BIRMINGHAM — Former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee made a brief stop in Birmingham Saturday afternoon to address a crowd of avid supporters at Samford University.
More than 400 people crowded into Brock Hall to hear Huckabee speak at 4:30 p.m., while an additional 1,800 others stood in the Wright Center concert hall next door to listen in on the candidate who is vying for Alabamians’ votes on Feb. 5.
Duncan Hunter, (R-Calif.), one of the most recent Republican presidential candidate to withdraw from the race, opened for Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, who later introduced Huckabee to the audience. Although Riley has not officially endorsed Huckabee, he said Republican governors turn to Huckabee for leadership because of his values.
“Mike not only has some of the most fundamental beliefs that so many people in Alabama share, Mike also has something else,” Riley said. “He has a tenacity that is uncommon, and he has a faith that is uncommon.”
Beginning by quoting the Declaration of Independence, Huckabee stressed his beliefs of natural rights and quality of every person, even the unborn.
“Today, the reason I’m pro-life is because I believe in the very foundation of our country and the idea that there is a quality of human worth in every person,” Huckabee said.
Huckabee went on to explain his views on a variety of issues. Taxes in particular brought the crowd to its feet as Huckabee spoke about his plan to scrap the IRS, and instead, enforce the Fair Tax.
“To me personally, the greatest joy of the Fair Tax would be that I’m going to be the president who had the joy of nailing the going-out-of-business sign on the door of the IRS,” Huckabee said.
Huckabee also spoke about his plans of foreign policy.
“I visualize the America that once again has the strongest military on the face of the earth,” Huckabee said. “Through that strength we’ll have true peace, because the greater our strength, the less likely we’ll have to use it.”
Many Samford students were present in the audience, as well as students from the University of Alabama. Dan Hopper, a sophomore studying pharmacy at Samford, is leaning toward Huckabee particularly because of his Baptist roots.
“Everything (Huckabee) said today, I agreed with 100 percent,” Hopper said. “I had no complaints about anything he said; it’s a lot of things I partly believe in myself, and to hear them echoed in a major presidential candidate is really a good thing for me, being from the South and being a conservative Baptist.”
Other young voters drove from all over the state to see to Huckabee live. Gabby Hood and Lance Wilson, both from Jasper, said immigration and health care concerned them most.
“(Huckabee) said he wanted to build a fence and make a front door,” Wilson said. “I liked that idea. We’ve got to know who’s coming in from Mexico.”
