Thompson issued the following press release responding to comments made by Huckabee on Fox News Sunday.
MIKE HUCKABEE MISLEADS CHRIS WALLACE ABOUT HIS RECORD AS GOVERNOR THIS MORNING ON FOX NEWS SUNDAY:(via)
Huckabee Claim: "We didn't raise [taxes] on nursing home patients. That was a quality assurance fee."
· Fact: Huckabee implemented a $5.25 per day bed-tax on private nursing home patients. (Associated Press, 8/13/01)
Huckabee Claim: "Here's what the Club for Growth won't tell you... They won't tell you who gave them money. They like to take money from anonymous donors, fire shots at folks without accountability."
· Fact: Huckabee created a 'charitable' organization - Action America - so he could funnel his speaking fees through the organization and avoid disclosure requirements: "In 1995, [Huckabee] avoided reporting individual sources of income by funneling money through a nonprofit corporation, Action America, that was created and managed by his campaign staff." (Commercial Appeal, 11/9/97)
Huckabee Claim: "I balanced the budget every year of my 10 years as governor... I think my record is an incredibly good one."
· Fact: Arkansas law mandates a balanced budget. Huckabee raised taxes and more than doubled state spending. (Mike Huckabee, "Cutting Taxes and Other Great Ideas for Congress from an Arkansas Governor," Heritage Lecture #645, The Heritage Foundation, 9/29/99, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/4/07)
· Fact: Immediately upon taking office in 1996, Governor Huckabee signed a sales tax hike into law. (Stephen Moore and Dean Stansel, "A Fiscal Policy Report Card On America's Governors: 1998," Cato Institute; Joan Duffy, "Critical Ark. School Funds Amendment Goes Untouted," Commercial Appeal, 9/9/96)
Huckabee Claim: "You first deal with the spending issue which I did in my state."
· Fact: State spending more than doubled under Huckabee. "During Huckabee's 10 years as governor, state spending more than doubled, from $6.6 billion to $16.1 billion in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006." ( Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/4/07)
Huckabee Claim: Repeatedly dodged questions about his ethical problems while Governor
· Fact: Huckabee was investigated by the ethics commission fourteen times and officially reprimanded five times. (Quin Hillyer, "A Tale Of Two Candidates," American Spectator, 10/24/07)
Huckabee Claim: "Fred's never had 100% record on right to life in his senate career. The records reflect that."
· Fact: Fred Thompson can "play up his 100% pro-life voting record and his 0% Planned Parenthood score. Sometimes it's just plain hard to argue with the numbers." (David Brody, "Fred Thompson's Pro-Life Strategy," Christian Broadcasting Network, 6/15/07)
· Fact: Wanda Franz, president of National Right to Life, said the group's endorsement is "a testament to Senator Thompson's long-standing pro-life record, his commitment to unborn children." (National Right to Life, Press Release, 11/13/07)
