Mike Huckabee

==Political positions==
{{Main|Political positions of Mike Huckabee}}

===Abortion===

Huckabee opposes any public funding for abortion, and believes that abortion should be legal only when the life of the mother is at risk.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vote Smart {{!}} Facts For All |url=http://votesmart.org/ |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=Vote Smart}}</ref> He believes that it would "most certainly" be a good day for America if ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' were reversed.<ref>[http://bench.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Yzc0ODM5YjU0ZjI3ZWJmOWRkNGI1NjljMmY2MmI2NDY Bench Memos: The Republican Debate] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111142224/http://bench.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Yzc0ODM5YjU0ZjI3ZWJmOWRkNGI1NjljMmY2MmI2NDY |date=January 11, 2008 }} NationalReview.com</ref>

===Health care===

Huckabee opposed Obama's health care plan, the [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]]. He stated that he wants to "give citizens more control over their own health care choices".<ref>[http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Issues.View&Issue_id=8 Mike Huckabee for President – Health Care] MikeHuckabee.com</ref>

===Free trade===

In his book ''From Hope to Higher Ground'', Huckabee expressed support for free trade, but only if it is "fair trade." He identified excess litigation, excess taxation, and excess regulation as three factors contributing to the loss of American jobs, and has proposed economic sanctions on China.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mike Huckabee on Free Trade |url=http://www.ontheissues.org/2012/Mike_Huckabee_Free_Trade.htm |publisher=[[On the Issues]] |access-date=January 6, 2015}}</ref>

===Race relations===

According to a [[CNN]] exit poll, Huckabee won 48% of African American votes in his successful 1998 gubernatorial race in Arkansas.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/states/AR/G/exit.poll.html "Arkansas Governor: 844 respondents"], CNN (November 4, 1998).</ref> The 48% figure is often disputed due to the exit poll's small sample size.<ref>[https://www.vox.com/2016/8/1/12338538/gop-attract-black-voters "Can the GOP attract black voters?"], Vox (August 1, 2016).</ref> Huckabee says that it is important for Republicans such as himself to reach out to black voters, and in 2015, he ramped up efforts to win those votes.<ref name=Ashley>Killough, Ashley. [http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/16/politics/mike-huckabee-african-americans-voters-elections/ "Mike Huckabee ramps up push for African-American voters"], CNN (July 16, 2015).</ref>

In 2015, on an episode of ''[[Meet the Press]]'', Huckabee stated that the [[Modern display of the Confederate battle flag|confederate flag issue]] was for South Carolinians to decide, "not an issue for a person running for president", and days later, he congratulated Gov. [[Nikki Haley]] on her decision to support the removal of the flag from the state capitol.<ref name=Ashley /> Huckabee gave a speech at the [[2008 Republican National Convention]] that included this: "I say with sincerity that I have great respect for Senator Obama's historic achievement to become his party's nominee—not because of his color, but with indifference to it. Party or politics aside, we celebrate this milestone because it elevates our country."<ref>"Huckabee assails media coverage of GOP", [[NBC News]] (September 4, 2008).</ref>

===LGBT rights===

Huckabee believes that marriage is between one man and one woman, and he opposes both [[same-sex marriage]] and [[civil unions]]. In 2006, he outlawed same-sex marriage in Arkansas, but in 2007 he stated that Americans should "respect" gay couples. He says that adoptions should be child focused and opposes [[LGBT adoption|"gay adoptions"]].<ref name="issues">{{cite web |url=http://www.ontheissues.org/Mike_Huckabee.htm |title=Mike Huckabee on the Issues |access-date=July 29, 2007 |publisher=[[On the Issues]] }}</ref> Huckabee, expounding upon his view on homosexuality, said the following: 
{{Blockquote|quotetext=This [gay marriage] is not just a political issue. It is a [[biblical]] issue. And as a biblical issue—unless I get a new version of the scriptures, it's really not my place to say, OK, I'm just going to evolve[.] . . . It's like asking someone who's [[Jewish]] to start serving bacon-wrapped shrimp in their deli. We don't want to do that—I mean, we're not going to do that. Or like asking a [[Muslim]] to serve up something that is offensive to him, or to have dogs in his backyard[.] . . . We're so sensitive to make sure we don't offend certain religions, but then we act like Christians can't have the convictions that they've had for 2,000 years.}}

In January 2015, he compared homosexuality to "drinking and swearing", insofar as it is "part of a lifestyle". Huckabee has stated he has gay friends, saying, "People can be my friends who have lifestyles that are not necessarily my lifestyle. I don't shut people out of my circle or out of my life because they have a different point of view[.]"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/01/politics/huckabee-gay-marriage/|title=Huckabee compares gay marriage to drinking, swearing – CNNPolitics.com |author=Eric Bradner, CNN|date=February 1, 2015|publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref>

===Women===

In comments which he made on March 4, 2011, on the ''[[Michael Medved Show]]'', Huckabee spoke about pregnant, unwed actress [[Natalie Portman]], saying "it's unfortunate we glorify and glamorize the idea of out of wedlock children."<ref>{{cite news |publisher=[[AOL News]] |date=March 4, 2011 |title=Mike Huckabee Disses Natalie Portman; Over Out of Wedlock Pregnancy Why Not Bristol Palin? |first=Steven |last=Hoffer}}</ref>

In January 2014, in a luncheon speech at the [[Republican National Committee]]'s winter meeting, in response to a federal mandate on [[contraception]], Huckabee stated that "Democrats want to insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without [[wikt:Uncle Sugar|Uncle Sugar]] coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control, they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/24/mike-huckabees-war-for-women |title=Mike Huckabee's War for Women |last=Lapidos |first=Juliet |date=January 24, 2014 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=January 9, 2015}}<br />{{cite news |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/23/mike-huckabee-s-controversial-remarks-at-rnc.html |title=Huckabee: Dems Tell Women They Can't Control Libido Without Government |last=Jacobs |first=Ben |date=January 23, 2014 |publisher=[[The Daily Beast]] |access-date=January 9, 2015}}<br />{{cite news |url=https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/huckabee-vs-huckabee |title=Huckabee vs. Huckabee |last1=Benen |first1=Steve |author-link1=Steve Benen|date=January 24, 2014 |publisher=[[MSNBC]] |access-date=January 24, 2014}}</ref>

===Role of religion in public life===

Huckabee has voiced his belief in [[intelligent design]] and he has also stated that he does not believe that [[Charles Darwin|Darwin's]] [[natural selection|theory of evolution]] is valid. In July 2004, he was quoted on ''Arkansans Ask'', his regular show on the Arkansas Educational Television Network: "I think that students also should be given exposure to the theories not only of evolution but to the basis of those who believe in [[creationism]]."<ref>{{cite web |date=2005 |last=Wiles |first=Jason |title=Is Evolution Arkansas's Hidden Curriculum? |url=http://ncse.com/rncse/25/1-2/is-evolution-arkansass-hidden-curriculum |publisher=[[National Center for Science Education|NCSE]] |access-date=January 6, 2015}}</ref>

In April 2011, Huckabee said, "I almost wish that there would be a simultaneous telecast and all [[Americans]] would be forced, at gunpoint, to listen to every David Barton message," in praise of the Christian revisionist author [[David Barton (author)|David Barton]].<ref name="barton">{{cite web|url=http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/mike-huckabee-americans-to-be-indoctrinated-at-gunpoint/|title=Mike Huckabee: Americans to be indoctrinated at gunpoint|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406124057/http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/mike-huckabee-americans-to-be-indoctrinated-at-gunpoint/|archive-date=April 6, 2011}}</ref>

Within hours of the [[Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting]], Huckabee made headlines in the U.S. and abroad for stating on [[Fox News]]: "We ask why there is violence in our schools, but we have systematically removed God from our schools," and he further asked, "Should we be so surprised that schools would become a place of carnage?"<ref>{{cite news |date=December 14, 2012 |last=Collins |first=Gail |title=Looking For America |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/opinion/collins-looking-for-america.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=January 6, 2015}}</ref>

In September 2014, Huckabee said, "Fire the ones who refuse to hear not only our hearts, but God's heart" (for which he was criticized by [[Richard Dawkins]]).<ref>{{cite magazine |date=September 30, 2014 |last1=Dawkins |first1=Richard |last2=Blumner |first2=Robyn |author-link2=Robyn Blumner|title=Atheists Aren't the Problem, Christian Intolerance Is the Problem |url=https://time.com/3450525/atheists-arent-the-problem-christian-intolerance-is-the-problem |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=January 6, 2015}}</ref>

In September 2015, speaking about his support of [[Freedom of religion|religious freedom]] on behalf of [[Kentucky]] county clerk [[Kim Davis]] to radio host [[Michael Medved]], Huckabee said, "Michael, the [[Dred Scott v. Sandford|''Dred Scott'' decision of 1857]] still remains to this day the law of the land which says that [[black people]] aren't fully human. Does anybody still follow the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision?"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/253292-huckabee-says-dred-scott-still-law-of-land/|title=Huckabee says Dred Scott still 'law of land'|newspaper=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/11/mike-huckabee-dred-scott-decision-still-law-land/|title=Mike Huckabee: Dred Scott decision still 'the law of the land'|newspaper=[[The Washington Times]]}}</ref> (The decision in ''Dred Scott v. Sandford'' had been superseded by the [[Civil Rights Act of 1866]] and nullified by the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Thirteenth]] and [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendments]] to the [[United States Constitution|U.S. Constitution]].)

In June 2016, Huckabee, along with actor [[Pat Boone]] and executive producer Troy Duhon, all of whom were involved in the film ''[[God's Not Dead 2]]'', sent a letter to California governor [[Jerry Brown]] opposing Senate Bill 1146, which "prohibits a person from being subjected to discrimination" at California colleges. Other than religious schools—those that train pastors and theology teachers—schools "might no longer be allowed to hire Christian-only staff, teach religious ideas in regular classes, require attendance at chapel services or keep bathrooms and dormitories restricted to either males or females."<ref>{{cite web|last=Bond|first=Paul|date=June 30, 2016|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gods-not-dead-2-filmmakers-907838|title=''God's Not Dead 2'' Filmmakers Wade Into California Politics|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=August 24, 2016}}</ref>

===Climate change===
In 2023, Huckabee published ''Kids Guide to the Truth About Climate Change'', which minimized the influence of [[Greenhouse gas emissions|human emissions]] on [[Climate change|global warming]].<ref name=InsideClimateNews_20230731/> Marketed as an alternative to mainstream education, the publication does not attribute authorship or cite scientific credentials.<ref name=InsideClimateNews_20230731>{{cite news |last1=Gopal |first1=Keerti |title=Mike Huckabee's "Kids Guide to the Truth About Climate Change" Shows the Changing Landscape of Climate Denial |url=https://insideclimatenews.org/news/31072023/huckabees-kids-guide-to-climate/ |work=Inside Climate News |date=31 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230731092032/https://insideclimatenews.org/news/31072023/huckabees-kids-guide-to-climate/ |archive-date=31 July 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref> The deputy director of the [[National Center for Science Education]] called the publication "propaganda" and "very unreliable as a guide to climate change for kids", noting that it represented "present day" [[Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere|atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide]] as 280 parts per million (ppm), which was true in 391 BC but short of 2023's actual concentration of 420 ppm.<ref name=NSCS_20230803>{{cite web |title=NCSE helps to expose climate change propaganda aimed at kids |url=https://ncse.ngo/ncse-helps-expose-climate-change-propaganda-aimed-kids |publisher=National Center for Science Education (NCSE) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804025333/https://ncse.ngo/ncse-helps-expose-climate-change-propaganda-aimed-kids |archive-date=4 August 2023 |date=3 August 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Military===
In 2007, Huckabee argued for a larger military and an increase in defense spending, writing, "Right now, we spend about 3.9 percent of our GDP on defense, compared with about six percent in 1986, under President Ronald Reagan. We need to return to that six percent level."<ref name="foreignaffairs.org">{{cite news |date=2008 |last=Huckabee |first=Michael D. |title=America's Priorities in the War on Terror |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/63059/michael-d-huckabee/americas-priorities-in-the-war-on-terror |work=[[Foreign Affairs]] |access-date=January 6, 2015}}</ref>

===Immigration===

During his bid for president, Huckabee released a nine-point immigration enforcement and border security plan. His plan included building a border fence, increased border patrol personnel, and increased visas for skilled workers who enter the country legally. He has previously stated he is opposed to using military resources for border patrol.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/22/AR2006052201237.html| title=Interview with Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee| newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]| date=May 23, 2006 | access-date=May 22, 2010}}</ref> Huckabee's plan also required all 11–12 million<ref>[http://pewhispanic.org/files/factsheets/17.pdf Fact Sheet – April 26, 2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207004302/http://pewhispanic.org/files/factsheets/17.pdf |date=February 7, 2015 }} Pew Hispanic Center</ref> undocumented immigrants to register with the federal government and return to their home countries within 120 days. Failure to do so would carry a 10-year ban from entering the US.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Newsroom.PressRelease&ID=412|title=Pledge to the People|publisher=Mike Huckabee for President|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012181623/http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Newsroom.PressRelease&ID=412|archive-date=October 12, 2016}}</ref>

===Gun control===

Huckabee has voiced his support for [[self-defense]] and the [[Castle Doctrine]], and has generally taken an anti-[[gun control]] stance. He believes that the concealed carrying of weapons should be allowed.<ref name="issues"/>

===Fiscal policy===

As governor of Arkansas, Huckabee received grades of B in 1998,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Moore|first1=Stephen|last2=Stansel|first2=Dean|publisher=[[Cato Institute]]|url=http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/pa315.pdf|title=A Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 1998 |date=September 3, 1998|access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Moore|first1=Stephen|last2=Stansel|first2=Dean|publisher=[[Cato Institute]]|url=http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/fiscal-report-card-americas-governors-1998|title=A Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 1998|date=September 3, 1998|access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref> C in 2000,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Moore|first1=Stephen|last2=Slivinski|first2=Stephen|publisher=[[Cato Institute]]|url=http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/pa391.pdf|title=Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2000 |date=February 12, 2001|access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Moore|first1=Stephen|last2=Slivinski|first2=Stephen|publisher=[[Cato Institute]]|url=http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/fiscal-policy-report-card-americas-governors-2000|title=Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2000|date=February 12, 2001|access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref> C in 2002,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Moore|first1=Stephen|last2=Slivinski|first2=Stephen|publisher=[[Cato Institute]]|url=http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/pa454.pdf|title=Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2002 |date=September 20, 2002|access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Moore |first1=Stephen |last2=Slivinski |first2=Stephen |publisher=[[Cato Institute]] |url=http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-454es.html |title=Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2002 |date=September 20, 2002 |access-date=September 3, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904142858/http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-454es.html |archive-date=September 4, 2015 }}</ref> D in 2004,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Moore|first1=Stephen|last2=Slivinski|first2=Stephen|publisher=[[Cato Institute]]|url=http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/pa537.pdf|title=Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2004 |date=March 1, 2005|access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Moore|first1=Stephen|last2=Slivinski|first2=Stephen|publisher=[[Cato Institute]]|url=http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/fiscal-policy-report-card-americas-governors-2004|title=Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2004|date=March 1, 2005|access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref> and F in 2006<ref>{{cite web |last=Slivinski|first=Stephen|publisher=[[Cato Institute]]|url=http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/pa581.pdf|title=Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2006 |date=October 24, 2006|access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Slivinski|first=Stephen|publisher=[[Cato Institute]]|url=http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/fiscal-policy-report-card-americas-governors-2006|title=Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2006|date=October 24, 2006|access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref> from the [[Cato Institute]], a [[Libertarianism in the United States|libertarian]] think tank, in their biennial Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors.