Mike Huckabee has been here before, but it’s possible he’s found a formula that could work for him this time around.
As is the case with most of the Republican candidates for President, Mike Huckabee’s candidacy is not the first time he’s jumped into the race. Unlike the other members of the ever-growing group of GOP luminaries running for the White House, he’s managed to get out and identify issues that set him apart. At the top of the list of those issues is one that could cost him in the primary but benefit him greatly in the general.
Mike Huckabee has made no secret about the fact that he wants to save Social Security. The difference in the former Arkansas governor’s approach to what “saving” Social Security means is that he doesn’t want to privatize it and turn it over to Wall Street. Mike Huckabee wants to make sure that things stay generally the same for that and other important programs for senior citizens, such as Medicare. In announcing his stance, Mike Huckabee used language that sounded an awful lot like a person who could find support from both sides of the aisle. According to the New York Times , the politician and talk-show host said that Washington “has done enough lying and stealing. I’ll never rob seniors of what our government promised them and even forced them to pay for.”
This kind of talk goes against what the leadership in the GOP is envisioning for the next Republican president. Whether or not that talk is specifically geared towards winning more moderate voters now and reversing course later is something some political operatives have wondered about aloud. On the other hand, language like “forcing seniors” to pay Social Security taxes sounds enough like a Republican candidate that it’s possible the protectionism is sincere.
Another staunch stance Mike Huckabee has taken just days into his campaign is that sitting Senators should not hold their offices while they run for another. “I just believe it’s a matter of integrity to say, ‘I don’t want this job that I just got elected to, I think I want another job,’ ” Mike Huckabee said . “OK, then resign the job… you have, and go out there and seek the one you want.”
A good deal of those who have entered the race on the Republican side could feel singled out by Mike Hucakbee’s words. Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and Chris Christie are all currently working in government. It’s fairly obvious that was the point of the comments Mike Huckabee made: to thin the herd.
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