Huckabee's a hypocrite

He brags about setting a record for executions in Arkansas. What kind of Christian brags about killing people? He was asked in the Nov. YouTube debate, relating to capital punishment, “what would Jesus do”?...

He couldn’t answer the question. He gave a long non-answer about how hard a decision it was each time, and how carefully he read all the documents before giving the thumbs down.

When Anderson Cooper reminded Huckabee what the question was, he still couldn’t answer. He sidestepped by saying Jesus was too smart to run for public office.

There you have it. A Baptist minister, the guy who wants to re-write the constitution to coincide with the Bible, can not construct even a flimsy theological argument for why Jesus would support executions.

Why? Because there is none. Jesus wouldn’t. Huckabee knows that, the Pope knows that, I know that, you know that, everyone knows that, yet Huckabee, the Christian candidate, doesn’t have the guts to stand up to his insane, perverted, bloodthirsty Christian base and do what he knows in his heart Jesus would do, and spare the lives of the condemned. 

The Pope, himself known to be somewhat of a Christian conservative, says executions are immoral, the pre-emptive Iraq war is immoral (At least JPII did before it began, don’t know Bennie’s take). He says Torture is immoral. Is huckabee going to write that into the Constitution to bring it in line with the teachings of Jesus?

Is he going to make it unconstitutional to deny habeas corpus, to any human, citizen or not (aren’t we all God’s children?). Is he going to make executions unconstitutional? Is he going to make pre-emptive war unconstitutional, as he writes bigoted, discriminatory language to codify gays as immoral, 2nd class citizens not worthy of equal rights and opportunity?

He’s an ass. Big, fat, hypocritical ass. And if he weren’t a pandering coward, he’d stand up for the principles of his supposed Savior!

by Robert Sargent (10 articles, 0 quicklinks, 24 diaries, 302 comments) on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 4:38:15 AM
 

Sarge

Sarge,

     I would consider myself to be a person who seeks spirituality in my life.

That being said, I whole heartedly agree with your assessment of Huckabee. Huckabee is baptist which pretty much says it all. The baptists have been in support of this Iraq war since the beginning.

          As you noted Huckabee claims Christian credentials, but like most fails

to follow the words of Jesus. Bush, McCain. and Huckabee it's all the same mind set.

by Bob Gormley (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 915 comments) on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 10:07:45 AM
 

What kind of Christian brags about killing people?

Nearly every Christian I've ever met loves the death penalty so much they want to beat off to it.

by Rev. Robert Vinciguerra (32 articles, 5 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 49 comments) on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 12:56:13 PM
 

Oxymoron

It is an oxymoron isn't it?

I could never figure that out myself.

by Bob Gormley (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 915 comments) on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 1:58:05 PM
 

He's creepy

As a conservative Republican, Governor Huckabee doesn't appeal to me at all.  He's - in a word - creepy.  I'll call it my intuition, but when I see and hear the guy, he reminds me of a slick car salesman.  Governor Huckabee's country-boy "honesty" is part of that salesman persona. 

And while I certainly believe in God and have established religious convictions, Governor Huckabee's position (via his religion-framed comments) on secular issues are very toubling to me.

I have to give the good Governor the thumbs down - of course, it's be after a careful review of the paperwork.

P.S.  I think Governor Huckabbe, as a Baptist minister, would take great offense were people holding him to the Papacy standards of Rome.

by Tom Murphy (3 articles, 3 quicklinks, 9 diaries, 1550 comments) on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 7:52:46 AM
 

why not

because the republican leaders and shakers  want to wrap themseleves in the flag and put their hands on the bible during photo ops and when asking for votes.  But in the end  they are just as immoral and sinful  ( if not more so)  thank everone else.  To them saying what people want to hear  and then doing their own thing is a way of life.  And yes the demos are just as bad  but maybe  not as hypocritical.

by mike (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 89 comments) on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 1:19:06 PM
 

FORGETABOUTHIM

HE TURING OUT LIKE EDWARDS AND NOT BEING A GLOBALIST PLAYER ANYMORE, AND ONCE THIS HAPPENS THE MEDIA MADE HIM AND THEY WILL BREAK HIM. SEE YOU AROUND CHUMP.

by RICHARD SHADE (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 460 comments) on Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 4:38:14 AM
 

A Rebuttle

To Robert:

There's a lot of hate in your post. Hatred not towards Mike Huckabee specifically, but I would wager against Christianity in general. (based on your "supposed Saviour" comment). And I must say your "Big, fat, hypocritical ass" comment is a truly profound argument that inspires deep political debate.

That being said, I'll try to civilly dispute your attacks on my candidate.

1. Mike Huckabee has never "bragged" about killing people, he has never bragged about executions. As governor it is true he supported the death penalty, but what is a Governor's responsibility to his state? To uphold the law and the sentences laid down by a jury of the convicted's peers, or to, of his own accord, arbitrarily decide to ignore the law and the court system?
2. "What would Jesus do?" Gov. Huckabee did not dodge that question, he thoughtfully explained his position, that, yes, it is Christ's way to forgive a person for crime and sin if they repent, but that does not mean that a person should not be punished for crimes here on Earth. He stated that a person can be forgiven, but that does not absolve them from the consequences of their actions. Also, it should be noted that Gov. Huckabee did indeed commute a number of death sentences which he thought invloved questionable circumstances and took heat over it.
3. You say Jesus would spare the life of the condemned. There is no question that Christ's message is forgiveness. However, you may recall (or perhaps you won't since it seems you are against Christianity) that Christ was crucified along with two other criminals and allowed them to die. Also, the bible is full of people who were sentenced to death in Christ's name and he spared none of them. So, no. Christ would not spare the lives of the condemned. He may forgive their sins if they repent and give them his grace, but he would not simply free them from earthly laws and sentences. My point is that Huckabee's views of Christianity is consistent with the role he played as Governor of Arkansas: essentially it is Christ's job to judge a person's soul, it's society's job to judge a person's actions, and it's a Governor's job to uphold the laws of his state.
4. Your Pope comments are irrelevant. First, because the Pope has no voice in American politics and laws. Second, Protestants don't recognize the Pope's views as canon. So to say that Mike Huckabee should write Catholic decrees into the US Constitution in order to stay consistent with his Christian values is nonsensical.
5. Your statement that Huckabee wants to "codify gays as immoral, 2nd class citizens not worthy of equal rights and opportunity" is a blatant misrepresentation of his views. Huckabee's position is that the origin of marriage lies in the doctrines of religious institutions and that marriage, as traditionally defined, is the basic building block of society. That view is consistent with beliefs of every Political philosopher who influenced our constitution from Plato [who was bi-sexual] to Hobbes, Locke, and Smith. His constitutional amendment simply states that the term "marriage" only be applied to a union between one man and one woman. He has stated that other legal arrangements and policies to ensure homosexuals legal right to form a contractual union are debatable, but that the term "marriage" should be preserved for the union it has traditionally described, a view which a majority of Americans share. And in a democracy it is the majority and the legislature that decides the customs and laws of society, not appointed Judges.
6. "They want to beat off to it" Again, I am ever impressed at your ability to raise the level of discourse.

To Bob:

"Huckabee claims Christian credentials, but fails to follow the words of Jesus"

Mike Huckabee established a healthcare program that insured most of the children of Arkansas. He created a "drug court" in order to deal with the injustice faced by young blacks who were sentenced to long jail sentences for misdemeanor drug crimes. These courts sentenced offenders to rehab and community service rather than hard time. During Hurricane Katrina he acted of his own accord (by-passing the legislature) to bring 75, 000 refugees form Louisiana into his state, and rather than hole them up in some arena, petitioned Church groups and Scout Troops to open up their summer camps for free to give those people a decent place to live.

Being a Christian means helping those in need and caring for others as you care for yourself, and Mike Huckabee did his best to do so as Governor of Arkansas.

To Tom:

I would definitely suggest reading Mike Huckabee's book "From Hope to Higher Ground" (Published Jan 2007) then take the time to review transcripts of his interviews and debates over the past year. Whether or not you agree with his positions is one thing, but you will not be able to deny that his positions have been consistent and that his policies as Governor reflect those positions. I would call that honesty.

To Mike:

"the republican leaders and shakers want to wrap themseleves in the flag and put their hands on the bible during photo ops and when asking for votes. But in the end they are just as immoral and sinful"

I agree with you entirely. The Republican party loves to profess Christianity and then ignore it once they are in office. So the question is: Why does the Republican establishment embrace George Bush and shun Huckabee. I would argue that it is because Huckabee breaks the mold. He does not simply give lip service, he is a genuine Christian whose faith guides his principles and policies and that scares Republicans. It scares Republicans because Huckabee's faith tells him that the government should help children and ease the burdens of the poor, rather than pander to the health industry and serve the rich.

by John Morgan (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 12:03:28 PM
 

Correction

My apologies to Sarge for point "6". That should have been directed to the good "Reverend"

by John Morgan (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 12:08:01 PM