October 14, 2015
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee caught quite a bit of flack Tuesday night for a tweet he posted during the Democratic presidential debate comparing Bernie Sanders to dog-eating North Koreans.
The tweet, which has more than 8,000 retweets, joked about Sanders' tax plan and the Asian country's supposed canine consumption:
I trust @BernieSanders with my tax dollars like I trust a North Korean chef with my labrador! #DemDebate
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) October 14, 2015
Several respondents on Twitter lambasted the former Arkansas Governor for the comment, with many suggesting it was racist.
Huckabee was unfazed by the notion. In a statement to CNN, his campaign mocked liberals for their "lack of humor" and state (pretty adamantly) that North Koreans do in fact eat dogs:
"Poor liberals, no sense of humor and no sense of reality," his campaign said in an email. "Leave it to liberals to ignore injustices and atrocities of a totalitarian nation on human beings and put more importance on a nation's diet which includes grass clippings and canines. Facts: North Koreans eat dog and Bernie Sanders wants to spend 18 trillion dollars of your money. What's so hard to understand?"
Putting aside whether the comment was offensive or not for, Huckabee is a bit off in his claim.
The Daily Beast points out that the practice of eating dogs is actually more common in South Korea than North Korea, although it is still seen in the latter.
But is it is perfectly legal to prepare and consume dog meat in a number of countries, including Switzerland and China.
More notably, however, it's perfectly legal in the Keystone State. That's right: you are allowed to kill a dog and consume its meat in Pennsylvania.
That fact prompted a bill in the State Legislature back in 2013 to try to outlaw the practice. More from a Philly.com piece published when the bill passed the House:
Most pet owners would be aghast at the idea of a dog or cat on the dinner plate and not sitting happily under the table waiting for scraps.
But there have been more than a few cases in Pennsylvania in which someone was found breeding or selling dogs for their meat -- or even cooking a dog themselves.
And there was nothing authorities could do about it. It's legal.
The Philly.com piece cites numerous incidents when kennels were found with dogs being bred for their meat. When law enforcement officials busted them, it was for things like unsanitary conditions and not breeding for consumption.
The bill moved to the State Senate in 2014, and would have enacted stiff penalties for dog and cat consumption, according to PhillyMag:
If the bill becomes law, it would become illegal in Pennsylvania to kill a cat or dog for the purpose of human consumption or to sell cat or dog meat for human consumption.
The bill currently classifies the offense as a first-degree misdemeanor and specifies penalties of a fine of $1,000 to $10,000 or up to five years in prison, or both. But a second offense would become a felony, with fines of $2,500 to $15,000 or up to seven years in prison, or both.
Here's the thing: it never passed. The last action on the bill was being referred to the Senate Rules Committee in October 2014. Since then, nothing has happened to it.
Why? As BillyPenn reported at the time, the NRA helped kill the legislation. The organization claimed it would start a slippery slope to tougher hunting regulations.
So look out, Pennsylvanians. Huckabee might be using you as the butt of a bad (and possibly offensive) joke during the next Democratic debate.
