Mike Huckabee to Sign His Controversial New Book at 'Duck Dynasty' Compound, Talks about Beyoncé and 2016 Elections

By Isaiah Narciso
Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee (Photo: Lionel Hahn/MCT)

Mike Huckabee will make a stop at the Duck Commander store on Saturday to greet fans and sign copies of his latest book, "God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy."

The event, which was announced in a Facebook post, starts on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Duck Commander store in West Monroe, La. Brent Bozell of Media Research Center wrote in a Townhall article that the possible presidential candidate's book has drawn media attention due to the fact he criticized Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z.

"What he condemned was her sexually provocative dance next to her husband at the 2014 Grammy Awards on CBS," Bozell wrote.

In his criticism, Huckabee did write some good things about the world-famous music singer.

"Beyoncé is incredibly talented -- gifted, in fact. She has an exceptional set of pipes and can actually sing," Huckabee wrote in his book. "She is a terrific dancer -- without the explicit moves best left for the privacy of her bedroom."

However, the former governor of Arkansas then turned to a discussion of lyrics made by both Beyoncé and Jay-Z.

"With the first lady so concerned about making sure her daughters' bellies don't ingest unhealthy food, how can she let their brains ingest obnoxious and toxic mental poison in the form of song lyrics?" Huckabee wrote. "If lived out, those lyrics could be far more devastating to someone's health than a cupcake."

Bozell then quoted the lyrics in question, in particular from Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin" and Beyonce's "Drunk in Love." He contended that those lyrics were a "mental poison" and that CBS has never apologized for airing those songs during the Grammys.

"Huckabee is apologizing now that he complained about it," Bozell wrote. "He was too much of a gentleman to be this specific about the lyrics, and ironically, he's paying a price for that."

Bozell argued that conservative politicians like Huckabee faced harsh criticism for condemning "the crudest excesses of popular culture." He also contended that the 2016 presidential candidate stepped into a zone of U.S. culture known as the "Not in My Backyard Syndrome."

"Just as Americans despise Congress, but not their own Congressman, so, too, do they deplore Hollywood's decadence while admiring their favorite performer, no matter how decadent," Bozell wrote in describing what he termed the NIMBY Syndrome.

Controversy with Beyoncé aside, Huckabee made a stop in Austin, Texas, to promote his book. According to Jennifer Kendall of My Fox Austin, he made it quite clear that a presidential run was in his future.

"I think it's pretty evident just by leaving the FOX show that I didn't do that just to have Saturdays at home. So I'm moving towards that decision, but officially announcing it and putting everything together will be later in the spring," Huckabee said.

Huckabee did welcome the other candidates who were vying for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. Kendall reported that Mitt Romney has dropped out of the latest race for that nomination.

"I'm hoping all the other potential candidates will drop out and that will make my decision much easier," Huckabee said. "The strong competition is good for us all."

Kendall reported that there was a queue of supporters on Thursday waiting to meet the former governor over a book signing. Some expressed favor with placing Huckabee's name on the 2016 ballot.

"I think there's a lot of conservative, hard-working people who are looking for somebody who's going to be a representative of them and not big government and big industry," Mark Nash said.

"He wants to make a good, positive change for America, which we need," Austin native Mariah Pronsky said.

Based on the reaction back in Austin, it seems that Huckabee could receive a warm welcome at the Duck Commander store for his next book signing.

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