An Analysis of the Ideas of Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, and Tom
Tancredo
GrassTopsUSA Exclusive Commentary
By Gennady Stolyarov II
05-22-07
Three of the
Republican presidential contenders—Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, and Tom
Tancredo—show promise as individuals who are largely devoted to
limited government, individual rights, and sound policy. Each of
them has numerous issues where their principled stances will appeal
to the conservative voter base of the Republican Party. Each also
has some ideas which I find flawed. To educate voters and lead to
the most informed possible choices, here is an analysis of some of
these three candidates’ positions.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is a
staunch opponent of legalized abortion; he emphasizes unambiguously
that abortion is an issue of human life and not of privacy. In an
interview with Right Wing News, Huckabee said, “to
somehow believe that the taking of an innocent, unborn human life is
about privacy and not about that unborn life is ludicrous.” Among
other hopeful signs regarding Huckabee’s pro-life position is his
May 23, 2006, statement that he would have signed South Dakota’s
abortion ban had he been governor of that state. Huckabee, himself a
hunter and gun owner, has repeatedly shown himself to be in favor of
Second-Amendment protections and, during his time as Arkansas
Governor, has refused to participate in the Clinton administration’s
attempt to limit the rights of gun owners and manufacturers.
Huckabee also wishes to simplify the U. S. income tax structure by
supporting a flat tax—a far more equitable measure than the current
“progressive tax,” which penalizes productive Americans in the
higher income brackets.
However, several aspects
of Huckabee’s record as Governor of Arkansas cast doubt about his
ability to limit the scope of the federal government. In the eight
years from 1996 to 2004, Arkansas state spending rose by an
astounding 65.3%, and Huckabee has personally endorsed numerous
measures to raise state taxes. This empirical evidence calls
Huckabee’s fiscal conservative credentials into question.
Furthermore, Huckabee was influential in instituting the Arkansas
educational requirement that every child receive instruction in art
and music. Talk about coercion! Some children have neither skill nor
interest in these subjects, and their time would be better spent
developing other faculties. Taking art and music classes ought to be
a matter of individual student and parent choice.
Texas Representative
Ron Paul, in most of his ideas and actual voting record, shows
devotion to the ideas that animated the founding of America. He has
earned the nickname “Dr. No” for his steadfast refusal to vote for
any legislation which is not explicitly authorized by the
Constitution. He has consistently championed limited government, a
dramatic reduction in federal spending, the elimination of intrusive
government business regulations and infringements of personal
privacy, the enforcement of Second-Amendment protections for gun
owners, and the abolition of the murderous practice of abortion.
Rep. Paul was the man who put before Congress the Sanctity of Human
Life Bill—a daring and courageous act that would have nullified the
Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision. He has also emerged as
a steadfast opponent of the income tax and the fiat-money system,
insisting that Americans keep more of what they earn and that their
savings do not disappear through government-induced inflation.
Representative Paul has never supported the
Bush administration’s military campaign in Iraq, which might
alienate him from some conservative voters. In the realm of foreign
affairs, Rep. Paul is a non-interventionist and would adhere to
George Washington’s recommended “policy
to steer clear of entangling alliances with any portion of the
foreign world.” I do not hold to this position, and see its
implementation as having a potential to render the United States
vulnerable to attacks from terrorists and rogue states whose regimes
harbor an unqualified hatred for Western prosperity and freedom.
However, Paul’s views on foreign policy do have a chance of
attracting the support of conservatively-inclined people who were
opposed to the Iraq war. It is still unclear whether this stance is
an asset or liability to Paul. However, if Paul were elected
President, I strongly anticipate that the good he does in
restricting government domestically would far outweigh any harm he
might inflict by preventing U. S. military interventions abroad.
Colorado
Representative Tom Tancredo stands out as another strong advocate of
liberty and limited government. He has voiced opposition to the
punitive and highly inconvenient income tax, proposing instead to
replace it with a flat-rate tax or a national sales tax. Rep.
Tancredo is also a consistent defender of Second-Amendment rights
and wishes that the courts in this country made it binding on state
governments as well, just as they have done with the First
Amendment. Rep. Tancredo supports educational vouchers to enable
parents to control their children’s educational opportunities
instead of bureaucrats. Despite having served as a representative
for the Department of Education in Denver, Rep. Tancredo wishes to
restrict the federal government’s educational role. He is also in
favor of eliminating the current unsustainable defined-benefit
approach to Social Security; he would like to replace this with a
defined-contribution plan, whereby private individuals would be able
to invest their Social Security contributions and reap the benefits
of wise financial decisions. Rep. Tancredo is staunchly opposed to
abortion and desires an overturning of the Roe v. Wade
decision so as to give individual states the ability to prohibit
abortion.
Tancredo’s stance on
the Iraq occupation is less extreme than Paul’s; he is not opposed
to the occupation per se, but thinks that the Iraqi people need to
take the lead in transforming the region. As such, Tancredo would
like to set a timetable for full Iraqi control of all 18 of Iraq’s
provinces by November 2007. This is in accord with President Bush’s
desired objective, but Rep. Tancredo would like to transform it into
a formal commitment. I am not entirely comfortable with this
position, as it might unnecessarily shackle the U. S. military’s
ability to respond to unforeseen future disturbances in Iraq and
might involve placing not-yet-qualified Iraqi officials in charge of
solving a problem which they have insufficient means and training to
properly address.
Some elements of Rep.
Tancredo’s stance on illegal immigration are also a cause for
concern. Rep. Tancredo justifiably seeks to enforce the nation’s
laws against illegal immigration at the borders, and I further
commend him for his opposition to government benefits to illegal
immigrants. Increased border security and the denial of taxpayer
funds to illegal immigrants would go a long way to reduce their
inflow. However, Tancredo also supports imposing large fines on
employers who hire illegal immigrants, which in practice could lead
to greatly increased government oversight and regulation of private
enterprise. While trying to address a genuine problem, Tancredo
might inadvertently end up expanding the scope of the government he
wants to limit.
As an advocate of
principled politics, I wish that the “mainstream media” had given
more coverage to presidential contenders like Huckabee, Paul, and
Tancredo; many of their ideas and suggested policies will take the
United States closer to the ideal of the Founders and of numerous
Americans today. Others of their stances, even if somewhat
objectionable, would be excellent for inspiring meaningful and
valuable public discussion and debate.
Gennady Stolyarov II is
Editor-in-Chief of
The Rational Argumentator, a magazine championing the principles
or Reason, Rights, and Progress. His works have been published by
Le Quebecois Libre,
Enter Stage Right Magazine, the
Ludwig von Mises Institute,
Rebirth of Reason, and other organizations. Mr. Stolyarov can be
contacted at
gennadystolyarovii@yahoo.com.
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