Huckabee tells Republicans how to recover

By Kristi KeckCNN (CNN) --

If the Republican Party wants to get back on track, former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee says GOP leaders must first restore voters' confidence in the government.
Mike Huckabee shakes hands with a supporter during a book signing last week in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
"People will forgive you for being a little left or a little right, but they won't forgive you for not taking them up instead of down," he told CNN in between appearances on his 56-city tour to promote his new book, "Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America."
Huckabee said Republicans have lost their reputation as people who believe in curtailing spending and attempting to balance the budget and have a new label: the "budget busters," who spend more than they can pay back while priding themselves in not raising taxes.
"But it's not that they do it by curbing spending, they just kick the can down the road and put the burden on our grandchildren," he said, adding that he considers it "morally wrong" to indebt future generations.
Huckabee boiled down the blueprint for his party's future to a three-step plan: "Clarify what the principles are that we want to govern by; get elected on those principles because we are authentic in believing them; and thirdly, when elected -- implement those principles and show the benefits."
He add, "I think when it comes to politics, the answer is 'show me the results.' "

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