- Mike Huckabee « Announcement Speech
"From Hope to Higher Ground"
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR)
Hempstead Hall
University of Arkansas Community College
Hope, AR
May 5, 2015
"It's a long way from a little brick rent house on 2nd street in Hope, AR to the White House. But here in this small town called Hope, I was raised to believe that where a person started didn't mean that's where he had to stop. I always believed a kid could go from Hope to Higher Ground. Like a lot of Americans, I grew up in a small town far removed from the power, the money, and the influence that runs the country. But power and money and political influence have left a lot of Americans lagging behind. They work hard, lift heavy things and sweat through their clothes grinding out a living, but they can't seem to get ahead or in some cases, even stay even. My parents were like that. My Dad wasn't an educated man, but he was a smart man. He and my mother didn't have much, but they had honesty to the bone, and taught me the basic lesson of life that I was to do unto others as I would have others do unto me.
"It was here in Hope that I learned how to swim, how to ride a bike, how to read, how to work, and how to play fair. I learned the difference between right and wrong. I learned that God loves me as much as He loves anyone, but that He doesn't love some more than others. I learned about America. In Miss Mary's Kindergarten and Brookwood Elementary School, I learned the pledge of allegiance, the Lord's Prayer, and Preamble to the Constitution. We prayed at the start of each day and before lunch. I learned that this exceptional country could only be explained by the Providence of God. I learned how to handle a firearm and a fishing pole and spent many hours with both. I got my first BB gun at age five-a Daisy model 25 that I still have and that's in mint condition. I learned the basic rules of gun safety and never thought of using a firearm to murder someone.
"I ran trotlines all night at Bois D' Arc Lake with my Dad and Grandfather to catch catfish that we'd freeze and live off of for weeks. It was here I was baptized in the Garrett Memorial Baptist Church after accepting Jesus in a Vacation Bible School when I was ten years old. I truly went from Hope to Higher Ground. It was here that I met the girl who would become my wife of 41 years and give me three hildren and share what will soon be five grandchildren. We knew each other from elementary school and started dating our senior year of high school. It was here that I got a job at KXAR Radio at age 14 that would not only pay my way through school, but give me the opportunity to be mentored by Haskell Jones, the station manager and one of the few Republicans in the entire county. It was here that I became the first male in my family lineage to graduate from high school at the same campus that stands today and from here that I went on to college at Ouachita Baptist University. And it was here that I first ran for elected office when I ran for Student Council in Hope Junior High School. So it seems perfectly fitting that it would be here that I announce that I am a candidate for President of the United States of America.
"Eight
years ago, a young, untested, inexperienced, and virtually unknown
freshman Senator made great speeches about 'Hope and Change.' But
eight years later, our debt has more than doubled, America's leadership
in the world has evaporated, and the country is more polarized than
ever in my lifetime. 93 million Americans don't have jobs, and
many
who do have seen the full time job with benefits they once had become
two part time jobs with no benefits. We were promised hope, but
it was
just talk --- now we need the kind of change that really could get
America from Hope to Higher Ground. Veterans who kept their
promises
to America and kept us free wait for months for our country to keep its
promises to veterans for basic health care and assistance to cope with
the scars of wars we sent them to fight. Our veterans should be
getting the first fruits of our treasury-not the leftovers. If
I'm
President, our veterans won't be left on the streets and in waiting
rooms to rot, but will be treated with the dignity they have earned and
deserve. When I meet men with an American Legion cap or one that
says
"veteran", I try never to fail in saying "thank you for giving me my
freedom!" But we owe them more than a pat on the back. We
need to
take them from Hope to higher ground.
"Washington is more dysfunctional than ever and has become so beholden to the donor class who fills the campaign coffers that it ignores the fact that one-in-four American families are paying more than half their income for housing. Home ownership is at the lowest level in decades and young people with heavy student debt aren't likely to afford their first home for a while. Our federal policies for affordable housing aren't designed to protect families, but to protect bureaucrats. A record number of people are enrolled in government operated help programs like food stamps, not because they want to be in poverty, but because they are part of the bottom earning 90% of American workers whose wages have been stagnant for 40 years. The war on poverty hasn't ended poverty; it's prolonged it. I don't judge the success of government by how many people are on assistance, but by how many people have good jobs and don't need government assistance. And we don't create good jobs for Americans by entering into unbalanced trade deals that forego Congressional scrutiny and looking the other way as the law is ignored so we can import low wage labor, undercut American workers, and drive wages lower than the Dead Sea.
"I governed in a state that was the most lopsided and partisan in the country-no Republican Governor had more Democrats and fewer Republicans. I challenged the deeply entrenched political machine that ran this state. It was tough sledding, but I learned how to govern and how to lead, and even in that environment we passed 94 tax cuts, rebuilt our road system, saw dramatic improvements in student test scores, and fought the corruption of the good ol' boy system so working class people would be given a fair shake. And we saw family income increase by 50% during my tenure.
"Some
propose that to save safety nets like Medicare and Social Security, we
need to chop off the payouts for the people who have faithfully had
their paychecks and pockets picked by the politicians promising that
their money would be waiting for them when they were old and sick.
"You were forced to pay for Social Security and Medicare for 50 years. The government grabs money from our paychecks and says it will be waiting for us when we turn 65. If Congress wants to take away someone's retirement, let them end their own Congressional pensions-not your Social Security. As President, I promise you will get what you paid for!
"How
can anyone ever trust government again if they steal from us and lie to
us? It didn't help when Congress took $700 Billion out of Medicare to
pay for Obamacare. And instead of helping families find
affordable
health care, we created a monster that forces us to buy coverage we
don't want, don't need, and can't afford. And imagine members of
Congress boasting they will fight to repeal Obamacare and then turning
around and signing up for it. Real health care reform will focus
on
prevention and cures rather than costly intervention. Hope comes
from
finding cures for cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's the
same way we once lined up at the courthouse in the 50's and took our
vaccines and eradicated polio. Cures could give real hope to
families
who hear a dreaded diagnosis and are sentenced to a slow and agonizing
death. Alzheimer's Disease alone will cost well over $1 trillion
by
2050. Focusing on cures instead of treatment saves money, lives,
and
families. I remember President Kennedy telling us we'd send a man
to
the moon and bring him home within the decade. President Kennedy
didn't live to see that come true, but I did, and it made me believe
America could do anything it set its mind to. As President,
I'd
launch a curative approach to health care and save money and lives-not
government programs.
"We
face real threats from radical jihadism in the form of savage groups
like ISIS and state terrorists like Iran, but we put more pressure on
our ally Israel to cease building bedrooms for their families in Judea
and Samaria than we do on Iran for building a bomb. Dealing with
radicals who chant death to America and who fund bombs and rockets to
murder civilians in Israel is nonsense. But when I hear the
current
President say he wants Christians to get off their high horse so we can
make nice with radical jihadists, I wonder if he could watch a western
from the fifties and be able to figure out who the good guys and bad
guys are! As President, I promise you that we will no longer
merely
try to CONTAIN jihadism; we will CONQUER it! We will deal with
jihadis
just as we would deal with deadly snakes. And let
there be no
doubt--Israel will know--as will the world--that we are their trusted
friend, and the Ayatollahs of Iran will know that hell will freeze over
before they ever get a nuclear weapon! And I will never, ever
apologize for America!
"We
face not only the threats from terrorism, but also the threat of new
kinds of dangers, from a cyber war that could shut down major financial
markets to threats of an electromagnetic pulse from an exploded device
that could fry the electrical grid and take the country back to the
Stone Age in a matter of minutes. Waiting until it happens
is too
late.
"But
we've lost our way morally. We have witnessed the slaughter
of over
55 million babies in the name of choice, and are now threatening the
foundation of religious liberty by criminalizing Christianity in
demanding that we abandon Biblical principles of natural
marriage.
Many of our politicians have surrendered to the false god of judicial
supremacy, which would allow black-robed and unelected judges the power
to make law and enforce it-upending the equality of our three branches
of government and the separation of powers so very central to our
Constitution. The Supreme Court is not the Supreme Being, and
they
can't overturn the laws of nature or of nature's God.
"Government
in Washington is dysfunctional because it's become the roach
motel-people go in, but they never come out. As President I'll
fight
for Term limits on all 3 branches of government. That would
help
return us to the Founders dream that serving the public would be a
temporary duty-not a lucrative career with generous pensions and
paychecks not available to the people who pay for them. And if
someone
is elected to an office, then give the taxpayers what they're paying
for and what you said you wanted. If you live off the government
payroll and want to run for an office other than the one you're elected
to, then have the integrity and decency to resign the one you don't
want and pursue the one you decided you'd rather have.
"As
President, I would take seriously the 10th amendment and actually abide
by it. Power was never intended to be so concentrated at the
federal
level. Our Constitution was explicitly clear about keeping the
federal
government small so it could focus on some simple things like providing
a military and securing our borders. There are things being done
at
the federal level that should have been left in the hands of the states
or even better, the families. There is no Constitutional
authority to
dictate education from the federal government. Why even have a
federal
department of education? It has flunked and it needs to be
expelled.
Education policy should be set by states, local school boards,
and
best of all, by the moms and dads of the children. Common sense
tells
us the best government is the most local and the most limited.
We've
supersized the federal bureaucracy, but we've downsized the military
and left our borders open and uncontrolled. We need to address
the
immigration issue, but not with amnesty, but start by taking control of
our own borders. But we ought to get on our knees every night and
thank God we still live in a country people are trying to break into,
instead of one they are trying to break out of.
"I'm
running for President because I know that there is a difference between
making a speech and making government accountable to the people who pay
for it. You can't spend money you don't have or borrow
money you
can't afford to pay back. The federal government ought to
live by the
rules YOU have to live by and they should function under a balanced
budget law like I had to every year I was a Governor. And I don't
want
to hear politicians talk about tinkering with the tax code and making
little adjustments that still let powerful Washington interests pick
the winners and losers. We can never create prosperity for
working
people, grow our economy out of the bottomless pit of debt, and move
America back to the greatest economy on earth if we punish productivity
and subsidize reckless irresponsibility. The man I met at a
machine
shop in New Hampshire told me of how he started working a double shift
to help his daughter pay for grad school. He naturally figured
that if
he worked 16 hours a day instead of 8, he'd bring home twice the
pay.
But he found out that the money he worked for on that second shift put
him in a new tax bracket and the government got more of it than he
did. It's not that our tax system is punishing the richest people
in
America-they can afford accountants and lawyers who will find a way to
protect them. It's the people working for wages who can't get
ahead if
the government penalizes them for trying to do better. As
President,
I'll work to pass the Fair Tax, which would no longer penalize people's
work, their savings, their investments, or their good
stewardship.
And it would be the end of big government bailouts and most
importantly, we finally rid ourselves of the biggest bully in America,
the IRS. The IRS would disappear and April 15 would be just
another
beautiful spring day.
"The
struggle for many families isn't helped when the government solution is
fighting over what the MINIMUM wage should be. It's a race to the
bottom to figure out what the government determines the least you can
make. We need to be promoting the MAXIMUM wage, which is set by
the
worker who is willing to avail himself or herself of training for a job
that pays a maximum amount. We will never break the cycle of
poverty
by pushing people to their minimum wage, but by empowering them to
reach their maximum wage. That is how we take people from
Hope to
Higher Ground!
"This
country has to do three things to stay free: Feed itself, Fuel
itself,
and Fight for itself. Our farmers and ranchers provide our food
and
fiber and we need to keep them from being regulated out of business; we
have enough energy resources under our feet to bring affordable energy
to America and become the largest exporter so that Americans prosper in
developing the energy and aren't impoverished by paying for it when
produced by a Saudi Sheik or a Russian robber-baron. And we need
to be
able to fight for ourselves by bringing manufacturing back to our
communities where we make our own planes, tanks, bullets and
bombs.
"The
journey that begins in Hope today can lead this nation to Higher
Ground, but I can't do it without people being my partners--many who
have never been involved in politics before now. I never
have been
and won't be the favorite candidate of those in the "Washington to Wall
Street" corridor of power. I will be funded and fueled not by the
billionaires, but by working people across America who will find out
that $15 and $25 a month contributions can take us from Hope to Higher
Ground. If you want to give a million dollars, please do it, but
most
can't. But I will ask you to give something-in the name of your
children and grandchildren. I've walked away from my own income
to do
this, so I'm not asking you for a sacrifice I'm not willing to
make. I
don't have a global foundation or a taxpayer funded paycheck to live
off of. I don't come from a family Dynasty, but a working
family. I
grew up blue collar and not blue blood. I ask you to join with me
today not just so I can be President, but so we can preserve this great
Republic and that someday YOUR children and grandchildren can still go
from Hope to Higher Ground.
"I
still remember when my Dad took me to the dedication of the newly
constructed Bois D' Arc Lake, just a few miles from here, now named for
Dr. Lester Sitzes, my best friend since 3rd grade. I was eight
years-old and he said, "Son, the Governor is coming to dedicate the new
lake and I'm going to take you there to hear him make a talk, because
you might live your whole life and never get to meet a Governor in
person." Had my Dad lived four months longer, he would have seen
me do
more than MEET a Governor. He would have seen me become the 44th
Governor of my state. I always wished he could have been there
and
maybe spend the night in the Governor's Mansion, a place he never
thought he'd get close to. I always wanted to feel that he did
see
that moment-from the best seat in the house! And I hope he's able
to
watch in January of 2017, when that bashful little kid from the orange
brick rent house on 2nd Street is sworn in as the 45th President of the
United States. And with your help and God's, we will make that
journey
from Hope to Higher Ground."
# # #
For Immediate Release
May 5, 2015
Contact – DNC Press
DNC Statement on Mike Huckabee’s 2016 Announcement
Washington, DC – With Mike Huckabee’s announcement that he is running for president, DNC National Press Secretary Holly Shulman released the following statement:“Mike Huckabee’s decision to throw his hat into the GOP ring tells us all we need to know about who the Republican Party is and what they believe. This Republican candidate for president said that being gay is a lifestyle choice akin to using profanity. He opposes a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, and wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act and return control to the insurance companies.
“It’s one thing to spout off nonsense on his TV show, but for Mike Huckabee to present his ideas as legitimate policies for a presidential campaign is insulting to the American people, though I can't say I am particularly surprised. I mean, have you heard the rest of the Republican hopefuls?
“Mike Huckabee’s vision for America is out of touch, in many cases completely out of line and would take the country backwards.”
MEMO
TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Brad Woodhouse, President, American Bridge 21st Century
RE: Mike Huckabee is the GOP in all its offensive glory
DATE: May 5, 2015
He compared abortion to slavery. He said women “cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government.” And while Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, and the rest of the field jumped to support Mike Pence’s religious discrimination law, Huckabee outflanked the pack and said:
When business people you sit in church with every week are told they're going to pay a fine of $1,000 a day and possibly go to jail because their conscience won't let them make a wedding cake with two men on the top of the wedding cake.
But when it comes to raising the retirement age and voucherizing Medicare, even Mike Huckabee thinks the GOP is nuts. Huckabee says Republican proposals are "disastrous, not only politically but I think they be disastrous in terms of further breaking the trust between the government and its people." Wait, what?
The GOP primary just got a whole lot more interesting. We’re sending Advil to Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and Scott Walker’s headquarters – they’re going to need it this year.
How Extreme is Mike Huckabee?
Huckabee:
“Democrats Want To Insult The Women Of America By Making Them Believe
That They Are Helpless Without Uncle Sugar Coming In And Providing Them
A Prescription Each Month For Birth Control Because They Cannot Control
Their Libido Or Their Reproductive System Without The Help Of The
Government.” “Our party
stands for the equality of women and the capacity of women.
That’s not a war on them. It’s a war for them.
And
if
the
Democrats
want
to insult the women of America by making them
believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and
providing them a prescription each month for birth control because they
cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the
help of the government, then so be it. Let us take that
discussion all
across America because women are far more than the Democrats have
played them to be and women across America need to stand up and say
‘Enough of that nonsense.’” [Mike Huckabee, Republican National
Committee Meeting, Washington, DC,1/23/14]
Huckabee Claimed That President Obama Grew Up In Kenya. “"I would love to know more. What I know is troubling enough. And one thing that I do know is his having grown up in Kenya, his view of the Brits, for example, very different than the average American. When he gave the bust back to the Brits, the bust of Winston Churchill, a great insult to the British. But then if you think about it, his perspective as growing up in Kenya with a Kenyan father and grandfather, their view of the Mau Mau Revolution in Kenya is very different than ours because he probably grew up hearing that the British were a bunch of imperialists who persecuted his grandfather.” [Steve Malzberg Show, 2/28/11]
Mike Huckabee Said If Immigrants “Want To Bring Something Of Their Country To America” Then We “Should Tell Them They Picked The Wrong Place To Come.” “The biggest issue is become how many people should be allowed in and I think we've been missing the important one: why are people coming? And if they want to come to help build America, make it a great country, they come because they love America, believe in America, then we'll find a way. If they come because they want to bring something of their country to America and change us and they don't really love this country and they don't want to make it better, then I'm thinking maybe we should tell them they picked the wrong place to come." [Mike Huckabee Book Signing, Johnson City, TN, 1/26/15; American Bridge Tracking Footage]
Mike Huckabee Criticized Immigrants For Wanting To Make America “More Socialistic” And For Using Languages Other Than English At ATMs. “Here’s the thing I don’t see or hear anybody else saying. I think we are missing something. We keep talking about how many immigrants come. It is not a matter of the numbers, it is a matter of the motive. Here is what I would like to know: Do you want to come here to make America a better place? Is this the country of your choice? ... If you do, then we have a very different line for you to get in than those who say, ‘No, I want to change America. I want it to be more socialistic, I want it to give me things for free. I want it to cater to my culture and I want the banks to all have a number where my language can be entered and I can get money withdrawals in the language of my choice.’ I think at that point we say, ‘Appreciate your interest, but we’re probably not the right fit for you,’ ” [Mike Huckabee, Family Foundation Day at the Capitol, Richmond, VA, 1/27/15; American Bridge Tracking Footage]
Mike Huckabee Compared Abortion To Slavery And The “War Of Northern Aggression.” “I believe that every life is made in the image of God and I have no right to disrupt that which He has initiated. It’s not my right, it’s His. I don’t believe I can own another person. I thought we settled that after the Civil War, or as some people in the south used to, still, call it the war of northern aggression. The fact remains, that for some, what Gary said is so very painfully true. There are voices who have told us, please don’t bring those issues up because we want to win elections. So do I, but I want to win them for a cause that’s worth fighting for. [Mike Huckabee, Susan B. Anthony List Gala, Washington, DC, 3/13/14; American Bridge Tracking Footage]
Mike Huckabee Said Most Government Money Goes To Repair People Who Made “Bad Choices In Life.” While speaking at a press conference during the Star Spangled Sunday event in North Carolina, Huckabee remarked, “From having served as a Governor, I saw where our money went. Most of the state budget goes to repair broken people, broken by the fact that bad choices in life have resulted in extraordinary costs and expenses.” [Mike Hukcabee, Star Spangled Sunday, Charlotte, NC, 9/14/14]
Huckabee: "Business People You Sit In Church With Every Week Are Told They're Going To Pay A Fine Of $1,000 A Day And Possibly Go To Jail Because Their Conscience Won't Let Them Make A Wedding Cake With Two Men On The Top Of The Wedding Cake." "I don't know how many times I meet people who are Christian believers, Good, Godly, bible believing people who say, I just don't want to get involved in politics...When business people you sit in church with every week are told they're going to pay a fine of $1,000 a day and possibly go to jail because their conscience won't let them make a wedding cake with two men on the top of the wedding cake. And when a photographer who took your daughters wedding pictures is forced out of business because she just doesn't feel comfortable in taking photos of a same sex wedding... Then you're already involved." [Mike Huckabee, The Awakening 2015, Orlando, FL, 3/14/15, American Bridge Tracking Footage]