GOP’s “scam artist” problem: Mike Huckabee & the right’s tradition of organized theft
"The sheer size of the conservative scam machine and the involvement of some of the most prominent names in Republican politics are the consequence of the decades spent transforming conservatism into an insular political movement. Conservatives are explicitly told not to trust anyone or anything that exists outside the movement, and to put their faith in the “conservative” alternatives. TV news is biased, so watch Fox News. NPR is full of sneaky liberals, but Rush Limbaugh will tell it straight. “Scientists” tell you the climate is changing, but they have an agenda and Jim Inhofe can blow it apart with nothing more than a snowball. When you’ve conditioned people to associate “conservative” with “trustworthy,” all manner of mischief can be perpetrated. Add in the desperation felt by people struggling with dangerous illnesses, and you’ve got a population that’s ripe for exploitation.
And that’s what Huckabee does. He exploits desperate people who trust him. He’s part of a grand conservative tradition of leveraging one’s political celebrity to bleed dry the people who form the bedrock of the movement. Looking at this behavior, you can’t help but conclude that it demonstrates little but contempt for some of the most vulnerable people in the country."
