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Mitt Romney versus Mike Huckabee: The Numbers
January 21, 2008

Since Mitt Romney and his supporters have seen fit to play scorecard politics with the numbers on the tax and spending increases in Arkansas under Mike Huckabee, I thought I would do a little research comparison to see how Mitt Romney's record of Tax and Spend stacks up against Mike Huckabee's.

The accusation against Mike Huckabee is that he is a "tax and spend liberal." This charge originated from the Club for Growth, and has since been parroted by candidates Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson, along with several Conservative pundits including Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh.

Here are the numbers:

Mike Huckabee: $505 Million in new taxes
Mitt Romney: $740 Million in new taxes

Of the $500 Million increase under Huckabee, $400 Million was by court order; not a Huckabee initiative.

All of Romney's $740 M increase were his initiatives. In fact, had he gotten all of his initiatives passed, the increase in taxes would have been even greater.

It is worth noting that Mitt Romney likes to distinguish between taxes and fees. In his mind, what he calls a "mandatory government fee" is not to be counted as a tax. So when he talks about tax increases and fee increases, he is referring to two different numbers, and he never adds them together. So when you hear him say, "We had fee increases of $240 Million," he is only referring to fees such as Marriage Licenses, which he increased, and Firearms Licenses, which he tripled the fee for that. He is not including tax increases in his numbers.

I am using the Conservative definition for taxes. If it goes to the government, it is a tax.

The Numbers on Spending Increases:

Budget increase under Mike Huckabee: $5.2 Billion
Budget increase under Mitt Romney: $5.2 Billion

Both Massachusetts and Arkansas had heavily dominated democrat legislatures, so spending increases are hard to hold down in those states.

Here is the important distinction:

The $500 Million increase in new taxes and $5.2 Billion increase in spending under Huckabee took place over a ten-year period. Mitt Romney accomplished his $740 Million increase in new taxes and $5.2 Billion increase in only 4 years - less than half the time.

Had Mitt Romney achieved a second term in Massachusetts (something he could not do in his state, but Mike Huckabee did accomplish in his), Romney's numbers would be in excess of $1.5 Billion in new taxes and an increase of over $11 Billion in spending.

It is hard to argue the numbers. In this race, it has become quite apparent that the last, best hope for Conservatives is Mike Huckabee. He is the only serious candidate remaining in the Republican field who has been consistent on social and fiscal issues, and his economic plan would represent the most sweeping Conservative tax package presented to the American people since Ronald Reagan.

Mitt Romney's chances? As long as he can keep his supporters and the media in the dark, he is the one who looks and sounds most like Ronald Reagan. However, that is where the comparison ends.

Learn more about this author, David Pipkin.
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