Rusty Benson

AFA Journal associate editor

March 2010 –Mike Huckabee has a way of making complex things simple without being simplistic.

It’s a gift that some just call common sense, and it can probably be credited, in part, to his humble upbringing in Hope, Arkansas. But there is nothing common about common sense, at least not among politicians who seem to have a knack for making the simple complex.

But those who understand the importance of worldview will recognize that Huckabee’s insights are rooted in a conviction that Biblical wisdom is practical even on the national political stage.

In an interview with the AFA Journal, the former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate turned pundit peels away the exterior of the nation’s complex problems to reveal the clarity that comes when Scriptural principles are applied.

AFA Journal: Describe what a healthy America looks like to you, economically, socially and politically.
Mike Huckabee: I think a healthy America begins with strong families. There is no such thing as a healthy America unless marriages and families are strong and are developing a heritage for future generations.

The biggest misnomer that I hear is that family issues and social and economic issues are not connected. Most poverty we have in this country is a result of a breakdown of families and the fallout from that.

There are three basic indicators that a person will spend a significant portion of his life in poverty. 1) If a parent does not finish high school; 2) if a parent is not steadily employed and 3) if that parent has a child out of wedlock, that child has over a 90% chance that he will live in poverty most of his life.

So when I hear people say, “I don’t want to hear about these moral and social issues. I want to talk about economics,” I say, “When you talk about economics, you better talk about families.” That’s because the breakdown of families – and, more generally, individual character – is the most costly aspect of government and it has a great impact on the economy.

So much of government spending is a result of having to pick up after someone who did not pick up after himself. Whether it’s building jails or remedial education or a government worker literally picking up liter – it’s often whatever we failed to do in governing ourselves.

AFAJ: So, if a healthy America requires healthy families, which results in a healthier economy and culture in general, then how do we get there from here?
MH: It’s not a political solution. There are political components, but the real answer is that there has to be a spiritual renewal within the country where people begin to understand that responsibility starts with them, not with the government. Even many conservatives say, “What’s the government going to do?” or “What is the government not going to do?” And the real question is what am I personally going to do?

How much of government do I take off someone else’s back and put on my own? The raising of my children, the care of my elderly parents, cleaning up my own mess – whatever I’m willing to take responsibility for, I’m not asking the rest of the citizens to collectively hire someone to do.

For example, if I manage my own kids and they don’t go to the juvenile justice system and ultimately to prison, and instead they do their homework and make A’s and go to college and become taxpayers instead of tax takers – those things have an economic impact. And it starts with me as a mom or dad.

AFAJ: You wrote a book titled Do the Right Thing. What is the right thing for America? And in a relativistic culture, how do you convince the public that your version of the right thing is preferable to other versions of the right thing?
MH: When it gets right down to it, there is only one version of doing the right thing. That’s defined by what we call the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” If someone wants to argue with that, I would love to hear it.

Whether someone is a Christian or not, I would ask, “Can you at least accept this premise: basically, we should do to other people what we would want them to do to us.” And if they say “No, I don’t buy that,” then tell me what you do buy into, because we may have an irreconcilable difference. 

AFAJ: What is the worst trend that you observe in the Christian church in America?
MH: The worst trend is that we are failing to accept moral absolutes. We are beginning to increasingly feel that matters of faith are comparable to going through a cafeteria with our own personal tray and selecting whatever things appeal to us.

George Barna has done a very significant work called The Seven Faith Tribes. He writes about the huge generational shift in attitudes among younger people. If you ask them “Are you a born-again, evangelical, Bible-believing Christian?” they would say “Yes.” However, what they mean by that is completely and totally different than what I mean, coming up from my generation. To many people under the age of 30, that can mean an acceptance of same-sex marriage, it can mean an acceptance of certain things about Buddhism or Zoroastrianism or Islam or Judaism. It’s like everybody can go to the kitchen with an empty pot and make his own stew. And they really do see life that way.

AFAJ: What good things do you see?
MH: The challenges of a downturned economy are causing people to rethink their priorities and realize that what matters is not the size of their house, the label on their clothing, but the relationships they have with the people who really matter to them.

There are some interesting studies that I’ve touched on my radio commentary. Because people don’t have as much money to spend on outside entertainment, they are spending a lot more time with each other at home. They’re playing board games like Monopoly and Scrabble, or they are going camping. They are finding ways to have recreation that are not expensive. But these are avenues of recreation that families used to do before families got prosperous.

The net result is that this is creating some very positive human dynamics such as getting to know each other and discovering that the things that are most valuable don’t have a price tag.

AFAJ: Prosperity is definitely a two-sided coin.
MH: Oh, yes. I tell people that I’ve been broke and have had some measure of prosperity and I like prosperity better. However, you must keep it in perspective. The key is not how much you have, but how did you get it and what are you doing with it.

AFAJ: Rather than ask if you are the man to lead your political party and the nation in years to come, let me ask you to describe the qualities and attributes that you would like to see in such a national leader.
MH: One of the things that frightens me most about the political climate today is that we are not really looking for leaders. Rather, we are looking for robots, someone who can offer an automatic response to ideological questions. And that’s very dangerous.

I fear we are creating a political climate in which leaders are more like ideological robots than they are the traditional leaders that have made our country great. These robot leaders are not going to exercise the rare qualities of instinct, intuition and, sometimes, sheer guts to make a decision.

I governed a state for 10 years and was the lieutenant governor before that, and the last year and a half, I’ve gone into the world of punditry. I can honestly tell you that it is a lot easier to be a commentator than a governor.

Every day I made tough decisions that did not have easy answers, although many people wanted easy answers. The question that leaders must ask is, “Am I willing to make decisions that I know are unpopular because in my gut I know they are the right decision? Or will I only make decisions that are easy to explain and don’t offend my constituencies that support me?”

AFAJ: Don’t you think media plays into that?
MH: Yeah, huge. And we judge every decision through our 20/20 hindsight. And whatever political party we are part of, the other party is going to judge our decisions from the worst possible light. That’s the way the game is played. It’s a demolition derby. It’s no longer about two parties having different ideas and explaining why. Now if it comes out of the opposition’s mouth, it’s wrong, and if it comes from our mouth, it’s right.

And I’ve said many times, Republicans are not right all the time and Democrats are not wrong all the time. We are foolish to practice politics as if that were the case.

AFAJ: On your television show you have a surprising assortment of guests, including those on the opposite side of the political or cultural spectrum.
MH: I subscribe to what I call the Mt. Carmel school of theology and politics. Let the other side set up their altar and call down fire. I’ll do the same. Let the results speak.

If my views are put to the test and are shown not to work, then I need to do some more homework. If I am really confident that what I believe and stand for is right, then I would say to anybody, “Bring on your best game.”  

MIKE HUCKABEE

• DOB 08/24/1954
• Former Southern Baptist pastor
• Served as Lieutenant Governor (1993-1996) and Governor of Arkansas (1996-2007)
• Author of six books
• Hosts Huckabee on the Fox News Channel and the Huckabee Report on the Citadel Media Network (radio)
• Among top GOP presidential contenders according to CNN and Rasmussen polls
• Healthy lifestyle advocate, avid musician, outdoorsman
• Married for 33 years to Janet; three grown children
• www.mikehuckabee.com