Candidate Huckabee Turning Some Heads
Roy Maynard
Mike Huckabee is still in the second tier of Republican presidential candidates. His campaign coffers contain thousands of dollars, not millions. His poll numbers are barely breaking into the double-digits, when matched against the GOP heavyweights Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney.
And yet his recent successes - including an impressive showing in last week's Republican debate - are causing conservatives who remain dissatisfied with the front-runners to do a double-take.
In the 1990s, I spent time with Huckabee on several occasions. I was with World magazine at the time, where we watched with interest the rise of Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister with Clintonesque charm and rock-solid social value views.
I recently dug out the articles I wrote back then to refresh myself on Huckabee.
My first article was published in 1994, and the issue was term limits.
"As a Republican in a state run by and for the Democratic party, Arkansas Lt. Gov. Mike Huckabee says his is a job no sensible person would want to keep."
Huckabee, as lieutenant governor, was a builder. He gets much of the credit for his state's trans-formation from solidly Democratic to reasonably "red state" Republican.
"His upset victory over Clinton-backed Nate Coulter in July of 1993 upset not only the pundits, but also the politicos in a state that has seen only one other Republican lieutenant governor in 100 years," I wrote. "The Little Rock political machine is starting to realize there's a wrench in the works: An entire second party, complete with candidates, balloons and the support of a small but increasing number of voters."
In 2000 and 2004, Arkansas voters chose George W. Bush over his Democratic opponents.
It wasn't an easy fight, and it came to be symbolized in the marred surface of Huckabee's office door.
When Huckabee won the lieu-tenant governor's seat, the Arkan-sas Secretary of State ordered Huckabee's office door nailed shut, out of partisan bitterness. Huckabee had to work from makeshift quarters in the capitol for 59 days until the "miscommu-nication" was resolved.
He also received regular tick-ets, at first, for parking in his own designated parking space at the capitol.
I next spent time with Huckabee in 1996, when he ascended to the governor's office at the resignation of the corrupt Gov. Jim Guy Tucker. When Tucker left in disgrace, Huckabee was taken by surprise.
"It was a shock," he said. "It was an earthquake. The jury had to know, at least have an idea of the repercussions. It's like when the atom bomb fell on Hiroshima."
He resisted the temptation to celebrate the event as a partisan victory.
"It's not a partisan pain," he said of the state's reaction to the scandal. "I don't know any Republicans who have enjoyed this. How could they? This is my state; I love it more than any political party. Parties change, and ultimately, the party isn't what you want to serve. We're Arkansans first."
His first task was to help the state heal and "move beyond the nightmare," he pledged.
He transitioned with surprising grace, choosing incremental changes. He had the ability to clear out 6,000 or so government appointments, and replace those people with his own.
He could have gone in with a buzz saw. Instead, he used a scalpel.
"To go in and wipe everybody out? Not for me. That's not my style."
But that long-ago decision has drawn criticism recently. The Wall Street Journal's John Fund chastised Huckabee on Friday.
"Mr. Huckabee's reluctance to surround himself with conserva-tives was evident as governor, when he kept many agency heads appointed by Bill Clinton," Fund wrote.
Huckabee's decision makes more sense with a little historical context. This applies to other criticisms aimed at Huckabee from the right. Phyllis Schlafly of the Eagle Forum claims that Huckabee "left the Arkansas Republican party in shambles."
Having spent time there, I would argue that the party was never very far from shambledom in the first place.
And the most controversial is-sues within the party during those years - such as a health insurance program for kids who don't qualify for Medicaid but whose working-poor parents can't afford to go private - have been vindicated by history and the GOP's embrace of SCHIPS.
I'm still not convinced Huck-abee has a real shot at the Republican nomination in 2008. The money's not there. But the interest is growing, and I'll be watching closely.
Early Returns is the political observations column of staff writer Roy Maynard, who can be reached at 903-596-6291 or at roymay-nardtmt@gmail.com.
And yet his recent successes - including an impressive showing in last week's Republican debate - are causing conservatives who remain dissatisfied with the front-runners to do a double-take.
In the 1990s, I spent time with Huckabee on several occasions. I was with World magazine at the time, where we watched with interest the rise of Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister with Clintonesque charm and rock-solid social value views.
I recently dug out the articles I wrote back then to refresh myself on Huckabee.
My first article was published in 1994, and the issue was term limits.
"As a Republican in a state run by and for the Democratic party, Arkansas Lt. Gov. Mike Huckabee says his is a job no sensible person would want to keep."
Huckabee, as lieutenant governor, was a builder. He gets much of the credit for his state's trans-formation from solidly Democratic to reasonably "red state" Republican.
"His upset victory over Clinton-backed Nate Coulter in July of 1993 upset not only the pundits, but also the politicos in a state that has seen only one other Republican lieutenant governor in 100 years," I wrote. "The Little Rock political machine is starting to realize there's a wrench in the works: An entire second party, complete with candidates, balloons and the support of a small but increasing number of voters."
In 2000 and 2004, Arkansas voters chose George W. Bush over his Democratic opponents.
It wasn't an easy fight, and it came to be symbolized in the marred surface of Huckabee's office door.
When Huckabee won the lieu-tenant governor's seat, the Arkan-sas Secretary of State ordered Huckabee's office door nailed shut, out of partisan bitterness. Huckabee had to work from makeshift quarters in the capitol for 59 days until the "miscommu-nication" was resolved.
He also received regular tick-ets, at first, for parking in his own designated parking space at the capitol.
I next spent time with Huckabee in 1996, when he ascended to the governor's office at the resignation of the corrupt Gov. Jim Guy Tucker. When Tucker left in disgrace, Huckabee was taken by surprise.
"It was a shock," he said. "It was an earthquake. The jury had to know, at least have an idea of the repercussions. It's like when the atom bomb fell on Hiroshima."
He resisted the temptation to celebrate the event as a partisan victory.
"It's not a partisan pain," he said of the state's reaction to the scandal. "I don't know any Republicans who have enjoyed this. How could they? This is my state; I love it more than any political party. Parties change, and ultimately, the party isn't what you want to serve. We're Arkansans first."
His first task was to help the state heal and "move beyond the nightmare," he pledged.
He transitioned with surprising grace, choosing incremental changes. He had the ability to clear out 6,000 or so government appointments, and replace those people with his own.
He could have gone in with a buzz saw. Instead, he used a scalpel.
"To go in and wipe everybody out? Not for me. That's not my style."
But that long-ago decision has drawn criticism recently. The Wall Street Journal's John Fund chastised Huckabee on Friday.
"Mr. Huckabee's reluctance to surround himself with conserva-tives was evident as governor, when he kept many agency heads appointed by Bill Clinton," Fund wrote.
Huckabee's decision makes more sense with a little historical context. This applies to other criticisms aimed at Huckabee from the right. Phyllis Schlafly of the Eagle Forum claims that Huckabee "left the Arkansas Republican party in shambles."
Having spent time there, I would argue that the party was never very far from shambledom in the first place.
And the most controversial is-sues within the party during those years - such as a health insurance program for kids who don't qualify for Medicaid but whose working-poor parents can't afford to go private - have been vindicated by history and the GOP's embrace of SCHIPS.
I'm still not convinced Huck-abee has a real shot at the Republican nomination in 2008. The money's not there. But the interest is growing, and I'll be watching closely.
Early Returns is the political observations column of staff writer Roy Maynard, who can be reached at 903-596-6291 or at roymay-nardtmt@gmail.com.
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