VIDEO: Mike Huckabee Compares Kim Davis’ Stance on Gay Marriage to Abraham Lincoln’s on Slavery
Maybe the term "civil rights" doesn't mean what Mike Huckabee thinks it means.Maybe the term “civil rights” doesn’t mean what Mike Huckabee thinks it means — or “judicial tyranny,” for that matter.
Huckabee took to the network TV airwaves Sunday to invoke President Abraham Lincoln’s crusade against slavery while discussing Davis’ case with “This Week” host George Stephanopolous.
In affirming his support for Davis, the Rowan County, Ky., clerk who refused to allow her office to issue same-sex marriage licenses, Huckabee joined Davis’ lawyer in borrowing a sense of injustice and moral urgency from shameful chapters in world history and repurposing them to justify Davis’ unwillingness to do her legally mandated duty and grant others the ability to exercise their civil rights.
Asked by Stephanopolous to address the opinion of conservatives like Rod Dreher who think Davis’ sworn oath to follow the law, even when it comes to doing the paperwork to officialize unions she opposes for religious reasons, should take precedence over her personal beliefs, Huckabee embarked on an off-roading adventure in historical inaccuracy.
“Well, [Dreher] would have hated Abraham Lincoln,” Huckabee said, “because Lincoln ignored the 1857 Dred Scott decision that said black people weren’t fully human. It was a wrong decision. And to say that we have to surrender to judicial supremacy is to do what Jefferson warned against, which is in essence to surrender to judicial tyranny.”
Huckabee, who is to visit Davis on Tuesday, also told Stephanopolous that “the courts can’t make a law.” (For his part, Dreher has since responded to, and poked substantial holes in, Huckabee’s argument as he articulated it on “This Week.”)
The full clip of Stephanopolous’ interview with Huckabee is posted below. Meanwhile, politicians and pundits would do well to cool it with the Nazi/slavery rhetoric, which all too frequently serves to dilute and contort the meaning of those historical referents.
ABC Breaking News | Latest News Videos
–Posted by Kasia Anderson
Your support is crucial...As we navigate an uncertain 2025, with a new administration questioning press freedoms, the risks are clear: our ability to report freely is under threat.
Your tax-deductible donation enables us to dig deeper, delivering fearless investigative reporting and analysis that exposes the reality beneath the headlines — without compromise.
Now is the time to take action. Stand with our courageous journalists. Donate today to protect a free press, uphold democracy and uncover the stories that need to be told.
Courts & Law
The settlement is a dangerous omen for press freedom, given the incoming president’s threats to go after his media critics.
Editorial Cartoons
Editorial Cartoons
Politics
Praised for defending strong positions on women’s health, housing and labor, the Democratic candidate disappointed on energy and foreign policy.
The president's hand-picked attorney general has put the Justice Department at the disposal of the White House, shredding the rule of law.
The highly favored executive whose pay ranks close to the top among U.S. CEOs will be succeeded by Bob Chapek, the company's parks chief.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.