Huck Wanted to Isolate AIDS Patients (And Other Good Ideas)

http://www.newsmax.com/politics/huckabee_aids/2007/12/08/55659.html

Huckabee Wanted to Isolate AIDS Patients

Saturday, December 8, 2007

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Mike Huckabee once advocated isolating AIDS patients

from the general public, opposed increased federal funding in the search for

a cure and said homosexuality could "pose a dangerous public health risk."

As a candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in 1992, Huckabee answered 229

questions submitted to him by The Associated Press. Besides a quarantine,

Huckabee suggested that Hollywood celebrities fund AIDS research from their

own pockets, rather than federal health agencies.

"If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the

AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this

plague," Huckabee wrote.

"It is difficult to understand the public policy towards AIDS. 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 true health crisis it represents."

The AP submitted the questionnaire to both candidates; only Huckabee

responded. Incumbent Sen. Dale Bumpers won his four term; Huckabee was

elected lieutenant governor the next year and became governor in 1996.

When asked about AIDS research in 1992, Huckabee complained that AIDS

research received an unfair share of federal dollars when compared to

cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

"In light of the extraordinary funds already being given for AIDS research,

it does not seem that additional federal spending can be justified,"

Huckabee wrote. "An alternative would be to request that multimillionaire

celebrities, such as Elizabeth Taylor (,) Madonna and others who are pushing

for more AIDS funding be encouraged to give out of their own personal

treasuries increased amounts for AIDS research."

Huckabee did not return messages left with his campaign.

When Huckabee wrote his answers in 1992, it was common knowledge that AIDS

could not be spread by casual contact. In late 1991, the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention said there were 195,718 AIDS patients in the country

and that 126,159 people had died from the syndrome.

The nation had an increased awareness of AIDS at the time because pro

basketball star Magic Johnson had recently disclosed he carried the virus

responsible for it. Johnson retired but returned to the NBA briefly during

the 1994-95 season.

Since becoming a presidential candidate this year, Huckabee has supported

increased federal funding for AIDS research through the National Institutes

of Health.

"My administration will be the first to have an overarching strategy for

dealing with HIV and AIDS here in the United States, with a partnership

between the public and private sectors that will provide necessary financing

and a realistic path toward our goals," Huckabee said in a statement posted

on his campaign Web site last month.

Also in the wide-ranging AP questionnaire in 1992, Huckabee said, "I feel

homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now

know it can pose a dangerous public health risk."

A Southern Baptist preacher, Huckabee has been a favorite among social

conservatives for his vocal opposition to gay marriage. In 2003, Huckabee

said that the U.S. Supreme Court was probably right to strike down

anti-sodomy laws, but that states still should be able to restrict things

such as gay marriage or domestic partner benefits.

"What people do in the privacy of their own lives as adults is their

business," Huckabee said. "If they bring it into the public square and ask

me as a taxpayer to support it or to endorse it, then it becomes a matter of

public discussion and discourse."