Huckabee scolds those who say he alienated Mormons

Scripps News ^ | Feb 13, 2008 | Thomas Burr

[allmendream]

Huckabees one area of expertise, the one area of human knowledge where he might legitimately claim to know more than anybody else is......what again? Oh yeah, Religion Studies.

In this area he is bewildered? His ONE area of expertise. That doesn’t speaks well of his qualifications I would say.

And bringing theological differences up in the context of a campaign for the nomination for the Presidency is a disgraceful and disgusting tactic. That is the place to compare and contrast policy differences, not theological differences.

Anyone not drinking squirrel juice will recognize it for the tawdry cheap shot that it was.

[newheart]

And therein lies the reason that many from the orthodox Christian camp find it difficult to accept Mormonism as Christian. And I would find myself in that camp.

I have many Mormon friends who are trusting Jesus for their salvation—the primary basis for considering oneself to be Christian. Their individual, personal salvation does not mean that Mormonism itself can be considered theologically orthodox.

I’m sure Huckabee knows all this. And yes I believe he was drawing a contrast on a point where the distinction is greatest. I’m not especially happy that he has pretended innocence here.

[moondoggie]

If his lips are moving, he's lying.

Another SLICK politician from Hope.

Something in the water down there, I think.

Go figure.

[pepsionice]

It seems amusing how the Republican party has become so charged up on religion, Jesus, and doctrine. I’d like to see them go the Pentecostal way and require candidates to speak in tongues and handle copperhead snakes...to prove their worthy status in the party. Course...that would be after they’d walked in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights....memorized all of the old Testament, and taken an actual drug test.

Am I bit sarcastic? Yep...but this pitiful year is not yet over and we have miles to go. Huck has exposed a serious flaw with the direction of the party over the past twenty-five years. We’ve now painted ourselves into a corner....with various platforms that some Republicans just can’t see eye-to-eye on. The end result (in November)...will be a serious loss for the party and a total rebuild on our leadership and platforms.

[Hawthorn]

Well at least Huck didn't say the following to an assembled crowd of prominent journalists:

"I'd never suggest that Mormons think Jesus and Satan were brothers. And just to prove that I certainly wouldn't even mention the matter, I'm now going to show you my campaign's new anti-Mormon TV ad, which highlights the LDS belief in the Jesus-Satan brotherhood -- and which I've told my staff never to air."

[JohnnyZ]

But of all the things he could have said about the Mormon theology (like noting their rejection of the trinity), you have to ask why he singled out this one statement, and why he made it a point in an interview?

If Huckabee really wanted to criticize Mormons, he could have brought up the Trinity. But he didn't.

He asked one throw-away question in an interview that was never repeated and could easily have been ignored except the reporter made a deal about it and Mormons started crying bigotry.

Most Christians believe that Satan is the chief of the angels, and that angels are not the brothers of man.

What the hell are you talking about....

Why else would you bring up a contentious point of religious faith in a POLITICAL INTERVIEW?

He was asked about Mormonism. He declined comment, then asked his throwaway question about one silly Mormon belief.

Your bigoted attacks on Mike Huckabee for being Christian are disgusting. You're right there with the race-baiting Al Sharpton types.

[Iscool]

The article notes that some Mormons have said they wouldn't vote for Huckabee because of his anti-Mormon approach to the election.

I don't have a problem with that...I refused to vote for Romney because of his Mormonism, along with being a liberal...

[newheart]

"Why else would you bring up a contentious point of religious faith in a POLITICAL INTERVIEW? Thus, it was an attack on Romney for his religion. One that Huckabee is now scolding us for recognizing."

It is possible that his statement was so off the cuff that he really did not mean it as an attack. Still he ought to be forthcoming now and say that he does consider such theological points as demonstrating profound differences between orthodox Christianity and Mormonism. Despite many people's assertion that a candidate's religion does not make any difference that seems only to apply when the candidate is not an evangelical Christian. In that case, it seems to be an immediate disqualifier to many.

[newheart]

Glad to be of service.

[reflecting]

However, the main-stream christian doctrine(depending on which of the 20,000 beliefs out there) is not sure who Satan or Christ really are relative to God the Father. That’s why Huckabee maybe is not clear on this issue himself.

Excuse me but some of us are quite clear about the doctrines of our faith. What a silly thing to say and what and uneducated thing to believe.

[coramdeo]

Don’t tar all Baptist preachers with the same brush. One of the more unfortunate aspects of Huckabee portraying himself as a Christian leader and then not living a life that reflects Christian virtues is that he is giving a lot of genuine, faithful Christians a black eye.

[JohnnyZ]

So what?

So do you agree with CharlesWayne that it's impossible for a Christian to ask whether a fact about Mormonism was a fact -- which, in fact, it is -- and that NOT be a bigoted attack?

So every fact about Mormonism is a bigoted attack on Mormonism?

Really?!

[spectre]

We don't need a President who is always sticking his foot in him mouth.

BTW, if he didn't know exactly what he was implying, then he is dumber than a door nail.

sw

[Hawthorn]

> You do not know what a hillbilly is, Huckabee is not a hill billy, he is white trash from Hope, Arkansas <

I hate to disagree. But during the 1992 campaign, I heard Ross Perot mention that Hope AR is only about 30 miles from Perot's hometown of Texarkana. And then Perot went on to say that he and his fellow townsmen considered Hope people to be "hillbillies."

(After all, who am I to question a selfmade billionaire like ole Ross?)

[reflecting]

Don’t like southerners heh? We’re all rather slow and backwards, only wear shoes on Sundays at meetin’s. Spend all our time sittin on front porches watching horseless carriages go by.

[lonestar]

Yes I do, too, know what a hillbilly is! But, you're right; I do owe hillbillies an apology.

Huckabee couldn't give up his trailer when he was govenor!

[I see my hands]

How many do you speak for, anyway? (Either the number or the percentage will do).

[Old Mountain man]

Calm down boy. Go take your prozac.

[reflecting]

Really? How many Baptist pastors do you know? Or do you get your views on the matter from Hollywood?

[ishabibble]

I am a Roman Catholic. Of all the serious shortcomings and flaws that the Huckster possesses, nothing made me more angry than his vicious attacks on Romney’s faith. And then there were those “Christian” phone calls to people in Iowa, denigrating the Mormons. Bunch of damn phonies, Huckster and his minions.