Huckabee Used Group to Supplement His Income

[kskiska]

Source: NYT

When Mike Huckabee became lieutenant governor of Arkansas in 1993, he complained of being burdened by college tuition bills for his son, the expenses of two residences — one in Texarkana and the other in Little Rock — and the cost of commuting between the two.

With an annual salary of $25,452, he said he was falling short in covering the bills. “It was costing me money to be lieutenant governor,” Mr. Huckabee recalled in a 1997 newspaper interview.

To bridge the gap between his income and expenses, Mr. Huckabee and a few close political advisers came up with a plan: They formed a Texas-based nonprofit organization that raised money for Mr. Huckabee to travel the country promoting conservative politics to fellow ministers and attacking then-first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s health care plan.

By the time the organization, Action America, ceased operations three years later, it had collected $119,916 from a dozen or so donors. Among them were former Senator Bob Dole’s political action committee, an Arkansas cotton gin owner who had been jailed for stock fraud and R. J. Reynolds, the tobacco giant that had opposed the Clinton health plan. As for Mr. Huckabee, he ended up with $61,500 for his efforts before becoming governor in July 1996 and shuttering the group.

Mr. Huckabee never reported that income on his financial disclosure form, resulting in Arkansas ethics commission charges in 1997. He also has steadfastly refused to identify the donors, both then and now.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/us/politics/15huckabee.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[Solar Power]

1. Get Em

Now if a Dem had that background, they would get us..so we should get them...(Imagine if Edwards had some kind of group like that when he was starting out in politics..what do you suppose the Repugs would do to him?)

[thepurpose]

2. His salary was a little over $25K?

[Wickerman]

3. One would assume he knew that going in

It being public information and all. Surely he could've found a legitimate way to support his family in addition to his salary. Or, perhaps, it would be better said, one that he wasn't afraid to say who all contributed to his salary...

[harmonicon]

5. yeah..... ugh

Ethically, I can see that this is really wrong, but trying to support a family on 25k is hard to do (though I know thousands, if not millions, get by on less), so I can imagine someone going to drastic measure. ugh.... He's still a completely crazy nut-job.

[intheozone]

4. Wonder if he reported it on his income tax return?

Someone needs to ask that question of him.

[kskiska]

6. Bill Clinton's salary as governor was most likely the same

He never made any real money till he left the White House. He bought Hillary a small home when they first went back to Arkansas after college, but after becoming governor, they lived in the Governor's Mansion, then the White House.

[Olney Blue]

7. Alarm bells are going off with the huckster

[loveangelc]

8. I was hoping these stories wouldnt be coming out

until after he was nominated :p

[creeksneakers2]

10. Huckabee came out against Bush's cowboy foreign policy

The vast right wing conspiracy wants to get of Huckabee as much as they want to get rid of Hillary. Their nightmare is a race between two candidates who they don't control.

[Judi Lynn]

9. The article indicates this additional money was unreported:

"Mr. Huckabee never reported that income on his financial disclosure form, resulting in Arkansas ethics commission charges in 1997."

Also, from the article, material which could lead you to believe he's an accomplished, habitual liar:

Maura Payne, a spokeswoman for R. J. Reynolds, said company records showed that it gave the group $20,000. The company is continuing to search its records to see whether it gave more.

“We were opposed to the health care bill because it had a substantial tobacco tax that would impact our consumers,” Ms. Payne said. “Action America was designed to speak out in opposition to the plan. We did support the organization and Mr. Huckabee’s involvement in it.”

In an e-mail message on Friday, the Huckabee campaign described Action America as a “nonprofit set up to promote conservative ideas and policies” and reiterated Mr. Huckabee’s assertion that he did not know tobacco money was behind the group.

But Mr. Vigneault said Mr. Huckabee “absolutely” knew of the Reynolds connection. Mr. Huckabee not only knew that Mr. Vigneault and Mr. Graves were Reynolds lobbyists, Mr. Vigneault said, but he also met Reynolds executives in his apartment in Little Rock.

“There’s no way he could not have known about the money from R. J. Reynolds,” Mr. Vigneault said. “If he’s saying he didn’t know about the Reynolds money, he’s been less than truthful.”
(snip)