Coincidentally, The Wall Street Journal editorial page -- the conservative standard-bearer among national newspapers -- had a piece today about Huckabee and his "Fair Tax" advocacy. Here is its conclusion:

"As a political matter, the fair tax would offer a bull's-eye for Democrats, who would love to run against a plan that would instantly make most purchases 30% more expensive. Though the fair tax includes a complicated rebate system to shield the working poor, a levy on consumption would nonetheless hit hard the young, middle-income families that Mr. Huckabee is courting. It would also tax medical services and home prices, sure to be flashpoints this election season in particular.

"In 2004, Democrats came from nowhere to nearly beat South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint by pounding his support for the fair tax. His opponent said it would raise taxes on 95% of state residents, and Mr. DeMint had to disavow his support. In the American system, such a radical change as the fair tax is possible only in a crisis, and we aren't living in one now.

"Mr. Huckabee nonetheless writes that "when" his reform is enacted, "it will be like waving a magic wand releasing us from pain and unfairness." That glib naivete should provide some indication of how seriously the former Governor has thought through the political and policy complications of his biggest idea -- and also explain why, until recently, Mr. Huckabee was considered an implausible candidate."

About the prebate?

You’d have to ask the WSJ, the Economist, the president’s commission on tax reform and other journals and panels why they came to that conclusion.

But I’d guess it has something to do with delivering checks/deposits to every US household every month, keeping up with everyone’s whereabouts and ensuring that their reported household size – which determines the amount – is accurate. All those issues would likely be magnified in dealing with people at the lower end of the income scale who will most need the prebate. We already do this with social security, you say? Yes, via a major bureaucracy that would be dwarfed by that required for the prebate.

The devil is in the details, as they say. How long after this program started do you think it would be before CNN and even Fox were running stories showing mothers with squalling infants sobbing that they can’t afford formula because their guv’ment check didn’t show up on time or got stolen or sent to the wrong address? Or people complaining they got too little? Or stories about phantom “households” set up by scammers?

And how long do you think the prebate schedule would stay “simple?” As depicted on the fair tax web site, every household of a certain size gets the same amount, year-round. How long before there would be calls for regional and seasonal adjustments? Or “special allocations” for people affected by natural disasters etc etc etc etc.

Unless the fair tax plan would also repeal republican democracy, it would be every bit as vulnerable to manipulation and special interest politicking as the current system.

Personally, I do not want to rely on a government check every month to balance my household budget, at least not until I am retired and I hope not even then. It is almost comical to see so many people who fancy themselves as free market, small government warriors backing such a system.

It would be OK if I get mine! I'll lie on the application.
Creates a lower class society like food stamps do!

Huckabee doesn't know what that means. Neither do I. Adding 30-40% to doctor and hospital bills, and housing and food is ridiculous. Make exceptions to the sales tax and it spells trouble!
It os a vote getter, that is all. No congress would vote for such stupidity.

The New York Post also ripped apart Huckabee's financial policies as Governor yesterday. Coupled with the WSJ piece today, I think we are seeing the fiscal conservatives in America serving notice that they will not line up behind another screwball social conservative in this election.

The fiscal conservatives are still smarting over the fact that they swallowed the George W. Bush "Ah'm a fiscal conservative!" snake oil.

Salon today ran an article on Huckabee's incredible ignorance of foreign policy. He had no clue on what to do regarding the Israel/Palestine conflict. I didn't think anyone could be more ignorant of foreign policy than Bush....I was wrong.

While we're piling on, George Will in his latest column sez:

"Huckabee combines pure moralism with incoherent populism: He wants Washington to impose a nationwide ban on smoking in public, show more solicitude for Americans of modest means and impose more protectionism, thereby raising the cost of living for Americans of modest means.

"Although Huckabee is considered affable, two subliminal but clear enough premises of his Iowa attack on Mitt Romney are unpleasant: The almost 6 million American Mormons who consider themselves Christians are mistaken about that. And -- 55 million non-Christian Americans should take note -- America must have a Christian president.

"Another pious populist who was annoyed by Darwin -- William Jennings Bryan -- argued that William Howard Taft, his opponent in the 1908 presidential election, was unfit to be president because he was a Unitarian, a persuasion sometimes defined as the belief that there is at most one God. The electorate chose to run the risk of entrusting the presidency to someone skeptical about the doctrine of the Trinity.

"If Huckabee succeeds in derailing Romney's campaign by raising a religious test for presidential eligibility, that will be clarifying: In one particular, America was more enlightened a century ago."

Ouch

1) The fair tax does not change the health industry,they already pay thousands in security, and liability taxes that the consumer ultimately pays for in the end, the fair tax would do away with that. (read the fair tax book or bill)

2)The fair tax will NOT make items 30% more expensive check the facts at fairtax.org

3) With the pre-bate, this is the only tax that does not place any sort of burden on the lower class. THEY ARE TAXED NOTHING UNLESS THEY WANT TO BE!! They can save without being taxed etc..

4)Dick Morris recently had an article comparing Mike's 10 year run as governor to the nation's. Here is a snippet.. "A recent column by Bob Novak excoriated Huckabee for a "47 percent increase in state tax burden." But during Huckabee's years in office, total state tax burden -- all 50 states combined -- rose by twice as much: 98 percent, increasing from $743 billion in 1993 to $1.47 trillion in 2005."

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/11/huckabee_is_a_fiscal_conservat.html

He did raise taxes, but he also lowered them, plus he has a true conservative stance with in the fair tax. He is the one of the only candidates to sign a pledge promising to stand against any new tax increase.

5) I challenge anyone to check Mike's stance on foreign policy. He is the only candidate realizing that we are directly funding the terrorist through our dependency on oil, and for security reason we must stop!! He puts it best say " with in 10 year I want to tell the Saudis, we need their oil just as much as we need their sand."

6) Mike Huckabee has run the cleanest campaign in the bunch, he has declined to say anything about Mitt's religion, and I believe Mitt's religion is not the reason he is falling in the polls.

One final note, the fair tax will return power to the people, in letting us dictate how much money we fund the powers to be.

Shelby Barker
Georgia For Huckabee
District 3 Chair
678-371-5322
shelbybarker@gmail.com

Huckabee 08'

I don't see it as the "Mormon issue" at all. He is two-dimensional and projects a carefully-crafted image that makes him a good candidate for a game show host or as a host of Entertainment Tonight. The planks in his current platform were nailed down only recently, the older, very different ones having been pryed up and discarded when it was observed that they could cause some conservative voters to stumble. He just doesn't strike a lot of people as the genuine article. So far, this is precisely what Huckabee does seem to have going for him.

I've told friends that I suspect the country is simply fed up with the right, with all of the scandals, political muscle-flexing, and an unpopular war, so that it was highly unlikely that a conservative would stand a chance.

But maybe what we're all sick of is just a basic lack of integrity. If Huckabee proves to be the real deal, and can also prove that he is not out to ramrod a conservative agenda down the American throat, then he might just have a chance.

I'm watching Huckabee with serious interest.

_______________

Let it be known there is a fountain
That was not made by the hands of man.

A country preacher and an Arkansas governor who isn't corrupt or racist?
Git, you know better!

"country preacher" -- Gov. Huckabee was pastor of a church in Pine Bluff, a city of 55,000 people (larger than PTC) and the county seat, and a church in Texarkana (about the size of PTC). Just what's wrong with being a "country preacher"?

Back up your allegations of his being corrupt and racist, especially as a "country preacher." Time to put your $money$ where your mouth is or stop your Dollar Dropping$.

Dollar "Smith," I'm convinced that you DO NOT KNOW much of anything except to open your mouth and let the spit drool. YUK!