............... importance of the grass roots. Real War Correspondent Mark Lucas has broken a pretty important story about grass roots activism and Mike Huckabee's willingness to listen, right here on The Real Sporer. Mark’s report follows.
Iowans understand how grassroots politics can affect elections or force an issue into the political arena. Iowans are responsible for Gov. Mike Huckabee’s change of position on national tax reform. Huckabee now supports the FairTax.
Now don’t get me wrong, Huckabee is very politically astute and was a transformational governor for the state of Arkansas. It wouldn’t take much for him to support the FairTax if he knew the dramatic positive effects it could have on our nation’s economy. The problem was Huckabee didn’t know about the FairTax.
I talked to Gov, Huckabee for the first time in Tipton, Iowa back in January. He had just published his book From Hope to Higher Ground. In his book he discussed how the Flat Tax was the best tax reform option for the federal government. When I asked him if he would support the FairTax he told me he never heard of it before. I enjoyed explaining the FairTax to a very sincere former governor who was truly engaged in the conversation.
Huckabee now knew about the FairTax.
After that, I helped coordinate an effort along with good friend and FairTax colleague Todd Versteegh to have FairTax supporters ask presidential candidates if they supported our flavor of tax reform. These were just ordinary Iowans posing a simple question to powerful politicians.
In the first presidential debate at the Reagan Library Huckabee made a different statement about tax reform, “The FairTax proposal offers the best opportunity for all levels of Americans.” Gov. Huckabee had heard from the grassroots and listened. It’s tough for a candidate to change a position, especially, when that candidate had published a book singing the praises of the flat tax only four months before that first debate.
Last week at the Fox News debate in South Carolina there were over 7,000 FairTax grassroots activists chanting “FAIR TAX NOW” in front of the debate hall. I’m sure Gov. Huckabee felt reassured about changing his position on the taxes.
Mark is a State Central Committee member for the Second District and the State Director for the FairTax. Mark will not endorse any presidential candidate until they are selected as the Republican nominee. He can be reached at mark@markjlucas.com.
This is evidence of the influence that Iowa’s grass roots can have on the process. Our First in the Nation Caucuses force the candidates to get off TV, get on the bus and talk to real people. Big applause for Mark for demonstrating the benefits Iowa’s First in the Nation Caucuses provide for the whole country.
10 comments:
A FairTax could endanger some of Huckabee's nanny state, socialist limitations on free choice. He won't have the money for his big government programs.
This is a nice article, Sporer. Your getting more like a newspaper.
Hey anon..do you know anything about the FairTax? The FairTax is revenue neutral..it would make government spending transparent for the FIRST time ever..
Now..what "nanny state, socialist limitations" on free choice is so terrible about Huckabee?? Ad hominum attacks show you have little to back up your claims.
I am the biggest proponent of FairTax you will find. I've been calling for it for years. I was in a bar recently and met one of the guys who was working for FairTax and I knew more about it than he did.
Let's start with Huckabee's smoking ban. In Huckabee's Amerika, Sporer could not go into his favorite eating/drinking establishment and cheerfully puff on a Cohiba.
First, they come for the smokers.
And what are you doing home on a Friday night, CW? :)
I, like Fred, love the smell of a cuban in the morning. It smells like victory.
The limitiations on tobacco Huckabee supported have absolutley nothing to do with nannyism. It was about exploding health care costs. In Arkansas, hundreds of thousands of people on taxpayer funnded health care were smoking themselves into heart surgeries, cancer treatment, strokes, and chronic respiratory disease and expecting the taxpayers to pay for it. THATS the reason behind everything Huckabee does in healthcare -- the US spends TRILLIONS on preventable disease.
Okay, so why not ban McDonalds? Why not raise taxes on AIDS patients? Why not ban homosexuality?
There are a whole slew of things that you could ban in the name of "public health" or keeping costs down. Huckabee chose to ban smoking, not because he gave two shits about health care, but becase he is a nanny state socialist.
Correction:
After talking with the FairTax guys last night at my favorite drinking establishment, Huckabee said "Fair-ER" tax not Fair Tax.
Too many metal shows with no earplugs.
Anon,
Huckabee supports the FairTax. Not a "Fair-ER" tax. I'll be happy to provide you the transcript of what he said in the SC Debate.
Who with FairTax did you speak with? Names usually help back up supposed facts that you're pushing.
I have a feeling that you weren't talking with anyone who's with FairTax at all.
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