by dogemperor

Sat Jan 19, 2008 at 02:56:29 PM PST

The more that comes out about Mike Huckabee, the more I get scared.

So far, he's admitted he's part of the "Left Behind" fandom crowd, he's gotten endorsements and help from hate groups (like a pastor linked with "Watchmen On The Walls" who also wants to kick all non-dominionists out of the country), released rapist-killers from prison, wants to change the constitution to make the US a de jure theocracy, snd rather explicitly has invoked "God's Army" in his speeches.

As bad as that gets, though, it's worse than I feared.  It seems that Mike Huckabee is not only a good friend of neopente cult leader and "Bible-based baby beating" and Joel's Army-with-guns advocate Bill Gothard...but he's also a member of his Bible-based cult.

And folks...that has some very scary implications in regards to that whole "Christian Nation" thing.

Addendum 7:15pm EST:

A responder to the thread has noted a dedicated website detailing links between Mike Huckabee and Bill Gothard which provides further evidence including form 990s for Gothard's various orgs.  You are strongly recommended to visit this afterwards if you require further evidence.

Huckabee: Joel's Army stalking horse?

The more I read about Mike Huckabee, the more that people find in digging up stuff, the more he opens his mouth...he sounds, more and more, like someone who would be the perfect "sergeant-at-arms" for the most extreme wing of the dominionist movement--the "Joel's Army"/"Joshua Generation" contingent of neopentecostal dominionists.

First it was the call for the US Constitution to be "changed" to be in accordance to "God's law"--and the US de jure converted to the Republic of Gilead, or (more properly, considering Huckabee's theology) a one-nation version of the "Tribulation Force" popularised in the Left Behind novels.  (And he could do so; something like 34 states have made calls for a constitutional convention to attempt to pass a "Human Life Amendment" that would ban not only abortion but practically all forms of birth control.  According to Article V of the US Constitution, only 27 states need call for this; it is still legally iffy whether a "ConCon" resolution can be revoked or whether it can be limited.)

Then it was finding that Mike Huckabee was explicitly getting not only endorsements but a lot of informal help from Joseph Fuiten--yes, that Fuiten, the same guy who called for mass denationalisation of non-dominionists.  

Then it was finding he was a Christian Zionist, a premillenial dispensationalist, and released a rapist-killer from prison despite protests.

Then it was Huckabee literally invoking "God's Army" in a speech in New Hampshire, using words that would have more place in an Assemblies tent meeting.

One of the real puzzlers to me in all this is why he has supported stuff that...even for a dominionist, steeplejacked SBC...seem more distinctly neopente than SBC.  Why is he getting so much support from neopentes (even more so than the SBC itself)?

As you will soon see below...some new discoveries have pretty much revealed why--and made it even more absolutely imperative that Mike Huckabee is not allowed near an office of trust in the US, much less the Presidency.

Mike Huckabee: So fond of Gothard, he became a member of his neopente cult

Huckabee has been throwing some major danger-signals for me for some time, even with him ostenably being a Southern Baptist preacher.  For one, he's been supporting some things--and been getting a lot of endorsement from people--that tend far more towards the Assemblies of God end of things than SBC (things like endorsements from practically the entire Assemblies leadership of the Washington/Oregon/Idaho area, for starters, or endorsements by some of the SBC theological seminaries where Assemblies partnership is close but not others, or Tim LaHaye's explicit endorsement).

I had suspected it may be a sign that Arkansas may be having worse troubles than most with neopentes partnering with the SBC and possibly injecting some of their theology in--but then I saw this little article in Salon and things made frightening sense why Huckabee has gotten most of his support from neopentes:

As governor, he also promoted the faith-based programs of a reconstructionist minister named Bill Gothard -- and even boasted that he had gone through Gothard's "basic program" himself. More reputable evangelicals consider Gothard to be a cultish fringe character, but he has built an enormous empire, which depends on funding from local and state governments to bring his authoritarian version of the Gospel to prisoners, police officers and welfare recipients, among others. He experienced a moment of unwelcome notoriety recently, when the Denver Post revealed that Matthew Murray, the 24-year-old gunman who killed four people at two Christian centers in Colorado in December, had been subjected as a teenager to Gothard's superstrict "home-schooling" programs.

Huckabee's close connections with the likes of Grant and Gothard date back a decade or more -- and his rhetoric has surely changed, if not his views. He no longer denounces environmentalism, for example, at least not publicly. But he still maintains contact with reconstructionist leaders, some of whom are supporting his presidential candidacy. Just last month, Huckabee attended a campaign fundraiser at the Houston home of Dr. Steven Hotze, who became one of the nation's most notorious advocates of dominionist ideology when he led the religious right's takeover of the Texas Republican Party. Huck's old friend Gothard was also at Hotze's home, along with a bevy of extremists including Rick Scarborough, author of "Liberalism Kills Kids" and "Mixing Church and State."

(Emphasis mine.)

Suffice it to say, I went "oh, hell"...and started looking for backup confirmation.

It did not take long to find.  A longterm "Gothard-watcher" on Talk to Action
has posted rather extensively on Huckabee's links to Gothard:

First came the Body Snatchers. Then the Night of the Living Dead. Now our nation must face what may the most cunning and relentless invaders ever. Yes, America, I’m talking about Gothardite Zombies for Huckabee!

As reported by The Cincinnati Beacon, it began in Arkansas. If only we’d heeded the warning signs in plain sight. If only someone had listened when Governor Mike himself admitted that he walked among them:

"As a person who has actually been through the Basic Seminar, I am confident that these are some of the best programs available for instilling character into the lives of people."

Then, hiding behind an "aw shucks" grin and a Fender bass, he installed Gothard’s faith-based programs into Arkansas towns, prisons, and schools.

Another post by the same wonderfully irreverent Gothard-watcher also notes some interesting things:

But my letter today concerns matters far more serious than earthly possessions and multi-million dollar bank accounts. Today I’m asking you to save the eternal soul of the man you support to be the next President of the United States - Mike Huckabee. Thanks again to recent articles by The Dean, I learned that you and Governor Huckabee are longtime associates and that you were photographed together at a recent "Huckabee for President" campaign event at a Houston home.