*ahem* Huckabee's problems have just begun! Have you heard about THIS?....

in_cog_ni_to

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Thu Dec-06-07 10:28 AM
Original message

Me thinks there's more to guitar playing Mr. Baptist Minister than meets the eye. PLENTY of garbage on this guy. They must be holding it back for the general election.;)

Personally using Public Money

Mike Huckabee has a record of dipping into public funds and accepting improper gifts from supporters, something worrisome for a job like president where you control a trillion dollar budget. He was investigated 16 times and cited five times by the Arkansas Ethics Commission for violating ethics rules. Two of those citations were for cash that the governor or his wife accepted but did not report. Huckabee's gifts peaked at $112,000 in 1999, including $23,000 worth of clothing; over half of that was given by one businessman who Huckabee appointed to a state board.

At one point, Huckabee claimed that he personally owned $70,000 in Governor's Mansion furnishings donated by cotton grower Boe Adams, but was forced to disavow them after Adams said they were for the state, not the governor. After he moved out in December 2006 though, no one could find the furniture even after a state audit. Huckabee's wife insisted they must be there somewhere.

In 1999, his former administrator at the Goveror's Mansion sued him for abuse of state funds, claiming that Huckabee used state funds for upkeep of the mansion on panty hose, barbecue, a dog house, dry cleaning, boat fuel, and alterations to his clothes. Huckabee settled out of court, by agreeing that legal doubts existed over his use of the fund and that he wouldn't use it for these purposes in the future.

Huckabee also used state police airplanes as a personal transportation service for him and his family, flying scores of times each year, including trips to other states with early presidential primaries. He claimed this was legitimate for security reasons.

In 1994, when he was lieutenant governor of Arkansas, Huckabee formed a non-profit organization called Action America, which seemed to exist only to deliver money to him without donors having to report or limit their contributions the way they would a normal political contribution. In 2 and a half years, Action America paid Huckabee over $61,000 just for giving speeches at its events.

When he was getting ready to move out of the governor's mansion, bridal registries were set up at Dillards and Target for the governor and his wife, who had been married for more than 30 years. They registered for nearly $7,000 in housewares, as well as $1,000 gift cards.

State ethics laws prohibited the Huckabees from receiving gifts of more than $100 as a reward for doing his job. But there was an exception for wedding presents.

Maybe it's just an Arkansas tradition -- Bill and Hillary Clinton registered for house gifts when they left the White House. An investigation found that they received over $75,000 worth of gifts but did not violate any federal laws. - publicmoney Sources <snip>

http://www.realchange.org/huckabee.htm#publicmoney

A Quick and Petty Anger

Mike Huckabee has stood out in this election for his consistently positive, upbeat performancs on TV and in debates. Those who have know him longer know a different side -- a vindictive, thin skinned anger. Since the president is the one we look to in time of crisis, this is a serious concern.

One quick example; as he was leaving office, Huckabee directed that a bunch of money that the legislature allotted for other programs be shifted to pay for a new faculty position at the University of Arkansas Medical School, named for the doctor who helped him lose 110 pounds. Legislators questioned the legality of this move, and even the medical school president suggested it might be better to do this the right way, by asking the legislature to approve the change. (This all happened just days before a new legislative session opened.) Huckabee got mad and cancelled all of the spending.

And shortly before leaving office, Huckabee took all of the money in the governor's emergency fund and spent it destroying the hard drives of over 100 computers in the governor's office, to protect what he called "the privacy" of the contents. The new governor literally had to find and spend $335,000 just to replace the hard drives and computers destroyed. And he still had not a penny in the emergecy fund -- designed to pay for extra expenses during hurricanes, torados, etc. -- for the last six months of the fiscal year. fiscal year. - Thin Skin Sources