Mike Huckabee: Giving Women Birth Control Coverage Assumes They Can’t Control Their Sex Drives

BY AVIVA SHEN/Think Progress

Former Arkansas Governor and Fox News commentator Mike Huckabee (R) asserted Wednesday that Democrats are telling women “they cannot control their libido” by offering no-copay contraception through the Affordable Care Act. He made the comments during a luncheon at the Republican National Convention, which is actively trying to dispel the party’s anti-woman image.

During his speech, Huckabee also likened Obamacare’s expanded contraception coverage to a sugar daddy. Democrats want women to think “they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of government,” he said. Republicans, by contrast, want to “empower them to be something other than victims of their gender.”

Watch it:

While these comments have sparked fresh outrage, the former governor has been blithely offending women for most of his career. In the past, he’s speculated that women have trouble multitasking during their periods and passionately supported former Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) after the failed Senate candidate claimed victims of “legitimate rape” can’t get pregnant. He has also specifically endorsed the belief that “wives graciously submit to their husband’s sacrificial leadership.”

GOP strategists have worked hard since the 2012 election to keep Republicans from alienating female voters by holding training sessions and advising candidates to simply avoid talking about rape. But offensive comments by prominent Republicans keep thwarting these efforts. On Wednesday alone, one GOP congressman running for re-election argued that wives should “voluntarily submit” to their husbands, while another Congressional candidatedropped out in the midst of a firestorm over his justification of marital rape.

GOP Chairman Suggests Mike Huckabee Should Be Party’s Ambassador On Gay Rights

By Igor Volsky/Think Progress

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus has been pressing the GOP to be more accepting of gay people, arguing that harsh rhetoric alienates young voters and jeopardizes the party’s future. But on Friday, Priebus took a big step backward, telling the National Review that the party should take its cues about social issues from former Arkansas governor and Baptist Minister Mike Huckabee:

Priebus cited former governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas as an example of someone who could be “a model for a lot of people in our party” in terms of discussing issues like marriage and abortion. “I always tell people: Listen to Governor Mike Huckabee,” he said. “I don’t know anyone that talks about them any better.”

Huckabee — a hard line opponent of marriage equality and abortion rights — uses a warmer and more congenial tone about gay people and women than firebrands like Rick Santorum or Rick Perry, urging conservatives to respect gays and women, even as they organize to deny them legal protections and benefits or access to a full spectrum of health care services. But as the public grows more accepting of same-sex relationships and Roe v Wade, Huckabee’s positions and rhetoric about these issues is out of sync with the nation as a whole and will not serve the party well as it seeks to grow and appeal to more voters:

On Marriage Equality:

– Being gay is a public health risk. “I feel homosexuality is an aberrant,unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk”

– Being gay is a sin. “Well I believe it would be — just like lying is sinful and stealing is sinful. There are a lot of things that are sinful. It doesn’t mean that a person is a horrible person. It means that they engage in behavior that is outside the norms of those boundaries of our traditional view of what’s right and what’s wrong. So, I think that anybody who has, maybe a traditional worldview of sexuality would classify that as an unusual behavior that is not traditional and that would be outside those bounds.”

– Marriage equality will lead to polygamy. “If we change the definition to a man or a man and a woman and a woman, why can’t we accommodate a man and two women or a woman and three men.”

On Abortion:

– Supported Todd Akin. “The Party’s leaders have for reasons that aren’t rational, left [Akin] behind on the political battlefield…Is this what the party really thinks of principled pro-life advocates?”

– Would ban abortion even in cases of incest or rape. In 2011, Huckabee traveled to Jackson, Mississippi to raise money for the Yes on 26 campaign, “in support of the Mississippi Personhood amendment, a referendum on the November ballot that would ban abortions in the state” even in cases of rape or incest.

– Compares abortion to slavery. “What are we saying to the generation coming after us when we tell them that it is perfectly OK for one person to own another human being?” Huckabee said. “I thought we dealt with that 150 years ago when the issue of slavery was finally settled in this country, and we decided that it no longer was a political issue, it wasn’t an issue of geography,it was an issue of morality. That it was either right or it was immoral that one person could own another human being and have full control even to the point of life and death over that other human being.”

Huckabee Breaks With GOP, Throws Support Behind Akin

By Aviva Shen/Think Progress

As Republicans continue to pile on Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) for saying victims of “legitimate rape” can’t get pregnant, Mike Huckabee has strengthened his support for the embattled Senate candidate. Huckabee first gave Akin the opportunity to defend the remark on his radio show, which he did by explaining that women often lie about being raped. Huckabee also approvingly read a defense of Akin by junk scientist Dr. John Wilke, though he conceded that some “extraordinary” peoplewere born out of rape.

To make his support for Akin crystal clear, Huckabee sent a letter to his supporters Thursday accusing the GOP establishment of trying to bully Akin out of the race for an honest mistake:

The Party’s leaders have for reasons that aren’t rational, left [Akin] behind on the political battlefield, wounded and bleeding, a casualty of his self-inflicted, but not intentional wound. In a Party that supposedly stands for life, it was tragic to see the carefully orchestrated and systematic attack on a fellow Republican. Not for a moral failure or corruption or a criminal act, but for a misstatement which he contritely and utterly repudiated. I was shocked by GOP leaders and elected officials who rushed so quickly to end the political life of a candidate over a mistaken comment in an interview. This was a serious mistake, but it was blown out of proportion not by the left, but by Akin’s own Republican Party. Is this what the party really thinks of principled pro-life advocates? Do we forgive and forget the verbal gaffes of Republicans who are “conveniently pro-life” for political advantage, but crucify one who truly believes that every life is sacred?

Huckabee also claims the National Republican Senatorial Committee launched an organized crusade to get Akin out of the race, ordering political consultants to stay away and rallying clergy to encourage Akin to drop out. While Huckabee does not specify which “conveniently pro-life” Republicans he is referring to, he does astutely call out the political posturing of the many Republicans who have disavowed Akin even though they support his policy positions.

Akin, meanwhile, says he has raised more than $100,000 online after his comments. Though Huckabee is now putting himself at odds with the party establishment by defending Akin, he will be speaking at the Republican National Convention in Tampa on Monday.

Huckabee battles ‘militant homosexuals’ with ‘Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day’

By David Edwards/Raw Story

Fox News host Mike Huckabee is so outraged that The Muppets and “militant homosexuals” are attacking Christian restaurant chain Chick-fil-A for their stance on LGBT rights that he has calling for “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” on August 1.

“I have been incensed at the vitriolic assaults on the Chick Fil-A company because the CEO, Dan Cathy, made comments recently in which he affirmed his view that the Biblical view of marriage should be upheld,” Huckabee wrote on his Facebook page. “At 91, he is still active in the company, but his son Dan runs it day to day as CEO. It’s a great American story that is being smeared by vicious hate speech and intolerant bigotry from the left.”

“I ask you to join me in speaking out on Wednesday, August 1 ‘Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day,’” he added. “The goal is simple: Let’s affirm a business that operates on Christian principles and whose executives are willing to take a stand for the Godly values we espouse by simply showing up and eating at Chick Fil-A on Wednesday, August 1. Too often, those on the left make corporate statements to show support for same sex marriage, abortion, or profanity, but if Christians affirm traditional values, we’re considered homophobic, fundamentalists, hate-mongers, and intolerant.

In a message to his supporters, Huckabee explained that “militant” homosexuals were “bullying” Chick-fil-A with “intolerance and vicious hate speech.”

“The militant homosexual advocates have launched an all out assault on Dan Cathy and Chick Fil-A, pushing for a boycott because the Cathy family has contributed to traditional marriage organizations,” the former Arkansas governor charged.

“The attempts to hurt or destroy Chick Fil-A is nothing short of economic bullying. In the name of ‘tolerance,’ there is an effort being mounted to put pressure on people to stop eating at Chick Fil-A. … The Christian world view of Dan Cathy is being met with intolerance and vicious hate speech.”

Equality Matters reported earlier this month that the restaurant chain had given over $1.9 million in 2010 alone to groups that oppose marriage equality and other LGBT rights.

During an interview with the Baptist Press, Cathy insisted the company was “guilty as charged.”

“We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit,” Cathy said. “We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.”

The Jim Henson Company announced on Friday suggested that it was ending its relationship with Chick-fil-A and would no longer be offering The Muppets toys in kids’ meals because of the Christian restaurant chain’s anti-LGBT agenda.

“The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over fifty years and we have notified Chick-Fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors,” the company wrote on its Facebook page. “Lisa Henson, our CEO is personally a strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-Fil-A to [The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation] GLAAD.”

Late last week, Chick-fil-A attempted to distance itself from its owner’s comments.

“The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender,” astatement on Chick-fil-A’s Facebook page said. “Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”

Huckabee: Welfare changes show government wants to own people

By Eric W. Dolan/Raw Story

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) on Tuesday decried changes to the Temporary Assistant for Needy Families (TANF) law, claiming the Obama administration was trying to make Americans more dependent on the government.

“It’s basically just a transfer of money from the taxpayer to the government, from the government to people who become beneficiaries of the government, because that way the government can own these people,” Huckabee said on Fox and Friends, according to Politico. “It is a trap, and it is like the roach motel. Once you get in, but you never get out.”

The TANF program — which helps poor families with children pay for living expenses such as rent, heat, utilities and personal care items — requires those receiving payments to be employed or looking for work. Nearly four million Americans currently receive TANF payments.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week encouraged states to experiment with better ways to administer the program, informing officials that the department was willing to grant waivers to states that wished to opt-out of the work-requirement provision of the welfare law.

“When the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program was established as part of welfare reform in the 1990s, it was intended to give states flexibility to design effective programs to help parents move from welfare to work,” George Sheldon, acting assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, said. “Today, however, Federal rules dictate mind-numbing details about how to run a welfare-to-work program. Most States and experts agree that these aren’t helpful.”

Two states with Republican governors, Utah and Nevada, have already asked for waivers. California, Connecticut, and Minnesota have also asked about waivers, according to the HHS.

Huckabee claimed the waivers were illegal because they circumvented Congress. He also said the waivers would allow poor families to get “paid for essentially getting a massage.”

Huckabee’s Plan For America: ‘I Don’t Know’

By Alex Seitz-Wald

Former Arkansas governor and Fox News pundit Mike Huckabee told reporters yesterday that he is “seriously contemplating” a presidential bid in 2012, and that he thinks about running every day. At an event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, the former presidential candidate said he’s going to wait as long as possible to throw his hat in the ring because he can make more money as a non-candidate. “I walk away from a pretty good income,” he explained. But when Huckabee does declare, he should probably spend time figuring out what he would do should he actually win.

Grilled by reporters for his stances on a number of important policy issues, Huckabee seemed completely flummoxed. Asked about the war in Afghanistan, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) union busting, and President Obama’s debt reduction panel, Huckabee’s responses were repeatedly, “I don’t know.” Roll Call reports:

“I don’t know. The honest answer is that I don’t think any of us knows exactly,” he said when asked what should be done in Afghanistan. [...]

On the labor dispute in Wisconsin, Huckabee was asked whether he supported Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to eliminate collective bargaining for state employees. He wouldn’t say yes or no, offering this answer instead: “If not eliminated, it needs to be contained.”

At the same time, Huckabee offered encouraging words to the Republican governor: “Hang tough, stand tall, hold your ground.”

And when pressed to comment on the recommendations of the Obama administration’s deficit-reduction panel, which including deep spending cuts and tax increases, Huckabee said he favored focusing on spending cuts first. But he would not rule out support for eventual tax increases.

“There are three ways to answer a question,” he said when pressed on taxes. “Yes; no; not now. This is a not now.”

Roll Call also notes that Huckabee “hadn’t yet crafted talking points,” but his lack of knowledge or courage to take a stand on any of these issues underscores a much deeper problem. The fact that Huckabee says he thinks about running every day, but that he might not because of its effect on his personal wealth — combined with fact that he appears to have no actual beliefs on several key policy issues — suggests that he is in this for himself, not for a commitment to policy or service.

REPORT: Fox donates at least $40 million in airtime to potential GOP presidential candidates

From Media Matters Between January 1 and October 31 of this year, five potential Republican presidential candidates -- Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, John Bolton, and Rick Santorum -- who also serve as Fox News contributors or hosts have appeared on the network for a combined total of nearly 66 hours. Media Matters for America estimates this time to be worth at least $40 million in advertising costs. Palin, Gingrich, Huckabee, Santorum, and Bolton have all hinted at 2012 presidential runs. Sarah Palin. An article to be published in the November 21 New York Times Magazine reports that Palin is "weighing a run for president," and quotes her saying: "I'm engaged in the internal deliberations candidly." Newt Gingrich. The Des Moines Register reported on November 17 that Gingrich "said Tuesday he is making personal arrangements that would allow him to launch a campaign for president early next year, which his closest political adviser expects him to do." Mike Huckabee. Huckabee appeared on Fox News Radio's The Alan Colmes Show on November 15 and talked about how his media presence would impact a potential 2012 run: "The one nice thing, whether I should decide to run or not, is that more people at least would know me by what I actually believe and say, as opposed to what some opponent has defined me to be, and that's kind of encouraging." Rick Santorum. National Review Online reported on October 13 that Santorum spoke at a Republican event in Iowa and said in an interview: "The folks in Iowa are great. As the first-in-the-nation caucus state, politics are a part of their lives." Santorum added: "If I were to get into this, I would certainly not be one of the favorites, so doing well out of the box would be much more important to me than to some of the more well-known candidates." John Bolton. On September 9, Bolton said on Fox Business Network that he is considering running for president: "I am thinking about it because I think legitimate issues of national security should be more at the center of the national debate than they have been for the last two years." Fox gave potential candidates at least $40 million in free advertising Fox News candidates appeared on the network for nearly 66 hours. Media Matters calculated the amount of onscreen time each of the five potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates appeared on Fox News as contributors or hosts. Former Republican Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, whose role as host pushed him to the top this list, appeared onscreen for more than 38 hours. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin -- the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 2008 -- and former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich both appeared for approximately nine hours of time on the network. Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) clocked in just about five hours, while John Bolton, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. under George W. Bush, appeared on Fox for more than four hours. Air Time chart Fox News candidates' appearances were worth at least $40.23 million in advertising costs. Media Matters also estimated the equivalent cost advertisers would pay for the amount of air time Fox gave to each of its potential candidates. Advertisers would have spent about $22 million for screen time given to Huckabee, who is the only candidate to host his own, regular Fox News program. Gingrich's appearances would have been worth almost $6 million to advertisers, and Palin's would have cost them approximately $5 million. Santorum's advertising equivalency is about $4.19 million, while Bolton's would have cost just under $3 million. Ad Value chart Methodology: Media Matters updated our results from a previous study counting appearances by each of the five candidates on Fox News shows available in the Nexis database. Media Matters also included Huckabee's weekly program, which does not appear in Nexis. Media Matters counted pre-taped interviews as appearances but did not count brief statements by the potential candidates that aired as part of news packages. Media Matters reviewed video for all appearances recorded in the Nexis search (as well as Huckabee's show) and tallied the total time length for each. Using advertising data from the Campaign Media Analysis Group, Media Matters calculated the total amount spent on ads during each program in which one of the five potential candidates appeared. For each broadcast, we divided this dollar amount by an estimated amount of ad time per show* in order to calculate an estimated value of one minute of air time on that show. That result was then multiplied by the total time that Fox candidates appeared during that broadcast, yielding an estimated value for each appearance by a Fox candidate. In other words: Monetary value of appearance = (Total $ spent during given broadcast / average total ad time for that show) X length of candidate's appearance on given broadcast In instances where the ad costs were not available for a specific broadcast, Media Matters instead used the median cost of ads on that show during the relevant month. In instances where the video was not available for review and the length of an appearance time could not be determined, Media Matters instead used the median appearance time for that specific potential candidate calculated from all appearances over the course of the study. * Ad time per show was estimated by selecting three random airings of each relevant show and averaging the total amount of time devoted to ads.

House Democrat names Glenn Beck, Mike Huckabee in Goldline probe

By Daniel Tencer

Concerned that an "unholy alliance" has been formed between conservative pundits and disreputable gold dealers, a prominent House Democrat has announced hearings into the retail sale of gold.

Rep. Anthony Weiner released a statement Thursday that he plans to "discuss legislation that would regulate gold-selling companies, an industry [whose] relentless advertising is now staple of cable television."

The New York Democrat asserts that "Goldline employs several conservative pundits to act as shills for its precious metal business, including Glenn Beck, Mike Huckabee, Laura Ingraham, and Fred Thompson. By drumming up public fears during financially uncertain times, conservative pundits are able to drive a false narrative."

Weiner's statement continues: "Glenn Beck for example has dedicated entire segments of his program to explaining why the US money supply is destined for hyperinflation with Barack Obama as president. He will often promote the purchase of gold as the only safe investment alternative for consumers who want to safeguard their livelihoods. When the show cuts to commercial break, viewers are treated to an advertisement from Goldline."

Weiner notes that his office released a report earlier this year that found Goldline "grossly overcharges for their coins" and "plays off public fears of government takeover and has formed an unholy alliance with conservative pundits to drive a false narrative.

But not everyone agrees that Weiner's plan to investigate Goldline and possibly regulate gold retailers is an effort to protect consumers from disreputable dealers.

Some economists say the government has an incentive to keep investors away from gold and other assets because, they argue, growing demand for gold pushes out demand for government bonds -- and the government has to sell bonds to cover its growing deficits.

"Just as the government is trying to prevent people from investing in anything other than T-Bills by raising taxes on taxable interest and dividends to confiscatory levels, it's also trying to prevent you from parking your wealth in assets, like gold, that compete with the paper dollars issued by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury," writes Ira Stoll at The Future of Capitalism.

Stoll argues that "Mr. Weiner's regulatory push seems as much aimed at conservative journalists as at the gold-dealers."

The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will take up the matter this coming Thursday.

Huckabee Compares Gays To Drug Users, Says They’re Unfit To Adopt Kids Because ‘Children Are Not Puppies’

By Amanda Terkel Former Arkansas governor and current Fox News personality Mike Huckabee gave an interview with the College of New Jersey’s magazine The Perspective in which he made clear that he is just as intent on depriving gay men and women of equal status as ever. For instance, he said that gay couples shouldn’t be able to get married because it would be like accommodating drug habits of addicts:

Even civil unions are “not necessary,” Huckabee said. “I think there’s been a real level of being disingenuous on the part of the gay and lesbian community with their goal of civil unions,” he alleged, referring to LGBT activists who first claimed that their goal in several states was to enact civil unions, but subsequently launched efforts to implement full marriage rights.

Huckabee went on to draw parallels between homosexuality and other lifestyles that are considered by some to be morally aberrant. “You don’t go ahead and accommodate every behavioral pattern that is against the ideal,” he said of same-sex marriage. “That would be like saying, well, there are a lot of people who like to use drugs, so let’s go ahead and accommodate those who want who use drugs. There are some people who believe in incest, so we should accommodate them. There are people who believe in polygamy, so we should accommodate them.”

Huckabee also insisted that same-sex couples shouldn’t be allowed to adopt or become foster parents because they’re somehow unfit to take care of children:

“I think this is not about trying to create statements for people who want to change the basic fundamental definitions of family,” Huckabee said. “And always we should act in the best interest of the children, not in the seeming interest of the adults.”

“Children are not puppies,” he continued. “This is not a time to see if we can experiment and find out, how does this work?”

Alvin McEwen writes at Pam’s House Blend, “While Huckabee doesn’t come out and say it, the nasty implication is clear — lgbt families are inferior because lgbts are incapable of giving love and support to children. Furthermore, lgbts don’t really want the children. They just want to further their ‘agenda.’”

Huckabee has proudly stated in the past that he is not “pro-gay,” which he has equated with being “pro-sodomy.” He has tried to downplay violence against gay men and women, compared homosexuality to necrophilia, and said that “civilization” may not survive if “what marriage and family means” is “rewritten” to allow gay marriage.

Huckabee: A ‘Big Tent’ Will ‘Kill The Conservative Movement’

By Ben Armbruster

In the wake of two devastating losses in the 2006 and 2008 elections, and the intra-party dispute surrounding the special election last month in New York’s 23rd Congressional District, many Republican Party leaders have argued for a “big tent” GOP in order to regain power. “We accept moderates in our party and we want moderates in our party,” House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said recently. And RNC chair Michael Steele even tried to extend the “big tent” metaphor into hip-hop lingo:

STEELE: I look at it this way. The four of us are, let’s say for the sake of this example, all wearing a hat that says “GOP.” All right? You wear your hat one way. You like to wear it, you know, kind of cocked to the left, you know, because that’s cool out West. In the Midwest, you guys like to wear it a little bit to the right. In the South, you guys like to wear the brim straight ahead. Now, the Northeast, I wear my hat backwards, you know, because that’s how we roll in the Northeast. But what do you recognize? We all are wearing the hat that says “GOP” because that’s what we believe. That’s who we are.

However, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee strongly disagrees. At a fundraiser in Canada last weekend, Huckabee stated definitively that the “big tent” will “kill the conservative movement“:

HUCKABEE: One of the things that concerns me is that in the United States there’s a real talk of “maybe we need to have this big tent and make sure that we just accommodate every view.” That’s what will kill the conservative movement. Conservatives are conservatives because they have convictions and convictions aren’t preferences.

Watch it:

It seems that Huckabee has changed his tune. He said recently that “it’s fine” to have moderates in the GOP, saying that “[t]he tent could be big, but it shouldn’t have holes in the ceiling and let the rain come through.” And in another interview also endorsing a “big tent” GOP, Huckabee seemed to reject a more conservative third party. “The conservative movement is really the only home for Republicans,” he said.

However, voters may be leaning toward Huckabee’s most recent desire for a right-wing Republican Party. According to a new Rasmussen poll, in a three-way generic ballot test, the “Tea Party” candidate beat the Republican 23 percent to 18 percent.

M.C.L. comment: Oh please GOP and right wing movement stick to this plan by running off sane people from the Republican party heck I might send 20 bucks to our local tea party folks if they can screw Mike Cox out of the governorship.