Huckabee Rails on Federal Government
TOPEKA, KAN. -- Mike Huckabee may be going to Washington, D.C. tomorrow to make nice with establishment conservatives at the Conservative Political Action Conference, but this doesn't mean he's shying away from criticizing their shortcomings today.
In the third leg of his travels through Kansas, Huckabee told reporters that "people in this state really do feel like there's a sense of disconnect between Washington and themselves."
"I think that's reflected not only in the policies we get from Washington, but also the simple fact that it's as if they don't understand the impact they have on our lives everyday -- when they raise taxes, when they fail to solve the problem with the borders, or they create a federal mandate that doesn't get funded at the state level and the state has to figure out a way to make something work and pay for it. When they've been told what to do but not really how to get that done."
Silently juxtaposing his own executive experience against the ineptitudes of an out-of-touch Congress, Huckabee continued, "As a governor for 10 1/2 years, one of my greatest frustrations was that I thought there was a Congress who had some wonderful ideas when given a chance for a press conference. Only difference was they would have the press conference, pat themselves on the back and send the bill to the states. Sometimes it would cost us millions of dollars. And even when we would try to sit down with them and explain it, it was like they listened, were polite, and went on about it and did it to us again."
Espousing the virtues of federalism, Huckabee pledged to be a president who would lead the federal government in solving problems without harming state governments.