I believe you're right lacrew. Liberal elite haters at A&E wanted to laugh at traditional Americans - NOT give them platform from which to speak. I'll bet Phil knew that... and allowed the A&E buffoons to feel 'oh so superior' until he had them right where he wanted them...
A&E knows what they are doing. Just when DD should start flagging in the ratings Phil grabs the national spotlight? And then AE doubles down on episodes? Watch what AE does not what they say.
As for DD their mission is to make money. That is not a family of rednecks. Pay attention to pre-DD pictures, notice the college degrees, even the church is not redneck. Heck, duck hunting is not generally considered a redneck activity.
My guess is that they are social conservatives and populist. In a former political age they would have been blue dog democrats.