Former Ark. governor talks fair tax, renewable energy, leadership at VFW

After an introduction from State Rep. Tedd Gassman, presidential candidate Mike Huckabee opened his remarks to a local crowd of about 40 at the Estherville VFW Thursday night with a joke: "In 2008, I attended the Winnebago County Fair and I distinctly remember the scent of the hog pens. Of course I wasn't certain if the smell was the hogs or the reporters."

He also noted, "If people in Iowa think it's cold, then it's stinkin' cold."

Huckabee emphasized his leadership experience as governor of Arkansas.

The presidency, Huckabee said, "is not an entry-level job." Huckabee pointed out that for 7 years "we had a 1-term senator with no executive experience, who had never even sponsored any meaningful legislation. The election is a life or death decision, and America elected Barack Obama because he could give good speeches." Huckabee told the story of a flight delay in Atlanta. The gate agent went on the PA system to say, "I think the crew is on its way, but meanwhile would anyone here like to fly the plane?"

Huckabee, a grandfather of five young children ages 4 and under, asked, "Why would anyone get on that plane? Why would we put our grandchildren's future in the hands of someone who's never sat in the cockpit? Why turn the most challenging position in the world over to someone who's never done anything like it?"

Huckabee said he resolved to secure the nation's borders against illegal entry, raise the standard of the middle class, and introduce Huckabee's idea of tax reform, which he calls FairTax. "Instead of tinkering with the tax code, we need a tax revolution that helps every hard-working American and eliminates the IRS once and for all," Huckabee said.

The advantages of FairTax, according to Huckabee, include the guarantee that criminals, illegal immigrants, and all who operate in the underground economy pay their fair share, and "not just hard working Americans who play by the rules."

The FairTax abolishes the IRS as well as Medicare, payroll, and investment income taxes. These taxes are replaced by "a flat, simple, family-friendly national sales tax."

Huckabee said there are currently around 80 members of Congress who support FairTax, and it is gaining momentum. "But it takes a President to assume leadership and make this sort of sweeping reform happen," he said.

Pastor David Hovinga asked Huckabee a question about gridlock in Washington and how as President, Huckabee would fix it.

Huckabee answered, "We've done it." While no one can fire the legislative branch and start over, he found himself as Arkansas governor building trust and relationships, and working on corruption in state government.