There's Something About Arkansas

by JASmius



Beats me, folks; maybe it's something in the cornpone.

I mean, yeah, La Clinton Nostra steals and scams and malfeasances ever onward and upward, having gone from the Clinton Foundation's claim that it had complied with State Commissariat protocols on disclosure and approval of foreign donations during the Ugly Dutchess's tenure - on which even Obama's Foggy Bottom called BS - to claiming that it had been transparent regarding foreign donations on its website - on which even Reuters has now called BS - while not even bothering to attempt to claim that its Form 990s had ever been accurate and nevertheless still strong-arming Charity Navigator to restore a clean transparency rating to the CF - on which the former is not budging.  All of this is SOP for the Natural State's First Clan and not remotely newsworthy by itself.

Or wouldn't be, if it wasn't now apparent that this phenomenon is (nominally) bipartisan:

After running unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2008, [former Arksansas Governor Mike] Huckabee embraced his role as an entertainer and sacrificed much of his credibility in the process. In his new role as book salesman and television host, the former governor apparently saw no problem in using his email list to generate a bit of added revenue by selling products of dubious repute to his devoted fans.

Among the most suspicious products Huckabee promoted during this period were a set of dietary supplements called the “Diabetes Solution Kit.” This series of pills containing cinnamon and chromium picolinate promised to eventually rid users of their diabetes, but only after prolonged use of course. “Let me tell you, diabetes can be reversed,” Huckabee insisted in an infomercial. “I should know, because I did it. Today you can, too.”

But none of that is true. The American and Canadian Diabetes Association says that this set of diet supplements does nothing to reduce chronically high blood glucose or blood sugar levels in patients who suffer from those conditions.

Never mind political credibility, this brings into question Huck's business ethics and personal integrity.  Sure, it's a mouse alongside a brontosaurus when compared to Bill & Hillary's endless global racketeering, but it's still unsavory.  It's almost as if he had decided at the time he'd never run for president again and said, "What the hell!"  And, you know, forgot he was a Republican and would never be allowed to get away with it or have their wagons circled around his change-of-mind presidential campaign sequel.

Or so I judge from the decidedly un-Clintonoid manner in which Huck fielded Bob Schieffer's line of questioning:

“I don’t have to defend everything that I've ever done,” Huckabee said.

Oh, yes, you do, Governor.  You're a Republican, remember?

The candidate failed to address the medical claims made by the product he pitched, and merely insisted that it was primarily marketed as a dietary supplement.

“If that’s the worst thing that people can say to me, that I advocated for people who have diabetes to do something to reverse it and stop the incredible pain of that, then I’m going to be a heck of a good president,” he added.

You didn't "advocate for people who have diabetes," Huck; you dishonestly sold them crap you claimed would cure them.  Something of which I think you're perfectly well aware given the vehement defensiveness of your answer.

It got even worse in an earlier interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, in which Huck admitted that his company even sold a "cure for cancer":

“But my gosh, that’s like saying, ‘You run some ads on CNN, do you personally agree with all the ads that run on CNN?’ I doubt you do,” he said. “I’m sure there’s some for maybe, I don’t know, catheters or adult diapers, they’re not products you use or you necessarily believe in. I don’t hold you responsible for that.”

Tapper called out Huckabee for the false equivalence.

“We’re talking about medical devices on one hand, catheters and adult diapers, and you’re talking about something I think a lot of people would consider to be hucksterism in terms of Bible verses curing cancer,” Tapper said.

Blasphemous "huck"sterism at that.  And Huck's lame response? "I didn’t actually run that part of my company." Which speaks volumes about his abilities as a chief executive, and will doubtless be fodder for anti-Huckabee ads for however long he remains in the campaign.

Your blood is in the water, Governor.  You'd better hope - and (heh) pray - that you haven't burned all your bridges back to Fox News.