EDITORIAL - Following yesterday's Des Moines Register Republican Debate, the Libertarian Party questions GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee's commitment to limited government. "Mike Huckabee has a lot of ideas for making America better, and most of them involve the use of the federal government," says Libertarian Party Executive Director, Shane Cory.

"Was Huckabee in the wrong Iowa debate?" asks Cory. "From the economy, to healthcare, to education--all of Huckabee's solutions to the problems America faces involved using the federal government. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't Republicans supposed to be for limited government, not for expanding its role in society?"

Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, has recently become a leading contender for the Republican Party's presidential nomination. The former Baptist minister has developed the nickname "Tax Hike Mike" because of tax increases during his time as governor of Arkansas, which one writer for the Arkansas Leader said surpassed the tax increases by former Democratic governor Bill Clinton.

"Watching Huckabee, you can't help but notice his big-government, protectionist instincts," says Libertarian Party Media Coordinator Andrew Davis. "His solution for nearly every issue revolves around intervention by the federal government. On the economy, it was resorting to protectionist trading policies. On healthcare, he talked about implementing preventative health measures, which of course are in the form of government regulation. Huckabee also said the federal government should be a 'clearinghouse' for education reforms. It's a logical impossibility to claim you believe in limited government while at the same time calling for government to play a larger role in solving America's problems."

"Huckabee's soaring poll numbers indicate the Republican Party has come a long way from their conservative roots in people like Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan," says Cory. "I think Huckabee would be more at home on stage with Hillary Clinton."