Huckabee Sept 9^th

The Republican circus is now a three ringer; Donald Trump’s selling snake oil bluster occupies the center ring and gets most of the attention. There is another ring, at least for the moment, and Mike Huckabee has that ring all to himself. He has increased his morning talk show appeal and he has done this by proclaiming his support for Kim Davis who is famous for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

Huckabee nearly blew it; he declared that he was going to visit Kim Davis in jail but by the time he got to Kansas Kim had been released from jail because the other clerks in the courthouse were issuing those awful marriage licenses, so  the judge no longer had any reason to keep Kim locked up. Even though Kim had been released she remained inside the courthouse for some time, probably letting crowd enthusiasm build up before she went on stage.

Not only did Huckabee get to Kansas a day late but when he arrived he found Senator Ted Cruz already there and eager to share the spotlight with him as well. Bummer! Of course there was Kim’s attorney who also stuck to her side. This attorney raised some eyebrows by declaring that SCOTUS had no right to interpret the constitution so as to permit same sex marriage. Some members of the court probably agreed with him but it’s too late now.

After a considerable wait the heroine of the hour emerged from the jail building; she was preceded by Senator Ted Cruz who attempted to turn to his right as he exited but his way was blocked by a much shorter figure. The blocker kept shifting his position so as to continuing to block the Senator’s progress. Cruz finally smiled and gave up; it seemed the blocker was a paid Huckabee supporter whose job is to see that only his boss shared the platform with Kim and her attorney.

Now we see a heartwarming spectacle: Kim is smiling and raising her hands to the sky in thanksgiving for her release. It is clear that she believes she has won a great victory. How is that possible? The judge has told her that if she interferes with the other clerks who have been issuing same sex licenses in her absence she will go right back into the pokey. Some victory. Huckabee uses the microphone to make some curious comments about civil disobedience which this surely was, but the comparisons he makes are all with civilian disobedience not with the failure of an elected official to do what she had sworn an oath to do. That difference seems to have escaped Reverend Huckabee. He also seems surprised that this horror has been visited on a Democrat and he specifically points that out. He doesn’t mention that the Judge who imprisoned Kim was appointed by President G.W. Bush and was likely a Republican.

Kim Davis and her supporters are clearly overjoyed; they liked the way the first act ended but the play isn’t over yet. Kim is happy too; she can keep her job and jobs that pay 80 thousand a year plus tidy benefits are not easily obtained in rural Kansas.