It should come as a surprise to no one that former nobody and now serious presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is no friend of homosexuals. He is a Southern Baptist minister and his ridiculous anti-gay rhetoric is a huge turn-on for the fundamentalist right-wing. We also know that Huckabee is a lover of rapists, so long as the rape victim is related to Bill Clinton. Today's Mike Huckabee news, though, defies all rational comprehension.
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."
...
"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.
"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."
Yes, the best way to deal with AIDS is to just lock up anyone who has it. And by "anyone who has it," of course, we mean homosexuals. That is, after all, what they get for choosing to be gay.
Huckabee wrote this in 1992 while running for U.S. Senate, so it is possible that he just didn't know the facts about AIDS. There was a time when people actually thought that you could get HIV just by breathing the same air as someone with AIDS. Can't hold him responsible for something he couldn't have known, now can we?
When Huckabee wrote his answers in 1992, it was common knowledge that AIDS could not be spread by casual contact.
Oh... Well. Never mind then. If Huckabee knew the ways that AIDS could be transmitted, why didn't he suggest a permanent quarantine of all known drug users? Or doctors and nurses, who handle needles and blood on a regular basis? He could have closed the nation's blood banks and banned transfusions--there's lots of infected blood there. I heard in my sixth grade health class that nicotine is a "gateway drug" to stronger drugs like heroine. Maybe Mike Huckabee should lock up all smokers. Who knows how long it will be until they start sharing needles? No, Huckabee was more interested in his vendetta against those "dangerous" homosexuals.
Now, don't be mistaken and think that Mike Huckabee is a cold, heartless bastard. Remember, he did want to continue the search for a cure:
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."
So after all that time Mike Huckabee spends reminding us of the dangers of gays... er, I mean, AIDS, he doesn't think that the taxpayers should be footing the bill for trying to cure it. It's not like the federal government has any obligation to respond to "a dangerous public health risk." And if those queer-lovers in Hollywood think that AIDS is should be cured, then they can fund AIDS research themselves.
It's inconceivable that a serious presidential candidate can have these views about a deadly disease. Of course, that was the old Mike Huckabee. The new Mike Huckabee says:
"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.
Oh, so now that we know that AIDS affects heterosexuals too, it's okay for the federal government to fund research to cure it? Now that we know it's not really a "plague" designed to cleanse the earth of the homosexual scourge but a real, serious killer syndrome?
Forgive me, Governor Huckabee, if I have some trouble taking you at your word.
(Cross-posted at CrazyDrumGuy)