Can Huckabee Be Any More Ignorant? Apparently So!

Posted by Susan

At my age, I guess I should no longer be surprised when politicians start lying about their views when trying to win votes.

Seems that Huckabee is doing just that these days.

During a Senate race in 1992, he answered an AP questionnaire saying that AIDS patients should be isolated. He also thought that too much money was being used for AIDS research.

I cannot imagine anyone being that ignorant.

Apparently he's flip-flopped on that issue. Now Huckabee supposedly supports increased HIV/AIDS research funding.

Who knows what he'd do if he actually got elected?

What a bigot. What a liar. What a jerk.


ORIGINAL ARTICLE ON THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE WEBSITE CAN BE FOUND HERE

Huckabee in '92: Isolate AIDS patients

by Mark Silva

The Associated Press has dug up some old questionnaires from the 1992 Senate race in Arkansas, and guess what:

Mike Huckabee, who later was elected lieutenant governor and then governor, was running for Senate that year and suggested that AIDS patients should be isolated:

"If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague," Huckabee wrote in response to the AP questionnaire that year. "It is difficult to understand the public policy towards AIDS. It is the first time in the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have not been isolated from the general population, and in which this deadly disease for which there is no cure is being treated as a civil rights issue instead of the true health crisis it represents."

Huckabee also suggested then that it was wrong to boost federal funding for AIDS research, with other diseases posing a greater threat to the public, and that Hollywood stars pressing for a greater investment by the government should dig into their own pocketbooks instead.

Huckabee also had this to say about homosexuality:

"I feel homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk."

Huckabee, who now seeks the Republican Party's presidential nomination and is running well in Iowa, now supports increased federal funding for AIDS research through the National Institutes of Health. ""My administration will be the first to have an overarching strategy for dealing with HIV and AIDS here in the United States, with a partnership between the public and private sectors that will provide necessary financing and a realistic path toward our goals," Huckabee said in a statement posted on his campaign Web site last month, the AP notes.

See the Associated Press report:

By ANDREW DeMILLO_Associated Press Writer

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Mike Huckabee once advocated isolating AIDS patients from the general public, opposed increased federal funding in the search for a cure and said homosexuality could "pose a dangerous public health risk."

As a candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in 1992, Huckabee answered 229 questions submitted to him by The Associated Press. Besides a quarantine, Huckabee suggested that Hollywood celebrities fund AIDS research from their own pockets, rather than federal health agencies.

"If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague," Huckabee wrote in response to the AP questionnaire that year.

"It is difficult to understand the public policy towards AIDS. It is the first time in the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have not been isolated from the general population, and in which this deadly disease for which there is no cure is being treated as a civil rights issue instead of the true health crisis it represents."

The AP submitted the questionnaire to both candidates; only Huckabee responded. Incumbent Sen. Dale Bumpers won his fourth term; Huckabee was elected lieutenant governor the next year and became governor in 1996.

When asked about AIDS research in 1992, Huckabee complained that AIDS research received an unfair share of federal dollars when compared to cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

"In light of the extraordinary funds already being given for AIDS research, it does not seem that additional federal spending can be justified," Huckabee wrote. "An alternative would be to request that multimillionaire celebrities, such as Elizabeth Taylor (,) Madonna and others who are pushing for more AIDS funding be encouraged to give out of their own personal treasuries increased amounts for AIDS research."

Huckabee did not return messages left with his campaign.

When Huckabee wrote his answers in 1992, it was common knowledge that AIDS could not be spread by casual contact. In late 1991, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there were 195,718 AIDS patients in the country and that 126,159 people had died from the syndrome.

The nation had an increased awareness of AIDS at the time because pro basketball star Magic Johnson had recently disclosed he carried the virus responsible for it. Johnson retired but returned to the NBA briefly during the 1994-95 season.

Since becoming a presidential candidate this year, Huckabee has supported increased federal funding for AIDS research through the National Institutes of Health.

"My administration will be the first to have an overarching strategy for dealing with HIV and AIDS here in the United States, with a partnership between the public and private sectors that will provide necessary financing and a realistic path toward our goals," Huckabee said in a statement posted on his campaign Web site last month.

Also in the wide-ranging AP questionnaire in 1992, Huckabee said, "I feel homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk."

A Southern Baptist preacher, Huckabee has been a favorite among social conservatives for his vocal opposition to gay marriage. In 2003, Huckabee said that the U.S. Supreme Court was probably right to strike down anti-sodomy laws, but that states still should be able to restrict things such as gay marriage or domestic partner benefits.

"What people do in the privacy of their own lives as adults is their business," Huckabee said. "If they bring it into the public square and ask me as a taxpayer to support it or to endorse it, then it becomes a matter of public discussion and discourse."