Does Republican candidate Mike Huckabee really mean to suggest that we change the US Constitution to meet God's standards?
Let me say upfront that I in no way favor mingling religion and government. Period. I believe in separation and the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. Religion has no place in government or the governance of our country. Leaders, Senators, Congressmen, newspaper reporters (yes, and even bloggers) can allow whatever their beliefs are (whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, “other,” or some ethical humanist set of rules) to guide their ethical and moral behavior and frame their policy and political positions.…
Article comments
26 - Mary Dagmar Davies
Brilliant. This article should be picked up by mainstream media.
27 - Barbara Barnett
Thanks for your kind words, Mary.
Jim in Texas said: It's amazing to me that people who enjoy all the benefits of a country founded on Judeo-Christian principles want to bash the only candidate, Mike Huckabee, because of his "religious beliefs". By omission, doesn't it suggest that the others, Democrat & Republican, in varying degrees, are immersed in a principle contrary to our country's heritage and laws? Remember, the religious beliefs of people like Pol Pot, Josef Stalin, Iddi Amin, Adolf Hitler set the stage for their country's people, to those people's regret
My problem with Huckabee is not that he has religious beliefs, nor that he lives his life by them. My problem is that he seeks to incorporate them (his religious beliefs) into governance. Rather than guiding his conscience on policy, he seeks to impose his religious beliefs on everyone else. That is one thing when you are a televangelist or a minister, and quite another when you are president of the United States.
28 - Bennett
Excellent! Thanks for this Barbara!
29 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Barbara,
Shavua Tov,
When we first came to this country, we attended a Masorti synagogue, as we had been conservative Jews in the States. The synagogue we attended was just as cliquish, snobbish and stuck-up as the synagogue we had attended in the Twin Cities. But it was rich, filled with people who have money and influence.
Finally, because my wife could not handle Hebrew, and felt under pressure in that synagogue, and because I got sick of the cliquishness and snobbishness of the "congregation" we started going to an "orthodox" one.
But that is our own choice.
The truth of the matter is that in spite of the fulminations of the "orthodox" religious establishment in the country, the well-moneyed Masorti synagogues do just fine here - precisely because they are well-moneyed. That is all that matters in Israel. It's a shame that all that matters is money, but it is the brutal truth, a truth I like far less than your realize.
So, in spite of what you think in the States, you would enjoy greater religious freedom here than you do there, and the "orthodox" rabbis here would seem no different than "Christian values politicians" there. By and large, the media and the government would be on your side.
30 - Barbara Barnett
Bennett--Thanks. Of course now we know that McCain has won South Carolina. But much of the reason for that (IMHO) is that Thompson shaved off votes from Huckabee.
31 - Dave Nalle
I don't entirely buy this theory that Thompson draws votes mostly from Huckabee. About the only thing they have in common is both being from the south. On issues McCain and Thompson are much closer to each other.
Dave
32 - Barbara Barnett
I guess we won't know for certain unless Thompson drops out of the race (if he does before too long). Polls seem to be useless.