Editorial Spin and Mitt Romney's Full Court Press
Salt Lake City, Utah - ©2007 - The Deseret Spectacle
Nothing elicits more sympathy in me than religious bullies complaining about being discriminated against. As we've discussed here before, Mitt Romney is fighting a tough battle - to secure the Republican nomination for President, he must garner the support of the evangelical base. But since evangelicals tend to think that Mormons are following a false God, and not really Christian at all, it's a tough battle.
In today's Deseret Morning News there are several articles on Mitt Romney. Here's a sampling:
You consider his religion akin to a cult, despise his stance on gays and the war, but find him appealing? Wow. Hats off to you, Terry Michael. Way to take a stand.
Awwww.. Boo hoo. Naked religious bigotry, unlike naked homosexual bigotry, which is just fine with ya'll. I have a little orgasm every time I see these types of statements come up, because it exposes the "naked" hypocrisy and lunacy which assembles the disparate sects of the Christian right.
So let's see, the discrimination facing each candidate is that one is black, one is a woman, one is a divorced Catholic who had been married to his *ahem* second cousin, and on is a Mormon. Isn't it interesting that Mormonism is considered by this author to be of such distinction that when regarding in terms of discrimination, it ranks up there with sexism, racism and whatever weird second-cousin stigma Giuliani is dealing with?
I don't think that Romney's problem is the perception that he'll be taking orders from the President of the LDS Church, I think Romney's problem is that other Christian sects consider Mormonism to be a cult. So really, it's not like Kennedy at all. The fact is that Mormonism isn't considered to be a Christian church by most Christians, and even worse, is considered to be a "cult" as one of the above writers put it.
That may be true, but it doesn't lessen the issue of Mormonism with the rabid, perpetually outraged evangelical right which are key to winning the Republican Presidential Nomination.
Pfft. In Mitt Romney's wet dreams. To secure the Republican nomination, his religion will very much be a factor - and he and his camp know it. That's why they're doing everything they can to villainize "religious intolerance" for his own purposes and to gain support amongst evangelical leaders in the hopes the flock will follow. He's making an incredible push, but in the end, I still suspect he will come up short.
By the way, an interesting non-mention in this article was John McCain. McCain is busy pandering to every evangelical leader he can get his greasy, two-faced, flip-flopping little mitts on. If he's able to secure the Republican nomination, look for the "independent" and scruples-challenged Lieberman to be his running mate in an attempt to win back middle America which has become increasingly freaked out by the insane ramblings of the evangelical base.
In fact, I'll go ahead and make my prediction for the Republican nomination right now: McCain/Lieberman.
Can't we do both? Why not focus on Romney's religion? Republicans have been trading on the religious faith of their candidates for years? Democrats, to a lesser extent, have been guilty of the same. So now, that we have a candidate which exposes the hypocrisy and division of Christian sects, we're supposed to turn a blind eye? I don't think so, buddy. I say focus on it - bring it out - get every Christian sect on the record of just how they feel about Mormonism. By the way, this isn't a slam against Mormons. I was raised LDS and still have a large number of relatives who are devout Mormons. They are good, decent, people; however, they should know, as well as the rest of the nation, that the more extremist Christian sects consider them to be not Christian at all. Don't focus on it? We should focus on it like a laser.
Fox News ran 24/7 on the theme that John Kerry was a "flip-flopper" for a whole hell of a lot less than Romney or McCain are guilty of. The bottom line is that they're both courting the evangelicals. No more, no less. They know they need them, and they won't let anything like principle stand in their way in their march towards the White House.
DS
Salt Lake City, Utah
Videos . Letters to the Editor . Mormons . Christianity . Evangelicals
Nothing elicits more sympathy in me than religious bullies complaining about being discriminated against. As we've discussed here before, Mitt Romney is fighting a tough battle - to secure the Republican nomination for President, he must garner the support of the evangelical base. But since evangelicals tend to think that Mormons are following a false God, and not really Christian at all, it's a tough battle.
In today's Deseret Morning News there are several articles on Mitt Romney. Here's a sampling:
Romney's appeal makes him politically seductive
By Terry Michael
The Politico
If all that reads like cheap armchair psychoanalysis of the candidates and the voters, go to Mitt TV and see what I mean. I scared myself. I believe the Iraq war is a nearly criminal enterprise. I'm a social-cultural leftie who wants the government out of my bedroom and away from my body. But I was nearly mesmerized by a guy whose religion I consider akin to a cult, whose Iraq war support angers me and whose posturing against gays I find obnoxious.
So, I find it kind of appalling that I find him appealing.
Political seduction is a powerful drug.
You consider his religion akin to a cult, despise his stance on gays and the war, but find him appealing? Wow. Hats off to you, Terry Michael. Way to take a stand.
Take a look in the mirror before confronting bias
By Richard Davis
A poll by Hotline conducted last month found that 39 percent of Americans had an unfavorable view of the LDS religion while only 27 percent had a favorable view. The figure was even higher among Republicans — 48 percent unfavorable. Some of that sentiment probably is due to naked religious bigotry.
Awwww.. Boo hoo. Naked religious bigotry, unlike naked homosexual bigotry, which is just fine with ya'll. I have a little orgasm every time I see these types of statements come up, because it exposes the "naked" hypocrisy and lunacy which assembles the disparate sects of the Christian right.
New prejudice in American politics
By Jerald Podair
Christian Science Monitor
This shift in political culture has permitted the list of leading candidates for the White House in 2008 to include a black of African descent (Barack Obama); a woman (Hillary Clinton); a divorced Catholic whose first wife was his second cousin (Rudy Giuliani); and a practicing Mormon (Mitt Romney).
So let's see, the discrimination facing each candidate is that one is black, one is a woman, one is a divorced Catholic who had been married to his *ahem* second cousin, and on is a Mormon. Isn't it interesting that Mormonism is considered by this author to be of such distinction that when regarding in terms of discrimination, it ranks up there with sexism, racism and whatever weird second-cousin stigma Giuliani is dealing with?
The journalistic flurry over the Mormon faith of Romney is thus misplaced. Romney can dispel concerns about the independence of his political judgments with one well-placed speech reminiscent of Kennedy's address to the ministers of Houston in 1960. What he cannot dispel will be voter perceptions based on matters as trivial as his posture or jawline. Just one word is all it takes.
I don't think that Romney's problem is the perception that he'll be taking orders from the President of the LDS Church, I think Romney's problem is that other Christian sects consider Mormonism to be a cult. So really, it's not like Kennedy at all. The fact is that Mormonism isn't considered to be a Christian church by most Christians, and even worse, is considered to be a "cult" as one of the above writers put it.
Romney is surely aware that the presidential hopes of his father, former Michigan Gov. George Romney, were dashed not by his ties to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but by a single, ill-advised word. Romney was the front-runner for the 1968 Republican presidential nomination when he stated that he had earlier been "brainwashed" into supporting the Vietnam War. He meant that U.S. military officials had been duplicitous regarding the prospects for victory, but no matter. Romney was immediately branded as naive and weak. His candidacy never recovered.
That may be true, but it doesn't lessen the issue of Mormonism with the rabid, perpetually outraged evangelical right which are key to winning the Republican Presidential Nomination.
Mitt Romney's electability now hinges more on his haircut than his religion. I'm not sure we should be celebrating.
Pfft. In Mitt Romney's wet dreams. To secure the Republican nomination, his religion will very much be a factor - and he and his camp know it. That's why they're doing everything they can to villainize "religious intolerance" for his own purposes and to gain support amongst evangelical leaders in the hopes the flock will follow. He's making an incredible push, but in the end, I still suspect he will come up short.
By the way, an interesting non-mention in this article was John McCain. McCain is busy pandering to every evangelical leader he can get his greasy, two-faced, flip-flopping little mitts on. If he's able to secure the Republican nomination, look for the "independent" and scruples-challenged Lieberman to be his running mate in an attempt to win back middle America which has become increasingly freaked out by the insane ramblings of the evangelical base.
In fact, I'll go ahead and make my prediction for the Republican nomination right now: McCain/Lieberman.
Judge Romney on politics — not religion
By Stephen Stromberg
The Washington Post
No one but Romney can know how his beliefs might affect his judgment. Instead of focusing on his faith, it would be much more worthwhile for voters to judge Mitt Romney on his evolving political agenda — as Republicans did when George Romney ran in 1967.
Can't we do both? Why not focus on Romney's religion? Republicans have been trading on the religious faith of their candidates for years? Democrats, to a lesser extent, have been guilty of the same. So now, that we have a candidate which exposes the hypocrisy and division of Christian sects, we're supposed to turn a blind eye? I don't think so, buddy. I say focus on it - bring it out - get every Christian sect on the record of just how they feel about Mormonism. By the way, this isn't a slam against Mormons. I was raised LDS and still have a large number of relatives who are devout Mormons. They are good, decent, people; however, they should know, as well as the rest of the nation, that the more extremist Christian sects consider them to be not Christian at all. Don't focus on it? We should focus on it like a laser.
Romney is a chameleon
By Ruth Marcus
The Washington Post
To give this explanation the credit it doesn't deserve, Romney's rationale boils down to arguing that he didn't really mean his vote; he was just trying to game the political process. Those considering Romney in 2008 have reason to wonder what a politician who admits so freely to that kind of manipulation is willing to do to win their votes.
Fox News ran 24/7 on the theme that John Kerry was a "flip-flopper" for a whole hell of a lot less than Romney or McCain are guilty of. The bottom line is that they're both courting the evangelicals. No more, no less. They know they need them, and they won't let anything like principle stand in their way in their march towards the White House.
DS
Salt Lake City, Utah
Videos . Letters to the Editor . Mormons . Christianity . Evangelicals
Labels: 2008, Barack Obama, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, editorial, Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, Mormonism, opinion, republican nomination, Rudy Giuliani, terry michael
