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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

(Newser) – 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.

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...
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...   (Associated Press)
Caroline Morales, 6, shows her support of candidate Republican presidential hopeful, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, by holding campaign signs with her brother Luke, 4, and sister, Catherine, 9, left, all Charlottesville homeschoolers, as they attend a campaign rally at the Sheraton Hotel Monday, Feb. 11, 2008, in Richmond, Va....
Caroline Morales, 6, shows her support of candidate Republican presidential hopeful, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, by holding campaign signs with her brother Luke, 4, and sister, Catherine, 9, left,...   (Associated Press)
Republican presidential hopeful former, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee speaks at a fundraiser at the house of Buck Johns in Newport Beach, Calif., Jan. 30, 2008. For expenses not related to the campaign, Huckabee relies on speaking engagements to pay the bills. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Republican presidential hopeful former, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee speaks at a fundraiser at the house of Buck Johns in Newport Beach, Calif., Jan. 30, 2008. For expenses not related to the campaign,...   (Associated Press)
Presidential hopeful former Gov. Mike Huckabee R-Ark.,  boards his plane in this file photo. This weekend, Huckabee will be leaving the snow and ice of the Wisconsin campaign trail to make a paid speech in the sunny Cayman Islands. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Presidential hopeful former Gov. Mike Huckabee R-Ark., boards his plane in this file photo. This weekend, Huckabee will be leaving the snow and ice of the Wisconsin campaign trail to make a paid speech...   (Associated Press)
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