Throwing the book at Arkansas candidates

By Bud Kennedy

bud@star-telegram.com

Apparently the talk of "legitimate rape" or the U.N. invading Texas was only the beginning.

Nothing in Missouri or Lubbock this campaign can top two candidates from the lofty altitudes of northern Arkansas.

After inviting reporters to plug his book, state House GOP candidate Charlie Fuqua of Batesville no longer takes questions about the page where he calls for stoning little boys to death.

"A child who disrespects his parents must be permanently removed from society in a way that gives an example," Fuqua wrote in God's Law -- The Only Political Solution.

To replace democratically written laws under the U.S. Constitution, Fuqua, 63, prefers the Book of Deuteronomy and verses about how a "stubborn and rebellious son" should be stoned "that he die."

Did I mention that Fuqua used to be a state child welfare lawyer?

Considering that he's trying to sell a book -- it's $2.99 -- Fuqua had an interesting comment.

"All reporters lie all the time," he said, "so I'm not going to give you any statement."

He also calls for executing any prisoner not rehabilitated within two years.

Oh, and he wants all American Muslims expelled. He calls liberals and Muslims "the Antichrist."

I don't think that's from Deuteronomy.

Fuqua came along just in time to distract reporters from state Rep. Jon Hubbard, R-Jonesboro, 65, peddling his own book.

He praises slavery as a "blessing in disguise."

Had African-Americans' ancestors not been held in servitude, he wrote in his 2009 Confessions of a Frustrated Conservative, "would their lives honestly have been better?"

Hubbard, a former Ouachita Baptist University assistant football coach, says the backlash is "liberal bloggers'" fault.

"They've taken small portions of my book out of context to make it appear that I am a racist," he said.

It didn't take much.

Meanwhile, across the Missouri state line, U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin -- the guy who said in August that women can't get pregnant from "legitimate rape" -- now wants to do away with equal pay for women.

"It's taking our freedom away," he told the Springfield News-Leader.

If he loses, there's always Arkansas.

Bud Kennedy's column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 817-390-7538

Twitter: @budkennedy

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