Huckabee's Faith-Based Views Find Critics, Fans in Both Parties

By Perry Bacon Jr.

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 21, 2007; Page A04

"LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- When the idea for a proclamation declaring Christian Heritage Week came up in 1994, Jim Guy Tucker, the Democratic governor of Arkansas, would not sign it. His aides said he did not think it was appropriate to honor a particular faith.

But when Tucker went out of town for a week and Republican Lt. Gov. Mike Huckabee became the acting chief executive, the Baptist minister enthusiastically signed the proclamation, declaring at a later celebration that he was taking a stand against "Christophobia."

"His detractors point to a governor who became indignant at criticism of his personal behavior, particularly after it was disclosed that he had accepted tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from supporters. And they say his views resulted in petty conflicts over matters such as Christian Heritage Week or his refusal to sign a disaster relief bill until legislators removed the words "acts of God" to describe tornadoes because Huckabee argued that God was protecting people from tornadoes, not causing them."

"Early in Huckabee's tenure as governor, an unidentified 15-year-old girl had an abortion after being raped by her stepfather. When the clinic sought reimbursement for the procedure through Medicaid, the state declined.

The amendment to the state constitution that Huckabee had worked to get passed did not include an exception for rape or incest. Federal law allows Medicaid funds to be used for abortions in such cases, but Huckabee stood firm, saying he did not want to violate the state's antiabortion measure."

"But Huckabee did not solely focus on abortion and other social issues, and his positions were not always typical of a conservative. His proposal to offer in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants, for example, was not just opposed by Republicans, it was more liberal than the position of many Democrats in the legislature.

Likewise, expanding health insurance to low-income children was not a priority when Huckabee entered office. But after a 1997 meeting with Amy Rossi, a children's rights advocate, the governor dropped plans for a $25 tax rebate to everyone in the state, persuaded instead to back expanded health insurance to uninsured children who did not qualify for Medicaid. It was an achievement he now singles out as one of the most important of his governorship.

And to fund programs to improve roads and schools, Huckabee advocated a policy that has left him open to attacks from his GOP primary opponents: raising taxes."