An Analysis of the Ideas of Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, and Tom Tancredo

Originally published on GrasstopsUSA.com.

Three of the Republican presidential contenders -- Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, and Tom Tancredo -- show promise as individuals who are largely devoted to limited government, individual rights, and sound policy. Each of them has numerous issues where their principled stances will appeal to the conservative voter base of the Republican Party. Each also has some ideas which I find flawed. To educate voters and lead to the most informed possible choices, here is an analysis of some of these three candidates' positions.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is a staunch opponent of legalized abortion; he emphasizes unambiguously that abortion is an issue of human life and not of privacy. In an interview with Right Wing News, Huckabee said, "to somehow believe that the taking of an innocent, unborn human life is about privacy and not about that unborn life is ludicrous." Among other hopeful signs regarding Huckabee's pro-life position is his May 23, 2006, statement that he would have signed South Dakota's abortion ban had he been governor of that state. Huckabee, himself a hunter and gun owner, has repeatedly shown himself to be in favor of Second-Amendment protections and, during his time as Arkansas Governor, has refused to participate in the Clinton administration's attempt to limit the rights of gun owners and manufacturers. Huckabee also wishes to simplify the U. S. income tax structure by supporting a flat tax -- a far more equitable measure than the current "progressive tax," which penalizes productive Americans in the higher income brackets.