# Huckabee hides his sermons **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 28, 2007, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509 "2007-12-28T19:26:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/1 "2007-12-28T19:26:37Z")
Story [here.](http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2007/12/huckabee-faith-baptist-pastor-sermons.html) > [@](#): > > When asked for copies of the sermons Huckabee delivered at Immanuel Church, an employee there claimed none could be found. A Beech Street Church pastor’s assistant maintained that much of the archival material from Huckabee’s tenure as pastor had been destroyed during a remodeling. The rest, she said, was not available to the press. > > When Mother Jones contacted the Huckabee campaign and asked if it would help make his previous sermons available, the campaign replied in a one-sentence email that it had received multiple requests for such material and was “not able to accommodate” them. WTF?! Brother Michael, you’re running **as** a Christian minister! Why are you hiding your light under a bushel and then sitting on the bushel?! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/2 "2007-12-28T19:29:27Z")
What is to be gained by him if he were to give the sermons out? ---
**Author:** ![samm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@samm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samm)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/3 "2007-12-28T19:34:33Z")
What is to be gained? Why, the population would see the light and rays of light would shine down from the heavens. Atheists would convert after they read the glorious truth that he has spouted! America would be saved! ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/4 "2007-12-28T19:37:51Z")
It seems only fair that potential voters should be able to see what the guy they may vote for has said in public over the years. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/5 "2007-12-28T19:39:02Z")
Is he running as a minister? Last I checked he was running as a Republican politician who happened to be a minister. Now, you may feel that there is little distinction, but Huckabee has been fairly scrupulous about separating his roles here. So in the run-up to a presidential bid, sermons take a back seat to what he did as governor, to me. The phenomenon of clergymen running for office has cropped up from time to time on the Democratic side, as well. I wonder if Governor Strickland of Ohio should release any of his sermons? Perhaps you should call up the Cornerstone United Methodist Church in Portsmouth and ask them if they’d oblige you. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/6 "2007-12-28T19:44:13Z")
Meh. If by some small miracle he wins the nod, he won’t win the election, no Republican will, this is the Dems election to win, if they pull their heads out of each others asses, they’ll be the ones to get the next opportunity to fuck up the country for the next 4 to 8 years. Oh, one more thing, Mother Jones as a source? :rolleyes: MY BIAS IS MY CITE! Damn near worse than Fox, that bunch. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/7 "2007-12-28T19:48:13Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto] Huckabee has been fairly scrupulous about separating his roles here. [/QUOTE] Uh, [yeah](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xn7uSHtkuA) (what cross?). [QUOTE=buttonjockey308] Oh, one more thing, Mother Jones as a source? MY BIAS IS MY CITE! Damn near worse than Fox, that bunch. [/QUOTE] This be truth. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/8 "2007-12-28T19:49:11Z")
Well, to **BrainGlutton’s** credit, he’s citing something other than _The Nation_ for once. Not that _Mother Jones_ is better, but tiny steps are better than none at all. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/9 "2007-12-28T19:49:18Z")
[QUOTE=buttonjockey308] Oh, one more thing, Mother Jones as a source? :rolleyes: MY BIAS IS MY CITE! Damn near worse than Fox, that bunch. [/QUOTE] Apples and oranges. Fox dishonestly purports to be “Fair and Balanced.” MJ makes no pretense of being anything other than a left-wing political magazine. That alone is not grounds for suspecting the authors of lying about this. It would be too easy for the Huckabee campaign to contradict them – if they could. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/10 "2007-12-28T19:50:04Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] It seems only fair that potential voters should be able to see what the guy they may vote for has said in public over the years. [/QUOTE] Fair? This is politics, dude! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/11 "2007-12-28T19:51:27Z")
He did the eulogy at my grandfather’s funeral! Seriously, I’m not too sure what insights would really be gained from his sermons…they’re sermons, not platform planks. Sermons are high pressure sales talks filled with hyperbole. Also, keep in mind his church was in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, not exactly a bastion of deep thought. (My dad was from there, and I still have relatives there…I’m not talking out my ass here) I don’t doubt they wouldn’t keep them on file or even know where to find them if they did. Maybe I’m wrong about that…not sure. But I’m not defending the guy or anything, but he’s said enough in a public, political context to pretty much tell you where he’s at. He’s a hard right religious conservative, duh. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/12 "2007-12-28T19:55:20Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto] Now, you may feel that there is little distinction, but Huckabee has been fairly scrupulous about separating his roles here. [/QUOTE] Man, that’s not the impression I get from his campaign. [QUOTE=Huckabee] I didn’t get into politics because I thought government had a better answer. I got into politics because I knew government didn’t have the real answers, that the real answers lie in accepting Jesus Christ into our lives…I hope we answer the alarm clock and take this nation back for Christ. [/QUOTE] From a [Politico.com interview](http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0807/5317.html) > [@](#): > > I asked him if he is still a Baptist minister — many profiles of him say he “was” a Baptist minister — and he replied, “I am one.” Then he added with a smile: “They haven’t defrocked me.” > > And has being a minister made him a better candidate? > > “I think it is the greatest preparation to run for office or to serve,” he said with real emotion. That’s _scrupulously_ separate? Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/13 "2007-12-28T20:00:49Z")
While I do think any public statements a candidate has made in the past should be available for voters to use to assess him/her as a whole, I don’t think sermons delivered in person to a single church qualify as public statements. To me, that’s somewhere in between private and public speech – obviously, the sermons were available to be heard by anyone who wanted to listen, so if a member of the congregation wanted to come forward and paraphrase things that Huckabee said as a minister, I don’t think that would be inappropriate. At the same time, though, remarks intended only for a small, local audience are not significantly different from things you’d say to a group of friends or family. We’ve all said things to friends or family that wouldn’t sound good if they were made public, which is precisely one of the reasons why we value privacy. I don’t think he should be obligated to release them. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/14 "2007-12-28T20:01:01Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] Uh, [yeah](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xn7uSHtkuA) (what cross?). [/QUOTE] I don’t know if a “Merry Christmas” ad counts for much here, frankly. All of the candidates were compelled to do Christmas related ads because the campaign season this year has been pushed into the holidays. I will say that, much as I don’t like Huckabee, this ad was a good bit better than Hillary putting out “presents” like “health care” and “universal pre-K”. Playing Santa with my money is only nice when I get to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/15 "2007-12-28T20:02:55Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Apples and oranges. Fox dishonestly purports to be “Fair and Balanced.” MJ makes no pretense of being anything other than a left-wing political magazine. [/QUOTE] Oh, come on. They say they’re fair and balanced because to their audience fair and balanced means “conservative”. They also do it because they know it annoys people like you. They sit around at meetings and chuckle about it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/16 "2007-12-28T20:04:28Z")
[QUOTE=Giraffe] I don’t think he should be obligated to release them. [/QUOTE] Indeed, he’s protected by the First Amendment if he doesn’t want to. Whether this influences your opinion of him is your business, and I don’t know if it is a good campaign move, but he isn’t obligated to do anything here. ---
**Author:** ![nameless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/779978/32.png) [@nameless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nameless)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/17 "2007-12-28T20:07:13Z")
Yeah, I mean I’d love to read them, but I’m not going to demand that they be released and act all put out about it until they are. I think there’s enough publicly available material that you can get a fix on what Huckabee believes, and IMO it’s not particularly endearing. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/18 "2007-12-28T20:07:23Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto] Indeed, he’s protected by the First Amendment if he doesn’t want to. Whether this influences your opinion of him is your business, and I don’t know if it is a good campaign move, but he isn’t obligated to do anything here. [/QUOTE] I agree. Just to clarify, when I said he wasn’t obligated to release them, I meant strictly from a “in my opinion, as a voter” standpoint. I don’t think anyone would argue that he is legally obligated to release them. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/19 "2007-12-28T20:07:36Z")
Huck, BTW, made #47 on this year’s [Beast List.](http://www.buffalobeast.com/122/50mostloathsome2007.html) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509/20 "2007-12-28T20:12:58Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] WTF?! Brother Michael, you’re running **as** a Christian minister! Why are you hiding your light under a bushel and then sitting on the bushel?! [/QUOTE] Its called separation of church and state. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huckabee-hides-his-sermons/431509.md?page=2)