The fact that HSLDA is playing religious politics with the candidate who makes the biggest deal about his faith — and pillories others’ — make sthis endorsement, and the defense thereof, disingenuous at best. The default conservative — and especially Christian conservative — position should (almost) always be that no law is better than bad law. I mean, isn’t it true that “that government governs best which governs least“?

And besides, [and I know this is off-topic... but not really] how Christian would a president be who promises to send to “the Gates of Hell” anyone who dares to attempt to defend their own country? Is that what Christ told Pilate and the Pharisees? “Go forth into all the world and beat them down, especially if they are too weak do do anything about it, until they stop saying things you don’t like’?

Anyone looking for “liberty” and “freedom” in Mike Huckabee is fooling himself.

“January 2008

Questions have arisen regarding Governor Huckabee’s commitment to homeschooling. HSLDA-PAC is confident that Governor Huckabee is a strong supporter of home education, and we stand by our endorsement.

As discussed in this article, the Arkansas legislature passed a homeschool law in 1999, which was signed by Governor Huckabee. The law represented a step backward for homeschool freedoms.

Arkansas’ homeschool law was enacted in 1985 when Bill Clinton was governor. It was one of the most restrictive laws in the nation. After Bill Clinton was elected president, Jim Guy Tucker, another Democrat, became governor. Unfortunately, homeschoolers were not able to roll back this terrible law during his administration. After Governor Tucker resigned from office because of legal difficulties, Mike Huckabee became governor in 1996.

Prior to the 1997 legislative session, the Arkansas Christian Home Education Association and HSLDA approached Governor Huckabee about supporting changes in the homeschool law. Governor Huckabee actively supported and lobbied legislators to get a bill passed which transformed Arkansas into a much more favorable state for homeschoolers. HSLDA attorney Dewitt Black wrote Governor Huckabee a thank-you letter. He replied, “Dee, it was my pleasure and privilege to get behind this effort on behalf of home school students in Arkansas, and I sincerely appreciated the backing of the Home School Legal Defense Association and the Arkansas Christian Home Education Association.” HSLDA still has the original of this letter from the governor.

Only two years later, however, during the 1999 legislative session, two bad bills were introduced to impose restrictions on the homeschoolers. There was a great deal of momentum to get these bills through.

To avoid a major step backward for homeschool freedom, local homeschool leaders worked with a homeschooling father in the House of Representatives to sponsor a bill which would place some additional regulations on homeschoolers but would avoid the much worse provisions of the other two bills. HSLDA could not support this compromise bill because we always stand on the side of homeschool freedom and against government regulation. We opposed the bill and urged our members to lobby against the bill without success.

The political reality, however, was that the homeschoolers were going to have to give the opposition something or they were going to get something much worse. As far as Governor Huckabee was concerned, it was a bill the homeschoolers wanted. It was sponsored by a homeschooling father in the legislature and had the support of the Arkansas Family Council. The bill was enacted and became Act 1117.

HSLDA-PAC has spoken directly with Governor Huckabee and we believe that by his words and actions he is a firm supporter of homeschooling.

This video discusses more of Governor Huckabee’s relationship with homeschoolers.”

Mitt Romney claims that he wants to offer homeschoolers tax breaks. Sounds palatable until you find out he also supports No Child Left Behind, the worst legislation passed by the federal government on education since… well, since ever. Now, it’s true that No Child Left Behind does not directly affect homeschoolers, but supporting it indicates a belief that the federal government has the authority to set standards for the public schools. Anyone who has read the Constitution knows that no such authority exists. And of course, there’s the whole “slippery slope” to consider. Since the federal government now controls the public school system, what’s to stop them from also claiming control of private schools, parochial schools and eventually home schools?

That leads me to the 2nd former governor from Hope, Arkansas – Mike Huckabee. Now I realize I’m endangering my life by saying anything negative about Chuck Norris’s favorite politician, but I’ll take my chances. Mike Huckabee is all the “buzz” in the homeschooling circles – at least according to the trustworthy main-stream-media. He’s riding high on the endorsements of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, the Minute Men, Janet Folger, Jerry Falwell, Jr, the NH NEA, Chuck Norris….. Wait a minute. Back up there. The New Hampshire National Education Association? The NH NEA is supporting Mike Huckabee? Aren’t they also supporting Hillary Clinton? Isn’t the NEA the group that has passed a resolution that would effectively end our right to homeschool if implemented? Isn’t the NEA the group that calls homeschooling parents “wannabe amateurs” on their website? Their New Hampshire organization is supporting homeschool-friendly, Mike Huckabee? As a homeschooling mom, this sets off warning bells in my head.

But my concern about Mike Huckabee goes much deeper than his endorsers. It’s really about his philosophy of governing. Individual rights, especially parental rights, are at the heart of homeschooling. We recognize that children are gifts to their parents, not chattel of the state. The responsibility to care for them, to educate them, to nurture them is exclusive to the home. Parents may choose to “outsource” this responsibility at their discretion, but government intrusion regarding these areas should be extremely rare. Any politician who does not whole-heartedly embrace that idea is a danger to our continued freedom. As Dr. Paul said in his intro to the Family Education Freedom Act, “Parental control of child rearing, especially education, is one of the bulwarks of liberty. No nation can remain free when the state has greater influence over the knowledge and values transmitted to children than the family.”

Does that make sense? A state wing of the virulently anti-homeschooling NEA [the statist educators' union, not the pornography hustlers] supports Huckster (and Clinton). Huckleberry thinks the “Chappaquiddick Ted”-written NCLB is brilliant.

How does any of this pan out for homeschoolers? And what are Farris, et al., thinking?

Huckabee is still the most pro-illegal of any candidate and still raised taxes in Arkansas. He has no plan for shrinking the federal government. The “FAIR Tax”, while admittedly better than an income tax, would still be a massive federal tax, a sales tax of 23%!

Why is it so radical in the Republican Party today to advocate for the elimination of the income tax, and replace it with nothing? As Ron Paul points out, this would just require shrinking the gummint to where it was ten years ago.

I’m afraid many of our evangelical homeschooling friends have gone off into a false consciousness. You see the America of the Founders and the Constitution in an empire-building pro-welfare-state George W. Bush. And now you want Huckabee, who is every bit the ne’er-do-well arrogant loser that Bush is, except that while Bush tried and failed in business (an experience that teaches a lot), Huckabee’s been in church or government his whole life. Huckabee, in his lack of real life experience, will be even worse, and when challenged will respond with twice the defensiveness of Bush.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110010782