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James Driscoll, a former member of the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and Log Cabin’s former AIDS adviser, said Huckabee’s refusal to recant his old comments could destroy his viability among gay Republicans.
“I think it should because it tells us a lot about his attitudes toward people with AIDS and toward gay people,” he said, “which I would say are not — he doesn’t understand us very well.”
Driscoll said Huckabee must recant if he’s to win any gay votes in the primary.
“Apologize for the remarks and indicate that he made a serious mistake and wouldn’t do this kind of stuff in the future,” Driscoll said. “He doesn’t seem to be someone who thinks things through very well.”
Huckabee’s record in Arkansas is undergoing renewed scrutiny this week after a series of new polls showed the once dark horse candidate is now surging in popularity with the Iowa caucuses just three weeks away.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Wednesday shows that Huckabee’s support nationally has more than doubled since just last month, with 19 percent of likely GOP voters and Republican-leaning independents backing him. Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani still ranks first with 25 percent, but that number is down from 34 percent last month. Several recent polls in Iowa show Huckabee in first place there, with former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney slipping to second.
Huckabee’s past statements on gays were also criticized this week. He once referred to homosexuality as “an aberrant, unnatural and sinful lifestyle.”
Joshua Lynsen can be reached at jlynsen@washblade.com.
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