Mike Huckabee is the "surging" candidate to watch in the Republican presidential primaries, at least for the moment. The former Arkansas governor is an ordained Southern Baptist minister and a believer in the "inerrancy" doctrine of Biblical scripture. Inerrancy means, quite simply, that the believer accepts every bit of the Bible as literal truth (Adam & Eve, an earth just 6,000 years old, etc.)
As governor, Huckabee was an enthusiastic death penalty supporter. He now supports World War III against Muslim "fascists" and he's taking his message of death on the road.
A panel of talking heads on Chris Matthews' "Hard Ball" conferred legitimacy on the Huckabee candidacy last week. A more professional group of journalists at the Pew Forum treated Huckabee with deference by avoiding any hard hitting questions. There was nothing about Huckabee's February declaration of World War III or his beliefs in a final judgment in our times and no mention of his tainted past in Arkansas. Only Kathy Kay of the BBC raised questions about the specter of the candidate's extreme views.
Let's see what the former Arkansas governor and minister has in store for the United States if he's selected to win the Presidency.
After becoming governor in 1997, Huckabee signed death warrants for 16 executions by lethal injection. This violates the clearly worded, but frequently forgotten commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." He must know that World War III means even more killing and death. But neither position seems to bother him. In fact, he recently used death imagery in estimating the reaction of fellow Republicans to his fund raising gains: "If I were some of these guys, I'd have to be sitting in a warm tub of water with razor blades,"
Selective Forgiveness as Governor
Charles Singleton was convicted of murder in Arkansas and executed by lethal injection during Huckabee's term as governor. Singleton was a diagnosed schizophrenic. Huckabee was unimpressed and issued the required death warrant.
Supreme Court decisions mandate prisoner mental competence prior to execution. Singleton was given (his lawyer says forced) antipsychotic medication to relieve his schizophrenia. As a result, the prisoner regained a grasp on reality. Singleton's successful treatment for a serious mental illness then became the vehicle that allowed the state to kill him.
Of the 16 Huckabee era executions, there is a pattern of dismissing or refusing to examine legitimate questions or claims concerning mental illness.
Huckabee did find forgiveness in his heart for at least one Arkansas criminal. Wayne Dumond was convicted for raping a 17 year old girl in 1985. This fourth sexual assault conviction earned Dumond a sentence of life plus 20 years.
At the start of his first term, Huckabee took a special interest in the Dumond case and had plans to commute his sentence. When an irate public stopped that, the new governor effectively lobbied the pardon's board. Just four months after they'd denied a Dumond parole request, the board ruled favorably. These events and a broader narrative of the case were well documented by investigative journalist Murray Waas.
Dumond was released on parole in 1999. Just months after the parole, he bound, gagged, and suffocated a Missouri woman. He was convicted of that murder and a suspect in another by the time he was confined to a Missouri state prison where he died in his cell.
I didn't know that much about him until I started researching. What an ugly story his political career is. But that's nothing compared to his positions. That WWIII video from New Hampshire is just apaling but MSM gives him a free ride. Shocking, isn't it;)
by
Michael Collins (79 articles, 11 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 279 comments)
on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 9:32:51 PM
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Reason: Slanderous
There is no such thing as an Islamic extremist. Any religion that has as one of its fundamental tenets that concept of Jihad is extreme, period. Subtract Jihad from Islam and all that's left is a perverse one dimensional misogynistic hate based theology, but at least they would not want to murder all non believers. The Nazi's were and are girl scouts compared to Islams true believers.
As to Huckabee, all politicians are whores of the most insecure order, but Huckabee is correct about Islam. Like it or not, sooner or later (probably later as this generation of Americans and westerners like to pass the buck to their offspring) the world is going to have to deal with Islam, and it will not be pretty.
But give the Huckster a break...anyone that looks like Gomer Pyle should be cut some slack.
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James Strait (39 articles, 0 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 191 comments)
on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 10:35:52 PM
I'd like to know why after several thousand years that Islamic religion has been around that now it somehow is a threat to world peace?
I can think of only one answer - the war-mongering merchants of death always need an enemy, communism, drug-lords, radicals, Islamics, someone to be afraid of so they can keep perpetuating their fear factor and manufacturing weapons of war. After all, it's good for the economy.
I have been working with a family for the past five years who are of the Islamic faith, immigrants from Pakistan. They seem as rational as any level-headed people, educated, one of the brothers is a professor, and we have had discussions on many topics. I feel no sense of threat from them and I have no reason to believe from my experience that a vast majority of the people of that faith are no more a threat than the vast majority of any major religion.
However, I do feel a threat coming from extremists of any religion and that especially includes Christians with the "end times" view of the world and who disregard science for fiction. Of which it appears Huckabee is one. It simply boggles the mind that after g. w. bush there is a significantly powerful block of people that would blindly follow a man with such limited intelligence. But then again ... maybe I shouldn't be surprised given the dumbing down of this nation.
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Mr M (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 1002 comments)
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 10:25:43 AM
I agree with Mr. M who said it quite well. Where is the special knowledge you have on Islam? To say that any religion that has jihad in it is automatically a threat to the world is highly unrealistic. There are elements of extremism in Christianity but that doesn't make that faith a threat to world peace. It's all about the practitioners and how they're received. Pakistan recently had a series of demonstrations against dictatorial rule. Who came to power? Radicals? No, an interim government that will hold elections. Who resisted? Lawyers, merchants, the mainstream. This is the country that's supposed to be on the verge of taking the world down. The extremists did not prevail.
I'm in favor of keeping religion out of politics, any religion. But to say Islam is an exclusive threat because of one factor is limited and wrong; just as to say that about Christianity or Judaism would be wrong as well.
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Michael Collins (79 articles, 11 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 279 comments)
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 12:48:01 PM
Huckabee may be a Bible thumping Republican, but he's not a bad guy, nor do I see any evidence that he didn't do anything but perform the duties of his office when overseeing capital cases.
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Rev. Robert Vinciguerra (32 articles, 5 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 49 comments)
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 7:36:35 AM
You: "... he may be a Bible thumping Republican, but he's not a bad guy" And you don't see anything wrong with that statement?
You go on: " ... you find no evidence that he didn't do anything but perform the duties of his office when overseeing capital cases."
You don't seem to see the contradiction in that statement after what you just read in the article. So, "thou shall not kill", is trumped by "... perform his duties ... overseeing capital cases".
Sorry, but if you were my Reverend I'd go screaming from the church and vow to be an atheist the rest of my life.
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Mr M (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 1002 comments)
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 10:42:52 AM
'The key action starts when Russia invades Israel. The United States fails to defend Israel and is punished by seeing both coasts nuked. A European anti-Christ emerges and does battle with the second coming of Jesus. There's death and destruction on a global scale. All but a very few are cast into Hell. Hagee's Jesus then rules a world of true believers in an earthly paradise despite the bi-coastal U.S. nuclear holocaust.'
And after that quote which says it all what do we read in comments?
'NOT A BAD GUY?' Someone said it here on comments. Another someone said something about ' He is right about Islam'.
Hey, someones. Check into asylum, please. If you are mad and want to be lead by a mad moron, that's the place to be. This is a big site. A person who wants to learn could learn about Islam and about ALL religions just by perusing this site. Then we would not have an unfortunate pleasure to start from scratch explaining again and again why those perceptions are moronic. What's it with you? You like his looks? Go, marry him. Mark Twain said once that the stupidest people in the US resided in Arcansas and Mike Huckabee is a gem to prove just that.
'NOT A BAD GUY!' Wait, another politico was called that way. In 1934 a French pundit said about Hermann Goering, 'He may look ferocious but he is a soft-hearted man. Not a bad guy.' That pundit was Jewish... RIP.
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Mark Sashine (42 articles, 19 quicklinks, 226 diaries, 3211 comments)
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 8:10:05 AM
that's the name. I was angry when typing. But really, people how can you even consider this man Huckabee a rational being when he says and does what it is described in the article? How can you want him to be your leader? How can you spit on the religion which is worshipped by billions and which made us no harm ( 911 was an act of a group of people and we still do not know who). How can you be so arrogantly self- righteous; your attitiude endangers yourself and all of us. OK, even if you are so navel-gazing that everything from Mike Huckabee to that horrible apple-pie seems good for you after the Nuclear Bombing of Japan at least some Christian sense of guilt should prevent you from having those perceptions, brake a little.
So, brake a little. Or go check into asylum.
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Mark Sashine (42 articles, 19 quicklinks, 226 diaries, 3211 comments)
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 8:29:11 AM
That's the corporate media spin...he's really OK, just a little out there on religion.
His views on the End Times are not mainstream at all. They're wacky. There's a tape by Hagee saying Jesus was not really sent as savior. What is mainstream about that. The End Times as a conflagration only survived by the select is nothing but total resentment packaged up in a philosophy that is more about the advocates than it is about any particlar religion. I too am surprised at the comments.
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Michael Collins (79 articles, 11 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 279 comments)
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 12:51:49 PM
Fundamentalism is just as bad as Islam radicals only there are more of them.The Fundamentalst radicals preach hate against anybody that doesn"t meet their standard or conform to their ideas.They believe in using force to get you to conform.If America is looking for a new hitler,they seem to have found him in Michael Huckabee.He is another radical ready for holy wars and doesn"t care how many people he kills to get them to conform to his hatred
by
liberalsrock (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 107 comments)
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 9:25:21 AM
When one looks at the whole group of Republican candidates we have to wonder is this the best we can do? I might as well include half the Democratic candidates too. But the Republican field resembles the cast of Saturday Night Live, only they're not funny - they're scary.
It certainly looks like the conspiracy theorists are on target when explaining how the "dumbing-down" of America and the systematic destruction of our educational system has been achieved. I can find better people to run this nation in any corner bar than this field of Bozo's.
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Mr M (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 1002 comments)
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 10:54:36 AM
"After becoming governor in 1997, Huckabee signed death warrants for 16 executions by lethal injection. This violates the clearly worded, but frequently forgotten commandment, 'Thou shalt not kill.'"
Come on. If you're going to be serious about a smear article then at least be serious about it. First of all, the translation is not "Thou shall not kill." It really says "You shall not commit murder," which the Bible says is different than killing for a just cause. Though I disagree with the death penalty, there is no evidence that Huckabee did anything at all wrong when he signed those orders. That's because he didn't.
If you want to have fun with it, the Bible and its God promotes killing a LOT. In 1 Chronicles 21:9-14 God senselessly kill 70,000 in one blow for virtually no reason. I can go on forever and have the examples get worse. The point is, you’re using Exodus 20:13 to make your point actually undoes it.
Moving on, it's almost comical how you refuse to draw and distinction between Islam, id est, average Muslims, and jihadists, id est, Osama bin Laden and pals.
Then to say that you didn't even know this stuff until you did research? Come on, is that really supposed to be believed? The whole Islamic part is a set up. The only thing that Huckabee did that was pretty bad was the whole Dumond thing. He's a religious fundie, alright, but so is 53% of America as much as I hate to admit it.
by
Rev. Robert Vinciguerra (32 articles, 5 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 49 comments)
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 11:52:44 AM
Indeed, there is a very big distinction between the extremists in any religion and the vast majority, which goes to the heart of the problem. For the most part the extremists are just that, extreme, a small part of the group. Countering them doesn't take an army, it takes ideas, sound policy, intelligence and police tactics. Not an army, be it armed or an Army of God.
Huckabee is all about using armed forces which cuts to the center of the strangle-hold the MIC has on our policies and economy and has nothing to do with promoting God's will, or peace on Earth. And let's not even bring-up the fundamental premise the Founding Fathers put into the Constitution of separating church and state. After all, there's a reason they put that in there that has simply been lost with today's pandering politicians. The absolute LAST thing I want to see in the White House is an ordained anything! I don't care how benign or good the person may be. But one that goes around completely denying science is beyond scary, to me it's the equivalent to having Osama binLaden as leader of Pakistan.
Anyway, I don't know what you're advocating, but you seem to be not to alarmed over Huckabee, which makes me have grave doubts about you. Because if you can't see the threat of having a fundamentalist in the seat of power ... well, maybe because you are a Reverend and are blinded by your own faith, but whatever it is, I don't want to catch it.
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Mr M (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 1002 comments)
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 12:28:05 PM
"Anyway, I don't know what you're advocating, but you seem to be not to alarmed over Huckabee, which makes me have grave doubts about you."
Just honesty, that's all. Of course I am alarmed that Huckabee might win the GOP nomnation, because he's the only Republican who can possibly win in a general.
There are plenty REAL of reasons to not like Huckabee. Stance on abortion, stance on taxes, stance on religion and state. However, none of those were discussed in this article. Just a bunch of made up poppy-cock about WW3 and Islam.
And the situation with Dumond, that's not going to hurt Huckabee either. Issues, however, will.
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Rev. Robert Vinciguerra (32 articles, 5 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 49 comments)
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 2:16:34 PM
That statement about Drumond really makesk me question if you are at all concerned about Huckabee. That case is a mess from the start when Huckabee wanted to commute Drumond's sentence altogether.
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Michael Collins (79 articles, 11 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 279 comments)
on Wednesday, December 5, 2007 at 1:59:08 PM
One generally researches to find out. That's what I did. I found out that Huckabee is a dangeroud guy.
Replacingi "kill" with "murder" is convenient for apologists for base behaior because it allows war, execution, and other forms of "killing" which the commandment clearly didn't have in mind. Don't be too proud of that change. It's an abomination.
As far as his role as governor, there's plenty out there. You obviously didn't click on the link to the recent Politico article where his financial creativeness, to be kind, is documented; worse than Giuliani's by far.
The Republican pack is distinguished by denial and Huckabee is just the worst example. World War III, I guess you like that idea. Are you looking to bury this country in debt and diversion when we have problems that imperil the entire planet? Adam & Eve, world created in 6,000 years...is that the mind you want running the country.
by
Michael Collins (79 articles, 11 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 279 comments)
on Wednesday, December 5, 2007 at 1:55:41 PM
This comment has been flagged and is awaiting review by the editors -
Reason: Nasty Attacks
Actually, Islam is not thousands of years in age, as it began in 622AD, which makes it many hundreds of years old. Either way, it is old enough to have grown as a thought process, yet has remained an ancient one dimensional theology.
I agree that Christianity can be almost as destructive as Islam, but only on a personal basis. Christians are one dimesional in their beliefs, which limits them as human beings, but their tenets do not include Jihad. In their hearts Christians may indeed be Jihadists, but their total structure prevents that indulgence. Islam has no such restriction.
Islam super emotionalizes the true believers world view. While Islam is only one of many intellect negating theologies, Islam IS the most powerful intellectual poison known to man. Unfortunately for our species, once poisoned there is no antidote.
But there is good news if you are very very patient. Every fraction of every instant science nibbles away at the foundations of all religious theologies. Whether it is a hundred years or a thousand years is hard to predict, but at some point in mankinds future religions will be looked back upon as a primitive curiosity.
Until then, because of Jihad, Islam remains mankinds number one problem and challenge.
by
James Strait (39 articles, 0 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 191 comments)
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 12:26:18 PM
... and we don't have hundreds or thousands of years to look back upon religion as a primitive curiosity, to me it's already a waste of time. And anyone that thinks the next decade is going to be like the last few decades is insane. We simply have run out of time.
Forces beyond the control of man, whether caused by him or not, but mostly, imo, caused by man, are going to stretch the beliefs of all religions and boundaries of everything to the breaking point. This is not some "end times" prediction, although it seems to run side by side with many of "end times" prophecies, but grounded in physics. Population explosion, dwindling resources, loss of habitable land, pollution, expanded wars, are just a few of the many consequences mankind is now facing and will rapidly increase proportionally as time goes on.
It is one of the reasons we find an explosion of people running to religion rather than away from it. When the reality of existence becomes to unbearable to take, blind faith gives some measure of comfort, even if it is a false leader. You don't have to be a scientist or a global ecologist to see what's going on. Just go fill your gas tank and look back 6 years and wonder how gas jumped from $1.24 to over $3 + in such a short time. Currently species are dying off a thousand times faster than any other time in history, does one not think that this won't effect how or even if we can survive such loss? To anyone that's paying attention the answer is obvious.
To be honest, I don't have that much faith in mankind. Considering mankind's history, I anticipate that he will continue on his blind path to his own destruction before we ever see any world-wide enlightenment. I see no reason why man shouldn't become as extinct as any other species that once dominated the Earth.
by
Mr M (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 1002 comments)
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 1:11:02 PM
Come on. If you're going to be serious about a smear article then at least be serious about it. First of all, the translation is not "Thou shall not kill." It really says "You shall not commit murder,"
While I agree with you Huckabee and his ilk believe That only the King james verison is the correct one and the words in it are the true word of God and no others. If you don't believe me just try and tell them jesus was not the hebrew way of saying his name.
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mike (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 88 comments)
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 1:14:58 PM
While I am aware of some fanatical Christian cults that do this, Kent Hovind comes to mind, I don't believe that Huckabee is amung them. He even said in the last debate that the Bible is not literal -which is something I thought he didn't believe.
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Rev. Robert Vinciguerra (32 articles, 5 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 49 comments)
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 2:21:06 PM
It says on the title page that it's an "Authorized King James Version" that was "Translated out of the original tongues and with the former translations diligently compared and revised".
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Robert Sargent (10 articles, 0 quicklinks, 24 diaries, 290 comments)
on Wednesday, December 5, 2007 at 12:01:54 AM
that the King James is the most literal translation, with the Hebrew word meaning murder or kill and the Greek basis for the New Testament clearly meaning "kill." There's no intent to smear. I didn't care much about Huckabee before I looked into him for this article. I was most struck by his obsession with death...trillions in a WWIII, the mentally ill on Arkansas' death row (while serial rapists go free), and his wise crack about suicide. For example, I'm less interested in his political motivations for releaseing Dumond than I am in the vile na
Charles Singleton was convicted of murder in Arkansas and executed by lethal injection during Huckabee's term as governor. Singleton was a 
Huckabee did find forgiveness in his heart for at least one Arkansas criminal. Wayne Dumond was convicted for raping a 17 year old girl in 1985. This fourth sexual assault conviction earned Dumond a sentence of life plus 20 years.
