Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee caused quite a hullabaloo with his statements about AIDS, homosexuals and morality. His candidacy is wonderfully illuminating as to why we shouldn�t elect anyone who is openly religious. It also sheds light on the bigger picture as to how Christian fanatics are actually control freaks and how their power grab is destroying democracy.

It�s clear that Christian religious fanatics want their way in regards to religion and public life. They are determined to impose their views on all Americans. They constantly cry that they are the victims of discrimination when in fact they are the relentless discriminators.

Fundamentalist Christians, including Huckabee, want American tax dollars used to fund private religious schools. Is there any similar request coming from Jews, Muslims or Wiccans?

They want laws passed to keep gays from marrying. Are gays trying to pass any laws that infringe on a Christian�s personal life or rights?

They want abortion made illegal and don�t believe that it�s a private matter to be discussed by a pregnant woman and her doctor.

They want to be a part of people�s life and death decisions in matters like the Terri Schiavo case.

They are opposed to stem-cell research while thousands continue to suffer and die from Parkinson�s, Alzheimer�s and other diseases. Of course, their views are subject to change if they have to live with one of these diseases. Ask Nancy Reagan.

They want department store employees to say �Merry Christmas� to everyone. No big deal but is my Christmas tree going to shine brighter because the clerk at Mervyn�s said �Merry Christmas� instead of �Happy Holidays�?

They want to see their religious symbols in our courthouses and on our public squares. They cry about the lack of these symbols and act as if the ACLU is depriving them from observing Christmas when, in fact, they have every right to sing Silent Night in their homes and on their rooftops.

They are constantly boycotting someone for making a movie, publishing a book or presenting a program that offends their religious sensibility.

They want our public schools to add prayer to the curriculum along with the Bible taught as science. Yes, Christianity is the majority religion in the United States but not in the world. And since the subject is �how the world was created,� wouldn�t it make as much sense to teach kids what the majority of the world�s religious inhabitants believe?

Let�s presume that fundamentalist Christians actually read the Bible. Why then do they unvaryingly ignore this quote attributed to Jesus Christ in Chapter 6 of the Book of Matthew: �When you pray, go away by yourself, all alone, and shut the door behind you and pray secretly.� Perhaps they�ve found contradictory quotes that make it so important to get very public prayer into public schools. But if there are contradictory quotes would that not point to the distinct possibility that flawed humans have handed down a flawed book that is not necessarily the �literal� word of God? I know -- that�s another subject.

Huckabee needs to be the poster child for why political judgment should not be clouded by religious beliefs. As governor of Arkansas, Huckabee at the urging of his minister released a rapist named Wayne DuMond from prison on the grounds that the rapist was sentenced too harshly and had subsequently accepted Jesus and was, therefore, reformed of his criminal tendencies. DuMond�s release stemmed from Huckabee�s personal belief that Jesus can heal anyone. Within 11 months of his release, Dumond molested and killed a mother of three in Missouri.

Prominent Conservative Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, is blogging in support of Huckabee. �I predict that Bible-believing Christians will step over policy differences they have with Mike Huckabee to stand by and support a candidate who is being attacked because he believes, as they do, that their Christian faith should actually impact the way they live.�

Perkins and the obtuse Christian fundamentalists cannot understand that the way they live their lives is not the issue. The ACLU and most thinking Americans support their right to live their personal lives according to their Christian faith. But the rest of us don�t want anyone�s personal faith to interfere with sound public policy.