Politics

Florida House speaker throws support to Huckabee

By ALEX LEARY, Times Staff Writer
Published December 11, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez] Mike Huckabee has few staff members in Florida. [John Pendygraft | Times] Marco Rubio likes Huckabee's stances on social issues.

Mike Huckabee's rapid climb among the Republican presidential field was confirmed after the recent debate in St. Petersburg, and he was back in Florida on Monday for a confidence booster:

Huckabee scored the much-sought endorsement of House Speaker Marco Rubio, a rising Republican himself and a key bridge to the Hispanic community.

"Mike Huckabee gives conservatives the best chance at the presidency. It's a combination of conservatism and common sense," Rubio said in an interview after an appearance with Huckabee at La Carreta, a Cuban restaurant in Miami.

Rubio's endorsement comes at a critical time in the race and highlights the difficulty some conservatives have had deciding on a candidate. The first Cuban-American speaker of the House and an emerging statewide political figure, 36-year-old Rubio has been courted by the top candidates.

He said he admires qualities in each, but considers Huckabee strongest on social issues. "I want the Republican Party to be the party of life and family, and Mike Huckabee is the best candidate on those issues."

How much the endorsement will help Huckabee is unknown. The candidate is far behind in fundraising and has few campaign staffers in Florida, not to mention Iowa, which holds its caucuses Jan. 3.

"If they actually had some infrastructure in Florida, they might be getting more oxygen than what he's got," said Brett Doster, an unaffiliated GOP strategist based in Tallahassee.

Rubio's endorsement - which was coupled by the backing of close friend Rep. David Rivera of Miami - came a day after the Fred Thompson campaign unearthed statements from 2002 in which Huckabee, then governor of Arkansas, urged President Bush to end the trade embargo against Cuba.

Huckabee now says he has changed his mind and that his previous view was based on the best interest of his state, a strong rice producer. As president, he says, he will have to look at the national interest.

Still, Thompson accused him of flip-flopping. "It raises issues when politicians change their view on a dime to appeal to a particular group of people right before an election," he told the Associated Press while touring the Bay of Pigs museum in Miami's Little Havana on Monday.

Rubio said he had talked with Huckabee about Cuba a year ago at a Republican gathering and they met again for an hour Sunday before the Univision debate in Miami. He said Huckabee now has the strongest anti-Castro platform in the race.

Huckabee has promised to: veto any legislation that could lift the embargo on trade or travel; fully implement the Helms-Burton law of 1996, which includes penalties on foreign companies that do business in Cuba; and seek an indictment against Fidel Castro's brother Raul for his alleged role in the shooting down of two unarmed planes flying over international waters in 1996. (Cuba claims the planes violated Cuban air space.)

"What he'll do as president is a lot more important than a letter he wrote in 2002," Rubio said.

Mitt Romney, another top Republican candidate, has also come out aggressively against Huckabee. On Monday, some of his top backers in Florida held a conference call with reporters and took turns knocking Huckabee for his record on raising taxes and his inexperience on foreign policy.

"We have some concerns as conservatives about Mike Huckabee," said U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Oviedo.

Huckabee signed off on scores of tax increases during his decade as governor and has been long scorned by the conservative Club for Growth. Rubio, who is perhaps best known for his aversion to property taxes, defended Huckabee.

"I don't think any of the Republican candidates are going to raise taxes if elected," Rubio said. He said he was aware of Huckabee's tax record, but noted that some of the tax hikes were mandated by a court or approved by referendum.

Times political editor Adam C. Smith contributed to this report.

[Last modified December 10, 2007, 21:24:20]