It is no secret that Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney did not exactly like one another during the GOP primary. But ever since John McCain secured the nomination, the Romney campaign has largely held its tongue while Huckabee and his supporters have continued to attack Romney in an effort to prevent him from getting the VP spot on McCain’s ticket - a spot Huckabee clearly wants all to himself.
So, with reports swirling that McCain may be ready to make his selection, it comes as no surprise that Huckabee would try to get a few last jabs in, sitting down with CNSNews and bad-mouthing Romney for, of all things, enforcing the law:
In an exclusive video interview with CNSNews.com, Huckabee said that, had he been in Romney’s shoes, he would not have used his executive power as governor to carry out the court’s unilateral declaration that the other branches of state government must certify same-sex marriages.
“You know, it’s interesting, the California decision as well as the Massachusetts decision, I don’t think should ever have been implemented by the governors, Schwarzenegger and Romney,” said Huckabee. “They were both decisions that the governors simply could have said the court has said that we have to do it, but let them enforce it. Because those were administrative decisions that had to put that in place and there was no mandate.”
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When asked whether Romney’s decision to comply with his state supreme court’s order to allow same-sex marriages should disqualify him as a Republican vice-presidential nominee, Huckabee said: “Well, you know, I’ve not probably been an advocate for him in that position. And, you know, I am going to let him defend himself. And I don’t want to relive the primary. But I think that that was a very unfortunate position that he took in saying that, ‘Well, I can’t do anything about it.’ Oh, yes you can.”
Huckabee said he did not hold Romney “singularly” responsible for same-sex marriages in Massachusetts, but that he did hold him “responsible for implementing” them.
“He could have stopped it, and should have stopped it,” Huckabee said.
Asked if he would have had clerks and justices of the peace certify same-sex marriages had he been in Romney’s position, Huckabee said: “Absolutely not.”
As we noted before, for a guy who fancies himself a “Christian leader,” Huckabee’s not big on the whole forgiveness thing.