EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Governor Huckabee Speaks with Catholic Online

death and the fundamental right to life?

Governor Huckabee: “I believe that life begins at conception and ends at a natural death. Life is a gift from God.

Every child deserves a quality education, first-rate health care, decent housing in a safe neighborhood, and clean air and drinking water. Every child deserves the opportunity to discover and use his God-given gifts and talents.

What I accomplished as Governor proves that there is a lot more that a pro-life President can do than wait for a Supreme Court vacancy, and I will do everything I can to promote a pro-life agenda and pass pro-life legislation. I'll veto any pro-abortion legislation Congress passes. I will staff all relevant positions with pro-life appointees. I will use the Bully Pulpit to change hearts and minds, to move this country from a culture of death to a culture of life."

QUESTION: How have you lived that commitment personally, as well as in your years of public service as an elected official?

Governor Huckabee: “I have always been actively and aggressively pro-life. No candidate has a stronger or more consistent record on the sanctity of life than I do.

When I was elected Lieutenant Governor, and later Governor, I marched in the annual Right to Life parade down Capitol Avenue in Little Rock. I did this at a time when no other state-wide elected official in Arkansas would participate in this event.

I first became politically active when I helped pass Arkansas' Unborn Child Amendment, which requires the state to do whatever it can to protect life.

As Governor, I used that Amendment to pass pro-life legislation. The many pro-life laws I got through my Democrat-controlled Legislature are the accomplishments that give me the most pride and personal satisfaction.”

QUESTION: What have you done to build a new culture of life and defend the right to life against the encroachment of what the late Pope John Paul II rightly called a culture of death?

Governor Huckabee: “As Governor, I banned partial birth abortion; I required parental notification; I required that a woman give informed consent before having an abortion; I required that a woman be told her baby will experience pain and be given the option of anesthesia for her baby; I allowed a woman to have her baby and, if she was unable to care for it, leave the child safely at a hospital; and I made it a crime for an unborn child to be injured or murdered during an attack on his mother.

I support and have always supported passage of a constitutional amendment to protect the right to life. As President, I will fight for passage of this amendment. My convictions regarding the sanctity of life have always been clear and consistent, without equivocation or wavering.

I believe that Roe v. Wade should be over-turned.

I applaud the Supreme Court's recent decision in Gonzales v. Cathcart forbidding the gruesome practice of partial birth abortion. While I am optimistic that we are turning the tide in favor of life, we still have many battles ahead of us to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and so it is vital that we elect a pro-life President.”

QUESTION: Because of our obligation to respect the good of life and our obligation to hear the cry of the poor, what is your plan to help us as a Nation ensure the availability of health insurance coverage for all Americans, including the poor?

Governor Huckabee: “The health care system in this country is irrevocably broken, in part because it is only a "health care" system, not a "health" system. For example, insurance companies will pay $30,000 for a diabetic to have his foot amputated, but won't pay far less for special shoes that would save his foot.

We don't need universal health care mandated by federal edict or funded through ever-higher taxes. We do need to get serious about preventive health care instead of chasing more and more dollars to treat chronic disease, which currently gobbles up 80 percent of our health care costs, and yet is often avoidable. The result is that we'll be able to deliver better care where and when it's needed.

More than that, preventive health care improves the quality of life. A man who learns to eat right, exercise and not smoke has a better quality of life than one who doesn’t do those things, has a heart attack and the pain and limitations on life that follow.

I’ve seen such pain. My father smoked, didn’t exercise or eat right. He had open heart surgery and five bypasses. His quality of life after his heart attack was never as good as it was before. I often think how much better and longer he would have lived if he’d taken better care of himself.

Also, I advocate policies that will encourage the private sector to seek innovative ways to bring down costs and ...
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Thank you for providing this interview for our consideration. Please allow me to comment.

The "interview" spends more than half of its length on "pro-life" issues, and yet, remarkably, not a single question or word about the Death Penalty in Arkansas. Consider these quotes from the Governor in this interview:
1. "What I accomplished as Governor proves that there is a lot more that a pro-life President can do than wait for a Supreme Court vacancy, and I will do everything I can to promote a pro-life agenda and pass pro-life legislation. I'll veto any pro-abortion legislation Congress passes. I will staff all relevant positions with pro-life appointees. I will use the Bully Pulpit to change hearts and minds, to move this country from a culture of death to a culture of life."
2. "I have always been actively and aggressively pro-life. No candidate has a stronger or more consistent record on the sanctity of life than I do."
3. "The many pro-life laws I got through my Democrat-controlled Legislature are the accomplishments that give me the most pride and personal satisfaction."

Now, I ask you, how can he say those things with a straight face, when we see in this article from Arkansas Matters (http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/?cid=63338 ) the quote: "Since the death penalty was re-instated as constitutional in 1976, there have been 27 executions in Arkansas. Sixteen of those were signed off by former Governor Mike Huckabee". (To be fair, I'll also include this tidbit: "In all, Arkansas executed four people on Clinton's watch.") Fortunately, not as many as the 152 executions that George W Bush presided over in Texas! See "Death in Texas", by Sister Helen Prejean: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17670 (And, of course, we all know that the Death Penalty is NOT a deterrent. For example, see: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-1996-2007 and note that "For 2007, the average Murder Rate of Death Penalty States was 5.5, while the average Murder Rate of States without the Death Penalty was 3.1")
And yet, with all of this "pro-life" legislation, he never proposed doing away with the Death Penalty in Arkansas?

Who are we (any man) that we should dare raise ourselves to God's level by holding someone in judgement and taking their life? And worse, do it almost "gleefully"? (See this article on George W Bush in Texas: http://www.commondreams.org/views/101800-102.htm which brings up some of the same points that Sister Helen wrote about, specifically how apparently little thought he gave when considering each case.)

Another quote: "I support and have always supported passage of a constitutional amendment to protect the right to life. As President, I will fight for passage of this amendment. My convictions regarding the sanctity of life have always been clear and consistent, without equivocation or wavering."
Oh, really? Even if that same amendment would include overturning the Death Penalty?

As far as answers on marriage were concerned, I thought he is quite extreme. He leaves no room for homosexual unions of any kind. How do you think that makes those folks feel, when we now know that homosexuality is not "learned", but is genetic? Does the Gov mean they should be excluded from society totally? Doesn't sound very Christian to me.

Talk about "pandering to an audience", he pulls out this quote and comment: "The late Cardinal O'Connor decried a domestic partnership law (which provided that all couples who signed up, whether heterosexual or homosexual, would be treated the same as married couples) as legislating that "marriage doesn't matter."
I agree with the Cardinal: marriage does matter. And, I would add that nothing in our society matters more."

Wow... that really gives those of us who have chosen to remain single a reason to live, doesn't it?? Guess it doesn't matter the work we do, the good we do, the progress we make for mankind, the charities we support, the support we give to others... throw it all away, because "nothing in our society matters more" than marriage?? Really? Then why was the Gov unsuccessful in convincing even the people of his own state of this? Despite the Gov's efforts, we see that: "In 2004, the state with the highest reported divorce rate was Nevada, at 6.4 (per 1,000). Arkansas was a close second, with a divorce rate of 6.3"! (from: http://www.divorcemag.com/statistics/statsUS.shtml)

Aside from social issues, there was not enough discussion in the interview concerning the economy. As a conservative, his first response on the economy was to change the tax system.... and he wants to move NOT to a flat tax, but a "FairTax", which is nothing more than a national sales tax. People are not buying goods now; just think how much less likely they will be to buy goods if there is a significant tax on things you buy! And worse, it will only apply to "new" items, so that will further encourage people to buy "used", which reduces demand for new goods. New goods need to be produced, so it puts people to work. Not so with used goods (except, perhaps, for repair).
He also said: "As I traveled the country and the world over the last decade bringing jobs to Arkansas, the business leaders I met weren't worried about creating jobs, they were worried about finding skilled and professional workers to fill those jobs." I'll bet that isn't the case now! I'll bet they are trying to figure out how to get rid of workers!

I appreciate your providing a place for discussion of your articles and interviews. Thank you!!!

Rick C | 1/8/2009

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