Huckabee Flies South for the Weekend

Candidate detours to Caribbean to give paid speech, pay the bills

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 15, 2008 12:45 PM CST

Copied

Huckabee Flies South for the Weekend — The tranquil seas and sunshine of the Cayman Islands are a long way from the cold campaign trail in Wisconsin. Mike Huckabee denies that his accepting a paid speaking engagement in the Caymans conflicts his criticism of the offshore tax havens he says have sucked $12 trillion out of the US economy.... (Associated Press)

Mike Huckabee vows to stay in the presidential race, but a man has got to make a living, too. Huckabee is leaving wintry Wisconsin today for the Cayman Islands, where he will give a paid speech tomorrow, Newsweek reports. The only candidate without a government paycheck or personal fortune, Huckabee draws most of his income from speaking engagements, says his campaign chief: "This is his job."

Asked if it bothered him to interrupt campaigning to pay the bills, Huckabee retorted: "No, it bothers me more that I have to pay for my opponents’ bills. As a taxpayer, I’m subsidizing my opponents’ campaigns." He said the speaking gig did not contradict his repeated criticism of offshore tax havens such as the Caymans, then brought the Q&A session to a hasty end. (Read more Mike Huckabee stories.)

Report an error