Why I like Mike for GOP 'bus driver'

The bus is leaving the station. Two of them, actually. Going to two very different places.

The destination of the Democratic bus is spelled out in the Democratic Party Platform, and every Democratic candidate interviewing to drive that bus is eager to go. The destination? Abortion Land, where the body count of innocent children climbs by more than a million a year. This destination also promises to destroy the institution of marriage, criminalize free speech through thought-crime laws and institute the un-fairness doctrine. Yet, pro-life African Americans, Catholics and union workers sit silently in the back of that bus reading the tourist brochures about government promises and government programs, while the Democratic coach races toward the cliff.

Then there's the Republican bus. It, too, has a destination outlined in the platform that everyone agreed upon. That destination protects children, marriage and free speech and is the reason most of us got on the bus in the first place. But now we need a driver. Some of the candidates to drive the bus have high name recognition and a lot of money, but they just don't want to take us where we all agreed to go.

If we have a busload of people who have all agreed on the destination, just because some candidates for "driver" want to go somewhere else doesn't mean we have to hire them – or that we should all get off our bus and start hitchhiking for a third bus to come by. No, it means we hire a driver that wants to take us where we want to go.

America's historian, David Barton, told me last week, "It would be easier to take over the Democratic Party than to start a third party." He's right. "But what about faith?" asked a proponent of this losing strategy. Yes, I know how big our God is. And yes, He can do anything. I have faith, but that doesn't mean that I can just write my name in on the ballot and tell everyone I know to vote for me for president and expect to win. Even though I agree with myself on all of the issues, that wouldn't be a move of "faith"; that would be … stupid. Yes, we have faith, but it's not a blind faith devoid of reason.

The other problem is that too many in our movement have been motivated by fear: "We had better support pro-abortion anti-marriage Giuliani because we might get Hillary if we don't!" or: "We better sign on to Romney's campaign and hope that his extremely recent conversions on life, marriage, gun-control, pornography and immigration are really sincere!" Can you even say that with a straight face?

I read the Republican destination platform. We're on the right bus. We just need to quit throwing paper-wads at each other long enough to hire the driver who agrees to take us where we want to go. May I suggest a driver without a long record of traffic violations like driving the wrong way on one-way streets such as abortion, marriage and judicial appointments?

By the way, if you're willing to compromise on life and marriage, go buy a ticket for the RINO safari bus, because you're a Republican in name only. Besides, if Giuliani or Romney were at the wheel, a whole lot of passengers would head for the emergency exit. And of those who remain, they're not likely to chip in for gas or help change a flat tire.

Let's take a look at the map. To get to where we need to go, we need someone who won't negotiate on the non-negotiables of life and marriage. Someone who can reach the Reagan Democrats, union workers and African Americans. And someone who can take on Hillary.

As reported in Newsweek, in his gubernatorial re-election, Gov. Mike Huckabee got 48 percent of the African-American vote – know any other Republican candidate who can say that? Reaching union workers? Huckabee's the first Republican in 119 years to get the endorsement of the 750,000 member International Association of Machinists and Areospace Workers. With a fraction of the money the others have been spending, Huckabee is competitive. According to the Rasmussen Poll, Huckabee is now only 8 points behind Hillary. Imagine what would happen if he had money to spend.

I know you may have your favorite bus driver, but there is only one driver's seat. Look at the answers given at the Values Voter Presidential Debate – the entire written transcript is now posted at www.ValuesVoterDebate.com. For those of you who are worried about his foreign policy, I've included Gov. Huckabee's answer on radical Islam. He gets it. He is not for civil unions, as some have suggested. He is not for "sanctuary cities" and personally told me that securing our border is the first priority on immigration. Where is he on taxes? I've included that question, as well. American sovereignty? It's all below.

Time is running out, and the bus is leaving the station. If we don't get our act together and unite now, we're going to be thrown under the bus.

From the Sept. 17 Values Voter Debate:

Rabbi Spero: There is no question that jihadists have as their goal the harming of America and its citizens.

What would your strategy be to protect our streets, our people and our American way of life from the designs of radical Islam?

Farah: If I'm not mistaken, we'll start with Governor Huckabee this time.

Huckabee: The threat we face is one a lot of Americans don't fully comprehend or understand. This isn't a typical geopolitical war. It is a war against an enemy that has no national borders or boundaries, and it is not a war we are fighting over a border or boundary. It is a theological war. It's not politically correct to say that, it's just the truth. We are fighting people whose religious fanaticism will not be satisfied until every one of us is dead. … It is so incredibly dangerous. More so than any enemy we face. And here's the reality. War is about will. Whoever chooses to leave, loses. We cannot afford to lose. Because this is not a war about Iraq. It is not a war about Afghanistan. It is a war about our survival as a civilization and as a people. And every effort must be made to defend this great country against it. [applause]

Dr. Scarborough: Good to see you this evening, Governor Huckabee. Who would have believed 30 years ago, while we were attending Southwestern Seminary, we would be in a setting like this tonight. Few value voters question your views on key social issues. But you have received much criticism from some in the conservative circles for doing too little to restrain the growth of government and for raising taxes in Arkansas while you were governor. How do you respond to this?

Huckabee: With the truth, Rick, with the truth. I cut taxes 94 times as governor. I actually signed a first-ever broad-based tax cut in the 160-year history of our state, and I did that going uphill against the wind because 90 percent of the legislature was Democrat when I became governor in 1996. As governor, I didn't have the joy, the pleasure, or frankly the dubious honor of what members of Congress can do and that is print money, or even just borrow money. We have to live within our budget. I think the federal government ought to do the same thing.

Of a budget that only had 9 percent margin after we paid for education, Medicaid and prisons, the three basic necessities of government, only 9 percent was left in the general revenue budget. I cut 11 percent during the recession. The fact is that people will look at our record – what they'll find is that not only did I cut taxes repeatedly as a governor, but I managed the state in such a way that after 10 and a half years of executive experience, more than any other person running for president, more than Rudy Giuliani had as mayor, the fact is we left that state with an $850 million dollar surplus, no deficit. And the spending we held was held within one-half of 1 percent per year for 10 and a half years, unless you factor in federal pass-throughs – and many of the criticisms have come from people who simply don't understand the nuances of a state budget. Let us go beyond that.

What I did do is one thing. That's a good indication of what I would do. But here's what I pledge. I would not only support but I would sell the Fair Tax. If we could have a tax that is flat, fair, finite and family-friendly, we could change the economy of this country. [applause] And for those who are pastors who would love to be able to speak freely and clearly without the IRS getting in their way and telling them what they can preach from their pulpits – do you know the simplest way to do it? Get rid of the IRS, get the Fair Tax and we'll change the economy in America. [applause]

Phyllis Schlafly: At President Bush's press conference in Canada last month, Fox News asked him this question: "Can you say today that the Security and Prosperity Partnership is not a prelude to a North American Union, similar to a European Union?" George Bush did not deny that goal. He just ridiculed the question.

Will you assure us that you will abolish all plans to the promote the economic integration of North America, which consists of open borders among the United States, Canada and Mexico? [applause]

Farah: We're going to start with Governor Huckabee.

Huckabee: First of all, Mrs. Schlafly, I want to say thank you for writing a book called "It is a choice, not an echo." That book has had a dramatic influence on me and was one of the reasons that I became a Republican as a teenager, which wasn't easy in Hope, Arkansas, where there weren't any Republicans. One of the things I believe in all my heart is that this country can never, ever, ever yield its sovereignty to any country for any reason under any circumstance. Ever.

I would agree that we not only need closed and secure borders but more importantly, we need a re-understanding. We do not yield ourselves over. We are a sovereign nation. We do not answer to international law. We answer to our Constitution and no other authority but our Constitution. And, any attempt to weaken our form of constitutional government is simply unacceptable to me as a president of the United States. [applause]

Related special offer:

"Silent No More" – help preserve freedom while there's still time

"Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause"