Mike Huckabee speaks out after quitting country music board
After facing backlash, Mike Huckabee resigned from the country music organization, citing political and religious intolerance; the former Arkansas governor speaks out on 'The Story.'
Former Arkansas Gov. and GOP presidential contender Mike Huckabee – long an advocate for music and the arts – was forced to resign from the Country Music Association Foundation Board Thursday, less than a day after being appointed, because of backlash against his conservative views.
Country music, once an inclusive industry that welcomed conservatives and people of faith, has now become an exclusive, politically correct group, indistinguishable from the rest of the entertainment industry.
The message country music fans received this week is that if you share Huckabee’s conservative political views there’s no room for you in country music.
The Country Music Association Foundation encourages kids to pursue music by helping students get involved in music programs and providing access to instruments. Huckabee used to showcase country music stars on his Fox News Channel show and play bass guitar with the stars he featured. He credits music for giving him confidence as a kid and for a lot of success in life.
How can we hope to tackle the issue of bullying in our schools when adults won’t stop bullying each other? We’ve reached the point where some people are offended about getting offended and so bully the other side into silence. We have to stop this insanity.
In his resignation letter to the board, Huckabee said: “I hope that the music and entertainment industry will become more tolerant and inclusive and recognize that a true love for kids having access to the arts is more important than a dislike for someone or a group of people because of who they are or what they believe.”
Apparently, we’ve become so divided in our country that we’ve reached a time where we can no longer peacefully coexist and respect each other’s differences. Even when kids are involved.
Historically, country music has had a large conservative fan base. And when you’re trying to sell music it’s never a good idea to alienate a considerable portion of your fan base. That’s a lesson the Dixie Chicks learned in 2003 when singer Natalie Maines announced the group was ashamed President George W. Bush was from Texas.
The Dixie Chicks’ No. 1 single disappeared from the charts and the group has never had a song in the top 30 since then. That was 15 years ago, but it’s still talked about. It’s also something country music singer-songwriter Radney Foster said artists still need to consider if they want their songs played on the air.
You have to wonder what threatens these people so much about conservative values that it would elicit such hatred and intolerance toward someone who simply has a different opinion. All Huckabee did was get elected to the foundation, and the next day he was bullied into resigning, without having said a word.
In fact, in his resignation letter he said: “All of us have deep passions about our beliefs. I do about mine. But I hate no one. I wish upon NO ONE the loss of life or livelihood because that person sees things differently than me.”
How can we hope to tackle the issue of bullying in our schools when adults won’t stop bullying each other? We’ve reached the point where some people are offended about getting offended and so bully the other side into silence. We have to stop this insanity.
What’s ludicrous is that Huckabee’s role on the CMA Foundation would have had nothing to do with his conservative views. It would have had everything to do with his passion for music and how it shaped his life, and how he wanted to help kids use music to do the same in their lives.
As governor of Arkansas he advocated for music and arts programs in public schools and was able to get legislation passed so that all kids from elementary through high school had music and arts programs. You would think artists – who often lobby for more public investments arts education – would want someone on the foundation board who has successfully fought for such investments.
Sorry governor, conservatives need not apply.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said of her dad on Friday: “He was a shy kid and hated to be in front of people until he learned to play the guitar when he was about 11 and so this is something he’s passionate about – that’s not going to stop, that’s not going to change. And he’ll continue advocating for that.”
There’s a battle going on in our country to target conservatives and people of faith. It’s the politically correct form of discrimination. We see it coming from Hollywood, from liberals in the media and from the far left in Washington. And now country music is jumping on the bully bandwagon.
Huckabee was right when he said “hate won” this week, but this isn’t the end. There are countless conservatives and people of faith in this country, and now more than ever we are very well aware that our beliefs are under attack.
We’ve seen enormous overreach from the politically correct crowd to silence conservatives and people of faith in this country. The overreach is one of the reasons President Trump got elected, which is something they still haven’t reconciled.
Those on the left have instead chosen to ignore the facts and continue their orchestrated effort to use political correctness to target those who disagree with them.
Get the recap of top opinion commentary and original content throughout the week.