That Hissing Sound You’re Hearing…

By David Kinkade - November 30, 2009 9:37 am

…is the air escaping from the rapidly deflating balloon of Mike Huckabee’s future political aspirations.

Stuff From Around Arkansas, July 6

By David Kinkade - July 6, 2009 10:32 am

Went out of town this weekend, had virtually no web access and experienced a near complete news blackout. It was lovely. I highly recommend it.

Charm Offensive: Wow, this Ernie Passalaigue character who’s running the Arkansas lottery is just charming everyone left and right. Everybody loves him already! (AP)

Ross Vs. Rosson?: Republican Marc Rosson says he’ll challenge Democratic Rep. Mike Ross in Arkansas’ Fourth District. Here’s his website. (Arkansas Times)

Crap and Trade: Columnist David Sanders gives Democratic Reps. Mike Ross and Marion Berry a thumbs up for voting against cap and trade legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. Thumbs down to Rep. Vic Snyder, the only Arkansas Congressman to OK the bill. (Arkansas News Bureau)

Marathonners: Sarah Palin will resign from the Alaska governorship for some reason or another. Is this good for Mike Huckabee’s 2012 political aspirations? Or bad for Huckabee? Let’s everyone obsess over this now for a few days until we can find some other pointless nonsense to latch on to. (Beliefnet.com and Washington Post)

Young Cons Rapping On ‘Huckabee’ Is Worst Thing Ever

By David Kinkade - June 22, 2009 7:53 pm

You kids with your “rap” and “hip hop” music. Please know that this musical form has officially died. Here, let’s watch:

What you are now thinking: “Wow, I never thought I’d say this, but I kinda wish David would go back to talking about the future of the Tea Party movement right about now.” (via GOP12 blog)

Wow, This Guy Hates The ‘Huckabee’ Show

By David Kinkade - April 13, 2009 7:26 am

Wow, this dude really hates Mike Huckabee’s dreadful weekend show on FOX News, “Huckabee.” Perhaps even more than I do:

By the way, he references an interview Huckabee did with ’90s supermodel Kathy Ireland. I went looking for that clip and couldn’t find it, but I did find this:

I figured you’d rather see that than Kathy talking to Huckabee about whatever the hell they were talking about. I’m a hero!

**Oh, by the way, there’s some strong language in that top video, so don’t turn up the volume too loud if you, like, work at a church or something, or if you’re Kane Webb. Kane Webb, he does not care at all for these dirty words on the Internet.

Huckabee: Savior of Towns

By David Kinkade - March 23, 2009 9:04 am

Hey, what the hell has been going on with Mike Huckabee’s Saturday night FOX news show lately? I used to track it on a regular basis, but the last time I checked it out he had Tony Danza, of all people, on talking about the economic stimulus package and…well, I just had to take a break, OK?

But look! Huck’s taking his act on the road with a new series titled “Save This Town,” where he visits distressed communities and focuses on the difficulties folks are facing. This weekend he hit Elkhart, Indiana, a town recently visited by President Barack Obama when he was selling the big ticket “recovery” package. Let’s watch:

Watch more Americas News HQ videos on AOL Video

But more importantly, let’s talk about that FOX News anchor chick, Julie Banderas. Is she hot? I think she’s kinda hot, but it’s a little hard to tell from this video clip. I think we may need to see her in her underwear or a bikini or something to be absolutely sure.

Wait, where was I going with this? Oh, yeah, Huckabee’s trying to inject some desperately needed energy into his dreadful TV show with some kind of dumbass stunt or something. The end.

Stuff from Around Arkansas, March 2

By David Kinkade - March 2, 2009 12:30 pm

Harvey to Huckabee: Passing the torch?

Radio, Radio: Iconic radio storyteller Paul Harvey, age 175, died this weekend. Will Mike Huckabee take his place? If this means he’ll drop the FOX News show, I endorse it. (Arkansas Times)

Big Boss Man: AP analysis details Gov. Mike Beebe’s influence on establishment of state lottery, which should surprise no one since House Speaker Robert “Robbie” Wills never makes a move without securing Beebe’s OK first. (AP)

Trackback: Now Gov. Beebe says he’ll unveil a website to allow tracking of federal stimulus funds spent in Arkansas, which should really be something since I’m pretty sure they’ll be distributing the money by flying over the state and dropping big bags of money out of a helicopter. (Talk Business)

Collegebound: Columnist David Sanders does not like this bill to undo the electoral college one bit, no sir. (Arkansas News Bureau)

Twitterman: If Blake Rutherford loves Twitter so much, why doesn’t he just marry it? (Blake’s Think Tank)

Stuff from Around Arkansas, February 24

By David Kinkade - February 24, 2009 10:16 am

A couple of these are a day or two old, but I didn’t want them to slip away unnoticed….

We haven't checked in on this guy in a while.

Globetrotters: If you have a desire to travel and see the world, you can join the Navy, or maybe just get elected to the Arkansas legislature. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

HuckWatch: Hey, what’s Mike Huckabee up to, aside from his dreadful TV show on FOX News? (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

Prosecute This: So much for that whole “prosecutors should be non-partisan” business that Greenberg was talking up last week. (AP)

Through the Looking Glass: The Arkansas Times’ Max Brantley takes heat from radio callers for posting names and addresses of concealed weapons permit holders on his blog, and The Tolbert Report has the story. So if you’re following this, Tolbert posted on his blog about the experience of listening to Max talk about his blog on the radio. And now I’m linking to THAT. Try to wrap your head around that. (The Tolbert Report)

Unkindest Cuts: If you work at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, you might call before going in today to make sure you still have a job. (Lance Turner’s Unimaginatively Titled Blog)

‘Huckabee’ Targets Coveted Arkansas Project Demographic

By David Kinkade - February 6, 2009 10:31 am

Rosie Perez on 'Huckabee' Saturday. I don't know why either.

Max Brantley at the Arkansas Times blog is concerned about the Arkansas Project’s recent dearth of coverage of Mike Huckabee’s dreadful FOX News show. So he sends along notification that this week’s completely random assemblage of “Huckabee” guests will include actress and spicy Latina firecracker Rosie Perez and a trifecta of former and present Miss Americas, who will talk about “community service, equal pay and the arts in education,” because, you know, why wouldn’t they?

So apparently the theme of this week’s “Huckabee” installment is “Hot Chicks with Gigantic Racks,” and it is an obvious attempt to curry favor with Arkansas Project readers. Well played, Governor. Well played indeed.

P.S. Yeah, you read that right: Max sent this to me, because it was too low-rent an item for the Arkansas Times blog, I guess. So evidently The Arkansas Project is now the Freudian id of Arkansas media.

McLarty on ‘Huckabee’

By David Kinkade - January 15, 2009 3:35 pm

Mack Attack Hits 'Huckabee'

Word arrives from a highly-placed, top secret Arkansas Project operative that Arkansas native and former Clinton chief of staff Mack McLarty will be a special guest on Mike Huckabee’s FOX News show on Saturday. Since leaving the White House, McLarty’s hobbies have included being rich and hanging out with Henry Kissinger. Why anyone who is not an immediate member of the Huckabee or McLarty clans would have any interest in watching this is beyond me.

It’s funny, I was just wondering the other day, Could “Huckabee” possibly be any more dreadful? And the answer is: You just have no idea.

Stuff from Around Arkansas, January 10

By David Kinkade - January 10, 2009 9:50 am

What does this vintage photo of '60s sex symbol Angie Dickinson in a bikini have to do with this post? I don't know. What am I, The Answer Guy?

Economy Size: If you’re in the mood to read a long list of cliché buzzwords and vague suggestions posing as a long-term strategy, then you should read this story summarizing Gov. Mike Beebe’s economic development plan for Arkansas. (Arkansas News Bureau)

Media Watch: Newspapers are terrible. (The Iconoclast)

Is It Getting Mormon Here?: Mike Huckabee wants you to know that he loves Utah and he loves Mormons. But he still hates Mitt Romney like poison. (The Mormon Times. Yeah, that’s right. I read The Mormon Times. What of it?)

Huck Media Dominance Continues

By David Kinkade - January 5, 2009 7:34 am

Don’t forget that Mike Huckabee’s new radio commentary gig, The Huckabee Report, launches today on an ABC Radio station near you.

What? Why are you looking  at me like that? Look, I’m just sharing information—there’s no punchline here. It doesn’t have to be all jokes, all the time. Jesus.

Update: Max Brantley at the Arkansas Times blog notes that the show should begin airing on KARN in two weeks. If you can’t wait that long, you should be able to pull a podcast version off the website, so you can listen to it on your iPod while you’re working out or gardening or quietly pondering your own long-awaited and much-desired demise.

Uhhhhh….OK

By David Kinkade - January 2, 2009 7:02 pm

A gay old time

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Mike Huckabee’s not going to be pumped about having his December 9 “Daily Show” appearance, in which he debated gay marriage with Jon Stewart, selected as a “Top Gay Video of 2008.”

Huck Speaks on Saltsman Imbroglio

By David Kinkade - December 29, 2008 5:25 pm

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee issued the following statement today about the controversy surrounding his former campaign manager Chip Saltsman, who finds himself in a mess o’ trouble in his bid to head the Republican National Committee after circulating a parody CD that some decry as racially insensitive.

Chip should have been more careful in his selection of Christmas gifts, but no one who knows him would ever suggest that he in any way would purposely disparage other people. Chip knows how sensitive such issues are. It shouldn’t be the main factor in the RNC race.

The election of Barack Obama is not only historic for our country but it is something all Americans, not just Democrats, should celebrate. As I have said many times the election of Mr. Obama is significant not because of his race or in spite of it, but with indifference to it. He was not my choice for President, but he will be MY President over the next four years and I will support him personally and pray for his success. I will certainly disagree with him at times, but I pledge that my disagreements with him will be over his policy decisions and not aimed at him personally. I ask that all of you will join with me in doing that.

Huck’s stepping rather gingerly there, no? You can listen to the song here and judge for yourself whether it’s offensive or not.

Meanwhile, the GOP Democratic Speaker of the House in Saltsman’s home state of Tennessee says that Saltsman should be renounced, and perhaps stoned in the public square, according to this AP report.

Update: Blogger Jason Tolbert has more on what is apparently a long-running “There Will Be Blood” vengeance dynamic between Saltsman and Jimmy Naifeh, the Tennessee House Speaker.

And here’s a counter-intuitive Politico article suggesting that the whole controversy may end up HELPING Saltsman in his campaign to be RNC chair.

The Song That Sank Saltsman?

By David Kinkade - December 29, 2008 4:03 pm

Chip Saltsman

Former Mike Huckabee campaign manager Chip Saltsman, now in a bid to to head the Republican National Committee, is in hot water the last few days for circulating a parody CD that included a track titled “Barack, the Magic Negro.”

The satirical song is a take-off on “Puff the Magic Dragon,” an execrable pop-folk “classic” by Peter, Paul and Mary, one of those horrific old baby boomer favorite acts that you’ll probably find on John Brummett’s new iPod. The new satirical version was featured on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show in 2007.

Anyway, with all the to-do over the song the last few days, I thought I’d make it easy on you and supply it here for your listening pleasure. The audio clip includes some of Limbaugh’s commentary leading up to the track, so it goes about 4 minutes. It’s here unless and until they make me take it down:

Click here to play “Barack, the Magic Negro”

Verdict: Eh. I don’t find it “racist” or “unacceptable” as some more excitable types do, but then I’m not easily offended. My objection is that it’s a pretty weak brew— it’s just not very funny as satire. Trey Parker of “South Park” fame can throw off a funnier musical bit than this before breakfast on an off day. I mean, if you’re going to sink your political future, at least do it for something that’s balls-out funny. Or somehow involves hookers.

Meanwhile, blogger Jason Tolbert takes note of a recent Saltsman visit to Arkansas to woo GOP regulars. With the media dust-up over this controversial parody track, will it all have been for naught?

“Huckabee”: Worst Show on Television?

By David Kinkade - December 27, 2008 11:56 am

Regular readers of The Arkansas Project are aware of the extraordinarily low regard this blog has for Mike Huckabee’s terrible Saturday night show on FOX News. It’s really nothing against Huckabee, I suppose; it’s just that the terrible terribleness of this program cannot be denied.

Well, we’re not alone: Here’s a punchy blog that’s running a reader poll centered on the question, “Is ‘Huckabee’ the worst show on television?”

They go so far to include a reel of video lowlights highlights from the show to help you decide your vote. (It’s like 2 minutes long, but I swear I couldn’t watch to the end.) At this writing, more than 600 votes have been cast, with a rather decisive 84+ percent agreeing that, yes, “Huckabee” is indeed the worst show on television. Get on over and cast your votes today!

How did The Arkansas Project vote? Ooooh, I’ll never tell!

Huckabee: ‘No Way’ on Lincoln Challenge

By David Kinkade - December 22, 2008 4:13 pm

Mike Huckabee

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee says ‘no way’ to a U.S. Senate run to challenge Sen. Blanche Lincoln in 2010, the Arkansas News Bureau’s John Lyon reports:

“I can put that one to bed, pull the covers up, tuck it in and give it Ambien. It’s asleep. No way,” Huckabee told reporters after giving a talk at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.

“So for all the speculators who wonder, ‘Well is he really? What’s he really saying?’ what I’m really saying is, it won’t be me.”

Great! That means he’ll have more time to devote to clothing design and to his Saturday night variety show on FOX News! Isn’t that great news? Say, I wonder if I can slice my wrists open with this letter opener…

Update: If you’re a true glutton for all things Huck, The Tolbert Report blog has what looks like 4 hours of video from the event, which is astonishing because it was only like an hour long. I swear to God, next time I see Tolbert I’m gonna take that stupid Flip camera out of his hand, throw it on the ground and stomp it to pieces. It’s just unhealthy.

Huck: Rick Warren OK With Me for Inauguration

By David Kinkade - December 20, 2008 3:26 pm

This week’s big to-do on the left — “Oh, no, evangelical leader Rick Warren is going to give the invocation at Barack Obama’s inauguration! Boo! Hiss!” — prompts this spirited defense of Warren from one former Arkansas governor:

In other news, the special celebrity guest on “Huckabee” tonight is comedienne/actress Fran Drescher, formerly of the CBS sitcom “The Nanny,” who will talk about why she wants to be appointed to the U.S. Senate to replace outgoing Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton. Good God, there are so many things that fill me with dread and revulsion in that last sentence that I don’t even know where to start.

And this article inexplicably praises Huckabee’s terrible Saturday night show for being “civil” and notes that “Huckabee” now commands nearly two million viewers per week. I had no idea there were that many shut-ins and people who had fallen and broken a hip, rendering them unable to reach the remote.

Jailbird Gov to Huck: Blagojevich Should ‘Resign Immediately’

By David Kinkade - December 15, 2008 11:18 am

We haven’t had a clip from Mike Huckabee’s FOX News show in a couple of weeks, because all too often it’s just interviews with horrible celebrities talking about their political beliefs. But Huck had a good catch this weekend, landing an interview with former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, a Republican who went to jail in 2004 as the result of a corruption investigation.

Huck plumbs Rowland’s thoughts on political corruption in light of the Senate-seat-for-sale scandal surrounding Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich that erupted last week. The key, Rowland says, is to identify the “moral compass” that grounds elected officials. And he says Blagojevich has to resign from office posthaste:

That’s a highlight; if you want to burn off ten minutes of your day watching the full interview, click here.

Huckabee himself weighed in on the Blagojevich scandal on “Hannity & Colmes” last week.

Huckabee: The Gift That Keeps On Giving

By David Kinkade - December 12, 2008 3:58 pm

It’s December 12—have you finished your Christmas shopping? If not, you’re terrible and you suck. Me, I’m in great shape: As soon as I pick up that new ironing board for Arkansas Project Girlfriend (APG), I’ll be golden. (Don’t tell her what she’s getting—I want it to be a surprise!)

But if you’ve procrastinated, fear not: Mike Huckabee has your back. For a limited time, you can order copies of his new book “Tuesdays With Mitt” “Do the Right Thing,” autographed by Huck and encased in a snazzy collectible leather gift box. It’ll only set you back $32 for the entire heirloom quality set. And while you’re at it, be sure to pick up a “Team Huckabee” sport shirt, so that I can make fun of you when you wear it.

For more ways to celebrate “A Very Huckabee Christmas,” click here.

Stuff from Around Arkansas, Dec. 11

By David Kinkade - December 11, 2008 7:14 am

Quick hits from all over:

Labor Pains: Arkansas contractors like the looks of an almost certainly terrible multi-billion dollar stimulus package that will boost infrastructure construction, but still don’t like unions. Also, they’re asking if they can receive payment not by U.S. Treasury check, but by a big bag of cash with a dollar sign printed on the side. (Arkansas News Bureau)

The Unbearable Lightness of Beebe, Yet Again: This will shock you, but Gov. Mike Beebe just doesn’t know what to think about these annual sessions for the legislature. I’m surprised he’s able to get out of bed in the morning, being so constantly paralyzed by indecision. (AP)

Debate Squad

Huck and Stewart Marriage Debate: Much attention in recent days to video of Mike Huckabee and Jon Stewart debating gay marriage on “The Daily Show.” There are at least four nouns in that last sentence that bore me to death. Guess which ones. Max Brantley’s got the goods. (Arkansas Times)

Will They Revoke His Library Card?: A Fayetteville man is jailed for allegedly looking at child pornography on a computer at the public library. So apparently it turns out you’re not supposed to do that. (Morning News of NWA)

He’s Got Issues!: Blogging Baxter Co. Republican Bill Smith wants to know why there’s no focus on issues in the coming race for GOP chair. That sounds awful ambitious to me, but then I’m usually impressed when the state GOP remembers to pay the light bill in any given month, so I may not be the guy to ask. (ARRA News Service)