Huckabee Still a No-Show on Meeting with Ryan White’s Mother
January 8th, 2008
Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) has yet to meet with Jeanne White-Ginder, the mother of Ryan White and AIDS Institute board member, after the Republican presidential candidate stood by his 1992 assertion that people living with HIV and AIDS should have been “isolated.�
In December, the Human Rights Campaign and The AIDS Institute sent letters to the Huckabee Campaign that condemned his remarks and requested that Gov. Huckabee meet with White-Ginder to discuss his views on HIV/AIDS. In a December 10 letter, they wrote:
Governor Huckabee, the Ryan White family was ridiculed, shunned and ostracized by people who thought the answer was to “isolate� them far away from the rest of society. In 1984, this belief was purely based on ignorance. But these same beliefs, which you espoused in 1992 and have refused to recant today, as a candidate for President of the United States, are completely beyond comprehension.
Facing questions from reporters on the topic while campaigning in Iowa in December, Gov. Huckabee told the AP, “I would be very willing to meet with them.� Huckabee himself later called White-Ginder and confirmed that he would meet with her.
Well, so far, that hasn’t happened. And after a month of stalling, the two groups are wondering exactly when Huckabee plans to keep his pledge and meet with White-Ginder:
“Governor Huckabee gave Ryan White’s Mother his word that he would meet face-to-face but since that phone call the Huckabee campaign has refused to return any calls. Is Governor Huckabee a man of his word or is this just more typical political double-speak?� said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “It has been 29 days, Jeanne White-Ginder and the HIV/AIDS advocacy community continues to wait.�
“We are still waiting for the meeting,� said A. Gene Copello, Executive Director of The AIDS Institute. “It is our sincere hope that Governor Huckabee will keep his word given to Jeanne White-Ginder that he will meet with her.�
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