Our political Quote of the Day comes from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the Fox News mega-personality and ascending national radio talk show host, who refuses to give GOP bigwig Karl Rove a pass on Rove’s comments about Rep. Todd Akin, the Missouri GOPer running for Senate who Rove and others unsuccessfully tried to pressure to step down. Via The Politico here’s Huckabee’s latest:
Supposedly, making a mistake saying something about rape was unforgivable in the GOP. Then Karl Rove spoke to a group of wealthy donors in Tampa and not realizing a reporter was in the room, said, “We have to sink Akin. If he’s found mysteriously murdered, don’t look for my whereabouts.” His comments were made public, and he called Todd Akin to apologize. Despite the treatment given to him, Todd Akin accepted the apology and expressed his forgiveness to Karl.
If making a foolish remark about rape is bad, then making a joke about a United States congressman being murdered is as bad or worse since Akin didn’t wish anyone to be raped, just spoke awkwardly and incorrectly about the likelihood of pregnancy in the event of a rape. In light of the attempted assassination of congresswoman Gabby Giffords, the remark was disturbing. …
Let’s hope that all those who have publicly called on Todd to quit the race now do what they can to help him win. If they continue to ask him to stand down, then I will expect they will demand the same of Karl. If they don’t and try to say “it’s different,” then we will finally know for sure that we are a party of personalities and not of principles. We will then know that we protect only those who are “in the club” and the rest of us are on our own. And if that is the case, then those of us not “in the club” surely will be forgiven if we spend our time, money, energy, and efforts to elect fellow outcasts and stop pretending the “club” wants us. We will simply make it clear that we are no longer willing to do the errands, clean up after the parties, and chip in for the cost just so we can be escorted out the back door lest someone see us hanging out with the swells. My suggestion is that we stop fighting each other and start working together to elect conservative Republicans and change the country. There is no need that any of us have tire tracks on our backs. I’m very willing to work with Republicans and conservatives all over the spectrum even if they don’t agree with me on all issues or the priority of them. Can I count on them to work with me in the same spirit of respect?
Worth noting here:
1. Huckabee continues to carve out a position (agree with him or not) of being an independent voice. He’s not rip ‘n read RNC talking points like Sean Hannity, or a shock jock like Rush Limbaugh. And, within his party, he is articulating a viewpoint for his part of the party far more effectively than Rick Santorum.
2. Rove should have known better and his comments in private or not were truly shocking – and it is not p.c. to say it. He SURELY knows the number of people in the past 50 years who’ve been shot at, shot or murdered by nutcases. Even in jokes a)if a comment like that leaks out (which it did) it’s dangerous b)it reflects a political mindset that if you greatly disagree with someone or they are political foes you can’t vanquish that you have to absolutely hate them to the nth degree of your being.
3. Huckabee makes the point: Rove apologized and Akin did apologize, too. And…oh here it comes…the false equivalency brigade will go crazy over this one but Huckabee’s point will be well taken.
4. Rove won’t be impacted by this. He’s too big a player in the GOP. But his image will be diminished among some due to his words and the fact he had to apologize; Huckabee’s image will be enhanced due to him once again becoming the voice of a wing of his party that may increasingly conclude Santorum is a weak voice compared to a guy who is not predictable and literally has a microphone. A guy with a TV and radio mike is better than a guy with a sweater any, old day…
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.