Posted on 12/17/2005 8:39:05 AM PST by Mr. Blonde
HE MADE millions as a businessman, saved the scandal-plagued 2002 Winter Olympics, appeals to social conservatives, is liked by moderates, boasts chiselled good looks and has been a successful Republican governor in one of America’s most liberal states. In Mitt Romney, the Massachusetts Governor who all but threw his hat into the 2008 presidential race yesterday, Republicans have the almost perfect candidate. Except for one potential problem: Mr Romney is a Mormon.
After announcing that he would not be seeking a second term as Massachusetts governor, a widely anticipated move that clears the way for a 2008 White House bid, Mr Romney implicitly posed a fascinating political question: can a Mormon win enough votes to become President of the United States?
Mr Romney, whom analysts on both sides of the political divide say will be a serious contender in 2008, was elected governor of Massachusetts — one of the bluest of Democrat blue states — as a social moderate. In the past year, however, he has changed his stance on social issues important to religious conservatives, the base of the Republican Party that wields enormous influence in the Republican primary race. Mr Romney once said that abortion should be “safe and legal”, but now opposes it. He denounced the decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Court to legalise gay marriage. Calling himself a “red speck in a blue state”, he has emphasised socially conservative positions on the death penalty, stem-cell research and birth control.
But Manuel Miranda, head of the Third Branch Conference, an alliance of conservative groups, said that many evangelicals view Mormonism — the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints — as a cult. Mr Miranda said that in 2000 he worked for Orrin Hatch, the Utah senator and a Mormon, during his unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination. “Hatch had a poll done. He found that over 60 per cent of Americans would not vote for a Mormon.”
Richard Cizik, of the National Association of Evangelicals, said that Mormons were not Christians, and that profound doctrinal divisions would shape reactions to Mr Romney as a candidate for the White House. The view among evangelicals might change if Mr Romney’s main opponent is Rudy Giuliani, the former New York Mayor, who is socially moderate and supports abortion.
Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster, believes that Mr Romney’s religion will not be a significant issue. His biggest problem, Mr Luntz said, is that he comes from Massachusetts. Although he balanced the state’s budget, lowered taxes and improved education, “the last time Massachusetts produced a Republican candidate was never”.
Mr Romney may also face the charge of being a “flip-flopper” — an accusation that did so much damage to the last presidential candidate from Massachusetts with impossibly thick hair: John Kerry.
The last president to come from Massachusetts was John Kennedy, who successfully overcame concerns about being the first Roman Catholic in the White House.
Mr Romney can also take encouragement from the experience of his Mormon father, George Romney, who was Governor of Michigan. His 1968 presidential bid imploded after he said that he had been “brainwashed” into supporting the Vietnam War. “But until then,” Steve Hess, of the Brookings Institution, said, “there was no question he could have been elected.”
In terms of the importance placed on family and acceptance of personal responsibility, they out-Christian the Evangelicals.
Here is an excellent cult checklist.
Very. Polytheistic, different view of who Christ is, 3 levels of heaven, marriage for eternity.
Haven't they moved away from the questionable parts of their doctrine?
No.
But it wouldn't affect my vote. I wouldn't vote for Romney because he is liberal - the same reason I wouldn't vote for Harry Reid.
Had a cousin who dated a Mormon girl until it got to the magical underpants part. One of those stories families cherish around beers at the holidays.
Just picture a full grown RINO stomping around inside the Mormon Temple and then the White House. Not a pretty sight.
A cult tends to isolate its members from the rest of the world.
I can't. I refer to the process as having principles.
Anyone with the screen name "Goldwater" who says being a president who is Jewish would cause problems needs to be taken to the GOP woodshed (after Buchanan et al.) or checked out for troll credentials.
I could not vote for someone who ever held that position.. Even it it were just for five minutes. It's an indication that he could drift into another radically Leftist position again in the future.
Heck, that cult checklist would cover not only Mormonism, but pretty much all of evangelical Christianity, too.
Something about judging the heart, and not by appearances . . .
We all, and especially some Evangelicals, may be surprised about how everything finally shakes out.
;o)
Sorry but I can't agree with you there. It's true that the Constitution forbids the government from establishing a religious test. But individuals are entirely free to vote on any basis they want, certainly including the religion of the candidate.
People make the same mistake when it comes to the presumption of innocence. That applies to the judicial system. It surely doesn't apply to individuals.
For example, if Joseph Smith, the guy recently convicted of Carlie Brucia, and whose abduction of her was caught on tape, came and applied for a daycare job with you, would you be violating the spirit of the Constitution by failing to apply the presumption of innocence? Of course not. Same thing as to religious tests.
You said it. I didn't. ;-)
Maybe a cult is like pornography - you know it when you see it. But you could take that same checklist and find that it applies to mainstream religions too.
I am making this provactive statement right now for the following reason. There has been a deafening silence from the media on both sides of the political spectrum on what in my judgement is one of the biggest stories of the year.
The recent elections in Venezuela have been declared unfair by all of the organizations that were there to monitor it. It was declared unfair because the voting procedures virtually invited voter fraud and intimidation by the government. These same procedures were in place in the disputed recall election that spawned the completion of the Chavez takeover of the Venezuelan Republic. That election was validated by Jimma Carter before the ballots were even counted.
So it has now been established that the actions of Jimma Carter, either wittingly or dimwittingly, were central to the Communist takeover of Venezuela by Chavez.
Where is the coverage of this story? Anyone seen it on Fox News or heard it discussed on talk radio? ... Oh, I forgot, Sean Hannity was too busy kissing Brian William's behind to cover this topic. My mistake.
It is well beyond time to expose Carter for the aging Stalinst loving fool that he is.
Evangelical Christians, in particular, would be highly skeptical of a Morman.
There's an interesting article I found that explores the religious aspect.Mitt's Mormon Problem
On the bright side, Mitt would fare better than a muslim.
You mean, like monasteries? I mean that not as a slight to the RC church, but as a demonstration of the point that cults are basically in the eye of the beholder.
Handy reference guide for looking at multilevel marketing (MLM) a.k.a. network marketing companies too, such as Amway, Mary Kay, Primerica, etc.
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