December 6, 2007
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Mike Huckabee as President and Pastor
I mentioned that Mike Huckabee is a former pastor in the post before the last post. I also mentioned that he raised his hand in a debate as a person who didn’t believe in evolution. I saw the debate when this issue came up. Here is a link of that video on youtube: Link
In the post before the last one, I received a comment from la faerie joyeuse. This is part of her comment:
“And Dan, I think the question you should be asking is ‘Would you feel comfortable voting for someone who was a Baptist preacher?’”
Would you feel comfortable voting for someone as president who is a former Baptist preacher?
Comments (96)
hmm
why not? this is america
As I said, if he doesn’t put his religion into the job, then….hmm maybe…
better question, does he have political experience? or the ability to perform the job?
I would vote for about anyone over people who have never held a job ,that was not ether in the goverment, or by way of government contacts
Would you vote for a gynecologist?
and yes I would, i try to avoid religious bigotry were ever I can
which i know he does, but since when i read it didn’t sound clear i mean if religion has never been the single deciding factor in a political act i’m fine with his past as a pastor.
Its not that it makes me uncomfortable to vote for him, it just don’t agree with his views and I think he would try to overturn certain court cases which I feel are important in America.
It wouldn’t bother me. There are better reasons not to vote for him.
I wouldn’t care.
My dad is a pastor (not Baptist…he’s Evangelical Free Church). He rocks. I think he’d make a great President.
LightningRichy
Certain court cases?I doubt you can name two, and the one you can name is so flagrantly unconstitutional that anyone calling that good law is dangerous
Evangelical Free Church
That is what I am
It depends, not all Baptist preachers preach the word of God. Some use their so called authority for their own gain. I true man of God that seeks to please a Holy God will do everything he can to do the best he can to SERVE as Christ showed we should serve when He came to earth.There are many pastor baptist our whoever that I’d NEVER vote for. It’s like voting for anyone, CHARACTER is what matters. No character in the person, you will have a selfish leader.
Meh. I don’t really think it matters….
In other words, YES I will vote for Huckabee, he HAS honorable character
he won best governor of the year in Time magazine
I personally like the guy he has a sense of humor and uses hyper bole a lot
I can’t vote, so I don’t care.
Likely not. There would be exceptions, though.
But I did care and I could vote, I wouldn’t anyway. His past as a pastor could influence his views on important issues like abortion and gay marriage. But then again…meh.
Yes, I would.
(I once met a Baptist preacher who told me that Carbon Dating was scientifically disproved – that there was a consensus in the scientific community about it. That is not the type of president I’d want running my country.)
And trunthepaige: Scopes. Daniel v. Waters. Epperson v. Arkansas. Edwards v. Aguillard. The Dover trial.
Also, regarding Roe v. Wade, it would not be unconstitutional to uphold property rights. For the first two trimesters, abortion is a matter of property rights for people who believe that human life begins at 24 weeks. The issue arises because there’s also the group which believes that abortion is a matter of life rights, because human life begins at conception. Upholding life rights is not unconstitutional, either.
The real debate, then, is when human life begins.
Since we won’t agree, I’d just as soon leave it to the states to decide. Fight it on the local level, not on the federal one.
If he had the same political viewpoints, sure why not?
Trun:
Rust v. Sullivan
Engel v. Vitale
Hudson v. McMillian
Jacobson v. United States.
I can keep going…
Lightning, what does Hudson v. McMillian have to do with religion?
Also, careful with Rust v. Sullivan – it was about federal funding. Funding for family planning services (health care) is wrong. Period.
I would have to ask myself why would a Pastor would want to be President of the U.S. The two would seem to contradict each other to me.
It has nothing to do with religion, not all his opinions have to be faith based do they?
for me religion has nothing to do with who I vote for or what party they belong to for that matter…it’s about whether I think that they can get the job done
sure but every person has their falts so…
just cause he was a formor minister doenst mean hes an awesome guy
I’d be perfectly fine with someone who was a former preacher.
Ron Paul is a devout Christian, and I wouldn’t be pulling for him if I didn’t think that he could keep his religion free from his politics. I care more about their positions than their religious background. We’re the United States of America, they’re all going to at least admit to having deep religious convictions.
The fact that he doesn’t accept the theory of evolution is a much more persuasive reason for me to not want him as president.
That said, Baptists are fucking idiots.
I would feel more comfortable actually.
Depends – in his case, yes.
i used to live in arkansas with huckabee as governor, and i actually took more active of an interest in his politics, because a good friend (okay, more like former crush) of mine is a relative. despite the fact that i’m a democrat, i like the job he did as governor in arkansas, but since he opposes a lot of the issues i support, i would not like for him to be president. it’s the opposition of issues that deters me, though, not the fact that he’s a former pastor.
Yohsiph , why do you call baptists f..ing idiots. There are some in ALL religion that would meet that criteria. It’s like anything, because of a few in whatever type person you are talking about, you can’t type ALL people like them in that catagory. I’m baptist and there are MANY baptist preachers and baptists in general that I’m embarrassed by. I don’t consider them like minded in my belief. Sorry you feel that way about baptists. I’m only baptist because my baptist church believes and teaches how I believe the Bible should be lived and taught.
Rust v. Sullivan over reaching very poor dision can’t beleive you would suport it
Engel v. Vitale school prayer A conservative judge would not cahnge that one
Hudson v. McMillian sorry soundly dicided not chance
Jacobson v. United States Clarence Thomas voted for that one. why do you think it would change?
Random listing of court cases is not very impressive you did not make very good argument that you had ay idea what you were talking about
la_faerie_joyeuse
row wade had nothing to do with property rights its was based on the 4th amendment of all things. and a life is not property and no court has ever try to say that
None of this is going to fuckin’ matter. Can’t ya’ll get that?
think about it: when zombies rise, the government will fail. No more president and no more debates about presidents. What matters is getting ready for when the zombies rise. WHO’S WITH ME!
Yes, but I am a Baptist as well, so maybe my opinion doesn’t count?
I think it would be an interesting situation…I don’t know if I would object to it. I don’t think I would, unless he went overboard with stuff.
It makes no difference to me. That doesn’t qualify him to be president; neither should it bar him from becoming president.
As long as it didn’t hinder his purpose: to serve the American people, then I would vote for a former Baptist preacher.
If he can prove to me that he would do what the people want, and not further his personal agenda, then I’d vote for him.
I’d be fin wth it.
~RvL~
trunthepaige: “Rust v. Sullivan over reaching very poor dision can’t beleive you would suport it”
ummm, Rust v. Sullivan was a conservative decision against the state using federal funds to support/promote abortion…. I would think you would like that decision, no?
trunthepaige-“la_faerie_joyeuse row wade had nothing to do with property rights its
was based on the 4th amendment of all things. and a life is not
property and no court has ever try to say that”
What does protection against unreasonable search and seizures by the government have to do with abortion?
Roe v. Wade cited the due process clause of the 14th amendment for its decision.
“Yohsiph , why do you call baptists f..ing idiots. There are some in ALL
religion that would meet that criteria. It’s like anything, because of
a few in whatever type person you are talking about, you can’t type ALL
people like them in that catagory.” ~unworthyofhisgrace
Then let me clarify: You’re a Baptist who’s a fucking idiot.
I was raised Baptist, and attend a variety of Baptist services semi-regularly. I don’t require any instruction about your sect, especially from you.
I’d hope that having been a pastor, he’d have a strong moral character which would be a good thing for our government. But like I’ve said before, it really depends on the person…and you’ve got to see their stance on many different issues and not make your mind up about them based on just one.
I dont know…I know my brother inlaw will vote for him.
Is he qualified? Does he realize and take seriously the fact that he cannot use the presidency to push religious views? (if he is truly baptist, that shouldn’t be a problem given core baptist beliefs historically)
why not he cant be any worse than the others who are running for the offfice
Elect me as President and I’ll run this country using a little something called common sense!
> > UnworthyofHisgrace, among others, makes a good point about character. without character, good character that is, you don’t know what to expect in the way of trust, behavior, etc. That being said, it was pointed out to me by my brother that Rev. Huckabee is also a former court judge, who released ( I don’t know the circumstances) an accused or convicted rapist in his court, at the time, who went on to rape and kill another person or two…. Now, IF this be the case, we have a choice: elect or no! As I see this, w/o the court transcript to document (1. procedural errors on the part of the attorneys that may have led to this release; (2. legal boo boo’s leading to same; or (3. a different situation leading to the aforementioned, or whether just a wanton disregard/collusion on the part of the Judge, IF it’s true, then Mr Huckabee shouldn’t get elected, at least in my view!
Peace
I wouldn’t vote for him because he’s a Baptist preacher, and I wouldn’t NOT vote for him because he’s a Baptist preacher. To me that is a non-issue. I want to know where he stands on things like illegal immigration, abortion, homeland security, and taxation. Those are the things that would sway my vote.
It would depend on the person — this more than one Baptist pastor I wouldn’t want as my pastor let alone my president — but Huckabee, YES — I could and would and have voted for him.
I would. The main thing is to study the man. Look at his beliefs, look at his run as governor, how does he present himself (important for diplomatic meetings), how does he treat his wife and family, etc…
Sure. Everyone is a former something. We have voted for former actors, business men, governors, peanut farmers and professional polititions. Some did a good job in the White House, others did not.
This question is a little bit like, “Woluld you hire a former kindergartener to be a teacher?” Whatever you did before will help you understand how to do your job better, I think.
why should one care ?? so what ?
I would feel very comfortable voting for a Baptist pastor as long as I agreed with his stand on issues, character, and ability to perform the job well.
Why not?
I don’t know Huckabee well enough yet to say whether or not I would be comfortable voting for him
i would. i mean, i wouldn’t vote for him because hes a baptist. but its not an issue i would vote against.
I’ll have you know I’ve been hopelessly addicted to the bunny game “Winterbells” since you first posted it. My highest score so far is 72,290… I don’t know if that’s extremely high, but I took a screen shot anyway. : ]
pcygnii : I seem to have heard Huckabee be asked something about this in an interview or in his book I read, I can’t remember. But I remember him saying there were circumstances out of his control in that case. I really don’t remember. I read his book and from what I read, I’m thoroughly convinced he is a man of character. If I find out later I was wrong, I’ll have to reconsider who I vote for. There is still plenty of time left before election. It will also make a big decision on whoever wins the nominee, who they pick for their running mate. I’m just saying right now Huckabee is the man with character high above the others and he has experience in Gov. I mean come on, after the mess Clinton and then Jim Guy Tucker left in Ark, Huckabee did a pretty faboulous job getting Ark back on it’s feet. Sure they have a long way to go, but man, they were in miserable shape before Huckabee took over. I have lots of family that live in Ark, so I know.
Well I can tell you he was an outstanding governer here in Arkansas. He created a state financial surplus without raising taxes. He did a lot to stop childhood obesity here in Arkansas too.
oops governor, I mean
By reading the majority of there comments, most of the readers don’t understand that Huckabee was Governor of Arkansas for 10 and a half years…
He’s a great man and I would trust our country in his hands.
Maybe. Depends on what they believe.
And how capable they are.
Religion and politics just don’t mix!! I think Bush has started a controversy over this. Keep the church and state separate, I say!
I’m just voting Ed Koch.
Sure. But Ron Paul’s my guy in this race (as you already know). Huckabee is less conservative socially, than Paul. I appreciate that Huckabee is pro-life, but Republicans who TALK about small government are looking more and more like Democrats, when it comes to spending money (that we don’t have).
How is it that some people have had their minds made up on who they like since, well, for awhile? Shouldn’t we wait until closer to election time to choose who we will vote for. Why shut people out so early? Why not get to know each candidate as well as you can first?
I’m gonna write in Lithium98!
Absolutely I would.
I don’t vote someone in by their religious believes. I vote for them based on their policy decisions.
Yes.
yes…we’ve had a president before who was formerly a clergyman… i think it was one of the Harrisons… but a great number of Presidents in US history have to some extent endorsed the Christian faith- and that includes George Washington, The Adams, Thomas Jefferson… FDR…
Most likely not. I wouldn’t agree with a preacher’s views and I’d be worried about their concerns with marriage, abortion, and constitutional rights. I think a preacher would be conservative, so not someone I’d want to be president.
However, I do know a rockin’ pastor who I’d vote for in a second. He’s not Baptist though- some form of Christianity, I really don’t know which, except it’s not a mainstream sect. It’s a more liberal sect.
Sure
SunnyMitsu: “How is it that some people have had their minds made up on who they
like since, well, for awhile? Shouldn’t we wait until closer to
election time to choose who we will vote for. Why shut people out so
early? Why not get to know each candidate as well as you can first?”
What else do we need to know? How good they are at public speaking? The debates can be pretty informative, but most of what you need to know is pretty easy to find out. For past governors and senators all you have to do is look at their record to figure out their political views. And a candidate’s political viewpoints is what I care about. As callous as it sounds, I don’t care that it comes up in a smear campaign a week before the election that he cheated on his wife 4 years ago. As long as he is effective at his job and has similar political viewpoints, that’s all I ask for.
Same response as the last one. His competence and political ideology are more important. It seems like some people are narrow-minded enough to think that if one were a Baptist pastor at one point, he can’t possibly be competent, which is bigoted.
yes
Would you feel comfortable voting for a:
Babtist preacher,
a Mormon,
a black man,
a white woman
…?
This election is hitting so many levels of political correctness.
there we go, no one said no that time. No is a very close minded answer. Religion has nothing to do with government and yes he does have political experience. He was our governor for a long time.
no.
Absolutely. That’s the type of person I want running my country
yes
Unfortunately one’s religious background does seem to matter when it comes to Presidential politics (it shouldn’t). There was JFK and his Catholicism, his assurances to the people he would not be taking orders from the Vatican (the first time this topic became an issue). Huckabee – Baptist…Romney – Mormon…Clinton – Antichrist…Biden – Whocares?
Personally, I think it shouldn’t matter as long as the candidate doesn’t make it an issue. What or who one prays to is no one’s concern (as long as he/she isn’t hurting anyone that is…). ‘Nuf said
i would feel more comfortable with a former baptist pastor, than some of the other whatever you want to call them candidates.
I’d feel comfortable voting for him. I hope he doesn’t screw things over for us Christians like George Bush has.
I usually would like all my presidents to have taken a biology course.
Also, seeing as how I’m from Arkansas and didn’t like the whole “I lost weight and you have to lose weight too” thing, I would never vote for him.
It doesn’t matter if they are a Christian, Jew, Muslim, or an Atheist to me. If they are honest, intelligent, ethical and able to lead this country, then they will have my vote. Huckabee doesn’t carry those characteristics.
I have no doubt in my mind, that Huckabee could be President. He was Gov. for 10 years in a very Democratic state. He is a man of integrity, and a man of truth. What better person to have run our country than a man of God. He didn’t push his beliefs on anyone that I know of in the State of Arkansas, and I truly doubt he would try to push religion on American. He works to get the job done, not push beliefs. What is the difference than having a former minister in office, than having a Christian in office, or a Catholic, or Jew or any other religion for that matter as long as they perform the duty that our founding fathers founded American on—God and faith. Being Baptist doesn’t make you a cult, you are Christian. I am speaking from the experience my husband had working for Gov. Huckabee for 4 years when he was in office. It was a pleasure and wonderful experience to be a part of his staff. The man is very intelligent and has a near photogenic memory. He will talk to you as if you are a long lost friend, calls you by name even after meeting you one time.
The question from the previous comment is a pretty silly question “why would a Pastor want to be Pres. of the U.S.” why would anyone want to change careers. He has a passion to help people, and our country. Why would an attorney want to be Pres., or a business man, or a any other person in a specific career. Change. In a sense we should all be ministers. Why is our country founded on Christian beliefs? Oh well, I think I could go on and on, but the bottom line is yes a former Pastor could become an effective President. Besides how will we ever know if we don’t give them a chance. We let other men run our country, some good and some pretty bad—were they former Pastors–no.
I wouldn’t have a problem voting for him. People have commented that he would need to keep his religion and the job separate. I disagree with that. He shouldn’t thrust it upon others, perhaps. However, if he is a Christian then I would expect his beliefs to influence his decision making just as they shoud with any other person.
Christianity is suppose to be a relationship, a way of life. It’s not suppose to be something that can be pigeon holed for only on Sunday mornings.
Go for it I would say. Why not. They are part of the public and if they meet the other standards then sure. Anything less than that would be discriminating wouldn’t you think. We don’t do that do we ?.
As opposed to a member of the Mormon cult? Duh.
What’s the difference?