I’m writing this article on the assumption that former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee would not consciously choose to be a hypocrite. The affable Baptist minister and Republican presidential candidate speaks quite eloquently on the virtues of constitutional federalism and decentralized power, but unfortunately, he has failed to take a position on whether he would end the unconstitutional DEA raids on state-licensed medical marijuana clinics in states like California.

Perhaps Huckabee, like other Republican candidates, is afraid that Republican voters would hold such a position against him in the primary election. If this is the case, perhaps Huckabee simply needs to understand that New Hampshire voters have always preferred candidates who respect their state’s relative independence. After all, we have the most open, accessible legislature in the country, and we like the fact that if legislators in Concord face a controversial decision, a great many of them will actually listen to their constituents.

The federal government, however, is not so accessible to the average New Hampshire citizen. When politicians in D.C. make a mistake, there usually isn’t much we can do. And even if our entire congressional delegation truly speaks for the people of New Hampshire on a given issue, there is little they can do to affect the balance of power in the nation‘s capital.

In fact, a healthy number of New Hampshire citizens are skeptical of any government, but overall, the state seems virtually united in the belief that our state and local governments serve us best when they are able to operate free from federal intrusions.

Gov. Huckabee appears to understand the virtues of decentralized power as well as any candidate when he is asked about the 10th Amendment. Toby Iselin of Keene Free Minds Television and SendTheRightMessage.com caught up with him at the Strafford County GOP picnic August 18 and asked whether he thought the concept of states’ rights was outdated. Huckabee’s answer (sermon?) is worth quoting in its entirety:

“It’s certainly not outdated. It’s very important. We had this debate 230 years ago. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton fought it out over whether we had a strong, centralized federal government and weak states or we had strong states and we weakened the centralized federal government so that you don’t invest too much power in one source. Jefferson won, and that’s why we have the 10th Amendment. And it’s very important that we don’t forget not only what we have -- it’s even more important that we don’t forget why we have it. And we have it so that our founding fathers’ dream would live on and that is you don’t put so much power in one source so that whoever has control of that power has all the power. The brilliance of Jefferson’s idea -- diversify that power, put it in the states, let them be laboratories of good government, and when that happens, the free marketplace will force those areas of good government and best practices to take place in the other states.”

 

(scroll down to watch the video)

Following up, Iselin asked: “In light of that, do you believe that we should continue the DEA raids on medical marijuana facilities?”

Suddenly, Huckabee didn't seem so sure about letting states be "laboratories of good government." And if you watch the video closely, you will notice that the sun chooses precisely this moment to emerge from behind a cloud, forcing Huckabee to squint as he evades the question.

"That's an issue that probably isn't the top of my agenda right now," he explained, citing the war, health care, and education as more important issues. "It's not that I wouldn't consider it," he added, "but frankly, in all the debates and in all the forums, that's probably not the most pressing one for me right now."

Well, we certainly hope he is considering it. To be fair, Huckabee's answer was better than the flat "Nothing" we got from John McCain when we asked what he'd do to stop the unconstitutional raids. Other "top-tier" Republicans such as Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney have also vowed to continue ignoring the compassionate laws which have been passed in 12 states to protect seriously ill patients from arrest and incarceration.

But a state cannot protect its citizens from the wrath of an angry fed.

Polls have repeatedly shown that a supermajority of Americans believe these raids should be ended. And candidates who pledge to end the raids do not risk being painted as "soft on marijuana." They are simply strong on federalism, strong on trusting states to govern themselves, and in some cases, strong on compassion and common sense.

So here at SendTheRightMessage.com, we'd like to provide Huckabee with some backup, should he choose to take the morally and constitutionally correct position and pledge to end the raids.

 

First, Huckabee should consider that two of his fellow GOP candidates have already denounced the raids as unconstitutional and vowed to end them. Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana reports that Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo has consistently voted for legislation to stop the raids, and he explained his position to GSMM at a recent event: "It's not about marijuana, it's about states' rights. The federal government has no right to interfere when a state makes that kind of decision. The federal government should stay the hell out of it."

 

Texas Congressman Ron Paul took an even stronger position when we spoke to him at the Strafford County event. "You're not being compassionate by taking medical marijuana from somebody who's suffering from cancer or AIDS," the retired physician explained to Iselin.

 

Governor Huckabee, we understand that there are other items on your agenda, but you will have to take a position on states' rights and medical marijuana. Given the facts, can you really decide against compassion and against the Constitution?