Huckabee Loves Filthy Music, Unless It's Beyoncé

Mike Huckabee is not going to be the 2016 Republican presidential nominee. But he is all set to launch another presidential run.

On Friday, the former Arkansas governor told Fox News (his employer until recently) that he will announce his campaign plans (whatever they are) on May 5. “

“There’s only one person I know in the Republican field that has consistently run against the Clinton political machine, the Clinton political money," Huckabee told reporters earlier that day. “Most all of my races, both Bill and Hillary Clinton came back to Arkansas to campaign for my opponents. So I know the process quite well.”

There are many aspects of Huckabee’s political and very religious identity that would make matters difficult for him in a general election. He believes that gay rights activists are tyrannical actors who want to rid America of churches. He has been a right-wing pundit, and out of public service, for years now. He thinks that the mass murder of kids in American schools is due to the lack of prayer in schools.

Forget all that. The most disqualifying thing about Mike Huckabee is his brazen pop-music hypocrisy.

The potential 2016 contender is not a fan of Beyoncé. (Neither is his former Fox colleague Bill O’Reilly.) In his book, the subtly titled God, Guns, Grits and Gravy, he describes Beyoncé’s lyrics as “obnoxious and toxic mental poison.” In an interview with People magazine last January, he slammed the Obamas for allowing their daughters to listen to her songs. “[T]hey don't see anything that might not be suitable for either a preteen or a teen in some of the lyrical content and choreography of Beyoncé, who has sort of a regular key to the door [of the Obama White House].”

Here’s Daily Show host Jon Stewart confronting Huckabee on the issue of Beyoncé:

Never mind that there are many ways in which Beyoncé is easily a very good influence on young women and girls in this country. His dislike of Beyoncé’s craft highlights a shameless double standard on his part.

He is a huge fan of The Rolling Stones, for instance. "The Rolling Stones have had the lasting power because even after all these years … they continue to make the greatest music and put on the most amazing shows,” he said in 2008. Governor Huckabee even pardoned Stones guitarist Keith Richards for a decades-old reckless driving charge. (Richards didn’t exactly return the affection, though.) Here’s footage of Huckabee talking about hanging with the Stones backstage, and doing a subpar Keith Richards impression:

Set aside The Rolling Stones’ notoriety for wild behavior and debauched criminality. It’s not a stretch to say that some of their lyrics are far more potentially corrupting to young, innocent minds than any album or music video Beyoncé has ever unleashed. For one thing, the Stones have a song called, “Cocksucker Blues.”

“Oh, where can I get my cock sucked? Where can I get my ass fucked? I may have no money, but I know where to put it every time,” Mick Jagger howls, playing the role of a “lonesome schoolboy.”

These are presumably all things that staunch conservative Mike Huckabee would not readily approve of.

Here’s the song:

This is to say nothing of the fact that The Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar,” a classic and acclaimed rock ’n’ roll song, is actually about raping black slaves. Or that “When the Whip Comes Down” tells the tale of a gay man who moves to New York City and then turns to prostitution.

Apparently, none of that matters to Huckabee. The president and first lady can let their kids listen to all the Stones records they want. Because Huckabee loves the Stones. It’s just when you verge into “Single Ladies” territory that you’ve crossed a moral line.