The Salina Post had a chance to sit down and talk with Governor Mike Huckabee tonight before his speech at the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet and Membership Meeting.
When asked, what needs to be done in Washington to end the divisiveness?
Gov. Huckabee replied, “Republicans are divided over something i cant quite figure out.” “We all believe the best government is the most local government, among republicans there is not an extraordinary amount of difference between various people. Some of it is tactics and some of it is how it is communicated.”
A follow up question was, do you see a lack of passion in the Republican party, from Reagan to Bush Sr. to Bush Jr. ?
Gov. Huckabee replied, “If there is any one thing the Republican party needs to remember is that we never mistake the joy of being Americans with some intricate policy discussion.”
“It’s about talking to where people are and how policy touches people. Years ago I came up with a philosophy that helped me getting elected in Arkansas as a republican, in a state that was 90% democrat. I didn’t invite people to ride an elephant down main street, that would have been the kiss of death. Politics is either approached in one of two ways, most practitioners of politics tend to see everything horizontally, left right, conservative liberal or democrats republicans. I’m convinced that the people that are the swing voters, are the ones who really decide an election. The ones that are not hard right or hard left, the people in the middle that could lean either way. they look at life very differently.”
“They look at politics vertically not horizontally, there question is not are you a real conservative or are you a real liberal? There question is are you going to make things better or are you going to make things worse, will it go up or will it go down? This is really the key.”
Governor Huckabee was a big hit at the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet. Many who attended lined up to shake his hand and have their photo taken after the event.