March 28, 2024

Conservative ideals

Huckabee makes presidential campaign stop in Osceola

It has begun again, even in Osceola — presidential campaign stops.

On Wednesday, June 24, presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, a Republican from Arkansas, visited Nana Greer’s Family Table restaurant.

Huckabee is campaigning in Iowa in advance of the state’s caucuses for the Republican nomination for the 2016 election.

So far, there are 14 major candidates vying for the top spot in the Republican primaries.

“Yes, I want to be quarterback of the team, so do they,” Huckabee said. “But, I don’t want to be the quarterback because I broke the legs of all the other people trying out. I want to be the quarterback of the team by playing a better game and convincing people that I would be the best person to take our team to the Superbowl and win.”

At the restaurant, it was packed with about 45 to 50 people in attendance, mostly middle-aged people, but there were also a few young families, too.

Campaigning

Huckabee made a point of trying to shake everybody’s hand and introduce himself. His wife Janet was also in attendance at the event.

The presidential hopeful isn’t new to political stumping throughout the state of Iowa.

Huckabee was the winner of the 2008 Iowa Republican caucuses, but he lost the eventual nomination to John McCain.

Huckabee said he will travel to the 99 counties in Iowa, just like he did in his 2008 campaign.

Governor experience

The pro-life Arkansas native touted his political experience, which included being governor of the state from 1996 until 2007.

“I think being a governor is the best preparation for being a president, because you’ve actually managed a microcosm of the federal government,” he said. “And perhaps, having governed in Arkansas during the period in which I did, uniquely prepares me both for the campaign, as well as to lead this country.”

Even though Huckabee didn’t get the Republican presidential nomination seven years ago, he managed to stay in the spotlight. From 2008 to January 2015, he hosted the the Fox News Channel talk show “Huckabee,” where he focused his conservative ideals.

Hillary Clinton

During his speech in Osceola, Huckabee made the assumption Hillary Clinton will secure the Democratic nomination for the 2016 presidential election.

“There’s only one candidate on the Republican side who has consistently fought the Clinton political machine in elections, and won, and lived to tell about it. That would be me,” he said.

He added, this happened with elections he was involved in with lieutenant governor, governor and U.S. Senate.

Military spending

Huckabee discussed military spending and said the U.S. has the lowest level of military preparedness since before World War II. He said the country is spending the lowest amount of funding on the military since before World War II.

However, according to a “Washington Post” report from 2013, the United States spends far more than any other country on defense and security. Since 2001, the base defense budget has soared from $287 billion to $530 billion — and that’s before accounting for the primary costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

“Surely we can do better. Surely we must do better, or this country’s through,” Huckabee said. “People sometimes say what’s the best way to be safe and free and secure? Well, it’s to have the kind of military nobody wants to fight.”

He gave the example of how in grade school, the bully never picked on the toughest kid in school. The bully picked on somebody easy to beat up.

Basically, Huckabee made the comparison that the U.S. military needs to be the “toughest kid in school” that nobody wants to fight.

Huckabee allowed time for questions from the crowd.

One person addressed the issue of the Confederate flag, which has become a divisive topic after nine people were shot in an apparent hate crime in South Carolina’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston.

Huckabee said the issue should be decided by the states.

“I don’t know why it has become an issue for a presidential candidate, other than it’s a bated question intended to sucker us in to get us to say something,” Huckabee said. “But, here’s what I know for sure. Anything that is truly offensive to people, I don’t want to personally display it. … But, my point is, that’s not an issue for me, nor has it ever been in my world.”