Merry Christmas: LA Times Endorses Mike Huckabee

Well, it's hard to know what to make of this. Is it a case of the LA Times shamelessly trolling Right-side votes for Huckabee, or are they after the award for dumbest political story of 2007 just before year-end? Perhaps both?

WASHINGTON -- Mike Huckabee, one of the most conservative Republicans in the 2008 presidential race, has embraced one of the most radical ideas on the campaign trail: a plan to abolish all federal income and payroll taxes and replace them with a single 23% national sales tax.

Only in liberal media could most conservative and most radical be used to describe the same basic thing, not to mention in the same sentence - talk about a contradiction in terms. They mention nothing of Huckabee's positions on taxes, crime, foreign policy, the environment, or the role of government - all of them being more liberal, than not. But he's clearly the most conservative, after all, he prays! And all they do mention is his support for what most serious people consider to be an unworkable, if not crazy idea. It seems Huckabee is seriously, make that disingenuously, selling the Fair Tax on the stump.

'Crackpot plan'

Critics argue that this aspect of the plan would create an unwieldy new government program akin to welfare.

A report by the president's tax-reform panel said such a program could cost $600 billion a year -- "which would make it America's largest entitlement program," the report said.

Sound conservative to you? Let's see - he prays and has crack pot ideas - yes, certainly Huckabee must be the most conservative candidate in the race. Or maybe the LA Times confuses religion with conservatism while desperately wanting its three conservative readers to vote for Mike? Hmm, I wonder why?

Either way, the piece is still dumb - as is, evidently, Huckabee. And you can include whatever small number of idiots falling for his empty rhetoric in that group, too. Or do you seriously think this is something that our government could, should and would do?

"I have a dream that one day in this country . . . April 15 will just be another beautiful spring day," he told the cheering crowd.

"What we would do with the fair tax is to eliminate all the taxes on productivity, which means you could earn anything you want," Huckabee said. "You wouldn't be penalized for saving, earning, for having a capital gain, making an investment."

Huckabee and Fairtax.org call for a 23% tax on virtually all purchases in place of federal income taxes, as well as payroll taxes to fund Social Security and Medicare.

To ease the effect on the poor, they propose a "prebate" -- a monthly cash payment to every family -- to cover sales taxes on spending up to the federal poverty level.

Comments

[Fred Beloit]

Oh sure, the current income tax practices of the U.S. government are the pride of an intelligent nation. Oh no? They are an incoherent jumble of complex, conflicting and confused efforts to raise revenues, control or change the behavior of citizens, give and take away favors to business, charity, medicine, banks, mortgagees, etc.? Am I dreaming? We want to hold on to this bursting bag of BS? We want to reject as nutty any efforts to seriously fix this sly and serpentine method of stealing our money and, worse, our time? We don't want to attempt a better and more fair effort to tax ourselves?

"A report by the president's tax-reform panel said such a program could cost $600 billion a year -- "which would make it America's largest entitlement program," the report said."

Oh gee, what a surprise; a government panel says the current system is superior.

I'm for the Fair Tax. NOTHING could be worse than our present system. This Fair Tax is not Huck's idea and I'm not for Huck. That doesn't mean I'm not for drastic tax reform.

[Fred Beloit]

By the way: A merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Bud Billiken, Wonderful Winter Solstice, Yammering Yuletide, all the best to one and all.

[DAN MCNEIL]

The Fair Tax deserves a look. The fact that an idiot is promoting it doesn't make it bad or good.

I've done taxes for 25 years and nothing can be more ridiculous than the system we have.

[Budahmon]

I am a big supporter of the Fair Tax. It is the way to go, but it would require Amending the Constitution to remove the Income Tax. As to the entitilement program...heck we would save that much in removing the IRS and the cost of maintaining the current Tax System....but....Huckabee, I'll sit home if he's the nominee...If I wanted a populist Democrat for President I would vote for John Edwards....

[Greg Marquez]

You guys keep saying you're not attacking Huckabee because he's an evangelical and yet your entire analysis of his proposals consists of inanities:

- "all they do mention is his support for what most serious people consider to be an unworkable, if not crazy idea."
Man, there's a cogent argument. My mama always said if you can't think for yourself find a large bandwagon to jump on. Now who would "most serious people" be? There must be scads of them which forced you to use this short hand. Either that or you just picked it up from some pro Romney blog and are repeating it the way my four year old repeats things she doesn't understand.

- "Either way, the piece is still dumb - as is, evidently, Huckabee."
Evidently? I don't think that word means what you think it means. One of my econ teachers at UCLA, Thomas Sowell, used to say that things which are truly evident or obvious can be set forth in such few words that any use of "obvious" or "evident" in argument should give rise to the conclusion that the point being advanced is not at all obvious or evident.

- "And you can include whatever small number of idiots falling for his empty rhetoric in that group, too."
Ah the last bastions of a true intellectual, supporting your argument with references to non-existing surveys of majority opinion, and referring to those who refuse to agree with you as idiots. You are now ready matriculate to Kindergarten level logic please proceed to The Corner for your first class.

Now in view of your evident (I'm using this in the true sense of that word.) inability to make a rational argument against Huckabee's proposal and your concomitant yielding to the temptation to refer to Huckabee and his supporters as "dumb" and "idiots," could you please explain again why your objections to Huckabee aren't really just religious and cultural bigotry.

Greg Marquez
goyomarquez@earthlink.net

[Budahmon]

Religious and culteral bigotry....as a southerner I am pretty sure I am not culterally bigoted toward Mr. Huckabee. As a Baptist in the truest sense of the word....I do not think I am religiously bigoted toward Mr. Huckabee....politically though he is a liberal. From his support of illegal aliens, to his pandering to everybody and to his playing identity politics. His picking up of ideas for use to pander with (the Fair Tax being one of these) doesn't make him conservative, just another lying politician trying to get a vote. He cannot even coherently argue for the fair tax because he does not understand it...and this with his populist rhetoric leaves me with an ill feeling toward him. I look at this guy as if he was a used car salesman or a Evangelical Preacher on TV, preying on old ladies to send him money each week ala the PTL Club (AKA the Pass The Loot Club) or Jimmy Swaggart. Does this make me religiously bigoted toward him?...if so, so be it....I cannot support him with my vote and I will do everything that I can to defeat him here in Florida.

[seekeronos]

Fred Thompson is supporting an idea that would allow for a transition, if not a comparison of both ideas in practice.

Instead of having to clear the constitutional burden posed by the 16th amendment (virtually impossible: too many entrenched interests, big business, CPA's, tax attorneys, etc. etc.) Fred's version of the FairTax would involve having people CHOOSE between the existing system of sweating bullets until April 15th each year, or simply paying a 10% income tax for joint filers (up to $100k for families and up to $50k for singles) and 25% for income above those amounts, with a standard deduction of $25k/families and $12.5k for singles, and a personal deduction of $3.5k... such that a family of four making $75k aggregate would be tax exempt from the first $39k, thereby paying only $3,600 in income tax.

This helps preserve a break from income tax for America's poorest families.

[seekeronos]

Here is the link to Fred's tax plan:

http://www.fred08.com/virtual/taxrelief.aspx

[Michael Boelter]

The Fair Tax deserves a careful look over and assessment. But get it direct from the source and read "The Fair Tax Book", that explains the entire proposal.

[krissy]

Those people that practice that crackpot christianity are coming home to roost! no one deserves it more than the republicans. I. Can't. Stop.Laughing!!!

[Fred Beloit]

Boob(krissy), I don't believe you are laughing. Rather, I believe you have never really laughed in your life.

[FAIRTAXBILL]

Go Huckabee! Go FairTax! Both would be great for all Americans and the American economy!

[Erin Williams]

I've heard Mike Huckabee speak, he is dumb. Very dumb.