Duncan Hunter endorses Mike Huckabee

I have a lot of respect for Congressman Duncan Hunter. Originally, he was my favorite candidate in the race. I had the opportunity to meet him in Huntsville back in October at the Annual Convention of the Alabama Federation of Republican Women. It was quite an impressive showing. I was a nervous political junkie who had never so much as met a city councilman and here I was spending time with a Presidential candidate. You would not have known it speaking with him. He was intentionally friendly and it was obvious that his sentiments were genuine.

Aside from his strong Conservative values and his Christian faith, he also impressed me with his humility and optimistic personality. He officially gave up his Presidential bid on Saturday after the final results from the South Carolina Primary. After the long shot bid officially came to an end, the Congressman went about the process of considering who to endorse for his party's nomination. He chose Mike Huckabee.

I can understand why. As someone who values Conservative practice in government, smart practical leadership, and most importantly personal integrity, I believe I was drawn to Huckabee for the same reason that Congressman Hunter was. Though Hunter never garnered large poll numbers, this endorsement is potentially important because of the Reagan wing of the Republicans that Hunter represents. Huckabee has been criticized as a Democrat, a liberal, and a fake politician who hoped to garner support based on his Baptist background. It appears that Duncan Hunter views the situation quite differently and as a man of immense integrity himself, his opinion weighs heavy with me.

Now is the time....

As the Feb 5th Primary approaches here in Alabama, one thing is for sure....nothing is for sure.

As it stands there remain 4 big candidates left in the race. It is likely that no more will drop out until after Super Tuesday so for the first time in many years, the state of Alabama will have the opportunity to play a part in selecting our next President.

I make no apologies about being both a Conservative and a Christian and with these two ideologies banging around in my head at all hours of the day, I cannot help but judge my candidates by them. With these two in mind I have made my decision for whom to vote. That man is Mike Huckabee.

He is the strongest Values candidate left in the race. He has committed to changing the status quo in Washington with regards to abortion policy and policy affecting the family. Unlike some, he does not give lip service to the idea of values in hopes he will take away a few votes using the rhetoric. Instead, he has entered politics for the purpose of reflecting those values in our law.

In addition, I do believe he has the best tax plan our nation has seen since the Founding Fathers. The elimination of the income tax and all productivity taxes under the Fair Tax could very well take our economy to places it has never been. What is the Fair Tax you might ask? It is basically a national sales tax. The idea has been batted about by economists and other Conservative idea generators for the better part of the last 2 decades. Now, it makes its entrance onto the landscape of the American Presidential race. Personally, the idea of basing my taxation off of what I buy rather than having the hand of the government come into my pocket and decide for me what I shall pay is rather appealing. Mike Huckabee believes that a person owns what he or she earns and the government has no right to simply take it. I agree.

For those who are concerned with foreign policy experience and I am among them there is no need to doubt Huckabee's credentials. Although he has never served in a capacity in the State Department or any other organization that is focused on foreign matters, I must ask if this is really necessary? How many of our nation's great wartime leaders were experts when it came to leading the nation in war. One aspect of a great leader is one who is a great delegater of power. The prime responsibility of our next President will be to put the right people in the right place. From the Secretary of Defense to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a war is run ultimately by those who know war.

This was one of Bush's primary mistakes. Appointing a civilian(Don Rumsfeld) as Secretary of Defense was a huge mistake and cost us greatly in Iraq. This mistake has been corrected and the war effort has gone much more smoothly since. I doubt Mike Huckabee will make mistakes such as these. In his 10 years as Governor of Arkansas if there is one thing he found out how to do well it was to govern and to set up your personnel under you in positions for them to succeed. Knowing everything about everything is no more a qualification for executive office than knowing how to hit a 90 mph fastball is a qualification to own a Major League franchise.

I sincerely hope that you all take a look at Mike Huckabee and remember his leadership skills and values come Feb. 5th.