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Site goes after Huckaby's conservative cred
Someone's gunning for Hank Huckaby, the presumed frontrunner for the Republican nomination for the H.D. 113 seat in the Georgia General Assembly.
'Hank Likes Taxes' - an attack web site - has cropped up in recent days, and it accuses Huckaby of being a 'Democratic insider' and career bureaucrat. Among the multiple allegations against Huckaby, a former budget director under Gov. Zell Miller, is that he paved the way for a reduction in the homestead exemption during the budget crisis of 2003 and that he supported the stormwater fee that Athens-Clarke County put in place a few years back.
Of course, a little bit of context is necessary for those accusations. For starters, Huckaby served as an advisor for Gov. Sonny Perdue's transition team in 2002, thus meaning he wasn't officially involved in the crafting of Perdue's initial budget proposal. Likewise, the state was dealing with an ongoing recession at the time, and tax revenue had plummeted. Perdue's proposal would have saved $388 million for the state's budget.
Regarding the stormwater fee, it's important to note that Athens-Clarke County was required by the federal government to put it - or something like it - into place. Huckaby's casual statement indicating that citizens should comply with local legislation mandated by federal law was far from the ringing endorsement the attack site suggests.
Of course, the real intention behind the site is to portray Huckaby as someone who lacks the ideological purity that is so essential in the Republican primary this election season. In doing so, his work as a non-elected public official - something that requires a pragmatic approach to policy and necessitates good working relations with members from both parties - has come under serious electoral scrutiny. Given the volatile nature of the GOP electorate this year, that's understandable, but also unfortunate.
Additionally, the site takes aim at a handful of donations he made to Democratic candidates for office, which is fair game as well. In doing so, it's equally as fair to point out that Huckaby also has made multiple contributions to Republican candidates, including Rep. Paul Broun Jr. and Sen. Johnny Isakson.
No one has stepped forward to take ownership of the site, including Huckaby's rivals for the nomination Tommy Malcolm and Kirk Shook.
One of the points from the
Submitted by Kirk Carter (not verified) on Thu, 07/15/2010 - 10:05pm.One of the points from the website:
"Fooled Georgia Right to Life: Originally not certified “pro-life” then after
candidate Kirk Shook mailed on the issue, he changed his position to trick
them into certifying him 'Pro-Life'."
That paragraph makes me a little suspicious that Kirk Shook was the one behind it... although I'm only pump-faking the stone at this time. I'd like to know who put it out there, especially considering there decision to willfully overlook Huckaby's donations to Broun Jr. and Isakson.
I was highly disappointed in the amateurish and petty nature of the sight. There are bigger problems going on in this state than who Huckaby cut a check to. Ultimately, this demand for "ideological purity" that the GOP is perpetrating is a real turnoff.
Hacky sacked the reader
Submitted by Samuel L. Thompson VIXXX (not verified) on Fri, 07/16/2010 - 7:23pm.I don't think the person behind the attack is on the Repubican side of things, guys. I don't even think he/she is a paid staffer. Neither do I think that anyone will find out the actual truth.
Whoever it is made a few typos and personally, could have done a little more damage if this wasn't just a "for the fun of it" type of job. It's an A- political hack, for sure.