Mar
12
Farewell to Huckabee
March 12, 2008 | |
By Tia Tian Chi
Mike Huckabee has finally conceded the Republican Presidential nomination race. He has drawn a lot of fire from refusing to concede at a time when the GOP, along with the presumptive nominee, John McCain, would rather get to win the Presidential election in November. But what could have brought an end to a candidate that was seemingly so popular at the grassroots level and began a minor pop culture phenomenon, appearing on shows such as The Colbert Report, Saturday Night Live, and The Daily Show?
Several factors can be found in his inability to capture the required 1,191 Republican delegates and his final nomination loss to John McCain.
One of the major factors is that, although he was popular with Evangelical Christians, his views on religion were seen as extreme by more moderate Republicans. His strong faith is seen to influence his stance on issues, and have resulted in quite a few remarks that likely scared off some voters, including one in which he stated that he would aim to “amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards”. He has also made controversial statements regarding women’s rights, saying that women should “submit graciously”, and he compared homosexuality with necrophilia and sadomasochism.
Another policy issue that many found to be extreme was his stance on taxation. He wanted to abolish the IRS, and to institute a Fair Tax plan. This would result in the disappearance of the Income, Social Security, and Medicare payroll taxes, and replace all with a sales tax. The change to the taxation system and the lengthy explanation required for people to understand it was what led Joe Laurence, a voter from New Hampshire, to declare what many other voters had in mind: it’s “a bit radical”.
During the campaign, Huckabee was fond of presenting himself as a “Washington outsider”, in the same sense that Barack Obama and Mitt Romney meant it. They all declared that they had not been influenced by Washington’s apparently corruption. This would likely help him to gain moderate voters; however, the Republican voting base has been more favourable towards establishment candidates like John McCain, a fact owing to the incredible support behind McCain during January and February.
Moreover, the Republican base has become friendlier towards candidates with National Defence experience, which can be further explained through Mitt Romney’s downfall and John McCain’s subsequent rise. Huckabee’s lack of experience in the national defence issues also ties in with his lack of foreign policy experience, which has led to some critiques that he is a painfully ignorant candidate. His lack of awareness on recent foreign relations issues has been witnessed by voters during a CNN interview, when he declared that he had not read the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran’s nuclear program.
Many of his fellow Republican candidates also drew attention to Huckabee’s “conservative credentials”, including his raising of taxes and spending when he was the Governor of Arkansas. Economy has become a central issue in this campaign season and the negative attention towards his increase of taxes and spending led some voters to believe he would do the same as President. The “tax-and-spend Liberal” had applied to Huckabee enough times that his honesty about his conservative credentials and his Fair Tax policy were put into questions.
Notwithstanding his shortcomings, farewell to Mike Huckabee on the trail of the 2008 US presidential election campaign.
