Huckabee Says He'd Be 'True Conservative' Candidate
Last updated Saturday, December 30, 2006 9:28 PM CST in News
By Andrew DeMillo
The Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK -- Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says, if he runs for president, he won't be a Republican who will "scare the living daylights" out of independents and moderate Democrats.
"I think I would appeal to true conservatives for whom conservatism doesn't mean they're angry at everybody," Huckabee said in an interview with The Associated Press. "My brand of conservatism is not an angry hostile brand. It's one that says 'conservative' means we want to conserve the best of our culture, society, principles and values and pass them on."
Huckabee leaves office Jan. 9 after serving 10 1/2 years as governor of a Democratic-leaning state; he was ineligible to seek re-election because of term limits. The governor has not said when he'll announce a decision on a potential presidential bid.
"I'm not on anybody else's clock when it comes to making an announcment. I feel like there are steps I have to take both personally and politically," Huckabee said. "It's more important to take the right step instead of the first step."
On the day he leaves office, Huckabee will launch a nationwide tour to tout his new book, "From Hope to Higher Ground: 12 STOPS to Restoring America's Greatness." With chapters on taxes and foreign policy, Huckabee's book lays out potential talking points for a presidential campaign.
Huckabee also enjoys residual publicity from his 110-pound weight loss, and in December raised $500,000 in a political action committee fund-raiser to finance trips to key political states.
But Huckabee dismisses the idea he needs to announce early in the new year to mount a decent challenge to big-name potential GOP rivals such as Arizona Sen. John McCain or former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
"When people say it's all going to be settled by March or April. Who says? George Allen was the hottest brand going until he made a little speech that got on YouTube. Now he's gone," Huckabee said. (Allen, a Republican senator from Virginia, lost a re-election bid after a video showed him referring to a volunteer of Indian descent on his opponent's campaign as "Macaca," regarded by some as a racial slur.)
Huckabee is a Southern Baptist minister and says his campaign would appeal to "true conservatives" but also attract moderates. Some of his positions, particularly on illegal immigration, have put him at odds with Republicans in his home state.
"I would be the kind of Republican who doesn't scare the living daylights out of people who are in the center or slightly to the left," he said.
Although Huckabee has shown a fund-raising ability in a state dominated by Democrats, he said the message is more important than money while building a campaign.
Huckabee said the departure of Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana and Republican Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee from the race is evidence cash isn't the key. Bayh had $10.5 million in his Senate campaign bank account, money he could have shifted to his presidential exploratory committee.
"What that tells me is it's not about the money," Huckabee said. "Money can get you in, but money can't get you through."
Huckabee said he was unlikely to run for the U.S. Senate if he opts against a presidential run. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., has already said he will seek re-election in 2008.
Huckabee lost to Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark., in 1992 and abandoned his plans to run for Senate in 1996 -- taking over as governor after Jim Guy Tucker was convicted in a Whitewater case. The governor said he didn't believe he had the patience required to serve in the Senate.
"In politics it's very dangerous to say 'I definitely will' or 'I definitely won't' because circumstances can change," Huckabee said. "I don't see it happening and I'm not saying if this doesn't work out, here's plan B. There is no plan B."
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Taxpayer wrote on Dec 31, 2006 1:38 PM:
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Help!!! wrote on Dec 31, 2006 7:37 AM: