Huckabee to Rand Paul: ‘If you want to be a senator, be a senator’

Paul announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in early April and has been active on the campaign trail since, yet he continues to work full-time as a senator. Most recently, he has devoted considerable energy to protesting the Patriot Act, spending eleven hours on the Senate floor objecting to expiring provisions before Memorial Day. Yet he still made it to campaign events in Iowa later that same week.

Huckabee said contenders must “decide what they want to be when they grow up.” in response to Paul’s busy schedule while on Fox News Monday morning.

“If you want to be a governor, be a governor. If you want to be a senator, be a senator,” Huckabee said. “If you want to be president, then let go of what you’re doing, because it’s a full time pursuit to run for the presidency.”

Huckabee argued that officeholders owe it to the taxpayer to devote their full energies to their elected positions.

“If you want a different job, then say ‘I don’t want this one anymore. I’m bored with it,’ ” he said. “But be honest about it and go out and give the taxpayers a break, and let them have someone on the job full-time.”

Huckabee ended his tenure as Arkansas governor in 2007 prior to his run for the 2008 Republican nomination. While he did not win the nod, Huckabee went on to host his own show on Fox News. He resigned in January in preparation for his 2016 presidential campaign.

But despite his criticisms Huckabee said he won’t “impugn” Paul for following his beliefs.

“And so let’s be fair to Rand Paul — this is not something he just took up because it’s a political cause,” Huckabee said. “He truly believes this, and I respect that a whole lot. I respect anybody who has the convictions and will stand by them no matter what the consequences, even if he’s out there by himself.”

Paul’s staunch resistance to the Patriot Act turned out to be a victory for the Kentucky senator, as the Patriot Act provisions expired Sunday night.