It looks as if Mike Huckabee is heading to Texas to raise a bit of money with the help of a few of his right-wing supporters:
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who has been gaining ground in the Republican presidential primaries, is scheduled to meet campaign donors in Houston today at the Tanglewood home of physician Steve Hotze, a longtime Christian conservative activist. Like other major presidential candidates, Huckabee is making a last dash for Texas cash before the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary next month. His trip includes a fundraising event in Dallas after his Houston event.
Co-hosts for the $500-per-person Houston event include state Rep.Debbie Riddle of Tomball and Texan Rick Scarborough, founder of Vision America, which works to mobilize pastors and church congregations for political action.
If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you are undoubtedly familiar with Rick Scarborough, the self-described "Christocrat" who heads Vision America and has a penchant for suggesting that evangelicals leaders are dying off because the nation has turned its back on God, suggesting that Christians will have "the blood of martyrs on [their] hands"if they don't oppose hate crimes legislation, blaming "the church" for just standing by and allowing the election of "unrighteous leaders" in 2006, and saying that opponents of the War in Iraq are committing treason, among other things.
Sadly, Rick Scarborough may be the most sane of the group named. PFAW has this quote from Riddle:
"Where did this idea come from that everybody deserves free education, free medical care, free whatever? It comes from Moscow, from Russia. It comes straight out of the pit of hell. And it's cleverly disguised as having a tender heart. It's not a tender heart. It's ripping the heart out of this country."
Leave aside we're the ONLY western country that doesn't offer national healthcare, Moscow is the pit of hell? That's just so Cold War of you, Deb. Join this century, shall we? And Dr. Hotze strikes me as a wee bit out of date as well:
According to a separate Houston Press article that suggests that Hotze's medical credentials and views are a bit suspect, he also signed something called the Coalition on Revival's Manifesto for the Christian Church in 1986 that dictated:
- A wife may work outside the home only with her husband's consent
- "Biblical spanking" that results in "temporary or superficial bruises or welts" should not be considered a crime
- No doctor shall provide medical service on the Sabbath
- All disease and disability is caused by the sin of Adam and Eve
- Medical problems are frequently caused by personal sin
- "Increased longevity generally results from obedience to specific Biblical commands"
- Treatment of the "physical body" is not a doctor's highest priority
- Doctors have a priestly calling
- People receiving medical treatment are not immune from divine intervention or demonic forces
- Physicians should preach to their patients because salvation is the key to their health
Good lord. Did this guy just decide that progessing beyond the Middle Ages was unneccessary? Does he practice medicine by leeching out the ill vapours? People were rightfully up in arms over donations made to Hillary by Norman Hsu, but these guys scare me far more.
