Today is Cinco de Mayo, a day held in remembrance of the 1862 victory of Mexican forces over French invaders that has since become a sort of all-encompassing celebration of Mexican culture, in which everyone gathers for the time-honored tradition of watching white people try to not do racist shit. While this annual Running of the Stereotypes was once limited to frat boys donning party-store sombreros and giant mustaches, social media has made it easier than ever to blunder into being completely tone-deaf, whether you’re a brand’s social media manager making a terrible pun, or just some doofus paying tribute to someone’s rich cultural heritage by commending them on their awesome taco bowls, before threatening to deport the lot of them.
The whole atmosphere around Cinco de Mayo has become understandably touchy, and these days, only the gutsiest provocateur would dare attempt to wander into that potential minefield of controversy. In other words, you’d have to be Twitter’s very own Lenny Bruce, Governor Mike Huckabee, the man who says what we’re all really thinking, deep down in the musky part of our brains papered with Washington Times editorial cartoons and “You Don’t Have To Be Crazy To Work Here—But It Helps!” posters. At 4:52 a.m., Huckabee bravely donned his finest Eddie Murphy leathers and stepped up to the open mic:
Yes, here others might have hemmed and hawed, worried that this might come off as offensive to Mexicans, Americans, or people who like comedy, Huckabee doesn’t give a heck about “haters, trolls, and humorless people.” This is a man unafraid to call Snoop Dogg “Poop Dogg.” His satire knows no bounds, whether it’s saying United Airlines should change its name to “UN-TIED” or even sticking it to the Buffalo Wild Wings at JFK Airport. Mike Huckabee’s here to crash your stuffy, respectful Cinco de Mayo party with the irreverent energy of Rodney Dangerfield circa today, or an email thread forwarded by your grandpa.
Of course, not everyone appreciates genius in its own time.
Still, you can’t ply this sort of taboo-smashing comedy without ruffling a few feathers, and surely the vituperative response only confirms that he is a true, uncompromising original, Mike Huckabee is now telling himself as he chuckles into his chins. Of course, with the always hilariously deadpan Mike Pence drolly telling a White House reception crowd today that “the president has made the Latino community a priority and we always will,” Huckabee certainly has some stiff competition.