Posted on 01/12/2008 10:40:58 AM PST by TornadoAlley3
Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee told the Hope/Hempstead County Chamber of Commerce in a July 2 letter that he did not feel welcome in his hometown, and he would take his bass guitar and go home.
Responding to the Chamber's decision not to sponsor a July 10 session of Huckabee's education reform tour, the governor wrote Chamber Executive Director Mark Keith that he was "stunned that a town I once called home is the only community in Arkansas that has asked me not to come and answer questions about an Arkansas Supreme Court decision that will impact schools statewide."
Keith and Chamber President Henry Struckman said Friday that Huckabee was never told by anyone that he could not come to Hope.
Struckman characterized the entire matter as rooted in miscommunication.
"If Mark had told me about what happened, I'd have said, 'No, we can't sponsor them, but we'd be happy to have them come,'" he said.
Struckman said that after he learned of Keith's conversations with Huckabee spokesman Joe Quinn in late June, Struckman called Little Rock.
"I actually called them and said, 'Look, you're invited, the Chamber can't invite you, but we have a group outside the Chamber.' They basically said, 'We'll get back to you,' and then all of this happened," he explained.
The "all of this" to which Struckman referred came in the form of a press statement Huckabee issued statewide on July 3 which said that Hope was the only community in Arkansas to refuse to have Huckabee appear to discuss education reform.
The statement characterized the decision as having been "driven by local politics," and the ensuing flap was born.
Struckman said Friday that he is convinced the problem was born of a failure in Huckabee's office.
"I would not be surprised that whoever was working for him walked into the governor's office and inadvertently changed the words to, maybe, 'you're not invited,'" he said. "When we had our last board meeting, we discussed this in detail, and we thought Hope took a big black eye on this because it was just poor communication. I was actually pushing for the governor to come."
Struckman said the Chamber board "should have given Mark more direction."
Huckabee's July 2 letter also said his rock group, Capitol Offense, would end its annual appearances at the Hope Watermelon Festival, which the Chamber sponsors.
"If explaining these issues and fulfilling my sworn duty to uphold the Arkansas Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court aren't welcomed in Hope, I'll accept your decision," Huckabee wrote. "If I'm not welcome in my capacity as governor, I hope you'll understand that I wouldn't feel comfortable coming in the capacity of mere entertainment for the Hope Watermelon Festival. Regretfully, our office band, Capitol Offense, will end our tradition of playing at the festival, which we have done for free the past six years."
I wish he would take his ball and go home NOW.
Now had they titled this, “No Hope For Huckabee”, that would have brought a lot of attention.
old articles about the Huckster
http://www.guardonline.com/?q=node/26946
http://www.guardonline.com/?q=node/7978
http://www.guardonline.com/?q=node/2373
http://www.guardonline.com/?q=node/6452
http://www.siftingsherald.com/articles/2002/10/30/news/export2852.txt
http://www.siftingsherald.com/articles/2003/10/24/news/export4343.txt
As Gore said to Dubya: “Well, don’t get all snippy about it!”.
LOL! Huckabee’s thin skin is showing.
snicker, snicker.
“stunned that a town I once called home is the only community in Arkansas that has asked me not to come and answer questions about an Arkansas Supreme Court decision that will impact schools statewide.”
sounds like he needs the waaaaaaaaaahmbulance
“If explaining these issues and fulfilling my sworn duty to uphold the Arkansas Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court aren’t welcomed in Hope, I’ll accept your decision,” Huckabee wrote. “If I’m not welcome in my capacity as governor, I hope you’ll understand that I wouldn’t feel comfortable coming in the capacity of mere entertainment for the Hope Watermelon Festival. Regretfully, our office band, Capitol Offense, will end our tradition of playing at the festival, which we have done for free the past six years.”
LOL this is the funniest official letter I have ever read!
Can’t wait until he starts writing letters to foreign leaders!/s
lol
Amazing...
but didn’t you know that Huck is respectful for the right to life?
Yeah ...pardons a murderer of a pregnant 18 yr old. Guess his right to life is selective for votes.
The “Metamucil “ comment about Fred shows Huck is a nasty little SOB!
What did they put in the water in Hope, Arkansas, to breed such self centered, thin skinned, smooth talkin’, Elvis lovin’, back stabbin’, untrustworthy snake oil salesmen?
I didn’t like him the first time I heard him speak. Then I saw that stripe-shirted photo of his family and knew he was uppity trailer trash...just like the Clintons.
I didn’t know much, if anything, about this guy until he became a candidate and began getting exposure. I see now that he’s a thin skinned, ignorant lightweight. He is out of his league.
Huckabee’s appeal among Republican primary voters puzzling to many folks.
They figured when they gave him to the State of Arkansas; they got rid of him for good.
Smart people.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.