Comments on: Paroled Rapist Could Haunt Huckabee

GOP Candidate's Record As Arkansas Governor Marred By Controversial Parole Of Wayne DuMond

[tinbopper]

Excerpts from "Meet the Huckster"

Editorial

San Diego Union-Tribune

December 3, 2007

...



Unfortunately for Huckabee, the positive first impression he often makes fades when you learn more about him. He may have been a solid steward in his 14 years as lieutenant governor and governor in Arkansas. But he also showed an enthusiasm for parlaying his public office into a cushy lifestyle that makes Fabian Nzqez, California''s similarly inclined Assembly speaker, look like a Boy Scout.



Over the years, Huckabee has:



Used campaign funds to pay himself $14,000 for being his own media consultant.



Used campaign funds to pay himself $43,000 for use of his private plane while attempting to hide what the payment was actually in return for.



Used an account set up to cover operational costs of the governor''s mansion to pay such obviously personal expenses as fast-food and dry-cleaning bills.



Set up a nonprofit organization that paid him $23,500 without disclosing the source of the money.



Attempted to take $70,000 of furniture with him when moving out of the governor''s mansion.



Took more than 130 gifts worth more than $300,000 - while suing to overturn a law that made him disclose the gifts.

[tinbopper]

Average Arkansan''s tax burden increased by over 47% between 1997 and 2005 (or $933 per person). (Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 10/9/07)



Both Mike Huckabee and Bill Clinton earned a "D" lifetime rating on the Cato Institute''s scorecard of governors. Huckabee received a "F" rating for his last two years in office. (www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6724; www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=1027)



Under Huckabee, 21 tax increases went into effect, increasing tax revenue by almost $890 million. (Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 10/9/07)



Examples: sales tax, income tax, gas tax, cigarette tax, nursing home bed tax



Allowed a 17% sales tax increase to become law without his signature, the largest tax increase in state history. "A spokesman for Gov. Mike Huckabee said that, if the bill reaches his desk, the governor would allow the tax increase to become law without his signature." (Associated Press, 2/6/04)



Under Huckabee, state spending increased by over 65%, three times the rate of inflation. (Americans for Tax Reform, "Governor Huckabee''s Record on Taxes," 1/7/07)

[tinbopper]

Huckabee ''Misleading and Incorrect'' on Tax Record

FactCheck.org - "Under fire from conservatives, [Huckabee] misrepresents his tax hikes and cuts"



Contact: Karen Hanretty, 571-730-1010; www.Fred08.com



MC LEAN, Va., Nov. 25 /Standard Newswire/ -- "Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has been hit with criticism over his record on taxes as governor of Arkansas. The faultfinders have been members of his own party, who take issue with tax increases he enacted. In recent interviews on Fox News, Huckabee responded to some of these questions, but we found him to be misleading and incorrect on several points:" (www.FactCheck.org, 11/21/07)



- Huckabee frequently says he cut taxes "almost 94 times" but leaves out the 21 taxes raised during his tenure. In the end, he presided over a net tax increase.



- Huckabee claimed a gasoline tax was only passed after 80 percent of voters approved it. Not true. The tax was enacted before a referendum vote on highway repairs.



- Huckabee claimed that a speech in which he implored the state Legislature to raise taxes was in response to a state Supreme Court order to increase education funding. But he specifically said in that speech that he would address the education matter at a later date.



- He said a tax on beds filled in nursing homes was a "fee" not a tax, despite the fact that he himself has called it the "bed tax."



www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/huckabees_fiscal_record.html

[wv4huckabee]

Well Prinz (can I call you by your first name?),
I''m not a Mountaineer fan so I''m not all that concerned about Pittsburgh one way or the other. I have never voted for Rockefeller, and while unions have their place, they and the owners are equally responsible for the mining industry''s issues. Finally, as it pertains to the genetic makeup of West Virginia''s population, you should probably come on down and ask the folks of Preston County. I''m sure they would love to discuss it with you. And please, make some attempt at intelligent argument-name calling is really beneath you (giving you the benefit of the doubt here).

[wv4huckabee]

TAX RAISER? REALLY? PART 1a
Ernie Dumas, an editor for the liberal tabloid The Arkansas Times, attempts to compare the tax increases under Bill Clinton with those of Governor Mike Huckabee. To make the comparison, Dumas simply counts the number of increases rather than examining the impact of these fiscal changes. However, the assessment would have been easier had Dumas simply asked whether Arkansans were better off under Clinton or under Governor Huckabee.

[wv4huckabee]

TAX RAISER? REALLY? PART 1b

Clearly, if you were an owner of an out-of-state corporation you would have been pleased with the corporate welfare offered by Clinton. Dumas notes that, "If you counted all the tax benefits extended to corporations under the incentives enacted by the legislature under Clinton" and they were part of his programs, especially in 1983, 1985 and 1989; the tax cuts would dwarf those under Huckabee. While this is true, Dumas fails to point out is that these "incentives" nearly bankrupted the state.

As The New York Times noted in 1992, Clinton merely shifted the tax burden from corporation and the wealthy to the poor and middle class:

State data show that business tax preferences, especially sales tax exemptions, cost the state at least $400 million a year -- almost 20 percent of the state''s total revenue. As an apparent result of that and some other factors, in the last decade Arkansas has had to rely increasingly on sales taxes to balance its budget.

The state''s average tax rate is the 42d lowest in the nation. But Citizens for Tax Justice, a public interest group in Washington, says those taxes hit poor families harder than wealthy families by a ratio of 1.7 to 1. - (April 2, 1992)

[prinzowhales]

WV4Huckabee--Too bad about Pittsburg...But, what is up with West Virginia keeping the scion of the Rockefellar family in the Senate in a state full of unionized coal miners who saw Rockefellar-controlled Colorado Coal and Fuel and its flunkies murder coal miners and their families?

Now, apparently, some of you are supporting the war pig Huckabee...is there some kind of genetic pre-disposition among West Virginians toward political masochism?

[wv4huckabee]

TAX RAISER? REALLY? PART 2:

In contrast, Governor Huckabee took measures to aid families that Clinton refused make during his tenure. Some of the major accomplishments include:


Established a Property Taxpayers'' Bill of Rights
Limited the increase in property taxes to 10% a year for individuals and 5% per taxing unit
Eliminated the income tax for families below the poverty line.
Increased the standard deductions.
Eliminated the marriage penalty.
Eliminated bracket creep by indexing the income taxes to inflation, thereby preventing taxpayers from moving into a higher bracket when their paychecks increase due to inflations.
Doubled the child-care tax credit.
Eliminated capital gains tax on the sale of a home.
After his first four years in office President Ronald Reagan asked, "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" The people of Arkansas could ask themselves a similar question: Where they better off after the decade under Clinton or the 10 and half years under Gov. Huckabee?

Recipients of corporate handouts, especially those who didn.t live in the state, probably preferred Clinton. But the poor and middle class citizens of Arkansas who drive on improved roads, send their kids to better schools, and work in one of the 100,000 new jobs created during Huckabee''s tenure know which Governor they''d prefer.

[prinzowhales]

Bot14--Yes, where are you getting all of that lovely information on the ''conservative'' Huckabee? I''d like to baste that war pig with a bit of it myself as he turns on the spit!

[wv4huckabee]

to BOT 14... if you are going to post, at least get one or two of your facts right. Every number you posted was so seriously in error... you don''t even know the facts of the DuMond case...the governor did NOT set him free and Dumond ended up in Missouri, not Illinois. Is it any wonder no one takes anything else you say seriously either.

[andromeda09]

Bot14--
Where are you getting your information? Everyone''s made mistakes in office, and if we''re looking for a perfect candidate, we''re not going to find one! Huckabee does have a lot of things going for him, however. Let me name a few:
1. Whereas all the democratic candidates (Giuliani too) support a woman''s right to murder her unborn child, Huckabee has promised to work towards overturning Roe v. Wade and stopping abortion.
2. Huckabee allowed immigrant children who had been educated by the Arkansas public schools the SAME rights (not special privileges) as other Arkansas children so that they could contribute to society and have a chance.
3. The people of Arkansas VOTED to raise their own taxes because they TRUSTED Governor Huckabee to make good use of their money and improve their state.
4. As for the subject of this particular article, let me just say that it''s easy to find mistakes a candidate has made if you go looking for them. If only the news media would be fair and would either attack all the candidates equally or not attack any of them at all!
Huckabee is clearly the best candidate to run for president. He is a man of high morals and he is consistant too--not something you could say for most of the other candidates. Why don''t you all find out the truth instead of reading PROPAGANDA fed to you by the liberal left-wing? This is a free country and you have the right to know the truth!
Check out Huckabee''s website at www.mikehuckabee.com.
GO MIKE GO!!!!!!!!

[wv4huckabee]

It has been reported that Governor Huckabee released, pardoned, or granted parole to convicted rapist Wayne Dumond. That is not true. It''s interesting that Wayne Dumond''s name only surfaces during an election year for Governor Huckabee. In 2002, his Democrat opponent in the midst of the general election made a political issue out the entire thing. Arkansas voters didn''t buy this false attack from the Democrat in 2002 and re-elected Governor Huckabee to another term as Governor of Arkansas. Here are the facts of the Dumond case:

Governor Jim Guy Tucker gave executive clemency to Wayne DuMond, and commuted his sentence to 39.5 years. This action made Wayne DuMond immediately eligible for parole.

The parole board was made up entirely of Democrats appointed by Democrat Governors Bill Clinton and Jim Guy Tucker (who was later convicted on federal charges and removed from office). Not one member of the board was appointed by Huckabee.

Governor Huckabee never took action in the DuMond case that made him parole eligible.

Governor Huckabee either denied Wayne DuMond''s clemency request, or took no action (which is the same as a denial) on four separate occasions.

Governor Huckabee did not parole Wayne Dumond. Governor Huckabee had no authority to do that. Governors in Arkansas don''t grant parole-the parole board does.

The fact remains that Governor Huckabee didn''t commutate, pardon, parole or grant any form of clemency to Wayne DuMond.

[gkc99]

Wait! This is no Willie Horton! This murderer and rapist is White.

That makes Huckleberry''s setting him free OK.

Just ask any Repugniscum.

[bot14]

Huckabee is NO conservative:
Mike Huckabee was regarded by fellow Republican governors as a compulsive tax increaser and spender. He increased the Arkansas tax burden by 47 percent, boosting the levies on gasoline and cigarettes. The Arkansas Leader.com editorialized that Mike Huckabee raised more taxes in 10 years in office than Bill Clinton did in his 12 years.

The Arkansas Ethics Commission held proceedings 20 times on the former governor. During his tenure, Huckabee accepted 314 gifts valued overall at more than $150,000, according to documents filed with the Arkansas secretary of state''s office. (He accepted 187 gifts in his first three years as governor but was not required to report their value.)


Two months after taking office, Huckabee stunned the state by saying he questioned rapist Wayne DuMond''s guilt and that it was his intention to free the rapist, DuMond murdered a women in Illinois after Huckabee set him free

Huckabee battled conservatives within his own party who were pushing for stricter state-level immigration measures, such as:.
- proof of legal status when applying for state services that aren%u2019t federally mandated
- proof of citizenship when registering to vote
- Huckabee failed in his effort to make children of illegal immigrants eligible for state-funded scholarships and in-state tuition to Arkansas colleges.

[ronpaulzombi]

DID YOU KNOW WHAT RON PAUL DID:

Ron Paul was recently spotted walking on water. He also cured a boy of cancer. Ron Paul crapped a gold bar out of his crack! Ron Paul personally defeated the Empire by destroying the Death Star!! Ron Paul is soooo conservative that he believes in open borders! If you don''t believe this please go to his campaign headquarters and get some of his kool aid and guzzle it!!! When he is elected we are going to change the name of this country to the United States of Ron Paul!!!

Ron Paul (I legally changed my name because Ron Paul is my personal god)

[denn034]

This''ll hurt Huckabee and help Romney, Giuliani, and Thompson.

[prophet18]

HUCKABEE CARRIES SLICK TO NEW LEVELS
Huckabee orchestrated the release of convicted rapist Wayne Dumond. He usurped the authority of the Arkansas'' justice system to release this scumbag. Shortly after the release, Dumond sexually brutalized and murdered a woman in Missouri. Huckabee accepted at least $150,000 in "gifts" while governor. Yet he calls others'' salaries "immoral." Huckabee says that he is more concerned with main street than he is wall street. Yet this self-righteous politician accepted a sizeable donation from the owner of the largest race track in Arkansas after Huckabee fought for a law permitting video gambling machines at Arkansas race tracks. Huckabee tried to use taxpayer money to renovate his lake house. Huckabee destroyed evidence of his record upon leaving the governor''s office. If that''s not Clintonian, I don''t know what is. Hucakbee was a disaster when it comes to illegal immigration in his state. His policies as governor undermined the efforts of our federal government to regulate who''s coming into this country. He effectively fought to make Arkansas a sanctuary state. He supports birthright citizenship an college scholarships for children of illegal immigrants. He even wants to amend the Constitution so foreigners can run for President. Huckabee''s "Fair Tax" proposal is nothing more than a bait and switch scheme which is not fair at all. It would end income taxes on corporations and then switch the tax burden entirely to private citizens.

[prophet20]

RON PAUL CAMPAIGN REACHES ANOTHER MILESTONE
Ron Paul%u2019s run for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination reached another milestone on November 30th as it surpassed GOP opponent Rudy Giuliani%u2019s third quarter fundraising total. With over one month still remaining in the fourth quarter, Congressman Paul has currently raised over $10,572,765. By comparison, Rudy Giuliani raised only $10,258,019 during the three-month period from July to September of this year. This milestone is the latest indication that Dr. Paul%u2019s message of peace, prosperity and freedom is resonating strongly with voters across the United States. Paul also recently placed first in the New York Young Republicans poll, in Giuliani%u2019s home state. The Paul campaign has publicly set a $12 million fourth quarter fundraising goal, to be raised by December 31st. Congressman Paul is also the first presidential candidate in history to make fundraising numbers publicly available in real-time. Recently, Paul received widespread recognition for his record $4.2 million one-day fundraising haul on November 5th, when over 37,000 grass root supporters contributed in one day. Don''t write home to Mom yet. We''re going to contribute even more to his campaign on December 16th when we all get together to have a good ol'' fashion tea party. TeaParty07.com

[prophet18]

RON PAUL IS THE NEW WAY
What we need is a President who will show us the way. Not the old way. Not the same way, but a NEW way. Think about this for a minute. What if we pulled all of our troops out of South Korea? They''ve been there for 50+ years. What if we quit worrying about Iran, but instead, realized that its having a nuclear weapon will not mean the end of the world? What if we pulled all of our troops out of the Middle-East, and brought them all home? What if we realistically addressed the National Debt, and paid attention to REALLY DOING SOMETHING about stopping illegal immigration? These are the ideas of Presidential candidate, Ron Paul. He''s a ten term Congressman and a physician who has delivered over 4,000 babies. He''s an intellectual who''s published four books, three of which are devoted entirely to sound economics and one to foreign policy. He was raised on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania as a pious Lutheran, but now he attends a Baptist church. Paul is given to mulling things over morally. Whenever he recollects the helicopter pilots he treated as an Air Force Flight Surgeon (Captain) during the Vietnam War, a war which he now says was "totally unnecessary and illegal," he laments, "They were gung-ho. I''ve often thought about how many of those people never came back." Candidates with the high level of personal integrity and proven track record of adherence to The Constitution, Congressman Paul has always demonstrated only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky.

[excoachken]

For Mike71067, Huckabee has an opportune faith just like "W" and obviously has no respect for the separation of Church and state, like the Cowardly Cowboy. He talks of lowering taxes and fills in the gaps with all sorts of user fees, he backs this never ending occupation of Iraq, and has no qualms about sending young Americans to the deaths needlessly just as long as none of them are his kin. I''d say these two liars have much in common.