Posted on 01/23/2007 5:52:17 PM PST by NotchJohnson
For Republicans, Mitt Romney’s an attractive candidate. He has a good track record as head of the Salt Lake City Olympics and governor of Massachusetts. And, thanks to a convenient, pre-presidential conversion, he’s now anti-choice, anti-gay rights and anti-gun control. There’s only one problem: He’s a practicing Mormon.
Should Romney’s religion be an issue in politics 2008? It already is. Indeed, given the basic tenets of Mormonism, there’s no way Romney could escape it.
Most of us only know Mormons from two experiences: either having zealous young missionaries knock on our door; or watching HBO’s hit TV show “Big Love” (under political pressure, Mormons officially rejected the practice of polygamy in 1890). But few of us know what they really believe. Here’s my brief, unofficial synopsis:
The Mormon Church is an all-American creation, founded by a man who taught that all Christian doctrine developed after the crucifixion of Jesus was a whopping lie. Mormons believe the angel Moroni first appeared to founder Joseph Smith in 1823 and directed him to a set of gold tablets, buried on a hillside near Palmyra, N.Y. Wearing a pair of magic glasses, given to him by Moroni, Smith translated those tablets, originally written in Egyptian hieroglyphics, into what became The Book of Mormon. He founded the church in 1830.
According to the Mormon Bible, American Indians descended from an ancient Hebrew tribe, the Garden of Eden was located in Jackson County, Mo., Jesus came to North America shortly after his resurrection, and it’s only a matter of time before he returns to America (hence the name Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). Meanwhile, God speaks directly to each Mormon prophet, and the president of the church is accepted as the contemporary mouthpiece of Jesus.
It’s no surprise, then, that, both in print and on the talk shows, the debate about the significance of Romney’s Mormon faith is already underway. Several prominent evangelicals have said they could never vote for a Mormon.
In a recent cover story for The New Republic, Damon Linker challenges: “ Romney . . . needs to convince voters that they have nothing to fear from his Mormonism while simultaneously placing that faith at the core of his identity and his quest for the White House.”
Writing for Slate.com, Jacob Weisberg says there’s nothing wrong with refusing to vote for a believing Mormon: “Objecting to someone because of his religious beliefs is not the same thing as prejudice based on religious heritage, race or gender.”
In the Los Angeles Times, Tim Rutten says they’re both wrong. Romney’s record is fair game, argues Rutten, but his private religious conscience is not.
Holy smoke! What to believe? Is it fair to make Romney’s faith be an issue in the race for president? Absolutely. But only in one sense. Not on the basis of his religious beliefs. The First Amendment, after all, gives every American the right to believe, or not believe, anything he or she wants. And for those who think finding divine gold tablets buried in a New York hillside defies serious belief . . . have you heard about the virgin birth? Or the miracle of loaves and fishes? Or raising Lazarus from the dead?
No, the only religious question fairly posed to Mitt Romney is the same one posed to Catholic candidate John F. Kennedy, back in 1960: Where does your loyalty lie? Since Catholics believe in the infallibility of the Pope, many Protestants were concerned about potential conflicts between what the Constitution demanded of a future-President Kennedy and what the Pope might tell him. In his famous meeting with the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, Kennedy said he believed in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute: “I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me.”
It’s important that Romney make a similar Kennedyesque statement. The sooner, the better. Once he does, any further probing into his religious faith is out of bounds — for reporters and political opponents.
In the end, Mitt Romney should be treated like any other candidate for president. His fitness for office should be judged on where he stands on the war in Iraq, health care, the environment, education and other major issues facing the nation — and not on what nonsense he happens to believe in the name of God.
Why not. I voted twice for a snake handler!
No Thanks, I'll vote for a true RED blooded American!
I give this post four or five steps before someone slams me on this and commences an attack on the Mormon/Christian relationship.
As I said, some people have way too much time, and way too much religious animosity to accept Mormons as Christians, regardless of the conservative values that Mormons espouse.
MORMONS ARE CHRISTIANS.
MORMONS ARE A CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIAN'S BEST FRIEND.
Why would you say that?
MORMONS ARE MORONS MOSTLY
I would vote for a three-headed chicken if I thought he/she/it would be a good President.
I'd vote for a black, a white, a latino. I'd vote for a Christian, a Catholic, a Baptist, a Mormon, a Quaker. A Republican, a Democrat, a man, a woman.
I would not vote for a Muslim.
Is it bigoted to not vote for someone because you believe that the core of thier belief system is based on killing or converting me?
I don't think the usual suspects have started drinking yet tonight. You might have to wait a while for that. :)
Sure, I'd vote for a Mormon, if he/she was a good, solid conservative strong on national security.
Know one?
What a bigoted 'tard rant.
Mormons are Christians.
From the number of Mormons who have tried to convert me, I find that hard to believe.
"In the end, Mitt Romney should be treated like any other candidate for president ... His fitness for office ..." I'll drink to that! Now, lets discuss his fitness.
I don't have a problem with Mormons calling themselves Christians too.
I do have a problem when they get in a snit if you call Warren Jeffs and his band of many wives Mormons too.
They believe and worship with the Book Of Mormon. Yet the main church in Utah tries to tell us that they are not mormons. The nerve.
The Mormon church started with a lie and continues the lie to this day. Namely, " the Gold Tablets" , Smith is supposed to have found. In Utah the church claims the tablets are locked in a vault. The only person to have seen those gold tablets was , Joe Smith himself. Martin Harris took dictation behind
a sheet while Ol' Joe paced the floor behind it "interpreting" them. The first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon are missing. My feeling is Harris went home and told his wife he was fronting $ 5.000.00 to print the book and she got mad and tossed the pages of dictation in the fire. All but 116 pages was recovered. You might say, " well, what's the big deal"? "Just re-dictate the missing pages.
Smith was too foxy for that. Suppose the missing pages still existed and could be compared the new dictation? Smith was flying by the seat of his horny pants in the first place and no way could duplicate the missing pages.
Until the church comes clean I have no respect for this religion.
I'd really like to have the names of those mysterious "several prominent evangelicals" who will never vote for a Mormon.
Somehow no one can come up with a name.
I'm old enough to have vivid memories of those times. What we didn't get --in retrospect, and we needed it then-- was a truthful picture of his moral fitness. I don't think that question will be a negative with Romney, thankfully.
"From the number of Mormons who have tried to convert me, I find that hard to believe."
LOL. You're just not the right kind of "christian."
:)
Mr. Romney explained it all quite well recently when he commented that every religion has some strange events which are difficult to believe or words to that effect.
It is disgusting to bring religion into every damn thread around these days.
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