Huckabee Strikes a Chord at Rebovich Institute Event
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One of the qualities that nearly vaulted former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to the Republican nomination for president in 2008 was his conversational ease and ability to move smoothly from one topic to another. So it was that Huckabee was as eager to discuss his influences on the bass guitar – the instrument he plays in the rock ‘n’ roll band Capitol Offense – as he was fiscal policy with an overflow audience in the Bart Luedeke Center Theater on Wednesday, April 1.
The conservative host of Fox News Channel’s Huckabee drew scores of listeners from both ends of the political spectrum in an address sponsored by the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics of Rider University and made possible by a generous donation from the Hennessy Fund and Politics magazine. Those who could not fit inside the theater subsequently filled the adjacent Cavalla Room to watch a simulcast on a large projection screen.
Huckabee was introduced by Rider Political Science major Chris Hennessy ’11, son of Rider trustee Mike Hennessy, who said that he found Huckabee’s run for president inspiring, as “he’s the only candidate who had fun doing it.”
The former candidate, who claimed victory in eight Republican primaries before conceding the nomination to Sen. John McCain, quickly affirmed Hennessy’s claim. “Chris was right. As crazy as it might sound, I enjoyed that savage environment, and I did have a great time running,” Huckabee said, recalling his humble childhood in Hope, Ark., and explaining how he was the first male in his family to graduate from high school, let alone college – hardly the established model for a modern presidential candidate. “My faith in America was renewed by running. I never felt like I lost, because I gained a new appreciation for politics.”
Huckabee expressed his concern for the economic future of America, warning the students in attendance about the crushing burden of paying the nation’s deficit of 9 or 10 trillion dollars. “I hope you think very seriously about what the government is doing to your future,” he said.
Though he spared President Barack Obama from harsh criticism, Huckabee took a firmer approach with the Democratic Congress, which he blamed for accumulating massive debt in a relatively short time through corporate and bank bailouts. However, he maintained that while partisanship is fine for politicians, it ultimately accomplishes nothing for American citizens and that a statesman’s ideology should be secondary to what he or she can accomplish.
“I have a position on the horizontal ideology scale,” said Huckabee, who emerged as a favorite of right-leaning voters during the primary process. “But what voters want to know is what I will do for them, how I can help move them vertically, if elected. Ultimately, it’s not about who is right or left; it’s a matter of going up or down.
“If we are crafting a better future, I’ll be more forgiving about where you are horizontally,” he continued.
Huckabee blamed the exploding cost of health care on a fundamental error in the way insurance companies dispense money to fight illness. “It’s a faulty policy to wait until a person is sick to treat them,” he said. “Eighty percent of the health-care expenditures in this country go toward treating chronic disease and lifestyle-related problems, caused primarily by overeating, under-exercising and smoking. The insurance companies will pay for a $35,000 foot amputation, but won’t write a $100 check for a preventative checkup. We treat snakebites when we ought to be killing the snake.”
On the subject of preventative health, Huckabee was speaking from experience. Diagnosed with Type II diabetes in 2003, he lost 110 pounds, and just two years later, he had completed four marathons. His fourth book, Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork, details a 12-step program to managing health through lifestyle change, as opposed to a simple diet and exercise plan.
Huckabee’s appearance bolsters the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, bringing in an influential political figure to campus for a thought-provoking address before a politically diverse audience, according to Ben Dworkin, the director of the Institute.
“The visit of Mike Huckabee was, perhaps, the biggest event in the history of the Rebovich Institute,” Dworkin said. “It will help make Rider University an important stop for national political figures and presidential candidates. In addition, the event strengthened our ties with people outside the Rider campus, who will continue to be our supporters as we expand our programming in the future.”
His current visibility notwithstanding, the self-effacing Huckabee lampooned his own celebrity, relating a story from the presidential campaign trail. “In Denver, my press secretary and I were in a hotel lobby, by the front desk, when we saw a sticker that said, ‘Huckabee for President,’” he said. “We thought we were really getting the message out about my candidacy, but the clerk looked at the sticker and asked, ‘president of what?’”
After his address, Huckabee greeted visitors and signed copies of two of his books, including the most recent, Do the Right Thing, which spent its first seven weeks of release in the top 10 of the New York Times bestseller list.
