Predominately African American Church in Charleston with nine fatalities at the moment in what authorities are calling a hate crime.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CHARLESTON_SHOOTING_THE_LATEST?SITE=KTVB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

One of the things that attracted me to Huckabee back in 2008 was that he, at that time, spoke about racial healing. We need more than ever at this time for him as well as other leaders to address the tensions, anger, resentment and hurt that are tearing at the seams of the country.

Please pray for all.

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The Values Voter
http://thevaluesvoter.spaces.live.com

This is a horrific crime against the church, against believers in Christ, and particularly targeted toward blacks, it appears. Please pray for the families of these dear people who were killed. And that justice will be done.

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I can't help but wonder sometimes ... where did Mike Huckabee go?

We have a deep need in this country for racial healing, as we've seen as a result of so many incidents that have taken place over the course of the past few years. We're more divided than we've ever been. I believe Mike is capable of being a leader in terms of bringing people from all backgrounds and races together. Unfortunately, to be honest, I have not seen or heard him try to do this very much in the 2016 era. Not sure why. I realize that people may not like hearing me say this but I frankly don't care. This is a unique opportunity for whoever is going to be the next President of the United States to step up and work to bring people together and urge people to put aside resentments and hatred. Whoever is going to be the next POTUS has the responsibility to address our disintegrating level of hostility and anger and to do so in a way that brings everybody together. I believe Mike can do this but, even in spite of all the chaos that has broken out in the past couple of years, I just haven't heard him speak to it. Like he has done so well and so beautifully in the past. Someone should really encourage him to do so.

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The Values Voter
http://thevaluesvoter.spaces.live.com

This is what he said on his facebook page 24 hours ago:



I don't think the racial motivation of the act was clear then?

It may and probably was racially motivated. Especially the Democrats are going to zoom in on that - not to promote healing and reconciliation, but further division through "identity politics", trying to align minorities with them, instead of promoting a cross-racial cross-party American identity. That's where I appreciate Mike Huckabee's statement. What he says is true, whether this had been a black, white, yellow or whatever church. Also, he made this statement not too long after the shooting. It is a prudent approach first to see the development of things and gather reliable information (that it was indeed racially motivated). I am convinced that Mike is not afraid to speak out on racial matters.

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He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose. -Jim Elliot

I agree. If he is asked, Mike Huckabee will respond as we would expect. No other candidate has the friendship of black pastors as does Gov. Huckabee, going back to Arkansas when he refused to pastor a segregated church unless it allowed all races.

But there has been so much effort among liberal Democrats to stir up strife, not to mend fences. I cannot imagine what would motivate this young man to be so filled with rage that he would kill Christians. We have not only race hatred (perhaps) here, but more, we have the latest prejudice: that against Christians. Many young people are going online to sites of radical Islamic terrorists and are being influenced to join them. And many believe that it is their duty to obey the fatwas that tell them to kill Christians and Jews. That is the new violence that concerns me most.

President Obama has done little to bring about reconciliation or to condemn those who are robbing Americans of their right to religious liberty--Christians. And he has done more to incite racial tension than to quell it. The tenor of the nation is influenced, often, by the character and beliefs of the chief and how he has behaved. Obama has failed in this first, to lead America in a way that is helpful to our people or our place in the world. But Huckabee is the only candidate I have heard who is making a point in how the Supreme Court is robbing us all, especially Christians, of our rights by its overreach, making "law" to legalize the break-down of the family unit, destroy life's sanctity and etc. etc.

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So, here are the facts as we know them so far:
1) The suspect made a statement to his victims just prior to the shooting of all but one of them that he was wanted to kill black people. He told the woman whom he did not shoot, who is one of the witnesses, that he was leaving her alive so that she could tell others to his words and motivation.
2) South Carolina Law Enforcement immediately categorized this mass murder as a probable hate crime.
3) The suspect's roommate said that he had been planning this atrocity for at least six months and that his intent was to start a race war.
4) The suspect has some documented association with white supremacist culture (patches for the flags of Rhodesia and apartheid-area South Africa).
5) The shooter actually referenced the Trayvon Martin killing when talking with his roommate about his desire to ignite a racial conflict.

All evidence points to the fact that this was a racially motivated mass murder (including the murder of an 87 year-old woman). There is no evidence that seems to point to another possibility.

But that's not even the point. The larger point is that our country has been facing a continual parade of ugly stories over the past few years in particular which have been intensifying the racial divide in a way that is extremely unhealthy for the state of our nation. We've had a number of high profile incidents in which young black men have been shot while unarmed and the predictable divide in which many blacks believe that it was unjustified and many whites believe that it was. We had a brief episode with the so-called "knockout" game in which black youth, especially in a few cities, have attacked whites as part of some sick "game." We've had issue after issue and the predictable fallout from each of them in which many people of different ethnic groups have had their hearts hardened, resentment overflowing, saying and doing things that exhibit levels of ugliness that are surprising. What I'm saying is that America has a problem. America needs racial healing.

When America has a problem, politicians who are able to identify the problem and come up with solutions tend to do very well. When America's problem was that our military and prestige were in terrible shape, Reagan identified that problem, latched on to it, and both annunciated and implemented actions to fix the problem. When America's problem was that we had just experienced the vulnerability of being attacked by terrorists, President Bush announced and took actions to increase our vigilance against terrorists and made it clear to the nation that our new national problem had top-level attention from the White House. The list goes on and on. But when America has a problem, politicians who actually have answers to the problems rise to the occasion when they step forward, identify America's pain point and then show that they have an understanding of the problem as well as a plan to fix it.

I have absolutely no doubt that Mike Huckabee understands better than most politicians today the complexity, the pain and the history of America's racial divisions. He is a guy who I have always admired because of his willingness to reach out to and include everybody and I continue to admire him in this way. He can speak with authority about being a son of the South, being a conservative and yet understanding the viewpoints of people from different places, different ancestries and the like. He definitely understands more about how to solve this crisis that America is facing more than most who are in national politics. And he also has a track record for being accepted by a wider range of voters than most politicians.

But as it is obvious to many people that our country has a problem that we thought we were past, not just a problem of individual instances of bad things happening but a problem with people's hearts (hatred and resentment in all directions) in addition to a widely perceived problem in which people of different races experience different treatment in terms of 4th Amendment rights and freedom from unwarranted harassment. It's a divide that keeps raising itself every month in the form of a different crisis. And it's not just a matter of, as some suggest, Democrats trying to "play the race card" or stir up agitation. There is real pain and, under the surface of a country that has come a long way since the 1960's, a lot of resentment and some real unresolved issues. Surveys indicate that most Americans believe that this country is more racially divided than it was previously.

And so here comes a once in lifetime opportunity for Mike Huckabee. America has a problem. Mike Huckabee has spent enough time building relationships with people of all ethnicities that he actually knows big parts of the solution. The missing link: I haven't heard him talk about any of this in a long time and our country really needs leadership that will step in and speak healing, and not more division, at this moment in time. Mike knows how to do this and is capable of doing this. Mike just needs to figure out a way to use his excellent oratorical skills and common sense in order to tell America that he recognizes the problem, that he understands the pain and the divide and that he knows how to bring us together. And then he needs to do it. This is the wrong time to not speak out on this issue of racial healing. Especially for the very few in politics who have experience in helping to manifest it.

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The Values Voter
http://thevaluesvoter.spaces.live.com

Peter, I saw and appreciated Mike's Twitter response over the tragedy, which he issued almost immediately. I have lots of criticism over pretty almost every aspect of President Obama's approach to issues about religious liberty, life, the family, etc (as well as a large number of other issues). I have always admired Mike's willingness to be unflinching on the issue of life and think that he speaks to the defense of the unborn better than any other politician.

But, let's face it, this country has a lot of problems right now. Pretty much in every direction. And I would really like to hear Mike, who has a clear history of advancing racial healing, put more focus on this problem that America is facing just as he is doing an excellent job in bringing focus on the defense of other liberties.

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The Values Voter
http://thevaluesvoter.spaces.live.com

Lastly, I'll share a philosophy of mine which may explain who I raised this issue. Given the choice of being surrounded by people who tell you what you want to hear or by people who tell you what you need to hear, I think it's more prudent to be surrounded by the latter. If I didn't like Mike Huckabee, I wouldn't have raised the issue, urging him to step forward in the current election cycle in order to discuss the broader issue.

There's also something to be said about having people around you who have different perspectives. Every one of us comes from different regions of the country, different ancestries, include both men and women, etc. People who have different perspectives can spot and identify issues that might not catch the eye of everyone else. And I'm not talking just about race. Gender, region, political party affiliation, occupation, family status, economic class, etc. I think it's really important to hear from people who come from different vantage points as well as to hear both the good as well as suggestions for areas for improvement.

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The Values Voter
http://thevaluesvoter.spaces.live.com

My granddaughter and I just watched the historic movie Selma, about the murder of the four schoolgirls in church, and of the efforts of blacks in Alabama to obtain the right to vote. Gov. Huckabee has referenced this story several times that I have heard, and he has been supportive of efforts of Martin Luther King and his family to stop this inequality. I had forgotten (or perhaps never really known) what a tragedy this Alabama march was with racial injustice, and with President Johnson reluctant to address the problem and the violence.

We have hoped we had gotten past this. Martin Luther King was an eloquent spokesman for freedom and equality. I do feel that for the most part Americans in the north and south now condemn racism and want there to be fairness and equality. But there remains the extreme elements, that will continue to need watching and keeping under control.

I was interested in how the Southern Baptist Convention, under Pastor Ronnie Floyd, is now urging its members to pray for and work for another Great Awakening in our nation, which will include overcoming racism and stopping abortion. You might be inspired by this address. Go to http://www.ronniefloyd.comm/sbc2015/ and click on Convention Address.

Here are a few excerpts:


And I am firmly convinced that Gov. Mike Huckabee would be the best candidate we have to lead us as President.

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I like this:

https://caffeinatedthoughts.com/2015/07/mike-huckabee-releases-new-video-addressing-race-in-america/

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He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose. -Jim Elliot

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He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose. -Jim Elliot