Huckabee: Stimulus is 'anti-religious'

[SacredCow]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/18668.html

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee warned supporters Tuesday that the $828 billion stimulus package is “anti-religious.”

In an e-mail that was also posted on his blog ahead of the Senate’s passage, Huckabee wrote: “The dust is settling on the ‘bipartisan’ stimulus bill and one thing is clear: It is anti-religious.”

The former Republican presidential candidate pointed to a provision in both the House and Senate versions banning higher education funds in the bill from being used on a “school or department of divinity.”

“You would think the ACLU drafted this bill,” Huckabee said. “For all of the talk about bipartisanship, this Congress is blatantly liberal.”

Talibangicals have had the country for 8 fucking years; Your turn is over Huckster- so sit your ass down, and show some good sportsmanship as ideas contrary to yours are applied.

[SammyWinstonJack]

1. He says that like it's a bad thing.

:evilgrin:

[Taverner]

2. Exactly

[MineralMan]

3. Oh, thou of little faith, Huckleberry...

Pray for what you need, and your omnipotent entity will supply you. It's all there in your scriptures, you see. Reading is FUNdamental.

I ain't paying for your superstition.

[Wildewolfe]

4. Thought I read

something earlier this week that the language he's refering to in the bill has been the standard language in all spending bills for like the last 30 years. It's nothing new and was just brought up cause they got nothing else to bring up.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

13. If you can find it

I would appreciate it if you provide a link. Thanks

EBM :hi:

[SacredCow]

16. +1....

I'd like to see that link, too!

[Earth Bound Misfit]

29. Here it is from Media Matters....

http://mediamatters.org/items/200902080007

In articles on its website and on the February 5 broadcast of Your World, Fox News has promoted the misrepresentation of a provision in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to make false claims about restrictions on spending in the bill for religious activities in schools. In fact, the provision is nearly identical to provisions included in numerous other bills passed by Congress, including those passed when the Republicans were in the majority.

A February 5 FoxNews.com article by reporter Cristina Corbin claimed the bill would "prohibit[] renovation money for schools that allow religious groups to meet on campus." In fact, the section in question, Section 9302, provides funding to "higher education facilities that are primarily used for instruction, research, or student housing." Neither that section nor the bill as a whole contains a provision that would ban money from going to "schools that allow religious groups to meet on campus" -- a prohibition that, if it were actually part of the bill -- would essentially bar all U.S. schools from receiving renovation money.

In a separate February 4 article headlined, "Conservative Groups Declare Obama's Stimulus Bill a War on Prayer," Corbin claimed that "he provision bans money designated for school renovation from being spent on facilities that allow 'religious worship.' " Further, on the February 5 edition of Your World, host Neil Cavuto allowed Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) to falsely claim that the bill "would prohibit any religious activity in any college or university facility that uses any of these funds for modernization or renovation." Cavuto also allowed DeMint to falsely claim that "if they use these funds to be modernized or renovated, then there can be no prayers, religious activities, no teaching of religious history. So, it discriminates against anyone of faith and would affect the things that are going on now. Just normal meetings by religious groups can no longer be held in a student center, which the Supreme Court has given them that right. But if these funds are used on that student center for renovation, it can't be used." Cavuto subsequently commented: "That doesn't even sound legal."

In fact, Section 9302 prohibits the use of funds for "modernization, renovation, or repair of facilities ... used for sectarian instruction, religious worship, or a school or department of divinity ... or in which a substantial portion of the functions of the facilities are subsumed in a religious mission." Thus, it does not prohibit money being spent on facilities that "allow 'religious worship' " in Corbin's words.

Moreover, the inclusion of such language in bills is not new or controversial as Salon.com's Alex Koppelman reported. For instance, a section of the Older Americans Act Amendments of 2006 -- enacted while George W. Bush was president, Republicans controlled both houses of Congress, and sponsored by Republican Rep. Patrick Tiberi (OH) -- authorized a grant for "an older American community service employment program," but excluded "projects involving the construction, operation, or maintenance of any facility used or to be used as a place for sectarian religious instruction or worship."

[Wildewolfe]

30. Thank you for finding that...

...That's the passage I remembered from last week.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

49. UR Welcome

:hi:

[Terran]

34. Link (actual bill)

http://appropriations.senate.gov/News/2009_01_28_Text_of_S336,_the_American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Plan.pdf?CFID=4216979&CFTOKEN=49087349

This is actually a prior version of the bill from 1/27, not the version that was passed; but this section is probably unchanged. The language he's talking about is on page 164, (2)(C)(i).--WARNING: big PDF file.

I agree, this is probably standard language in federal funding. There's nothing there that prohibits religious institutions from receiving the funding, as long as they use it to improve buildings used for non-sectarian/religious purposes.

In other words, Huckabee is an idiot. We knew it, but this confirms it.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

52. Thanks!

Here's the updated link: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h1eas.txt.pdf

:hi:

[louis-t]

5. ARRRGGGHH! He gives me such a headache.

They are still pandering to the base. It's all they have left.

[tridim]

6. So he wants taxpayer funded stimulus for tax exempt religious corporations?

That's so Anti-American it makes me puke.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

15. That's so UN-Constitutional

it makes it illegal.

First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law Respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise therof."

[Peace_Sells]

7. knutjob

Thank gawd this knutjob did not get elected for president!

[SacredCow]

9. No kidding....

I'd be posting from the "Fred Phelps Gay Re-Education Camp" if he had....

[hfojvt]

8. His turn is not over. He is still free to speak and lobby

But he should try to make sense. That one little provision could be seen as anti-religious, but that's a teeeny tiny part of the stimulus bill, isn't it Mike? It's like .001% of the bill. Is the other 99.999% of the bill anti-religious? Shouldn't a bill be more than 50% anti-religious before you start claiming that "the bill" is anti-religious? Is it anti-religious to help people struggling economically? "I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink ..."

Sheesh Mike, I was kinda fond of you since you seemed to care more about poor people than the rest of your party leaders, but this is just pathetic. Jesus wept.

[SacredCow]

10. I didn't intend to imply that he couldn't speak and lobby....

but that (hopefully) the days of our government "of the evangelicals, by the evangelicals, and for the evangelicals" are over...

In other words: Go sell your crazy elsewhere!

:hi:

[qazplm]

11. Since when does the ACLU

have anything to do with financial issues?

Talk about creating your bogeyman/strawman two-fer.

[slackmaster]

12. As it must be

According to the First Amendment.

[Quixote1818]

14. The fact that we have people this stupid in the world is proof to me there must not be a god. nt

[Johonny]

17. this Congress is blatantly liberal.

It's almost like it's got a majority of Democrats on it or something.

[Dukkha]

18. we're talking about REAL WORLD financial issues

Which has nothing to do with your crackpot beliefs. Don't like it then stay the fuck out of politics. You're kind has no place in it. You're free to go off and play in your little fantasy thing and pretend that 'praying' is going to solve the 8 year catastrophe you had a part in causing.

[CAG]

19. Sounds like the Huckster is for pork

[Deja Q]

20. Stimulus: Huckabee is 'a twit'.

[BurtWorm]

21. He's parroting a dim-witted talking point DeMint made in the Senate last week

They're ignoring that because of the 1st Amendment, that language is always put into federal spending bills. The 1st Amendment prohibits the feds from spending funds on religious property, because it might be construed as the federal government sticking its nose into religious business. It's called separation of church and state. It's an ancient American custom.

[Moostache]

22. He can kiss my ass...

Not on one cheek and not on the other...but right down the middle!

* Bonus points of recognition to anyone who actually remembers where that originally comes from....

:D

[Lance_Boyle]

41. omigawd - I remember (certain parts of) that movie!

Unfortunately not the title.

Was it Ski School?

[dbonds]

23. It's the science labs part.

Science is anti-religious, so providing labs where young students can learn science must be too. :banghead:

[SacredCow]

24. As an aside to the OP.....

Evangelicals really do think this way. Perfect example: I attended a fundie private school for 3 years (thanks a LOT mom and dad) and they used an abysmal source of textbooks. We're talking errors, typos, poorly constructed lessons- just awful. BUT.... it was a "Christian" company, and there were bible verses on the footnotes of many pages, and the math word problems were, "Johnny converted 5 heathens. If Mary converted 3 times the heathens that Johnny did, how many more people are praising the Lord, in total?"

To them, having those little jabs meant WAY more than a quality education.

[RoadRage]

25. I think the country is realizing..

that they've been praying and praying and praying for the past 8 years, and it's gotten most of them squat. Prayers don't put food on the table, pay the electric bill and hire people for decent paying jobs.

Thanks Huck.. but most Americans have figured out that prayers belong in Church on Sunday - but not in the politics of the American people who need to rely on policies to help them.. not just a prayer.

Go back on to some talk shows.. you're bat-shit crazy, but actually kind of funny to watch. Just stop flappin your jaws about putting more religion to policy already..

[Starry Messenger]

26. Me to Huckabee:

GOOD!!! I'M GLAD!

I want right-wing hucksterism out of my government.

[Strong Atheist]

27. Anything that pisses that shithead off

must be good.

[Joanne98]

28. LOL

[foxfeet]

31. "Anti-religious" is code for anti-HIS-religion.

My religion isn't getting one red cent and that's the way it should be for all.

Just because he smiles and shows his dimples and speaks softly doesn't mean he's not crazy.

[KG]

32. doesn't he know this country was founded on secular principles?

[DS1]

33. It's supposed to be you thumpin runt

[Evoman]

35. Ha! Any type of stimulus is anti-religious, be it erotic or economic.

That's why being anti-religious rocks so bad.

[nichomachus]

36. Well, let's accommodate the Huckster

We'll send a couple hundred million to Harvard Divinity School and a bunch of UU seminaries.

But not a cent for the Rev. Billy Bob Thunderbutt's School of Divinity and Truck Stop.

[mopinko]

37. blatantly liberal

that sounds like a good button.

[LeftinOH]

38. Correction, Huck; it is non-religious (not the same thing as "anti-religious").

[SacredCow]

40. In his mindset, non-religious = anti-religious....

There's absolutely no distinction between the two.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

48. Doesn't the constitution mandate that?

Oh, I forgot, it's "just a piece of paper".

[Earth Bound Misfit]

39. The Pukes are looking to MANUFACTURE reasons

to be against the Stimulus Bill after having already decided to be against it BEFORE anything was even PRESENTED, much less negotiated.

The "Country First" party: Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.

[BrightKnight]

42. Fundies are obsessed with money. - n/t

[TWiley]

47. money and butt sex

[randr]

43. Buck-buck-buck-buck-abee

Buck-buck-buck-huck-abee, Buck-buck-fuck-huck-abee.
News so important even my chickens had a comment.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

46. ...

:rofl:

[TWiley]

44. Thank GOD it is anti-religious. What I dont get is this .....

God created the entire universe and everything in it without a credit card so why does he need taxpayer dollars today?

[glinda]

45. Also because the Pubs got money cut from Science classroom update/renovations

They want every person under their control by keeping them stupid. They are doing their damnest to not fund Science.

[DFW]

50. That begs this question:

Does that mean that anti-religious is stimulating?

[AwakeAtLast]

51. Americans: Huckabee is 'Anti-American'

:D

[Omnibus]

53. A liberal congress?

I wish. A REAL liberal congress would be the best thing for this country right now.

To the Huckleberry, "anti-religious" means "doesn't kowtow to the religious right".

Gee, Mike, I'm sorry if the center-right bill we just passed isn't wingnutty and ineffective enough for you. I promise that next time, we'll zero out taxes on millionaire fundamentalists and put the apostle Paul on the $5 bill.