Mike Huckabee Resigns From CMA Board After 1 Day, Blames Bullies

NASHVILLE, TN -- After less than a day, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee resigned from the board of the Country Music Association Foundation, claiming he was "bullied" by those within the industry who oppose his support of the National Rifle Association and disagree with him on the rights of LGBT people.

The foundation announced Wednesday that Huckabee and singer Chris Young were elected to its 12-member board of directors. Huckabee's election prompted quick and sharp rebukes from many inside country music.

In an email to the CMA's CEO Sarah Trahern and CMA Foundation executive Tiffany Kerns, Monument Records President Jason Owen wrote Huckabee's election was a "grossly offensive decision."

"Huckabee speaks of the sort of things that would suggest my family is morally beneath his and uses language that has a profoundly negative impact upon young people all across this country," Owen, who has a son with his husband, Sam, wrote. "Not to mention how harmful and damaging his deep involvement with the NRA is. What a shameful choice."

Whitney Pastorek, who represents Sugarland's Kristian Bush and a member of the Davidson County Democratic Party's executive committee, wrote that Huckabee's election was a "terrible disappointment."

"While Gov. Huckabee's tenure in Arkansas may have resulted in valuable education reform over a decade ago, I find his choice to spend the past ten years profiting off messages of exclusion and hatred (not to mention the gun lobby) to be disqualifying," she wrote.

The non-profit CMA Foundation's primary goal is music education and in a statement, CMA board member Joe Galante said the hope was Huckabee's experience in politics and education reform could benefit the group.

"Gov. Huckabee led an impressive administration while serving the state of Arkansas and his policy experience with education reform is something we are fortunate to be able to learn from," Galante said.

For his part, Huckabee tweeted "bullies care about themselves (more) than kids needing music."

Got home from 28 hour trip from Taipei that lasted longer than my time on CMA Foundation board. Read my FULL letter of resignation and see that "Hate Wins" and bullies care about themselves than kids needing music. https://t.co/uDzMD6NbFc
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) March" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/GovMikeHuc... 2, 2018

In his letter, Huckabee said the gift of a guitar when he was a child changed his life and that, as governor, he undertook deep and meaningful reforms of Arkansas's public education system, which included mandated both music and arts education for every student between first grade and graduation. Huckabee also created the "Play It Again, Arkansas" initiative which provided donated and refurbished musical instruments for underprivileged children who wanted to join the school band.

"I am willing to get out of the way for the sake of the students the Foundation will hopefully help. If the industry doesn’t want people of faith or who hold conservative and traditional political views to buy tickets and music, they should be forthcoming and say it. Surely neither the artists or the business people of the industry want that," he wrote. "Until recently, the arts was the one place America could set aside political, geographical, racial, religious, and economic barriers and come together. If the arts community becomes part of the polarization instead of bridging communities and people over the power of civil norms as reflected in the arts, then we as a civilization may not be long for this earth."

After leaving professional politics, Huckabee hosted a Fox News talk show - during which he'd often play bass - and now films a show for the Trinity Broadcasting Network outside Nashville. His first broadcasting job was at a low-watt country music station where he "wore out the grooves" on Dolly Parton's "Mule Skinner Blues."

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