Mike Huckabee, You Are the Man

In the early days, as 2008 presidential hopefuls did their best to garner support for the long and costly journey to winning a party nomination, it seemed the only candidates Republican voters would have to choose from were Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain. It was the summer of 2007, and there was still the slight chance that Newt Gingrich might join the fight, and Fred Thompson had still not made an official announcement one way or the other.
It was a bleak prospect for many Republican voters, this one included.

Once Fred Thompson made it official that he was running, he seemed the most promising candidate. There was still the question of whether or not he stood a chance against these financial powerhouses who each had a foot well in the door. If he didn't, many thought there would be little point in supporting him.
During this time, Mike Huckabee was just a funny name at the bottom of a list of guys with little hope and less support, which is why he wasn't given much consideration.

On a previous article I wrote about the shortage of good Republican candidates, someone left a comment suggesting I check out Mike Huckabee, even though he wasn't a front runner. I was moved by the question this person raised of how a voter could in good conscience not vote for who they most believe in, and most want in the White House simply because they probably won't win.

Prior to even reading that comment, I had recently taken a few of those candidate match quizzes and was surprised to find that Mike Huckabee was a 99% match for me. I decided to take the advice and check out Mike Huckabee. The more I learned about him, the more I liked him. I decided that he has my support regardless of how he's doing in the polls, and regardless of his chances of actually winning the nomination. To my delight, he's burst onto the scene with a vengeance in recent weeks. I must say that I have never been as excited about and supported a candidate to this degree before.

One thing that more people need to be aware of when it comes to Huckabee is that he is more than just a former preacher, more than simply the guy who can get the evangelical vote. There is so much more to him that suits not only the good conservatives, but all of America.

If you are tired of being ridiculously taxed and then taxed again, while your tax dollars go to fund sometimes absurd things, then Huckabee is the best man to be your president.

"Our current progressive tax system penalizes us for working harder and becoming more successful. As we climb the ladder, the government lurks on each rung, hungry for a bigger bite out of our earnings." Mike Huckabee is absolutely right when he says this.

Speaking as someone in a household that earns very little, the practice of penalizing people for making better choices, working harder and earning more money is unsettling to me. Since I have not done these things, my household should not be entitled to a piece of what someone else has built. I don't want money taken from the wealthy by the government given to me simply because my family is ridiculously poor and needs money. If it works that way, why would I ever want to bother trying to do better? Why would I ever strive to do more with my life if the government is supposed to take care of me where I sit now, and will only take more from me if I decide to be more successful?

As a supporter of the fair tax, and as one who has lowered taxes many times himself, Huckabee intends to stop tax from being the injustice that it has become for many Americans.

Mike Huckabee is unique in that he is a regular common sense guy with a genuine desire to improve what has gone terribly wrong with our country. There is not the slick, used-car-salesman feel of a polished politician when it comes to him, yet he is experienced enough in the world of politics and leadership that we can place confidence in him to serve the needs of his fellow Americans.

He also has taken the narrow path of allowing his principles and plan for America to speak for themselves, with the knowledge that his are the solutions to best serve the needs of our country. And with that belief, Huckabee does not need to waste efforts on exploiting the weaknesses and negativities of his opponents. Rather than focus on how the others are not good candidates for the job of President of the United States, he wants the focus to be instead on how Mike Huckabee is in fact the best candidate for this job.

It has been proven time and again that negative campaign tactics are effective, even though many Americans say they are turned off by them. All it takes is for one candidate to make a generalization, accusation or characterization of another candidate (often times inaccurately) for such to be attached to him indefinitely or permanently.

The candidates who choose to operate in this manner rely on voters not following up on the suggestion(s) and accepting it as the truth. It is their hope that voters will assign that particular judgment to the opposing candidate and rule them out as a possible choice.

It is unfortunate that this sort of tactic is successful at all, and Mike Huckabee has been on the receiving end of it a great deal by the other candidates. Yet he still has the integrity and capability to gain success without relying on such methods himself.

I would encourage anyone to check out Mike Huckabee and learn in detail where he stands on all the issues. Get to know this genuinely cool and nice guy beyond the persona others have labeled him with. He is the refreshing "change" those on the other side are chanting about.

Mike Huckabee: you are certainly the man.