Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has not yet ruled out a 2016 presidential campaign, but he’s already got a strategy in place in case his Democratic opponent is Hillary Clinton.
“I’ve twice run against women opponents, and it’s a very different kind of approach,” Huckabee said in an interview with The New Republic. “For those of us who have some chivalry left, there’s a level of respect. … You treat some things as a special treasure; you treat others as common.”
Huckabee continued, “I’ll put it this way. I treat my wife very differently than I treat my chums and my pals. I wouldn’t worry about calling them on Valentine’s Day, opening the door for them, or making sure they were OK.”
This is not the first time Huckabee has pushed boundaries when discussing gender in public. Earlier this year, Huckabee gained national attention for accusing Democrats of treating women as helpless: “If the Democrats want women to believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government, then so be it, let us take this discussion all across America because women are far more than the Democrats have played them to be.” In a statement to Salon on Monday, Huckabee defended his comments, saying, “I believe in equality, and I have a record of transforming that belief into action. However, equality doesn’t mean sameness…I would seek treat a female opponent with the same respect I give to all women, even though we may disagree on the issues.”
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