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Does Huckabee Believe Angels Intervene in Hunting Contests?
That's the question I've tried to get the Mike Huckabee campaign to answer.
The surging social conservative who once was a Baptist preacher, as AP reports, is refusing to discuss theology and the "intricate, nit-picky things of church doctrine"--even though he recently attributed his success in the polls to divine intervention. For instance, he has declined in recent days to talk about his view of creationism (at an early debate he indicated he supports it) or to say whether he believes women should be permitted to serve in pastoral leadership roles (a controversial matter within some fundamentalist circles).
But what about angels? As I've noted previously and elsewhere, Huckabee gave a rather intriguing speech at the NRA in September, during which he deftly merged his heartfelt evangelical beliefs with his deep passion for gun rights and hunting. He recalled the time he was in an antelope hunting contest in Wyoming. After several hours of stalking prey on a miserably cold, windy and snowy day, Huckabee had his chance. An antelope was 250 yards away, but right at the edge of his range as a shooter. Then a miracle happened:
I decided that one way or the other, this hunt is about to be over, because I can't stand any more of this cold. And somehow, by the grace of God, when I squeezed the trigger, my Weatherby .300 Mag, which has got to be the greatest gun, I think, ever made in the form of a rifle -- for my sake in hunting, I've never squeezed the trigger and not gotten something -- did its work, and somehow the angels took that bullet and went right to the antelope, and my hunt was over in a wonderful way.
Thanks to those angels, that elk was dead.
After hearing that speech, I sent an email to the press office of the Huckabee campaign asking if the former Arkansas governor does "believe that angels literally intervene in the affairs of human beings and that such intervention includes hunting events." I received no reply. I tried again. Still silence.
Huckabee is delighted to let people know he's a firm believer in God. He's well aware that helps him with Republican primary voters, especially in Iowa. But he doesn't want to answer questions about his beliefs. That's trying to have it both ways--the glory without explaining. With less than month to the Iowa caucus, can Huckabee continue to duck questions about spiritual affairs? Maybe with the help of angels.
Comments
As one of the Dylans once said, God gave names to all the animals. And "antelope" does not equal "elk."
More than likely, whether it elk or antelope, it was no angel guiding that bullet. More like a demon....
Posted by: judith Wood on 12/07/07 at 12:01 PM Respond
Heaven for Huckabee - hell for the elk/antelope.
"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven."
~ John Milton (1608 - 1674)
Posted by: capt on 12/07/07 at 12:33 PM Respond
"even though he recently attributed his success in the polls to divine intervention."
Where have I heard that before? 2000...2004?
Posted by: Steve-O on 12/07/07 at 2:31 PM Respond
I suppose that's why more and more people are becoming non christian. Hardly surprising.
Posted by: Tim Burrows on 12/08/07 at 6:45 AM Respond
"With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion."
~ Steven Weinberg (1933 - ), quoted in The New York Times, April 20, 1999
Posted by: capt on 12/08/07 at 8:30 AM Respond
People who are bad at accepting responsibility for their mistakes use religion to cover their butt.
Religion is the best tool ever invented to gain collective power over the weaker classes by the use of fear of the unknown. It is a tool that has been used by the powerful to contain the thinking of the masses.
Posted by: Norman on 12/08/07 at 9:30 AM Respond
How offensive is that? Angels guided his bullet - amazing how evil acts are so often justified in the name of religion - Huckabee like Bush? Seems so.
Posted by: Jerri on 12/08/07 at 10:57 AM Respond
And if he's elected president those same angels will help guide bombs onto the heads of Muslims, too. Kind of divine smart bombs.
Posted by: AlexLawyer on 12/08/07 at 11:02 PM Respond
"More than likely, whether it elk or antelope, it was no angel guiding that bullet. More like a demon....
Posted by: judith Wood "
Possibly a fallen angel?
Posted by: wlgriffi on 12/09/07 at 8:09 AM Respond
Hunting is evil? An antelope is an elk? Wow, it must be nice to live in ignorance of the natural world.
The antelope lived and died a wild and free life, no animal can ask for more. Do you eat meat? Even those calling themselves vegans and calling hunting evil are hypocrites. Without hunting there would be no possibility to grow the crops vegans live on. Without active conservation and management by hunters and government agencies funded by hunters, there would be neither antelope or elk on this continent for the author of the post to get confused about.
Posted by: Patrick on 12/09/07 at 8:36 AM Respond
"Without active conservation and management by hunters and government agencies funded by hunters, there would be neither antelope or elk on this continent"
Without man on this continent animals would rule - no management needed. Not to mention the native Americans managed to live in harmony with nature - no agencies needed.
Humans with thundersticks and the arrogance of agencies suck.
Posted by: Mr. Bear on 12/09/07 at 10:00 AM Respond
Patrick,
How nice it must be to sit back rendor everyone a hypocrite when it fits so conveniently with your beliefs and allows you to do whatever you wish in the name of "control". Now I know why we are in Iraq. The supremacy/control leap from animals to humans is a short one my friend. Tread carefully. One man's "freedom" is another's hell.
Posted by: Nathan Greatly on 12/10/07 at 12:01 PM Respond
The US Government's holy-roller pendulum has swung way too far to the right in America thanks to the likes of King G43 et al. It's time it reversed its swing in this secular nation and took us back to enlightenment and away from reestablishing the neocon’s dark ages when religion ruled everybody and everything.
Posted by: Ken Hughes on 12/10/07 at 12:07 PM Respond
It's unfortunate the antelope(elk) wasn't armed-it might have taken out one more stupid right wing christian anus...
Posted by: Christopher Flynn on 12/10/07 at 12:29 PM Respond
I have to question the intelligence of people who think that a god cares or intervenes in such stupid, personal events.
Posted by: edlib on 12/10/07 at 12:30 PM Respond
Our military in the 1800's would thank God after massacring Indians. They seem to think that God guided them to success. Another success story for the American way of thinking.
Posted by: Rick Theile on 12/10/07 at 12:30 PM Respond
Bush talks to God and look what that has got us. Huck has angels, he will keep us out of trouble!!!
Posted by: Bob Amato on 12/10/07 at 1:19 PM Respond
Given his views I would hope that Huckabee receives the Republican nomination... that should GUARANTEE a Democrat will win. It is this fundamentalist idiocy and blatant IGNORANCE that drove me away from what was a Republican party with some progressive members (many years ago). I would vote to include him the the real axis of evil threatening our country from within.
Posted by: Thomas Crowe on 12/10/07 at 1:31 PM Respond
WTF? God helped him kill Bambi?
Posted by: llew on 12/10/07 at 1:35 PM Respond
antelope/elk, goid (like in goiter)/god? It's all too confusing.
Posted by: Jaybird on 12/10/07 at 2:08 PM Respond
A presidential candidate - hunter aided by angels in bagging his prey, denial of evolution and belief in creationism - what an impressive reflection on the "most powerful and wealthiest" country of the world?
Posted by: Christel Converse on 12/10/07 at 3:02 PM Respond
It is truly sad that leftist Citiots like David don't even know the difference between an antelope and an elk. Surely they "done taught nature schoolin'" to David, before he got to Brown U.? Or did David's K-12 teachers tie up all his time, learning him how to put a rubber on a banana? (sic, pun intended). Good grief... David needs to get out of his concrete jungle and actually learn something about the natural world, nature and the animals that inhabit it, before simpering on about others' beliefs.
Posted by: Paul on 12/10/07 at 6:26 PM Respond
Just a word on the language of the debate... humans ARE animals, just like the animal slain at by Huckabee's angel bullet. No, we don't have to have hunters to eat a vegan lifestyle, just fewer delusional homo sapiens trampling natural habitat. That's the one animal we definitely don't need more of.
Posted by: Phillip in NC on 12/10/07 at 7:52 PM Respond
Must have been the "Angel of Death".
Posted by: Howard P on 12/10/07 at 9:30 PM Respond
Whether Huckabee called the antelope an elk or not is not significant. What is significant, to this country and the world, is what Huckabee is; another delusional, Christian, right wing fanatic lusting for power and the right to send the armies of god to convert the barbarians over there. And he is dangerous; you can tell because the so-called Christian right has embraced him. These fanatics only embrace the corporate-Christian types; the ones who do the bidding of their masters.
Never forget that the 2000 Presidential election was handed over to the neo-cons by the US Supreme Court; bought and paid for by the military-industrial complex.
Dwight Eisenhower warned America over 50 years ago about the danger of the military-industrial complex. And lo it has come to pass that this entity, the military-industrial complex, has taken on the form of right wing Christianity and will indeed cleanse this world given the slightest chance and teach their holy, materialistic Christianity to all non-believers by hook or by crook, or gun or water board, or minister or general; these barbarians will be saved!
And so in 2000 the first giant step for corporate Christianity; the first small stompimg for mankind occurred.
In the 2004 Presidential elections similar unethical shenigans cost the Democrats the Presidency again in Ohio.
The most important thing to remember is that these neo-con right wing Christian fanatics will cheat, steal, kill or do anything to advance their "godly inspired" goals. To them stuffing ballot boxes or buying judges is not un-Christian at all; it is the means to their "godly" goal of corporate Christianity. Huckabee is a man for all right wing Christians and these fanatics will try and steal any and all elections to put him in the White House.
8 years of idiotic, delusional, GOP corporate pandering is enough. Lets make sure this guy or any of those GOP morons don't make it any closer to Washington than Mount Washington in February!
Posted by: Al Comstock on 12/10/07 at 9:39 PM Respond
MIKE, MIKE, MIKE.... Please, we're just finishing up 8 years with an idiot of a President, and then superficial, ignorant, hypocritical, manipulative YOU come chugging along with your bunch of loons, oooppps,I mean angels and as delusional as you are, no actual angel guided your BULLET to KILL an innocent lamb,ooopps, elk/ antolope/cantalope. Mans' problem isn't wildlife or wild animals, they're disappearing at a rapid rate. Mans' problem IS mankind. Every time one hunter accidentally shoots and kills his good ole boy hunting buddy,I loudly go ya....one for the good guys! Go on, Mikey, do lots of hunting, and P.S.,I've heard that if you wear camoflague clothing, and make many moose calls, you're chances of being shot by another hunter are increased dramatically. Come on Mikey, scary guy that you are, pleaseeee try it, because surely, your angel will guide that bullet right to the heart of your very dark soul. P.S. I do solumnley pray you get to be President, as the good ole USA sinks below sea level, once a great nation....fallen, like an elk. Betrayed by fools who believe guns are the all to end all, and so be it. R.I.P.
Posted by: alan j. cornell on 12/10/07 at 11:51 PM Respond
I am not against hunting - if the meat is used for food, not just wasting an animal's life for a trophy, but for someone to invoke god in it is the epitome of stupidity!
Huckabee has no place becoming president. We do not need nor can we afford as a nation to have an idiot who discards science in favor of belief in mythology as our president.
We also do not need another liar who panders to right wing hatemongers as Huckabee did in the Dumond case, pressuring the parole board in Arkansas to release a rapist who then raped again and killed another victim and was suspected in an additional rape/killing.
We do not need another president who will not fund science research but will open our treasury to "faith based" con artists as Bush did with Pat Robertson's “Operation Blessing” using their airplanes to deliver mining equipment in a partnership Robertson formed with the brutal dictator of Zaire, Mobuto Sese Seko that defrauded their contributors and violated IRS rules for tax exempts and was still funded under Bush's "faith based" fraud.
We need to rid government of these religious lunatics, not elect another one to the presidency!
Posted by: Impeachemall on 12/12/07 at 8:59 AM Respond
If an angel directed huckabee's bullet, who or what directed Cheney's bullet at that poor man's face?
Using religion/god/angels is always a slippery slope...
Posted by: Ann on 12/12/07 at 10:55 AM Respond
Grotesque. Will this be it, then?
Posted by: viveka on 12/13/07 at 11:06 PM Respond
What in the world is all this ruckus? The man was cold. He wanted to be out of there. What the man is saying is that the GUN, which he adores, did it's job. He is saying he knows it isn't his skill as a hunter, so the only explanation he's got is that an "angel" took over. Get over it folks.
Posted by: Kaki on 12/14/07 at 8:18 AM Respond
So one of God's angels intervened to ensure his bullet hit the antelope (aka elk). But does not intervene to, say, stop a child getting hit by a car. Is the heavenly help given by a careful selection process (Mmm do We help Huckabee's hunt or save the child, Mmm difficult one that) or is directed by the outcome of a throw of dice.
OR is Huckabee an idiot.
Posted by: William Garrett on 12/14/07 at 11:56 AM Respond
You think that's bad? How about the murderers/rapists Huckabee has pushed to get paroled, who later repeated their crimes? At least one of them was at the urging of a pastor friend because the murderer had found Jesus and was therefore "saved". If that doesn't indicate he's unfit for the presidency, I don't know what does.
Posted by: Even Worse on 12/16/07 at 10:11 PM Respond
Regarding Huckabee fitness as president -
A Newsweek investigation found allegations that one of his sons was involved in the hanging of a stray dog at a Boy Scout camp in 1998, resulting in the son being fired by the boy scouts. http://www.newsweek.com/id/78241
The local prosecuting attorney's contacted the state police requesting they investigate.. The state police never granted the request, and no charges were ever filed.
John Bailey, then the director of Arkansas's state police, tells NEWSWEEK that Governor Huckabee's chief of staff and personal lawyer both leaned on him to write a letter officially denying the local prosecutor's request. Bailey said he viewed the lawyer's intervention as improper and terminated the conversation. Seven months later, he was called into Huckabee's office and fired. "I've lost confidence in your ability to do your job," Bailey says Huckabee told him. One reason Huckabee cited was "I couldn't get you to help me with my son when I had that problem," "Without question, [Huckabee] was making a conscious attempt to keep the state police from investigating his son," says I. C. Smith, the former FBI chief in Little Rock, who worked closely with Bailey and called him a "courageous" and "very solid" professional.
We really do not need this type of reputation trying to get into the white house
Posted by: Marc R. Jurnove, Exec. Dir I-SPEAK on 12/17/07 at 2:25 PM Respond
"Huckabee Hearts Gothard"
The Cincinnati Beacon, 12/16/07: http://tinyurl.com/2jvxoy
Chicago evangelist Bill Gothard is relatively unknown, yet he operates a $65 million/year ministry which has been the subject of numerous exposes alleging child abuse and cult-style activity. Last week, numerous media stories reported that the Colorado church shooter was raised in a Gothardite home and received home schooling using Gothard's teachings.
Today's Cincinnati Beacon reports that Mike Huckabee has a long-standing relationship with Gothard's organization:
- Huckabee himself took a Gothard training program.
- While governor of Arkansas, Huckabee promoted Gothard's programs in the state, including in the state prison system.
- Gothard's secular arm, the so-called "Character Cities" movement, uses a letter from Huckabee as a marketing tool.
Here's the link: http://tinyurl.com/2jvxoy
Posted by: Jeebus on 12/17/07 at 5:46 PM Respond
Beware the man of one book--Latin proverb
Posted by: Alan on 12/20/07 at 10:14 AM Respond
"Beware the man of one book."
Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274)
http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/28972.html
Posted by: capt on 12/20/07 at 10:34 AM Respond
Probably Lee Harvey Oswalds' same line of thought. Man it is so hot here in this book repository, I am just going to fire and leave it up to the bullet angels.
Maybe we can just drop Mike and Chuck Norris of in Afghanistan and Iraq and between angel guided bullets and fists of steel, we wipe out all the worlds bad guys.
Posted by: Huckmaniac on 12/20/07 at 11:17 PM Respond
If you take everything someone says literally, than you can pick it apart at every turn. I am a christian and God does intervene in simple and complex ways, but I imagine if you backed Mr. Huckabee in a corner and made him answer point blank if angels intervened with that bullet he would say no. The man was just sharing a story and that is all. Quite finding every opportunity to bash a christian. We have just found a greater purpose than ourselves, it doesn't mean we have everything figured out and do not make mistakes.
Posted by: Robin Crosby on 01/05/08 at 6:10 AM Respond
Just what we need in the white house, another fundamentalist.
Posted by: MP on 01/15/08 at 3:25 PM Respond
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Posted by: byrdman on 12/07/07 at 10:21 AM Respond