It’s hard to believe Mike Huckabee was once a governor. Of a state. It’s even harder to believe he’s a two-time presidential candidate.
Since leaving the Arkansas governor’s mansion in 2007, his behavior has been that of a man who wants nothing more than to coast on the fact that he held office once.
That’s fine. He wouldn’t be the first politician to do this.
What sets Huckabee apart from the rest, however, is that his coasting has seen him de-evolve into an increasingly absurd stereotype of a right-wing pundit and activist, and all while staying in character as a golly-gosh-gee Southern yokel.
He’s not all that interested in the details of good governance, good legislation versus poorly-written legislation and the like. No, now it’s all about fighting the liberal media and liberal Hollywood and the elites and their liberal professors!
He’s part televangelist and part Minuteman – but he’s all American, y’all!
Huckabee playing the role of the folksy Southerner is not new. He has been doing this sort of thing for years. The fascinating thing about his post-governor public persona, however, is that it seems like it has grown more absurd over the years as he has abandoned any pretense of subtlety.
In 2007, for example, he wrote a book titled, From Hope to Higher Ground: 12 Steps to Restoring America’s Greatness. A bit on the nose, but okay. By 2015, he churned out his 11th book, which was titled, God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy: and the Dad-Gummed Gummint That Wants to Take Them Away. He’s not even trying anymore.
It wasn’t always like this.
Huckabee’s road to absurd caricature has been gradual. It can be seen over the years, from his appearances on the campaign trail as a GOP presidential primary candidate, to hosting a short-lived show on Fox News, to appearing as a guest at random intervals on the right-leaning cable news network. But nowhere has the degenerative quality of the former governor’s post-office folksy wholesome routine been more pronounced than on Twitter.
Perusing his social media feed, one can’t help but ask, “This man was a governor for 11 years?”
For Cinco de Mayo I will drink an entire jar of hot salsa and watch old Speedy Gonzales cartoons and speak Spanish all day. Happy CdMayo!
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) May 5, 2017
Possibly the silliest thing Huckabee has ever tweeted came on Tuesday afternoon as Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ testified before Congress on Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election. Sessions dodged several questions during the hearing, stating repeatedly that he was not at liberty to discuss his conversations with President Trump.
“Dems act like they never heard of atty/client privilege; AG is top atty in Exec branch; serves @POTUS and not stooge of Congress,” the former governor and two-time presidential candidate tweeted.
Dems act like they never heard of atty/client privilege; AG is top atty in Exec branch; serves @POTUS and not stooge of Congress.
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) June 13, 2017
What a silly thing to say. One expects this sort of ignorance from a child, but not a former governor and two-time presidential candidate.
The attorney general is not the president’s personal lawyer. Their conversations don’t get the attorney/client privilege treatment. As far as presidential legal representation is concerned, that’s what the White House counsel is for.
This is basic stuff.
It’s one thing to play the role of the down-home, good-ol-boy for aging Fox News viewers. It’s an easy, and extremely cynical, way to stay afloat in the competitive world of right-wing punditry. It’s understandable that the governor’s kneejerk reaction to the Sessions hearing would be to make it about a supposed Democratic double-standard.
But a man must have his limits. If one’s personal brand requires that he regularly make a damn fool of himself, then perhaps it’s time to consider a new racket.
