Just like it’s past time for Jeb Bush and Rand Paul to get out, and it’s past time for Rick Santorum and George Pataki to get out.

That’s obvious, but it’s made more obvious now that Huckabee is resorting to off-base and stupidly dishonest ads attempting to trash candidates who have taken his votes away.

Here’s a PAC ad Huckabee’s camp is running in Iowa…

The same consulting firm also put out similar attacks on Cruz in Iowa on his opposition to ethanol subsidies and accusing Cruz of being bankrolled by the oil industry.

This all comes from a fundraising appearance Ted Cruz made in New York that was recorded and passed on to Mike Allen at POLITICO even though what was said was supposed to be off the record.

It’s been used as an example, as Huckabee’s PAC is attempting to make you believe, of Cruz being two-faced on the gay marriage issue.

Thus, the tight edit of the audio.

Would you like to know all of what was said? The following all appeared on the audio passed to POLITICO…

Questioner: “Can I ask you a question? So, I’m a big supporter. And the only issue I really disagree with you about is gay marriage. And I’m curious: Given all the problems that the country’s facing — like ISIS, the growth of government — how big a priority is fighting gay marriage going to be to a Cruz administration?”

Cruz: “My view on gay marriage is that I’m a constitutionalist and marriage is a question for the states. And so I think if someone wants to change the marriage laws of their state, the way to do so is convince your fellow citizens — and change them democratically, rather than five unelected judges. … Being a constitutionalist is integral to my approach to every other issue. So that I’m very devoted to.”

Same questioner: “So would you say it’s like a top-three priority for you — fighting gay marriage?”

Cruz: “No. I would say defending the Constitution is a top priority. And that cuts across the whole spectrum — whether it’s defending [the] First Amendment, defending religious liberty, stopping courts from making public policy issues that are left to the people. …

“I also think the 10th Amendment of the Constitution cuts across a whole lot of issues and can bring people together. People of New York may well resolve the marriage question differently than the people of Florida or Texas or Ohio. … That’s why we have 50 states — to allow a diversity of views. And so that is a core commitment.”

Asked if gay marriage was a Top Three priority for him, Cruz responded that constitutional issues are in his top three, of which gay marriage and the relegation of that issue to a matter of state policy, rather than imposition of gay marriage on unwilling states by the federal government through the courts or otherwise, fits under that umbrella.

Which is perfectly consistent with Cruz’ public statements. Here’s one…

If you want to say it’s not really a public statement if you say it to Seth Meyers because nobody watches Meyers’ show, fine. But it is, in fact, an on-the-record statement.

And Mike Huckabee knows that Cruz hasn’t just said that gay marriage is a question for the states to Seth Meyers. Here he was in Beaumont, Texas getting grilled by a left-wing TV reporter on the issue saying the same thing (watch to the end)…

That YouTube video has over a half-million views. Everybody in Republican politics has seen it.

Here’s another one. Here he’s telling Jorge Ramos the same thing while getting interrogated about discrimination of gay people.

Cruz has framed the gay marriage issue as a question of state policy to be decided in state legislatures over and over and over again. Huckabee knows this, and yet he’s trying to say that Cruz has a different message in private.

It’s a lie.

And if this is all Mike Huckabee has left in an attempt to keep Ted Cruz from walking away with support that Huckabee used to have in Iowa, then it’s time for Huckabee to recognize that he’s finished as a viable presidential candidate and go back to being a television personality. He was good at that, and he had a voice worth hearing. He no longer has credibility as a presidential candidate and he ought to get out with what dignity he has left.