Janet Huckabee on the Campaign Trail...Insults Own Son?
A reader sent me this and I wanted to throw it out to see what y'all thought. I've edited it because it was one big paragraph when I got it.---
I thought you might be interested in this story about Janet Huckabee.
I wasn't aware that Janet wasn't already on the campaign trail, but it appears that she's starting this week. I guess she's gonna act as a surrogate for Mike, like other candidate's wives.
Her remarks yesterday to a Republican women's group in Washington caught my attention when she appeared to insult her son, John Mark. I have met John Mark many times and know a lot of people who know him well. He's a really nice guy. Unfortunately, I've heard a handful of stories of his parents treating him a little brusquely.
Here is what she said,
"You tune in a radio and every now and then you'll hit a frequency and think, 'Man, I wish I could get that' and you don't quite get it, but every now and then you get it? Well, John Mark is kind of like that."
I can't fathom why she would say anything like that in public, which is why I wanted to tell you about it. John Mark may not be Einstein, but who is? I've always found him to be a very capable person.
I know they must love him, but I keep going back to this, I really can't believe that she would say something like that in public. It wouldn't be good if reporters got some of the stories I've heard about their past treatment of him. He deserves better and whatever they want to say should be kept in the family. He's too nice a guy for that. He's smart enough to know that she just said he wasn't very smart IN PUBLIC, which hurts I'm sure.
I can't possibly believe that statement was a planned remark, because that wouldn't ever have passed a real speechwriter or editor, unless they were using the same guy who misspelled and typoed and butchered Huckabee's recent correspondence with Arkansas legislators and their list of supporters. Oh, I forgot-the Huckabee's don't need speechwriters.
I don't know if you're interested in this or not. I just couldn't believe it when I read it. If my mother ever said something like that about me or one of my siblings in public, it would tear me up.
---
Here's the link to the Arkansas News story by Aaron Sadler.
posted by Henry Rearden at
3:43 PM
7 Comments:
HOLY COW!!!!
I had to read that twice 'cause I couldn't believe it either.
I've heard Janet and Mike say some really rude things about him, but never in front of a reporter or an audience. I really hate this for John Mark.
How stupid are these people? I was a college republican years ago when John Mark was president. I remember one time when he invited his dad to speak to us. I guess the guv didn't want to waste his time with us because he was so rude. John Mark had to pull teeth to get him to come. John Mark introduced him as the governor and Mike pointed out that he hadn't called him his dad. He "joked" that it was fine if John Mark didn't want to claim him because he didn't want to claim John Mark, either. I remember seeing how hurt John Mark looked. I thought the same thing. If one of my parents had said something like that, I would have been heartbroken.
John Mark was always so proud of his dad and tried so hard to get his approval. He really wanted to make him happy. I agree that the guv probably really loves John Mark and all his other kids, but he picked on John Mark too much. He should have kept any problems private.
Poor guy. He's not even the one who killed the dog is he?
Not something I would have said publicly about my child, but...
...it is a pretty dead-on description of John Mark. And by that, I don't mean (and I don't think she meant) that he's dumb, or not all there. What it means is that John Mark's mind & mouth randomly jump from place to place; that's not anything negative, that's just his personality.
BTW, Henry, you call yourself an Arkansas conservative, but are you more conservative or libertarian? Personally, I side with Russell Kirk and his identification of Ayn Rand as an "intellectual freak".
Thank you for the question. In answer, I consider myself a conservative, but I do have strong libertarian streaks, which I consider to be perfectly in accord with basic conservative principles. I wouldn't disagree that Rand was somewhat freakish. I don't agree with everything or even large portions of her worldview, her views on altruism and selfishness, for instance, I believe that selflessness is a virtue, but as a conservative, I believe it must be by my own choice and I believe that there's a line not to be crossed. I believe in the importance of teaching a man to fish rather than giving away fish, even in private charity and especially within the family...
Where I part with many libertarians is on moral issues. I believe there's a difference between liberty and license. I wouldn't like to see more gambling or prostitution or drugs legalized. They're destructive to the fabric of society. I believe government has a role in establishing law and order, which is reinforced by Scripture, such as the right to life and the death penalty and traditional marriage.
Getting back to Rand, she was a bitter, hateful, immoral, self-centered woman, but her ability to instruct on the virtues of self-reliance and the free enterprise system is nearly unparalleled. So, please don't confuse admiration for certain teachings to be admiration of her life or the totality of her teachings.
I believe in basic conservative principles, such as the sanctity of life, the virtues of freedom, small government, morality, American Exceptionalism, a strong national defense, etc... Some of those also fall under the banner of libertarianism, but I would never say that I'm more libertarian than conservative. I believe that true conservatism encompasses large portions of libertarianism, but that conservatism is superior to libertarianism.
I apologize for the lengthiness of my response. Brevity being the soul of wit, and so forth. Perhaps some day I will condense my beliefs into a more appropriately brief response (or a more complete and lengthy response). In the meantime, I will attempt to do so by saying, as my father taught me, there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Yours Truly,
$,
Henry
What a dysfunctional family this bible-thumping Huckabee has. One son that appears an embarrassment and the another who tortured a dog to death who's not. No one could write this stuff. It's like one of this presidential candidate's sons is a serial killer in-the-making. Can't wait to see the movie.
I just read this today and had to laugh. I truly get what she is saying. If you had a twenty-something son like mine you would understand.
It is hot meant to be insulting. If anything, she is insulting herself because she doesn't "get" her son.
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