Huckabee Brings His Questionable Ethics Record to the Presidential Race
January 31, 2007
Today, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee filed papers to launch an exploratory committee for the GOP Presidential nomination. Immediately out of the gate, Huckabee found himself on the defensive, deflecting questions regarding his tenure as Governor of Arkansas and his record of ethics violations and fiscal recklessness. The most recent scandal surrounding his draining of the state's emergency funds and the destruction of government property before leaving office is bringing to light his long history of bilking tax-payers for his own benefit. Unfortunately, Huckabee's reckless fiscal record is only surpassed by his numerous ethical violations and his lack of accountability.
"If Mike Huckabee is serious about running for President, he needs to come clean about his record of fiscal irresponsibility and history of ethical lapses," said Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Stacie Paxton."Democrats have worked hard to implement ethics reform to put an end to the Republican culture of corruption and whether it's the 14 ethics complaints filed against him or the most recent scandal over bankrupting his home state's emergency fund, it's clear that Mike Huckabee is more concerned with his own interests than the interests of the people he hopes to represent."
The Huckabee History
Huckabee Defended Ethics Commission's 14 Complaints, Five Resulted in Violations. The Ethics Commission addressed 14 complaints against Mike Huckabee during his political career. Five resulted in findings that he violated ethics guidelines. [Associated Press, 11/23/06]
Huckabee Depletes Emergency Fund, Destructs Government Property as He Leaves Office. "Former Gov. Mike Huckabee depleted the governor's office emergency fund in the final weeks of his administration in part to pay for the destruction of computer hard drives in his office. That left Gov. Mike Beebe, who replaced Huckabee on Jan. 9, with no emergency funds for the last half of fiscal 2007. Documents that the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, describe the destruction of the computer drives, as ordered by Huckabee's office, and Huckabee complaining strongly about his cell phone and Blackberry not working" [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 1/19/07]
Huckabee Defended Tax Hikes. Governor Huckabee had to rebut criticisms from "fiscally responsible" Republican groups such as the Cato Institute and the Club for Growth, that during his tenure as Governor he raised taxes. On the defensive, Huckabee acknowledged that any tax increases were for important public purposes, and that he cut other taxes. [New York Times, 1/29/07]
Huckabee Defended Parole of Convicted Rapist Who Later Committed Murder. Governor Huckabee found himself defending the "parole, during Huckabee's governorship, of convicted rapist Wayne Dumond, who later committed a murder in Missouri. Huckabee said he regretted Dumond's actions but denied playing a proactive role in the release decision by Arkansas' parole board, and claimed that most of the board's members had been appointed by his predecessors." [New York Times, 1/29/07]
