Former presidential candidate Mike
Huckabee over the weekend reiterated his disappointment at the
Republican Party's reluctance to speak out against gay marriage.
Huckabee chided the GOP's muted
response to the Supreme Court's decision not to hear appeals in cases
challenging bans in five states. The decision makes it almost
certain marriage equality will become the law in 11 more states.
On Saturday's edition of Fox News'
Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, author and ordained
Southern Baptist minister took issue with the party's handling of the
ruling.
“I wonder sometimes, do we still
teach civics in school?” he
rhetorically asked. “Several governors and other elected
officials reacted by saying, 'Well, that's it. That's the final
word.'”
“Horse apples!” Huckabee said.
“The Supreme Court is not the supreme being. Yes, it's the highest
court within one of the three branches of government but it isn't
superior to the other two.”
“The court can certainly rule on an
issue but unless the legislature passes enabling legislation and
funds it and unless the executive branch signs it and enforces it, it
certainly is not the law of the land.”
“The law of the land required
agreement of all three branches,” he claimed.
“[T]he bigger issue is the betrayal
of our Constitution and the surrender to a small group of unelected
black-robed jurists who can't make law, nor enforce it. Now, if you
believe that men should marry men and women should marry women, then
get the people's representatives to vote for it, the chief executive
to sign it, and then have the courts agree with it.”
Huckabee added that he was “utterly
disgusted” with Republicans who “want to walk away from the issue
of judicial supremacy just because it's politically volatile” and
gave them this advice: “Grow a spine, show a modicum of knowledge
about the way we govern ourselves, and lead, follow, or get the heck
out of the way.”
Earlier
in the week, Huckabee threatened to leave the GOP over the issue.
(Related: Reince
Priebus: Gay marriage not “top-tier issue for midterms.)