Mike Huckabee's relationship with anti-Catholic bigots

First, let's define our terms. An anti-Catholic Christian is not someone who simply disagrees with Catholic theology. Rather, as Catholic apologist Dave Armstrong argues, most non-Catholic Christians are not themselves anti-Catholic. It is those who insist that Catholics are not Christians who can be properly called anti-Catholic. This is bigotry, of a now old and particularly ugly sort, but one that is still fairly common among certain fundamentalists/evangelicals.


Here's a little bit of Mike Huckabee's track record:

"While claiming to believe Catholics are fellow Christians, Mike Huckabee has kept close acquittance with evangelical leaders who have:

- Compared Catholicism to a disease requiring 'recovery' and rehabilitation;

- Said the Catholic Church collaborated with the Nazis to exterminate Jews;

- Accused the Catholic Church of pulling mankind into the 'dark ages'.


"Mike Huckabee has been endorsed by anti-Catholic author Tim Lahaye, who called Catholicism a `false religion' Lahaye's Church also funded `Mission to Catholics', a virulently anti-Catholic ministry.


"Mike Huckabee has also played up anti-Mormon sentiment against Governor Mitt Romney by asking a reporter if it was the Mormon Church that taught that Jesus and the devil were half-brothers.


"Mike Huckabee turned a blind eye to an anti-Catholic whisper campaign waged against Catholic Senator Sam Brownback in the run up to the Iowa Straw Poll in July 2007."

Brownback has since endorsed Sen. McCain.



"While Mike Huckabee has declared himself to be the authentic pro-life candidate in the 2008 Republican primary, in 2006 alone he accepted $35,000 in cash from Novo Nordisk, a company dedicated to promoting research on human life through destructive embryonic stem cell research.

"Mike Huckabee was the guest speaker at the notoriously anti-Catholic Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, TX on December 23, 2007.

"Huckabee was hosted by the Rev. John Hagee [a televangelist], who has written that the Catholic Church collaborated with Hitler in staying completely silent during the Holocaust. This would be a surprise to millions of Catholics who struggled against Nazism, most especially St. Maximillan Kolbe.

"Here is a sampling of Pastor Hagee's writings:

"John Hagee: `Most readers will be shocked by the clear record of history linking Adolf Hitler and the Roman Catholic Church in a conspiracy to exterminate the Jews.'

"John Hagee: `The Catholic Church plunged the world into the dark ages.'

"John Hagee: `When Hitler became a global demonic monster, the Catholic Church and Pope Pius XII never, ever slightly criticized him.'"

This junk is right out of Jack Chick. This is what happens when you get your history from cartoon tracts.


"What does Mike Huckabee think about John Hagee?

"Huckabee said John Hagee is, `one of the greatest Christian leaders of our nation.'


"What did Mike Huckabee do when presented with these vicious statements made by John Hagee about Catholics and the Catholic Church?

"Nothing, but Huckabee did make this very equivocal statement: `I can't speak for (Hagee) anymore than he could speak for me. I'm sure that there're things I'll say that he disagrees with… I would certainly never characterize the Catholic Church as being pro-Nazi, never.' Just imagine if a politician:

"Spoke at a church/organization which denied the Holocaust ever existed; said he did not agree with this statement of the church/organization; but then went on to call the leader of this church/organization (who made the statement denying the Holocaust) one of the finest leaders in our nation.

"Imagine this scenario no longer: Mike Huckabee has put forward this ridiculous line of reasoning."


This is more than a little akin to Barack Obama's relationship with his Louis Farrakhan-adoring pastor, Jeremiah Wright. Bigotry is now okay, apparently, if you agree with the person about other issues.


This is the crowd, and the thinking, such as it is, that Gov. Huckabee keeps close contact with. Does that make Huckabee a bigot himself? Not necessarily, but certainly if a politician hung out with fascists it would be relevant, or if Hillary still associated with '60's radicals we'd want to know that as well. When it comes to how a political leader thinks, who he/she associates with does matter. Saying this is merely "guilt by association" won't do.


This isn't just Mike Huckabee's past; this is his present.


Link via Article VI Blog.