Mike Huckabee

"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men" (Titus 3:1-2, NIV).

I have decided to vote for Mike Huckabee in Oklahoma's presidential primary. A former Baptist preacher and Arkansas governor, Mr. Huckabee impresses me as a man of good character, wisdom, and experience who would surround himself with excellent advisers to form a very good administration.

I have included two quotes that demonstrate the character of Mike Huckabee. The first is from an article in Newsweek magazine describing how he has dealt with racism. The second is from his web site describing his pro-life views. After reading both, I think you will understand why I intend to vote for Mike Huckabee for president of the United States.

"Huckabee took the pulpit of a small but growing church in Pine Bluff, Ark., and started a Christian radio and TV station, which aired his Sunday sermons. One day a listener contacted him. He was a black teenager and was interested in attending services at Huckabee's church, but worried he wouldn't be welcome; Immanuel Baptist Church had been all white since its inception in the 1890s. 'Of course you can come, I told him,' Huckabee recalls.

"The minister prepared his flock. 'I hope that nobody has anything except warm feelings,' he recalls telling them. 'In fact, if he is not welcome, I don't want to be here either.' The speech didn't go over well among some church elders, who threatened to fire him. Several members quit in protest. But most of his parishioners stood with him, and in the years that followed, the church slowly integrated. 'I grew up with a lot of people who really resisted integration,' Huckabee tells NEWSWEEK. 'The more I listened to them, the more I became convinced that racism was an incredible evil.' Rex Nelson, who worked for Huckabee when he was governor, says his racial awareness 'comes from being raised poor...He knew what is was like to look up at other people who were looking down on him.' (Huckabee later carried these lessons to the statehouse, where he pushed to end racial disparity in drug sentencing and urged compassion for the children of illegal immigrants---a position that put him at odds with some in his party.)" See http://www.newsweek.com/id/67931/output/print for the full article.

"No candidate has a stronger record on the sanctity of life than I do. I have always been actively and aggressively pro-life. I first became politically active when I helped pass Arkansas' Unborn Child Amendment, which requires the state to do whatever it can to protect life...To me, life doesn't begin at conception and end at birth. Every child deserves a quality education, first-rate health care, decent housing in a safe neighborhood, and clean air and drinking water. Every child deserves the opportunity to discover and use his God-given gifts and talents." See http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Issues.View&Issue_id=11 for more details about his pro-life convictions.