Tonight, Jay Leno will do his first broadcast since the Hollywood writers’ strike began and his first guest, former Governor Mike Huckabee who is running for president.
Huckabee has gone to great pains to talk about his faith on the stump and in campaign ads. He has also talked quite a bit about being a supporter of the working stiffs in this country.
It seems odd that he would be crossing a picket line in such a public way.
He claims he didn’t realize what he was doing.
This from the New York Times:
“Former Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas today professed his support for the striking television writers union just a few hours before he was expected to board a plane to for a taping of the Jay Leno show where he will face a vocal picket line of striking writers.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Huckabee said he was unaware that he would be crossing picket lines and believed that he the program had reached a special agreement with the union.
Although crossing picket lines might not be unusual for most Republican candidates, Mr. Huckabee has waged an unusual populist campaign on economic issues, stressing his empathy with the anxieties of working people. On Wednesday, he said he identified with the striking television workers as an author himself and believed they deserved a share of the proceeds from the sale of their work.”
So, was this just a mistake? And anyway, is it a bad thing that he’s appearing on the show and snubbing the strikers? What’s your take?
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Huckabee is either one of two things: a great politician who pretends to be a bumbling idiot, or a bumbling idiot.
He’s used the excuse of ignorance in the past for more serious transgressions. Whether he intentionally spited the writers or whether he’s a moron is something that will only be revealed when we can correctly determine his level of cunning and intelligence.
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:04 pm
I don’t know about you but fake or real ignorance is not a good thing.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Is it possible that, while caught up in the pre-Iowa-caucus rat-race, that he simply made the type of simple mistake honest people make from time to time? I’ve not heard him try to spin his appearance in any way. Have we really progressed so far as a society that we do not trust any politician, or believe that they are incapable of making mistakes?
IMO, unions exist more to create a barrier to entry into an industry or profession than they do to protect the interests of their members. Why shouldn’t a non-union writer be able to submit stories, screenplays, and other written works for a price s/he considers fair, without needing to be a member of the writers’ guild? Let unions rise when there are inequities, and then let them fade away until they are needed again. Don’t let them become organizations that have a vested interest in perpetuating their own existance (as most are today). Might unions be needed in Wal-Marts today? Sure. Are they really needed in most established industries? I don’t think so.
When I was am employee of the State of Minnesota, I was forced to pay a fee to the union even though I opted not to join the union. The reason?–I supposedly benefitted from the union-negotiated contract. I say that was a bunch of crap. I would much rather negotiate my own wage, and receive compensation based on my performance, rather than simply being part of a system that promote average performance, and rewards longevity.
Long time workers who produced average results were not the ones I wanted working for my businesses. I wanted motivated individuals who would go the extra mile to get the job done (and done well). I rewarded those who did just that.