”
- “We’d eliminate taxes on what you earn, so if you work 16 hours, the government wouldn’t take half of the second shift of [what] you earn in a new tax bracket. It’s not fair if you work eight hours, you get a certain amount of money [but] if you work 16, shouldn’t your paycheck be double? It won’t be because you’ll be put in a new tax bracket and the way we see our tax system, you get punished for working twice as hard. That’s stupid. You should be rewarded, not punished about that.”
Immigration
Mike Huckabee’s immigration platform focuses on the use of his executive power to accomplish his goal of securing the border. He plans to work with Congress and use his power to reverse president Obama’s executive orders regarding immigration and replace them with orders to detain and deport illegal immigrants, especially those who are members of gangs or who pose a danger to society. One of the main goals of his plan is to use his executive power and deportation in order to reduce crimes committed by illegal immigrants, especially drug trafficking. However, unlike most Republican candidates, he does support the DREAM act, which grants young undocumented immigrants access to benefits like in-state college tuition and offers a path to citizenship for young children and students. Huckabee’s support of the DREAM act has been a controversial topic which some of his opponents have criticized.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Policy Proposals
- Designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
- Reverse President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
- Deny federal funding to sanctuary cities that openly defy laws and act as a place where illegal immigrants can go free of fear of being deported or detained, such as Los Angeles in the lower region of California or South Tucson in Arizona.
Relevant History
- As governor, Huckabee granted undocumented immigrant students access to in-state tuition in Arkansas. He defended this action at a book signing during January of last year (2015), where he said: “I don’t believe that it is a just thing to punish someone who had nothing to do with the breaking of the law. . . . You don’t punish a child for something his parents did.”
- As a presidential candidate in 2007, Huckabee had an immigration plan similar to his current one, including support for the DREAM Act, as well as giving illegal immigrants a 120 day deportation period to leave the country before facing criminal consequences.
Representative Quotes
- "Americans don’t have animosity toward people wanting to immigrate here. . . . But there’s a difference between having secure borders and opening the door for people who want to come and make America great and opening the door for people who want to come and hurt America and hurt Americans."
Health Care and Social Security
Mike Huckabee, like most Republicans, is opposed to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As president he promises to repeal it, for he believes that the ACA takes money from Americans and doesn’t give them adequate care in return. His plan is to focus on preventing illness, so not as many people get sick and therefore have expensive medical bills. He believes in having citizens have total control over their own health care, which would be achieved by total privatization of the system. He also proposes to stop employer-provided health care and have personal health care instead. As for Social Security and Medicare, he believes that seniors are not getting the benefits they paid years of taxes to get because Obamacare robbed $700 billion dollars from Medicare.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Policy Proposals
- Repeal the Affordable Care Act.
- Fundamentally change the health care system to focus on the prevention of the most common diseases such as heart disease and cancer instead of intervention when conditions greatly worsen.
- Create a “safety net” for the uninsured by having government subsidies for those with extreme medical costs.
- Implement his FairTax plan (described above) so everyone will fund Social Security and Medicare equally.
- Increase the retirement age for young workers, not those close retirement age.
Relevant History
- As governor, Huckabee implemented a program that allowed individuals with extreme disabilities to get government assistance without going on Medicare, since many did not qualify for it.
Representative Quotes
- “I advocate policies that will encourage the private sector to seek innovative ways to bring down costs and improve the free market for healthcare services.”
- “The healthcare system is this country is irrevocably broken, in part because it is only a ‘health care’ system, not a ‘health’ system.”
Poverty and Social Welfare Programs
Like many other Republicans, Mike Huckabee’s policies regarding the American poor tend to be focused less on directly helping the poor than on aiding the economy in general. Huckabee believes that adherence to the free market and local control are the best solution to address poverty, proposing plans to remove welfare programs and education from the federal government’s control, and returning those programs to the states and/or private sector. Huckabee has frequently said poverty is combated best by providing incentives for people to move out of poverty. Huckabee has not seen significant opposition directed specifically at his policies relating to poverty, though Democrats, overall, do not favor the reduction in the government’s educational role that Mr. Huckabee proposes.
Policy Proposals
Relevant History
Representative Quotes
Policy Proposals
- Advocates lower taxes for everyone, living subsidies for the poor (giving additional aid to those who lack a living income), and plans to avoid “bracket creep” (whereby inflation pushes people into higher income brackets) — these are designed to encourage people to work harder and earn more money as a way out of poverty.
- Huckabee wants to reduce some of our current welfare programs, and he has specifically advocated for reducing the federal government's role in education, while seeking to address the rising costs of college to aid the middle class (see above).
Relevant History
- As governor, enacted policies similar to some of his current plans to lower taxes for everyone.
- Signed laws that increased the educational options available for students, including magnet schools and home-schooling.
- Returned money from Arkansas' budget surplus to citizens in the form of tax breaks.
Representative Quotes
- “I’m a Republican not because I grew up rich. I’m a Republican because I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life poor, waiting for the government to rescue me.”
- “Critics say I’m a ‘populist,’ but the truth is I’m a nationalist. . . . I put America and its workers first.”