Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who might throw his hat into the ring for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, does not like people who do not like guns.
In his new book, God, Guns, Grits and Gravy, the ordained Baptist minister and son of the south says, “Clearly, city slickers who are more afraid of guns than of the criminals who might use them have a serious mental condition rendering them incapable of critical thinking.”
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Huckabee, who recently left Fox News, has long defended the Second Amendment. He grew up among hunters in Hope, Arkansas, with guns at home and drills from his father on how to use them safely. “I’m a hunter. I hunt ducks, deer, and turkey and have also hunted antelope in Wyoming and pheasant in Iowa. But the Second Amendment isn’t about hunting. [It’s] about preserving all the rights we possess as citizens.”
Huckabee 59, could appeal to a large conservative segment of the population, including evangelicals and libertarians who think the government is intruding on their lives. If his current 43-city book tour is any indication, his campaign might be on the ascendancy, especially since Romney has withdrawn from the race.
He has been attracting big crowds in some of the early primary states. As one South Carolina resident and fan of the southern evangelical put it, “He’s the next president.”
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The former 2008 presidential candidate once again seems to reject the long election battle that would lie ahead. He attacks east- and west-coast liberals in his book who have an issue with guns: “Anyone who thinks we can simply ban guns and – poof – make them all disappear, even from the hands of criminals, is deluded. Maybe on drugs.” And, “The real ‘gun nuts’ are the ones who know the least about firearms or freedom, but who most want to make sure the good guys are unarmed when the bad guys decide to murder a few.”
The slap at those who worry about the prevalence of guns and violence in America won’t win him urban fans but he’s clearly not concerned. The three “nerve centers” of American culture – New York City, Washington, D.C., and L.A. – should be known as “Bubble-ville,” he says, as compared to his own “Bubba-ville.”
“[New York] is crowded, loud, hurried, intense, and its streets seem filthy,” he says. “I can’t find a Walmart in Manhattan and people stare at my cowboy boots when I’m on the subway.”
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Unlike other Republicans with new books, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Huckabee spends far less time spelling out policy prescriptions for America than letting it fly on the current state of American culture as he sees it. As discussions about the 2016 presidential race heat up, here are other quotes from Huckabee’s book:
“If ego could be turned into electricity, Washington, D.C. would have electric power in unlimited levels and never have a power outage…”
“If people don’t put pepper sauce on their black-eyed peas or order fried green tomatoes for an appetizer, I probably won’t relate to them without some effort.”
“Most people living in my world just want to be left alone.”
“Being an economist must be interesting since they are paid handsomely to be wrong most of the time.”
“Government doesn’t do things well even when it takes its sweet time. When it acts in haste, it can really screw things up.”
“When someone says ‘There ought to be a law,’ it’s going to cost you.”
“The IRS is a criminal enterprise, it systematically violates our constitutional rights, and it has to go… It’s the closest thing America has to a goose-stepping Gestapo.”
“Yes, poverty is a condition for poor people, but it’s a career for those who administer the programs and who would be put out of business if they were actually successful in eradicating poverty.”
“I don’t think we need more money in government; I do think we need more morality and decency in our culture.”
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