Mike Huckabee, more and more, seems to merely be a slimfasted down version of Bill Clinton with an R next to his name and an ordination. The Huck has decided there is a conspiracy out to get him and is sending surrogates out to bash Rush Limbaugh....Bash Rush Limbaugh, smart campaign strategy! In fact, his surrogate tells us Rush really wants HillRod to win:"Honestly, because Rush doesn’t think for himself. That’s not necessarily a slap because he’s not paid to be a thinker—he’s an entertainer. I can’t remember the last time that he has veered from the talking points from the DC/Manhattan chattering class. If they were praising Huckabee, he would be too."
"Also, I have to think that he’s dying to have Hillary in the White House. Bill Clinton made Rush a megastar. Having another Clinton back in power would make him the Leading Voice of the Opposition once again."
Um, Rush was already a star before Bubba....but wait...let me leave it to Maha Rushie himself:
This election is going to be about the future of the country. The election is not about the career of Rush Limbaugh or anybody else in Drive-By Media or talk radio or what have you. It’s about the future of the country, which I care deeply about.
I care more about that than anything else because I have this awe, and this respect, and this utter appreciation for what this country is and what it affords the people, not only of this country, but of the world — and it can be destroyed. It can be damaged greatly. And there are people running on the Democrat side they don’t want to do that. I’m not sure they think they’re damaging it. They think they’re improving it, they think socialism is better than anything else. They’re wrong, but it’s not something I want to see, and I don’t want to spend eight years or four years having to talk about the president every day! You know, the Clintons, they are the issue! What their issues are is immaterial. They are the issue. They’re omnipresent and so forth. Now, would it cause an uptick in the audience? I don’t know. I don’t think about that. I wrote a book. The first chapter: “My Success Does Not Depend on Who Wins Elections.”
My responsibility is to attract the largest audience I can, and hold it for as long as I can, every day; charge confiscatory advertising rates to my sponsors so that they get better results here than they get anywhere else. It’s my job to do that regardless what the news of the day is — and I do. That’s why I’m a highly trained broadcast specialist and unparalleled. So it doesn’t matter to me who wins in terms of the radio show. It matters to me who wins in terms of the country. If this is really a Huck force member… If you missed it, somebody went out there and asked a Huckabee supporter in a Huckabee Universe, actually, why I don’t like him. Frankly, I haven’t attacked Huckabee. You know, I’ve raised some questions, but they’re pretty sensitive out there about this. So the Huckabee Universe Guy said, “Honestly, Rush doesn’t think for himself. I mean, that’s not necessarily a slap because he’s not paid to be a thinker, he’s an entertainer. I can’t remember the last time he’s veered from the talking points from the DC-Manhattan chattering class. If they were praising Huckabee, he would be, too.”
That’s just… I can’t believe that there is a Republican alive today who thinks this, whether supporting the Huckster, Giuliani, whoever. Then this also, said the Huck forcer, “I have to think that he’s dying to have Hillary in the White House. Bill Clinton made Rush a megastar. Having another Clinton back in power would make him the Leading Voice of the Opposition, once again.” What do you mean, “once again”? You know, these reports of my demise have never been correct. This program, after 20 years, 19-1/2 years, it’s still a fad to some people. But whoever made these comments, I’m sure has been made aware now that I am making them public or amplifying their already having been in public. If you really are a Huckabee supporter, whoever said this, your campaign is in trouble, because if that’s what people on Huckabee’s team thinks, your ignorance is going to get your candidate in big, big trouble.
But here are the money shots from Rush:
“I’m part of the Cape Girardeau-Middle America Axis.”
“Stop with this Clintonian spin.”
“McCain’s starting to look better to than this guy, and that’s saying something.”
“The Huckabee campaign is trying to dumb down conservatism in order to get it to conform with his record.”
I think that last statement is huge....Allah has more insights:
Huck’s people have already begun kissing ass to mitigate the damage. The more the conservative world comes out against him, from Will to Peggy Noonan to NRO to Rush to Sean Hannity, the more he’ll be forced to pitch an “us against them” campaign to his supporters. He’s too far left on too many issues to tack right credibly, so the only way to keep them in the fold is to try to build on that religious and economic populism he’s peddling and make this a full-blown Cause against the conservative establishment. The trick is keeping the few truly big players like Limbaugh neutral, since they really do have the chops to tilt this thing in a two-man race. Sounds like it might already be too late.
OK, let's review:
Huckabee: from Hope Arkansas/Clinton: From Hope, Arkansas
Huck: governor of the state/Clinton: same
Huck: ethics violations as governor/Clinton: impeached as president
Huck: likes to tell people what to eat and how to exercise/Clinton: let his wife come up with that plan
Huck: had a weight problem/Clinton: had a weight problem
Huck: tried to take things from the governor's mansion/Clinton: tried to take things from the White House
Huck: set up bogus accounts to get cash and gifts for he and wife/Clinton: same
Huck: tries to be populist but loves taxes/Clinton: same. Anyone remember, "I tried to find the money to get the tax cut, but we just couldn't do it...I tried and tried"?
Huck: believes people are out to get him, and is very conspiratorial/ Bubba: ditto.
So, what we have is a bubba lite who says "praise Jesus." This guy has jumped the shark, dissed a conservative icon, and made himself look the idiot again and again. He uses his faith like a dimestore hooker and then casts himself as the only true man of faith....just because he is a pastor. Sounds more like a pharisee....
And, his rhetoric from his surrogates about Rush and this "conspiracy" reek of tin foil hats and the cult of the personality.
