What a Country! Get PAC will travel!

Ever wonder why so many Arkansas Conservative Republicans are alienated from Former Gov. Huckabee? After all he was their Republican Governor. Today The Washington Times published an article by Stephen Dinan addressing Huckabee's alienation of the GOP in Arkansas.

The Times article details much of the criticism and issues already address by numerous other articles and reports about Huckabee while governor. However, we noted some interesting twist regarding "access" to Hucakbee and use of Republican and PAC funds. Let's first examine "access" by Republicans to the governor:

Jake Files was a newly elected representative when all two dozen Arkansas House Republicans met for their first caucus in 1999. They had doubled their numbers in elections two months earlier, and were ready to join Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee in pushing for conservative government.

That was when Brenda Turner, the governor’s chief of staff, entered. “Just walked in, shut the door and said, ‘There’s two kinds of people in the world: those who are for Mike Huckabee and those who are against Mike Huckabee. I’ll do everything I can to help the first group. I’ll do everything I can to hurt the second,’ ” said Mr. Files, who left the legislature after two terms.

And that’s the way it was. “Not only would he not help you, he would go out of his way to do things in opposition to you,” Mr. Files said.

In Arkansas, hunting is more than important. Let review Huckabee's "tracks" via the Times report regarding the alleged "use and misuse" of Republican State Party and PAC funds:

The campaign finance records for Conservative Leadership for Arkansas PAC, Mr. Huckabee’s political action committee, also seem to bear out the charge that he was building his own organization.

Records kept with the secretary of state in Little Rock show that CLAPAC spent only a third of its money on candidates between 2001 and 2006, with the rest going to consulting, accounting and, in later years, travel and fundraising for Mr. Huckabee.

Mr. Huckabee gave contributions as well during those years to at least three Democrats. Given that $5,000 of CLAPAC’s money came in a 2003 donation from the state Republican Party, that means some Republican money was used indirectly to aid the party’s own opponents.

“Go out and ask those ladies at bake sales or out raising money if they thought that money would end up in the hands of Democratic candidates,” Mr. Hendren said. “That’s what drove us up a wall.”

One Democrat who received CLAPAC money was Barbara Horn. Mr. Huckabee supported her even though a Republican planned to run for the same seat in 2000. The Associated Press reported that Mr. Huckabee’s support for the Democrat chased the Republican from the race, delivering an open seat to the Democratic Party.

Let's summarize: Huckabee used a “conservative” PAC to raise money; received money from Republican Party of Arkansas which went into Huckaee's controlled PAC; then Huckabee used these funds to support Democrats. Is this summarized correctly? Now concerned Arkansas Republicans have recurring nightmares about the staff members Huckabee wanted in the Republican Party of Arkansas (RPA) headquarters. These staff members then wasted (ripped off) the RPA's funds. Was this mismanagement or intentional? Were some of the funds missing from the RPA given to the PAC and used to support Democrats? No wonder Arkansas Republicans are frustrated if not yet alienated.

The Times also reported that "Records for CLAPAC's activity in 2000 are missing from the secretary of state's office. The accounting firm Mr. Huckabee used said it couldn't provide records without the client's approval, and Mr. Huckabee's campaign didn't respond to requests to produce them." The Secretary of States offcie is run by a Democrat. Odd that the records are missing. Missing records seem to be part of Arkansas politics.

While Huckabee seemed to be adept at manipulating CLAPAC funds, the Times identifis Huckabee found an even more ingenious place to have a new PAC for his purpose of running for president.

In 2005, Mr. Huckabee registered another political action committee in Virginia, which has less stringent limits on campaign activity.

The stated goal of that PAC, Hope for America, was to aid state and local candidates nationwide. But records show it hasn't donated to a single candidate but instead has paid for Mr. Huckabee's consultants, travel and fundraising.

While some Baptist may remember Jesus turning over the money tables in the temple, it appears one Baptist Preacher politician noted how the priests set up their own sort of PAC scheme. Priest claimed they were helping the people, sold them less than quality goods at high prices and pocketed the profit. The politician following their example, sets up a PAC in another state, claims he is raising money "to aid state and local candidates," and uses the money for "consultants, travel and fundraising" - and "runs" for national office - the presidency. To quote comedian Yakov Smirnoff , "What a County!"

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Tags: Arkansas, campaign funds, Mike Huckabee, PAC, Republican Party of Arkansas, RPA