Arkansas Blog: Piling on Huck

Bob Barr, the former Georgia congressman and Libertarian presidential candidate, wacks Mike Huckabee for his foot-in-mouth assassination humor ("You can have my mouth when you pry it from my cold, dead foot," was an inspired Arkansas Blogster Hugh Mann's review) at the NRA meeting yesterday.

“Mike Huckabee showed incredibly poor taste when he joked about a gun pointed at Senator Barack Obama. His words were reckless, callous and harmful to the sports men and women of America and to those of us who fully support the Second Amendment.

“Every candidate for public office inflames the passions of people who fervently disagree with them. To suggest, as Governor Huckabee did, the misuse of a fire arm toward a political candidate is reckless. His attitude toward proper, legal and safe use of fire arms was demeaning to all of us who advocate the right to bear arms. His reprehensible use of a threatening and violent scenario involving a firearm at the NRA’s National Convention was beyond belief.

Barr is just one of dozens commenting -- unfavorably -- on the Huckster's "quip." Here's one commentary that gets at the nub of it:

There’s been some buzz this week about Huckabee on McCain’s short list for VP candidates, and it’s true, jokes like these reinforce the notion that Huckabee might have a problem with message discipline. As a candidate, he told plenty of gun-related jokes, and most of them were, at a minimum, eyebrow-raising. Given that McCain himself is already gaffe prone, Huckabee probably didn’t help his chances yesterday.

And from the Houston Chronicle:

With one "off hand" (my word would be stupid) remark, Huckabee accomplished so much. He reinforced the stereotype of gun owners as deranged lunatics looking for someone to shoot. He gave ammunition, so to speak, to the anti-gun people who will no doubt use this clip to say, "see we told you so." He injected a racial overtone, intentional or not, and he probably ended his hopes of being McCain’s running mate.

Very few times has someone done that much in the process of only saying 12 words. Nice job Huck, we’ll look for you on Last Comic Standing.

As I said yesterday, this has legs.

BOB BARR NEWS RELEASE

Bob Barr, former Member of Congress from Georgia and current candidate for President for the Libertarian Party, today issued the following statement in reaction to Gov. Mike Huckabee’s recent remarks at the National Rifle Association’s National Convention:

“Mike Huckabee showed incredibly poor taste when he joked about a gun pointed at Senator Barack Obama. His words were reckless, callous and harmful to the sports men and women of America and to those of us who fully support the Second Amendment.

“Every candidate for public office inflames the passions of people who fervently disagree with them. To suggest, as Governor Huckabee did, the misuse of a fire arm toward a political candidate is reckless. His attitude toward proper, legal and safe use of fire arms was demeaning to all of us who advocate the right to bear arms. His reprehensible use of a threatening and violent scenario involving a firearm at the NRA’s National Convention was beyond belief.

“I call on all supporters of the Second Amendment and all supporters of civil discourse in our political races to demand a public apology from Governor Huckabee.”

Comments

The Lord works in mysterious ways. He came up with an effective way to upbraid someone who once called himself a pastor, having the low morals to speak to the NRA on a paid gig. What was his topic, What Would Jesus Pack? We can only hope it will cost him a few more paid speaking gigs, but of course there will always be some scum-sucking PAC who will keep him and Jethrine in furs and cheeze whiz.

Posted by: Sanford | May 17, 2008 05:55 PM

A real leader does not joke about anyone being shot with a gun. This is especially so if the person being joked about is running for the office of President of the United States. I am a praying man. I am going to pray tonight for the safety of all of our candidates. And I am going to pray that the Lord will give Huck some wisdom.

Posted by: ArkansasAdvocate | May 17, 2008 06:11 PM

Back to the sideshow.
.

Posted by: L.Wood | May 17, 2008 06:21 PM

Maybe Huckster read the blog and thought about what I said about the shame of going down in history as McCain's running mate. Who really wants to be in the history books as the losing-est political team in American history?

So he thought up this shoot Obama crap and was just waiting for the right moment to use it. When that loud noise went off so did Huck's mouth and in 12 words he made sure he'll never been McCain's running mate and can safely continue to be paid for nothing and get big love offerings from all the fundy churches in Podunk America.

Plus...if he was VP he might actually have to do a little work......not our boy Huck! Masterful job of self-assassination Mr. Huckabee!

Posted by: Deathbyinches | May 17, 2008 06:40 PM

"We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens' creme brulee," Coulter said. "That's just a joke, for you in the media. (Coulter Jokes About Poisoning Supreme Court Justice,.."

She's slipped way down, so low that wingnuts with money must buy her books en masse to keep her name alive. Now FAUX News has rounded up a whole new crew of news babes, pumped full of silicone and barely able to utter coherent words to do the deeds.

Huff Post calls for Huck to be banned from TV:
"What Coulter and Huckabee share in common is that they both used rhetoric that was legal, but nonetheless toxic to healthy political debate."

"In the meantime, Mike Huckabee's joke about an assassination attempt on Sen. Obama will lead to the same outcome as Coulter's joke about assassinating John Paul Stevens: disruption of deliberative debate followed by greater broadcast presence awarded to him by the media.

"The outcome should be the opposite: media marginalization instead of aggrandizement.

"For joking about the assassination of Sen. Obama, Mike Huckabee should be removed from the rosters of all the various cable and network stations on which he regularly appears.

Posted by: L.Wood | May 17, 2008 07:02 PM

I don't see why anybody so upset over that rant of ole huck. He may have prevented anyone from taking a pot shot at. He's not gonna come close to winning anything so who would even want to do that.

Posted by: chasv | May 17, 2008 08:05 PM

I know I'm new here, but can someone tell me what chasv is trying to say? Is this some blog-talk or what?

Posted by: kizzy | May 17, 2008 11:32 PM

Seems like has trying to back up Huck's words or at least their sentiment, except he wont since they backfired.

Maybe after another round of speaking in tongues.. chasv will be able to tune into his evil Gods frequency and clear things up for all of us.

Who knows....

Posted by: Eureka Springs, AR | May 17, 2008 11:53 PM

I believe that's blog talk for grasping at straws, kizzy. If memory serves, I don't think chasv is a Huck fan. Though I could be waay off...he loses me sometimes on who/what he's against/for. The only thing I know for sure about chasv is that he loves to 'witness' for us blog heathens; and the mention of gays brings him running and frothing...like it does all right wing Bible thumpers. (For the record, chasv, you, like so many other judgmental so-called Christians, would be surprised at the amount of God lovers on this blog...people who love rather than hate in the name of their deity.)

Chasv...you should start practicing saying President Obama...and throw a few Madam President in there for the future.

I trust Obama and his gang are smart enough to never let what happened to King happen to him...'cause I know 'they're' out there. (BTW...seems mighty suspicious to me that it's the Dems/liberals who were assassinated in the 60s...compared to the right wing presidents...hmm)

Posted by: zelda | May 18, 2008 11:50 AM

Has any respectable group commented favorably on Huck's statement? If not 'respectable' how about well-known? Or anybody besides another nutcase?

Posted by: notrealbright | May 18, 2008 12:00 PM

Bloggers might appreciate this bit of etymology I discovered in Wikipedia:

huck; sometimes "hock", "huk", "hak". etc.: to bother incessantly, or nag; from hakn a tshaynik. Frequently used by characters intended to represent residents of New York City, even if not Jewish, in movies and television shows such as Law & Order.

Posted by: widj | May 18, 2008 12:07 PM

kizzy, chasv is our judge and jury, speaker in tongues, chief snake handler.....
he sho'nuff put me in my place, couple days ago.....he'll be on your case, too, soon as you
say you love and respect Gays.

Posted by: jazzy | May 18, 2008 03:31 PM

Thanks ES, Zelda, and Jazzy. How old is chasv? 14 or 15?

Posted by: kizzy | May 18, 2008 11:18 PM

Posted by: kizzy | May 18, 2008 11:20 PM

Maybe that joke was planned after all. He had a staffer backstage pop a folding chair on the floor, and his prepared "bullet points" included the "joke".

Posted by: Quapaw | May 19, 2008 11:29 AM

Arkansas Blog

Piling on Huck

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