Mike Huckabee didn’t just suggest that the killing of Eric Garner by the police was no biggie, he completely ignored, or else never got in the first place, why Americans became so enraged that they took to the streets across the country Huckabee topped it off with a round of race baiting against our African American president by painting him a welfare king. It was all part of what looked a lot more like a campaign stump speech than news.
Huckabee began the monologue that opened his Fox News show tonight with the following:
If you’re one of the few people still reading newspapers or if you watched television news this week, you probably thought the most important story of the entire week was the reaction to the death of a petty street criminal at the hands of New York Police and the lack of charges filed for his death. It may have been the most talked about story and the most reported but not even close to a story that is rocking your world and you probably didn’t even feel the tremor. Because this week the International Monetary Fund revealed that China’s economy has surpassed that of the United States and China is now the world’s largest economy.
Huckabee all but called African Americans and others stupid and ignorant for caring so much about Garner’s death. It’s China, Huckabee said, that “should have caused demonstrations in the street.” By implication, he meant, “instead of the no-account Garner.”
Then Huckabee began to sound a lot like a potential 2016 presidential candidate: “We’re losing our country and no one seems to even notice. …Get used to the new ranking or get angry. And let’s do something about it.” Huckabee also attacked President Obama as “officially the least patriotic president in history” because Obama had once called the debt irresponsible and unpatriotic.
Besides making himself look like someone who wants to do what Obama hasn’t or won't, Huckabee’s attacks were a convenient dodge from noting that under Obama, the deficit has dramatically shrunk and how a just-released “blockbuster” jobs report “puts the economy on track to post the strongest year of job creation in 15 years.”
But even worse was how Huckabee pulled out his racial dog whistle to campaign against, I mean criticize, Obama. Huckabee said about Obama:
(He) spend(s) piles more money on everything from free cell phones to paying people additional money to not work. And if that weren’t irrational enough, he wants to ignore the constitutional process of law and just open America’s doors to flood our country with cheap labor which will make it even harder for an American family to stay afloat, much less get ahead.
Our economy is increasingly based on the government redistributing wealth instead of encouraging people to go out and earn.
…What we’re doing isn’t working.
…I am not satisfied with America being number 2 and I sure hope you aren’t either.
We have previously written about how Huckabee is using his Fox News platform to promote a possible 2016 run. On November 12th, The Washington Post reported on the many steps Huckabee has already taken to launch a candidacy, including forming a nonprofit advocacy group that serves as “an employment perch for his political team, recently bringing on a number of experienced campaign operatives.” The Post also reported that, “Advisers are already scouting real estate in Little Rock for a possible presidential campaign headquarters.”
Fox has reportedly been “evaluating his current status.” But it’s hard to see what needs to be evaluated. As Media Matters noted, “By any reasonable standard, Huckabee has provided just as much evidence he plans to run for president” as the already-suspended-from-Fox Dr. Ben Carson.
Regardless, it’s pretty clear that Huckabee will be running on a race baiting platform.
Watch his comments below.
(Thanks to reader Richard for his assistance with this post)
Hucky can run, but he will lose badly. Who wants this sad excuse of a “Baptist” minister, or pastor, or whatever he calls himself.
NOTE TO HUCKY
You are the one who is petty. Go ahead and run for president. Your colleagues won’t support you anyway. Who would support a loser?
Something like drug king pin would be a lot worst.
Petty means the crime was not all that serious.
I hope this clears that up.