The Duggars knew how to use their prominence on tv to their advantage and rubbed shoulders with all manner of GOP leaders and luminaries. Huckabee’s going to do his best to sanitize his site of the connections, but the fact is that his statements are public knowledge. Their photos with him are public knowledge. He can’t run from those, but he will surely try to blame all this on the media, rather than on the Duggars’ themselves for how they handled the situation, from the moment the abuse occurred to how they blame everyone but Josh for the abuse he engaged in, and how everyone but the daughters who were abused are the real victims.

The right wingers who are still supporting the Duggars still don’t want to recognize that the daughters are the ones who were abused - who did nothing wrong, and that it was their parents who failed them - who failed to protect them - and that they willingly sought to protect their son who was molesting his sisters and put his wellbeing and future ahead of their daughters who would have to live with this abuse for the rest of their lives.

Add in all the hypocrisy and religious extremism by the Duggars (like how they’d treat someone engaging in incest who isn’t named Duggar, or how gays are the real molesters - who aren’t named Duggar), etc.

As much as the right wing was willing to hold them up as model citizens, the fact is that they are models of all that is wrong with society today - from how television/media looks to exploit these extreme factions around the country, how some religious groups exploit and purposefully extend misogynistic practices that demean women and treat them as second class citizens, and it also points out the pitfalls of holding up anyone as being holier than thou - how often do we see these folks proclaim their religious/social virtues, only to be engaging in all manner of depravity and illegality.