Sunday, January 3, 2016

Huckabee: 'I never defended Josh'

 Mike Huckabee with several members of the Duggar family
January 2015

When accused of supporting Josh Duggar, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee sets the record straight, telling Iowa radio host Simon Conway during an interview in late December that he has never defended Josh Duggar's actions (interview segment embedded below).

Huckabee states that he finds Josh's dishonesty to be "absolutely, hideously wrong and despicable." However, he still stands by Jim Bob and Michelle and the rest of the Duggar family, saying that they are "wonderful people."



Photo courtesy duggarfamily.com

49 comments:

  1. Hello. I am writing because I am concerned for Derick. He looks very ill in pictures lately having lost a lot of weight and not grooming himself anymore. Is he OK? I realize he is in Central America, but he should be getting as much food as he needs to survive.
    I love your family. I am so worried though. I pray often for you all.

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  2. What is wrong with people why can't you all leave the Duggars alone if josh's family and his wife can forgive him then why can't you they are the ones who have to tolerate the public and you all are just making it tougher for them .Leave them alone .


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  3. bring them all back we love ya all,,, my heart goes out to anna

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  4. Huckabee "affirms my support for the Duggar family" on his own facebook page. He further states that Josh is forgiven. Isn't that support? Huckabee said this before he knew of Josh's infidelity. I think it was support, he just regrets what he said because now he is running for president.

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  5. God bless your family its a hard thing you are dealing with maybe through treatment and counseling and time you can rebuild your family.prayers

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  6. Prayers to your family hopefully with time therapy and counseling plus lots of forgiveness you can rebuild your family.prayers

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  7. Judge for yourself...Huck's own words from May:

    "Janet and I want to affirm our support for the Duggar family. Josh’s actions when he was an underage teen are as he described them himself, 'inexcusable,' but that doesn’t mean 'unforgivable.' He and his family dealt with it and were honest and open about it with the victims and the authorities. No purpose whatsoever is served by those who are now trying to discredit Josh or his family by sensationalizing the story. Good people make mistakes and do regrettable and even disgusting things. The reason that the law protects disclosure of many actions on the part of a minor is that the society has traditionally understood something that today’s blood-thirsty media does not understand—that being a minor means that one's judgement is not mature. No one needs to defend Josh’s actions as a teenager, but the fact that he confessed his sins to those he harmed, sought help, and has gone forward to live a responsible and circumspect life as an adult is testament to his family’s authenticity and humility. Those who have enjoyed revealing this long ago sins in order to discredit the Duggar family have actually revealed their own insensitive bloodthirst, for there was no consideration of the fact that the victims wanted this to be left in the past and ultimately a judge had the information on file destroyed—not to protect Josh, but the innocent victims. Janet and I love Jim Bob and Michelle and their entire family. They are no more perfect a family than any family, but their Christian witness is not marred in our eyes because following Christ is not a declaration of our perfection, but of HIS perfection. It is precisely because we are all sinners that we need His grace and His forgiveness. We have been blessed to receive God’s love and we would do no less than to extend our love and support for our friends. In fact, it is such times as this, when real friends show up and stand up. Today, Janet and I want to show up and stand up for our friends. Let others run from them. We will run to them with our support."

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  8. I still care for Josh he is just going through something right now doesn't make him a bad person. Good people mess up. I am praying he comes out of this a strong man with his faith so story and a testimony that can heal a lot of marriages and relationships. Don't judge him by his fall but rather raise him up for his healing. This problem is so bad especially online it effect Christians and non believers. It needs to be talked about openly . And a marriage can survive it. But it takes a lot of love and understanding and forgiveness.

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  9. Random post. I would not be excited to pose with Huckabee.

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  10. I wouldn't support Josh either, and I can't support Anna because she is choosing to put her kids at risk and stay with Josh.

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  11. Love your family hope you come back on TV none of us are perfect that is why Jesus came and died for us also you need to file a lawsuit against that lady in the police department even though she retired she had no right to do that to your family her and her friend need to be brought to court love you all pastor Alice merry Christmas and a happy new year

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  12. That's right Mike. To be honest I supported Josh after the first scandal broke, because he did it when he was younger, but now I would be happy if he disappeared for good so he wouldn't cause more pain for his family and friends. He is truly a disgusting human being. How could anyone betray someone who is so loving and dedicated only to them? Anna never turned to anyone else for love, she dedicated her whole life to Josh and by his actions he showed her that she was not good enough for him, that her giving herself to serve and please him and have four children for him was not good enough. And that is truly disgusting, I hope he got on his knees and begged and pleaded for her forgiveness, because he should never have expected her to forgive him. He did one of the most despicable things that a human being can do. And also there is a difference between confessing and getting caught, Josh would have continued his sick and sinful ways if he had not been caught, he only "confessed" because he got caught, so I would never trust him again, because he was forced to confess. This shows that he didn't really want to stop what he was doing, and he'll probably continue to do it after he gets out of "rehab".

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    1. Wow! I could have wrote this! Spot on!

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    2. Well put, I agree 100% with your comment.

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    3. I totally agree with you.

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    4. I agree with most of what you said. Such a sad and unfortunate thing to happen to such a beautiful family. Josh was MADE accountable and did not CHOOSE to be.

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    5. What an amazing comment. Perfectly said. It's pray that Anna is strong enough, smart enough and wordly enough to realize these things. I fear that being so sheltered has kept her from understanding how the world works.

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    6. Yeah, I feel sorry for Anna.

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  13. Huckabee DID support Josh by saying that Josh was forgiven. He did stand by him. Don't twist the facts for political gain.

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  14. Lets move on with life and start living for today. We are not promised tomorrow and dwelling on old is not going to change anything or make it any different. What is done in the past is done. We have today to change it. Bring the Duggars back on Great Show! So they aren't perfect, who is?

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  15. Me and my family are all praying for the Duggars' to get through this tough situation. Josh made a mistake in the past, and he is trying to fix it with God's help. Also, I so do hope that perhaps TLC will do some for specials for their show, lots of people miss them- including me. :(

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    1. Sorry, but it wasn't a mistake it was absolute malicious betrayal, with full knowledge of the pain and suffering that he would cause others if he got caught.

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    2. Correct. It wasn't a mistake. A mistake is putting to much sugar in your cupcakes. This was a conscious chose on his part to betray those who love him.

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  16. The Duggars are good people and should not have been banned from TLC. Hopefully they will return to TLC and Counting On as well. God Bless.

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  17. Off topic, I just have to say that I am so sick of seeing all these negative comments on other sites that are so completely untrue. This poor family can't even post one innocent picture without it being picked apart,when is going to STOP? If I feel this frustrated, can you just imagine how they feel.The Duggars have the worst case of defamation of character against them I have EVER seen.If i we're them I would only send pictures to friends and family and I would never ever read comments from strangers. What boggles my mind, is how people spend so much time hating/posting/hating/posting...it's so unhealthy for your mind, body and soul.

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    1. Natalia, exactly!! The backlash this family gets over the smallest thing is crazy!!!!!!!!
      It's time the Duggars get out of the lime light, make all of thier social media set to private to block all the trolls, and have time to get away from the media. They need to heal from this privately before they can make things public again. I do think they should write a book about this and how thier faith helped them through when life got too real. But for now they need to lay low and unite as a family and heal as a family away from the cameras, social media and tv shows and such.

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    2. I totally agree. There's a lot of hate and I can't understand why.

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    3. The Duggars do not hate anyone, just because they have differing views than some, does not mean they hate them...but, others hate on them and that leads me to believe that they are unhappy people, happy folks don't hate, plain and simple.Hope that made sense.

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    4. It's because they're jealous.

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    5. Yes I have to agree.I m thinking jealous too.Sorry but a lot of people are sensing that as well.

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  18. Any one who suspected that Mike Huckabee defended Josh isn't a Christian. It's up to god to judge not a man.

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    1. That is completely false. I am a Christian and Mike Huckabee most certainly defended Josh Duggar. You need to get your facts straight.

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  19. You should be posting the comments here because I'm sure you have gotten many.

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  20. @littlebeetle6 I am a Christian---and he defended Josh. True to politician form he is now trying to twist his own words since they have come back to bite him. As a Christian he should have spoken the truth, and admitted his ignorance.

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  21. Why are you defending Huckabee?

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  22. Sometimes I feel like were throwing Josh under the bus. My reading the other day was from Nehemiah 1. ....(Quote from Nehemiah)"When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said:"Lord, The God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's family, have committed against You. We have acted very wickedly toward You. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. Remember the instruction You gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to Me and obey My commands, then even if Your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for My Name.' They are your servants and Your people, whom You redeemed by Your great strength and Your mighty hand. "Lord let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of this Your servant and to the prayer of Your servants who delight in revering Your name. Give Your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man."

    Last night I listened to Charles Stanley's message on Access baggage. We all have it. We all have at least one sin that we struggle with. One most tempted by, one we must be continually on guard with. What is it that doesn't fit the Christian life?

    I know that certain sins have greater consequences in our life, but when we compare our sins with the Holy God we are guilty.
    Josh isn't the only Christian who has committed sexual sins. The enemy is tempting so many Christians in this area.

    "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Rom 8:37.

    We don't know if Josh will change. But how many of you who claim to be Christians will commit to praying everyday for Josh (like Nehamiah did)? And with the New Year consider what God wants us to change?
    His Blessings,
    Sandy B.

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  23. May God bless the Duggar's. Just a few thoughts to share:
    "Who among us has not sinned? Let him throw the first stone."
    No human is perfect, all have sinned.
    Every human will let us down. God is the only One who never will.
    Our love is to be unconditional, just as God's is for us.
    Christ died for every one of our sins, from the greatest to the least. Christ also died to set us free from our sins.
    Hate the sin, love the sinner.
    Thank you, Jesus, that none of us have to be perfect to have Your love or to be saved because none of us would make it. Thank you, Jesus, for paying the price of our sins.
    Thank you to The Duggars for being my brothers and sisters in Christ. Can't wait to meet you all one day in Heaven.
    In the love of Christ,
    Dona

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    1. Read Revelation 21:8, if Josh doesn't truly repent, the Bible tells what his future will be. Imperfection doesn't condone what he did, and being a Christian at some point in his life doesn't automatically cleanse him of sin. He needs to receive salvation again, because no true follower of Christ can conduct themselves the way he did without completely rejecting and walking away from God.

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  24. I just want to say no matter what Josh did we should be praying that he can turn his life around. Other people that have done similar things have changed and gone on to help others with the same problems. We should be thinking of his soul.

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  25. For those of you questioning the purpose of this post, the Duggars have been very vocal about supporting Huckabee in the past, both when he ran last time and this current election season. He is their choice of presidential candidate and they have been supporting and promoting him for years.

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  26. Agree with Anonymous 4.

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  27. Josh Duggar is only a loser if he loses sight of his faith in Jesus Christ, his Lord and Savior, and thereby continues to hurt and/or destroy his family. Some imply he is a worthless man. I would disagree...the Bible says, "A worthless man digs up strife"; he is repentant and working on restoration in his relationship with Jesus and his wife and children; he is not digging up strife. Please, accusers, be careful you are not "digging up strife" and thereby impose judgment upon yourself! Satan is very crafty, and he deceives even the very elect of God. With Josh and his family having such a high Christian profile, they are especially vulnerable to the attacks of satan, and he is very threatened by their testimony. Naturally he tempts them in even greater ways. We as Christians need to be covering our brothers and siters, who hang their lives and testimonies out on the line, in much needed prayer. As for Anna, she is displaying the greatest love possible as she forgives her husband with the love of Jesus, who also forgave her, and seeks to restore fellowship with him as husband and father to their children. Without this act of forgiveness their children are destined to a life of shame and bitterness. Theirs will be a hard life regardless; they need to see God's love and mercy, and how much He loves and forgives their father, in order for them to love and forgive him too.

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  28. Anna's love and forgiveness is imperative for Josh's full recovery, and restored acceptance of himself as God's child, Anna's husband, and father to his children. Perhaps God has chosen Anna for "such a time as this" and He has equipped her to help Josh overcome this major battle in his life, and restore pure fellowship with Christ, and love even greater. A man who is forgiven much loves much!! Anna is quite a strong woman, and deserves much accolade and praise! I admire her greatly for her love of God, husband and children!

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    1. That is one of the most sensible statements I have seen of late.I agree with you wholeheartedly.I just wish more folks would feel that way...if they did things would be very different for this family.Blessings to you and yours☺

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  29. *"A worthless man digs up evil; a perverse man spreads strife". Proverbs 16:28

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  30. *"A worthless man digs up evil...A perverse man spreads strife". Proverbs 16:27, 28. (Correction to my comment on "a worthless man digging up strife") Presently Josh is doing neither.

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  31. TEAM DUGGAR 2016!!!Please don't listen to any of the negetive comments!The Duggars still have MANY loyal fans!To Duggar fans only please contact TLC and ask them to continue Jill and Jessa Counting On or any Duggar spinoff!

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  32. We love you beautiful Duggar family!We admire you!

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