Insensitive remarks that Mike Huckabee made over a decade ago - about AIDS - are back to haunt him now that he is a leading candidate in the Presidential Race 08.
In a reply to an Associated Press questionnaire in 1992, Huckabee wrote that steps ought to be taken to "isolate the carriers of this plague."
He elaborated by noting,
"...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 truth health crisis it represents."
I recall the hysteria rampant in the Nation during that era...on the heels of the outbreak, new rules were implemented at the INS to require that all immigrants test for the dreaded HIV virus before entrance into the United States, health care workers were afraid to touch patients for fear of contracting the mysterious disease, and the headlines screamed that the homosexual population was largely to fault for the spread of the killer virus on these shores.
In time, scientists - and an educated few - were able to calm the masses, and slowly but surely, the tide changed and the misconceptions about the disease were overthrown.
Huckabee said in a prepared statement that his position reflected the state of knowledge about AIDS at the time, even though the U.S. Surgeon General had by then reported that the disease could not be spread through casual contact.
In my view, there must be some latitude given, if appropriate.
After all, it is often through life's daily experiences, the loss of loved ones, and by virtue of the prevailing vicissitudes of time, that sentient beings are often inclined to change - come to fully comprehend the human condition.
Huckabee was challenged on the AIDS issue Tuesday by two advocacy groups, the Human Rights Campaign and the AIDS institute. The Presidential candidate is being called upon to meet with the family of Ryan White. Many Americans will recall, the Indiana teen was banned from school and ostracized in his hometown after being diagnosed with AIDS - a disease he contracted during his treatment for hemophilia
Ryan White passed into spirit in 1990 at the tender age of 18.
In a bold-faced effort to recover from a freefall, Mr. Huckabee conceded in a prepared statement to the press in recent days that "we know a lot more today" about AIDS; but, he has fallen short because he has failed to comment on his current thinking.
In fact, he has skirted the key issue, and simply noted, he is all for,
"...stepping up efforts to provide for medical care, in this country and worldwide, for patients with the disease or the virus that causes it."
Jeanne White-Ginder, Ryan's mother, called Huckabee's recent remarks alarming.
"It's very important to me that we don't live in the darkness. We have to treat this disease like a disease, and like Ryan always said, not like a dirty word."
Indeed, during the recent AIDS WALK in Los Angeles, it was evident to me that young school children, participating in the fundraising event, appear to be more educated, knowledgeable, and compassionate towards those stricken with the life-threatening disease - than Mr. Huckabee or his gang of scheming campaign advisors.
In response to the recent controversy, Mr. Huckabee noted that he would gladly meet with Ryan's mother.
He said he'd convey to her..."we've come a long way in research treatment, and I certainly never would want to say anything that would be hurtful to them or anybody else."
But, we're waiting, Mr. Huckabee. You haven't stated your current position on the issue which raised the controversy. Are you still in favor of isolating AIDS patients?
Mr. Huckabee, you appear to be side-stepping the issue.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, took to the Internet and the airwaves in recent days to defend Huckabee. Perkins said the candidate was being asked about long-ago statements about AIDS, homosexuality and morality because of his faith, and he predicted that more conservative religious voters would rally to Huckabee's side if the criticism continued.
"I predict that bible-believing Christians will step over policy differences they have with Huckabee to stand by and support a candidate who is being attacked because he believes, as they do, that their Christian faith should actually impact the way they live," Perkins wrote in his Internet newsletter.
For starters, it should be noted, that Ryan White contracted AIDS due to a blood transfusion. There is no question of morality, in this instant case; subsequently, the remarks Huckabee made on the occasion he did, were cruel and outrageous, showed a lack of sensitivity to the issues, an overall ignorance, and an inability for a "cooler head" to prevail in an hour of crisis.
Is this the kind of individual voters want to inhabit the White House?
For the record, I am a "Bible-believing" individual. And so, according to the tenets of Christianity, I forgive Mr. Huckabee for his past mistakes and lack of sound judgment - we're all human, after all.
However, in my mind's eye, his shocking and disturbing conduct of yesteryear, underscored his lack of compassion and understanding - qualities of the heart - that are prerequisites of the Christian faith.
Tony Perkins must be talking about some other Bible-believers, I'm unfamiliar with.
Until Mr. Huckabee states his true position today, I - for one - have no reason to believe he's changed his stance; obviously, his ignorance and lack of Christian Ethic, will continue to prevail in any political office he holds now or in the future - until he proves otherwise.
