Never one for wishing me to enjoy my Sunday morning cup of coffee without a heaping teaspoon of drama, my good friend Jules sent me the following headline to start my day:
"Huckabee's son: What the f*%k is wrong with these guys...Romney and this dude?"
The answer: Plenty, but now it seem these two would-be Presidents of the United States will be forever linked by heinous acts of cruelty to animals.
Who can forget Mitt Romney's National Lampoon-like Family Vacation in 1983? For the lovely 12-hour lazy sojourn from Boston to Ontario, Romney strapped the family Irish Setter Seamus to the top of the car in his crate, Romney insisting the dog "loved the wind in his face." Seamus showed that love of the open road with explosive diarrhea that ran down the sides of the windows and doors until Romney pulled off the road for a little scrub-a-dub. Seamus remained on top of the car until the happy family (except for Seamus) pulled into their final destination. Just the type of love for all of the Lord's creatures every father wants to pass on to his children, never mind the fact that transporting an animal in an unnecessarily cruel and inhumane manner is against the law in Massachusetts.
And now here comes Mike Huckabee and his son, David, with their own history of animal cruelty, which came to light because this past April, Huckabee the Younger was caught packing at Little Rock National Airport. Security noticed a Glock and a clip in the carry-on bag of David Huckabee (he said he forgot it was in there -- who wouldn't?) and his subsequent arrest brought a sordid tale of cruelty to animals out of the shadows and into the national spotlight.
It seems young Huckabee spent some time as a counselor at a Boy Scouts camp called Camp Pioneer back in 1998 when he was 17-years-old. Huck happened upon a stray dog that had the misfortune to cross his path. In a move sure to send chills down the spine of parents everywhere, trusting their kids are being cared for by well intentioned summer camp counselors, David Huckabee hung the dog from a tree. His excuse, according to an interview Newsweek conducted with his father Mike: "There was a dog that apparently had mange and was absolutely, I guess, emaciated."
Funny. That, or perhaps a trip to the local vet might have helped.
The two best postscripts to this story: 1. Young Huck was fired for violating the Boy Scouts credo to "be kind." 2. He later made Eagle Scout. Apparently, no good deed, well, you know...
It comes down to lessons parents are supposed to instill in their children. Kindness to animals seems to me to be one of the most rudimentary lessons of all. And how could a man be a fit presidential candidate to lead a country in the most decent and humane of ways if his actions don't begin at home?