You can't run for Superintendent! You're a Mormon! (Al Sharpton Strikes Again!)

MyManMitt.com ^ | 5/08/07 | Justin Hart

[Reaganesque]

In case you missed it. Al Sharpton threw some more verbal spears (his forte really) -- this time at the Mormons and Mitt Romney.

Now that the initial shock of Al's jab has worn off -- I have to revisit his quote again and try to decipher the logic therein.

There is none.

Here's the offending sentence: "As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation.”

It's almost a throw away insult from Sharpton which makes the insult even worse. With 25 words Sharpton insinuates a boat load of raw bigoted crap:

1) Romney is a Mormon and therefore not a serious candidate. In Al's mind, Romney's denomination is as much a disqualifying characteristic as it is a defining one. The "one Mormon running for office" - he can only bring himself to refer to Romney by his abhorrent faith and not by name. In Al's world, Romney's faith makes him irrelevant. It also layers his bigoted cake with a twinge of removal and flippancy, something Al is adept at using when confronted with, say, Tawana Brawley.

2) Romney is a Mormon and thus disqualified. In Al's mind, no right-thinking Christian could ever vote for the "one Mormon". According to Al, Romney is as much a throw away as his one-liner. No need to worry of course: "those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway." Who is he referring to here? Will McCain and Rudy be hailed as the Mormon-eating Christian warriors for Al? Will Obama defeat Romney next November with Sharpton whistling "Onward Christian Soldiers" as they unlatch the door on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? Why did he need to make this statement in the first place? Is there "worry" out there about the "one Mormon" might actually win this election?

3) Mormons have no place in the American politics. What!? A Jew is on the ship? No worries, those right thinking Christians will toss him overboard. That's offensive... but it's essentially what he said. How about we lower the race a bit... say School Superinendent of Fairfax County, Virginia. Let's do a bit of editing and roll tape... "As for the one Mormon running for [School Superintendent], those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation.” Yikes! That sounds almost as bad as our semitic replacement. Use anything... how about Student Body President, PTA Board member, paper boy... where does it stop? Or... is it only for important jobs.

4) Real believers in God will rise up and defeat all non-believers in God. The subsequent deed following the cry of "Allah Ho Akbar!" is thankfully absent from Al's quick diatribe... but the sentiment is striking similar. Al - Let's leave the religious political poisonous infighting to the Shiia and Sunii. There's no place for it here. You see Mormons don't really believe in God. Al may question (indeed many of my readers may question) the God I believe in but don't tell me I don't believe in God. And don't tell me that someone who doesn't even believe in God can't participate in American politics. And what does "temporary situation" really mean? I can picture Marlon Brando, cotton balls in mouth, reciting that quick diddy... but I expect more from a supposed religious leader.

Perhaps I'm missing the context. Here's the quote again in the context of the NY Times writer:

Noting that Dr. King had established the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, he said, “There’s no question that he himself saw that the basis of the movement was God-based.” He added, “To try and secularize the civil-rights movement is just totally inaccurate. It was a church-based, faith-based movement; there’s just no question about that. … Let’s not reinvent Dr. King any more than we try to reduce God to some denomination or convention.”

But Mr. Sharpton, in a jab at Mitt Romney (and the Mormon religion, which Mr. Hitchens had criticized because it once endorsed racial segregation), added, “As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation.”

Well, that didn't help his case any. So Sharpton declares that Dr. King's movement was a faith-based movement, a God-based movement. But apparently, Al's interpretation of the movement has no room for Mormons even though Mormons made room for him 30 years ago.

This exclusionary faith-based mantra would come as a surprise to my 9th Great Grandfather, Jean Pierre Bondurant, a devout Huguenot, who fled to America from France in 1700 to avoid persecution and help found the area of Manakin, Virginia.

This is upsetting on so many levels. I guess I shouldn't be shocked. Al Sharpton has a history of this type of divisive nonsense.

One last word... watch out Harry Reid, Al is coming after you with his legions of true God-fearing challengers. They will defeat you... and all of us if we don't call Al on his bigoted comment.

Click here for audio of Sharpton's comment.

[Reaganesque]

So, after driving Don Imus from the air, Mr. Sharpton has his own "nappy-headed" moment.

Hugh Hewitt had this to say:

I noted Al Sharpton's disgusting sidetrip into religious bigotry from last night below, but have since been thinking about how he and others pursued --rightly-- Don Imus for the shock jock's vulgar and bigoted comments on the Rutgers women hoopsters.

Will Sharpton now receive the same sort of scrutiny for the same sort of "aside," one that was aimed at the nearly six million American Mormons? Will MSM rush over to Harry Reid's office to get a reaction? Will Sharpton see his speaking engagements dry up and editorial condemnation flow down on him as it did --rightly-- on Imus?

I argue on a recent Stand To Reason radio broadcast that the American ear has been trained to hear and the American mind trained to condemn racial bigotry, and that that was a very good thing for a civil society to learn.

We have also been trained to hear and condemn anti-Semitism and, to a lesser extent, anti-Catholic bigotry. Again, very good things.

We are in the process of learning to distinguish between anti-Muslim rants and anti-jiahdist commentary, and to rebuke the former and welcome the latter as any pluralistic society must.

But we are largely untrained in detecting anti-Mormon slurs like Sharpton's, even though they are interchangeable with all other ethnic, racial, or religious slurs. See if Sharpton's bigotry draws any condemnation from within MSM, or any scrutiny at all.

[Reaganesque]

Mitt Ping. Sharpton has always been a class act.

[rwgal]

Al?..Hey Al? Open your mouth a little bigger so you can fit in your fat, well you know what in there...

Meadow Muffin

[Mike Bates]

Sharpton has always been a class act.

With a capital "a."

[WOSG]

Easy to deflect this.

Have someone publicly ask Al Sharpton if someone of Harry Reid’s religion is suitable as senate majority leader.

[don-o]

Al?..Hey Al? Open your mouth a little bigger so you can fit in your fat, well you know what in there...

[new yorker 77]

“Mormons are going to hell. I’m voting for Hillary by staying home.” Thus says the useful idiot that pretends to be a Christian.

[o-n-money]

He said that so easily. Reminded me of Don Imus in his prime.

[George W. Bush]

Just a sample of what rank and file Mormons had better get prepared for if Mitt gets the nomination.

However profound my theological differences with Mormonism, I have no expectation, none, zero, zilch, of ever meeting a shameless two-bit race-hustler like Sharpton in heaven.

Sharpton should be careful though. This kind of attack might actually be helpful to Romney by forcing evangelicals if they really buy into this "No Mormons need apply" idea. Certainly, there is some sentiment along these lines among the orthodox Christian denominations but this kind of raw bigotry quite often provokes an opposite reaction than intended.

Given that I consider Sharpton to be a Hillary-purchased asset at this point, these kind of bigoted statements are exactly what I'd expect. They are also consistent with the persistent rumors that the Xlinton camp is most afraid of running against Romney.

[Jaysun]

It isn’t the popular or PC thing to admit, but Sharpton’s views on the matter wouldn’t raise eyebrows in most Evangelical Christian churches. A lot of people see Mormonism as weird, bizarre, or even “cult-like”. Pat Robertson discusses Mormons on his website, for example, and says this of them: “In summary, the Mormon church is a prosperous, growing organization that has produced many people of exemplary character. But when it comes to spiritual matters, the Mormons are far from the truth.”

Flame me if you’d like. I’m simply pointing out that a good number of Christians see Mormons as “weird” and Romney’s chances probably will be hurt by that.

[Reaganesque]

I have a caption for that picture but, upon further review, I think I’d better not say anything...

[George W. Bush]

We are in the process of learning to distinguish between anti-Muslim rants and anti-jiahdist commentary, and to rebuke the former and welcome the latter as any pluralistic society must.

Speak for yourself. I do not welcome any totalitarian religion fundamentally opposed to the entire Western tradition into this country. The record of Muslim rule is, without exception, one of degradation and opposition to human rights. They are backward medieval societies. Nothing we can do can improve them. The flaw is fundamental to the false and evil religion they embrace.

Deport all devout Muslims.

[Reaganesque]

Being LDS myself, I am quite familiar with this sentiment. Despite what Mr. Robertson has said about Mormonism, he still invited Mitt to address this year’s graduating class at Robertson’s Regent University. He also gave Mitt a very warm intro. It’s not what makes us different that’s important but the beliefs that we share and if Pat Robertson, by inviting Mitt to commencement at his school, can embrace that idea, hopefully others can to.

[sgtbono2002]

I dont have anything against Mormons, I would much rather vote for a Mormon than an ex Muslim.

[restornu]

What a phony Sharpton was all lovey dovey with Glenn Beck on his and had Glenn march in protest agains rap lyrics!

And he knows Glenn is LDS that day Al was on Beck’s show wtih Rev. Anne Graham

[don-o]

I’ll tell you what. I took my first look at Mitt in the debate and I am very impressed with what I saw.

[restornu]

When he gets that look in his eyes it like a different person there!

[TAdams8591]

"In Al's mind, no right-thinking Christian could ever vote for the "one Mormon"."

This right thinking Christian most certainly will.

Al is just pitiful. What a piece of work.

[lonevoice]

So, Sharpton is saying that the Democratic party is the big tent party of inclusion with plenty of room for Muslim Keith Ellison, Mormon Harry Reid, or Jewish Joe Lieberman; but the Republican party is for Christian evangelicals only?

[MHGinTN]

You think the DNC wouldn’t sacrifice Harry to get rid of Hatch and win the White House by trashing the image of Mormonism?