Huckabee Blasts 'Spineless' Congressional GOP about Stimulus

Mike Huckabee called Republican supporters of the proposed $825 billion economic stimulus package “spineless” Jan. 17.

The former Arkansas governor and host of the Fox show “Huckabee,” voiced his frustration over this massive spending plan to Fox host Neil Cavuto during the Fox News Channel’s coverage of Inauguration 2009. When Cavuto said that Republicans are supporting the “spend, spend, spend” mentality because they are “nervous” and feel like they must do something to lessen the recession, Huckabee had a different opinion.

“It’s not nervous – it’s spineless! Spineless is the word. Republicans used to stand for something. We used to stand for fiscal responsibility and for fiscal restraint. We stand for nothing these days,” Huckabee said. He qualified his remarks to say that “there are some who do” still stand for fiscal restraint.

The conversation about the stimulus package took place during President-elect Obama’s “Whistle-Stop” train tour which doubled as a publicity stunt to build public approval for an additional stimulus package such as the $825 billion stimulus bill House Democrats released on Jan. 15. If approved, the bill could offer $275 billion in “tax cuts” and $550 billion in spending in an effort to strengthen the economy and create or preserve millions of jobs.

Many are well aware of the bill’s potential for pork barrel spending and taxpayer waste. Yet, as Huckabee pointed out, no one in Congress is probing for answers about who will pay for the stimulus, when it will be paid, and how it will be funded. “We have gone insane with this whole idea of the government’s gonna fix everything,” Huckabee vented.

Huckabee conceded that some spending on infrastructure might make sense, but he warned against Congress giving away pork like Santa Claus. “You can’t just say alright, line up, bring your Christmas list, sit on my knee, tell me what you’d like.”

Cavuto and two analysts agreed with Huckabee that Republicans are offering little resistance to the Democrats’ spending spree. Cavuto remembered that all new presidents get a honeymoon period, but predicted that Obama’s will probably last longer because of his popularity. “Republicans seem to be willing to give him wide latitude, um, even on spending, because they’re so afraid of looking like they’re impediments,” Cavuto said.

Bret Baier, anchor of Fox News Channel’s “Special Report with Bret Baier,” said he expects “some pushback” on the stimulus package, but agreed with Cavuto and Huckabee that “there will be a lot of latitude for this new president as he takes office.”

Wayne Allyn Root, activist and best-selling author as well as the 2008 Libertarian candidate for vice president, summarized the problem with the stimulus package. “You’ve got a man saying we’re in debt, we’re bankrupt, and the way to get out of it is to spend more,” Root recognized, “and you’ve got Republicans saying we’ve got no choice but to go along with it and spend more, or we’ll become an obsolete party.”