Posted on 10/11/2007 2:00:29 PM PDT by Spiff
To: Conservative & Evangelical Leaders
In about 100 days we will likely have a Republican nominee for president. Most political observers believe it a near certainty that this nominee will face Hillary Clinton in the general election. While most people think this election cycle started too early, I’m finding that few people realize the primaries are almost upon us—and how compacted the primary calendar is. Within about 30 days after the last college football bowl game is played, primaries (and an all-important caucus) will be held in Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Michigan, South Carolina, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah and West Virginia! (At least a dozen of these will fall on the same day—February 5, 2008.) As certain as it seems that Hillary will represent the Democratic Party, it now appears the GOP representative will be either Mayor Rudy Giuliani or Governor Mitt Romney (based on polls in early states, money raised and on hand, staff and organization, etc.). And, if it is not Mitt Romney, we would, for the first time in my memory, be faced with a general election contest between two “pro-choice” candidates. I decided over a year ago to help Mitt Romney; and while I have not been (and will not be) paid one dollar, I have worked harder on behalf of a candidate this past year than in any election of my lifetime. Why? In large part because the next president is almost certain to appoint two-to-four Supreme Court justices. When I began surveying the landscape of potential candidates I was looking for three things:
2. Someone who has proven experience and competence to lead and manage large enterprises; 3. Someone who can actually win the nomination (without which it is obviously impossible to challenge or beat Hillary Clinton, or any other democrat—people who certainly don’t share our values).
The President of the United States is the CEO of the largest enterprise on planet earth, presiding over a nearly $3 trillion budget and some 2 million employees (the size of the workforces of General Motors, General Electric, Citigroup, Ford, Hewlett-Packard and AT&T combined). Mitt Romney has already been the chief executive of one of the most successful investment management firms in the world—Bain Capital, with nearly $6 billion under management; a Winter Olympic Games (Salt Lake City, 2002), where he turned a $379 million operating deficit into one of the most profitable Games ever; and the state of Massachusetts, where he eliminated a $3 billion deficit without raising taxes or borrowing money. That kind of experience convinces me Mitt Romney could lead, manage and govern America during a critical time in world history. But can he actually win (my third criterion)? After he was the runaway winner of the important Iowa straw poll in August, TIME magazine’s political columnist Joe Klein wrote, “Romney now has to be considered a strong favorite to win the Republican nomination. And another prediction: if nominated, Romney will be formidable in the general election.” Like it or not (and most of us don’t), these campaigns have become obscenely expensive. It has been estimated that the two party nominees may well spend in excess of $100 million in the primaries, and several times that in the general election. One insider told me Hillary may spend half a billion dollars before it’s over! This means a successful candidate must be able to come up with this kind of money. Through the first three quarterly reporting periods, Republican candidates reported total revenues as follows:
These numbers are important for many reasons. It takes money to hire staff, recruit volunteers, send out mailings, travel the country, organize events (Mitt told me recently he had done 462 events just in Iowa so far!) and to buy TV commercial time. CNN recently reported that Romney just became the first candidate in history to buy 10,000 TV commercials at this point in the presidential campaign (by comparison, John McCain was purchasing his first commercials the same weekend).
Gov. Romney is also leading by 4%-11% or more in polls in a number of early states, such as Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, Nevada—and one recent poll now shows him leading in South Carolina. Historically, a candidate who wins the Iowa caucuses and several of the early primaries benefits from a tremendous amount of national exposure and fundraising momentum.
As this race heats up and we approach the final stretch of the nominating process, I have three growing concerns:
2. Talk of a possible third party candidate draft movement only helps Giuliani (or, worse yet, Clinton), in my view. While I wholeheartedly agree with Dr. James Dobson that not having a pro-life nominee of either major party presents an unacceptable predicament, I would rather work hard to ensure we do nominate a pro-life candidate than to launch an 11th-hour third party campaign. Mike Huckabee affirmed this concern when he told the Washington Post last week, “I think a third party only helps elect Hillary Clinton.” 3. Perhaps most troubling to me is the idea I keep hearing that electing someone like Hillary Clinton would “actually be good for the conservative movement,” since it will “galvanize our forces, enable us to build our mailing lists and raise more money…therefore, I’m not going to vote for anyone this time around.” Well, I am not willing to risk negatively changing the Supreme Court, and our entire judicial system, for the next 30 years in exchange for building our conservative mailing lists and operating budgets for the next four or eight years. That, in my opinion, is selfish, short-sighted and dangerous.
Here is what I believe is at stake in this election:
[By the way, I am also troubled by skeptical sentiment in some corners about the legitimacy and sincerity of Gov. Romney’s “conversion” on the abortion issue. I always thought the pro-life movement existed for the purpose of influencing hearts and mind on the issue of life, and historically, we have celebrated converts to our side. We embraced Ronald Reagan (who signed a liberal abortion law as governor of California), Norma McCorvey (“Jane Roe”), and others—and I am prepared to accept and embrace Mitt Romney. I’ve also told him he will be held accountable on this if elected.] Now, I fully recognize some evangelicals take issue with me for supporting a Mormon for the office of president, and I respect their concerns. Indeed, I had to deal with the same concerns in my own heart before offering to help Gov. Romney. But I concluded that I am more concerned that a candidate shares my values than he shares my theology. (If I believed similar theology was paramount in a president, I would be writing this memo urging support of Mike Huckabee.)
As a Southern Baptist evangelical and political conservative, I am convinced I have more in common with most Mormons than I do with a liberal Southern Baptist, Methodist, Roman Catholic or a liberal from any other denomination or faith group. The question shouldn’t be, “could I vote for a Mormon,” but, “could I vote for this Mormon?” After all, Mitt told me there are Mormons he couldn’t vote for (I presume Harry Reid, for example); and there are Southern Baptists I couldn’t vote for (Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, to name a few).
Incidentally, if one-third of “white evangelicals” voted for Bill Clinton, the second time (a Southern Baptist who doesn’t share our values on most issues); can we not at least consider supporting a Mormon who does share our values? Noted conservative columnist Robert Novak wrote this month that Mitt Romney is “the only Republican candidate unequivocally opposed to gay marriage and the only one who signed the no tax increase pledge.” On May 17, my friend of nearly 30 years, Jerry Falwell, went to Heaven. In addition to being my first employer and like a second father following the death of my father in 1979, Jerry was my political mentor in many ways. I learned from him, some 25 years ago, the value of working closely with people of other faiths and religions who shared our convictions about the sanctity of life, support for the state of Israel, the sacredness of marriage and the importance of the family unit, the dangers of pornography, and the value of God in public life. Consequently, the Moral Majority (and many subsequent organizations) was built with coalitions of evangelicals and likeminded Roman Catholics, Jews and yes, Mormons.
Just about six months before his death, Jerry accepted my invitation to a meeting with Gov. Romney at his home outside Boston. He joined me, and about 15 other evangelicals, for an intimate discussion with the Governor and his wife Ann. Jerry was one of several that day who said, “Governor, I don’t have a problem with your being Mormon, but I want to ask you how you would deal with Islamic jihadists…or with illegal immigration…or how you would choose justices for the Supreme Court…,” and so on.
While Jerry Falwell never told me how he intended to vote in the upcoming election, I think I know how he would not have voted. I also know he would not have “sat this one out” and given up on the Supreme Court for a generation. I am wholeheartedly convinced that Mitt Romney can be trusted to uphold the values and principles most important to me as a political conservative and an evangelical Christian. Again, I am not being paid, and I am not interested in a job in a Romney Administration (I would not accept one even if offered, as I’m still raising three teenagers). Neither is my public relations firm involved in any way. I am involved because I believe the stakes are high, perhaps higher than ever before in my life. In closing, I would respectfully urge fellow conservatives and evangelicals to consider doing the following:
2. Follow the news and the primary calendar; being familiar with the process and aware of the urgency of the schedule. 3. Encourage people to vote and not “sit this one out,” merely because they aren’t excited about a candidate. 4. Encourage people to support the candidate who best represents their values; whether or not they share your theology. 5. Galvanize support around Mitt Romney, so Rudy Giuliani isn’t the unintended beneficiary of our divided support among several other candidates—or, worse yet, so we don’t abdicate the presidency (and the future of the Supreme Court) over to Hillary Clinton.
/rmd
From: Mark DeMoss (Personally)
Date: October 9, 2007
Subject: The 2008 Presidential Election 1. Someone who most closely shared my values;
So how did I settle on Mitt Romney? After spending months researching his life and his record, and hours with him (and his wife and staff) in his home, his office and on the road, I am convinced his values practically mirror my own—values about the sanctity of life, the sacredness of marriage, the importance of the family, character and integrity, free enterprise and smaller government. But more than one candidate shares my values; which leads me to my second criterion.
1. Currently, conservatives (whether evangelical or not) are dividing their support among several candidates. In the long run, this only helps Rudy Giuliani, who clearly does not share our values on so many issues.
1. Pray fervently for this election.
I believe we can make a difference—the difference in this election—and if Mitt Romney should become the 44th president of the United States, I’m confident he won’t forget how he got there. I hope you’ll join me. Thank you for your consideration of these things.
Did you read Mitt's book of speeches, essays, op-eds and personal letters? No? Me neither. Wonder why?
“I don’t know if you’re unintentionally ignorant about the actual beliefs of Mormons, or if you’ve been terribly mislead, or if you’re just telling a pack of lies. What I do know is that nothing you’ve posted above is accurate about the actual beliefs of Mormons.”
Nothing???? Yeah sure Spiff, I just make it all up, just like Joseph Smith did. I see everything through my Urim and Thumim, so you ought to believe everything I say.
But seriously folks, DON’T believe me. Just see for yourself which Christian church has NO crosses, NEEDS celestial polygamy in order to populate all the planets, and has it’s revelations based on a guy looking into his hat through seer stones.. See which church gets incredibly upset when you point out their Prophet/patriarch was a bank fraud/tinpot general/ secessionist. DON’T believe me, do your own work and then imagine having a president who has to defend his choice of underwear for eight years.
~”...which Christian church has NO crosses...”~
True. We prefer to focus on the RISEN Lord, not the cross.
~”...NEEDS celestial polygamy in order to populate all the planets...”~
False, and you know it. Which makes it a lie.
~”...has it’s revelations based on a guy looking into his hat through seer stones...”~
False, and you know it. Which makes it a lie.
Hey, two out of three ain’t bad.
This guy, Mark Demoss, is a PR group president. He can go jump in a lake as far as I’m concerned. I’ve never heard of him and I suspect as the head of a PR group that he ultimately might be looking for money.
Please.
You said he and his family were ‘impeccable’.
Since the office of the President makes the holder Commander in Chief of the armed forces, it would of been better if Mitt had served, or even in his family. They have not. That is not perfect. That is fact.
Lastly, ‘abandon’? ( chuckle ) Who died and made you the boss?
What you don't apparently get...is millions of Christians will NOT vote for a mormon..period. As the previous poster suggested.
Like it or not the history/founder of mormonism is EXTREMELY suspect....and fraudulent in the eyes of millions of Christians.
Why you/mormon's don't see that is a mystery actually.....
No one is attempting to mislead you Spiff..nor is it ignorant to make that statement...It's in fact, very factual. How Mr. Romney deals with that well be extremely interesting.
“I become more convinced daily that your group is a small one. I think Romney’s impeccable family values, for example, will more than make up for any loss he might incur at the ballot box because of his religion.”
I think we are at least 5% and as much as 10% of evangelicals, both Republican and crossover Democrat. Consequently, kiss the general election goodbye.
By the way, I am not a Good Works Republican, else I would vote for a guy from the Salvation Army (Reagan wouldn’t have made that cut). And I’m not a Business Mogul Republican, else I’d vote for Bill Gates, or Warren Buffet, or my local favorite Sheldon Adelson (by the way, Warren and Bill have a bigger philanthropy than Mitt ever will). So the usual arguments for your demigod don’t hold any water. I’m for someone who believes in the Republican platform from his heart and has shown this to be true. Thompson might work in a pinch, Hunter certainly would. Ixnay Mittay Giulanisay.
~”You said he and his family were ‘impeccable’.”~
Uh, no. The phrase I used was “Romney’s impeccable family values.” You even quoted it right before you misrepresented it. Reading comprehension problem?
Try understanding the meaning of words before you debate them. You’ll get a lot further.
Anybody that supports gay scoutmasters will never get my vote.
He says in his letter that he is not paid. However, when you run a PR firm and carry water for a guy worth 500 million dollars . . . I think you will eventually get paid for your time . . .
Cynical I know but I think this is business for him.
~”This guy, Mark Demoss, is a PR group president. He can go jump in a lake as far as I’m concerned. I’ve never heard of him and I suspect as the head of a PR group that he ultimately might be looking for money.”~
He might be looking for money, I don’t know. Evidently, though, he’s well-known amongst religous-based activist groups such as Moral Majority and Focus on the Family. Since his letter was addressed to them, and will likely hold some degree of sway, it remains relevant despite the fact that you’ve never heard of him before.
“Frankly, given Thompson’s lackluster entry and low resources,”
If early resources were the be all and end all, Phil Graham would be president. Self funded politicians also tend to overreach, I’ve seen it multiple times in local elections and it has happened at higher levels. People don’t like people who try and buy an election. That’s one reason Hillary has a hard row to hoe in the general.
~”People don’t like people who try and buy an election.”~
I suspect you’re right, which makes Romney’s self-funding very risky.
~”That’s one reason Hillary has a hard row to hoe in the general.”~
How do you mean? She isn’t self-funding to a significant degree. (I don’t think she would if she could.)
Romney is not on my hit list.
The list is short. There are two names on it: Giuliani, McCain.
The best candidate in the race is Duncan Hunter.
That Mitt didn’t serve, and wants to be Commander in Chief is a fault. It lays with him. It is going to be hard for him to ask for sacrifices, when he and his haven’t and don’t. I hardly find that perfect, without fault. That is the definition of your over ventilated choice of ‘impeccable’. I have less respect that with 5 sons, that not one, in any capacity, has seen that it is nobel in this time to serve the nation. This lack of value reflects upon them and Mr. and Mrs Romney. Now, tell me that is not so?
People liked Jack Kennedy, but then he was young, handsome, witty and a bit dangerous, somewhat of a hero and with a knock out wife.
Anyway, on topic. People who buy in are in general thin. They don't have widespread support. There is little word of mouth endorsement. Buying in seems fake, plastic, thin gruel, managed, packaged, slick. That is Mitts problem. He is working off of his business success. I think he knows this. That he loses with exposure, hence his strategic campaign to win early and suffocate candidates and present to Republicans a fait accomplie.
You have now twice purposefully misrepresented my words.
I have nothing more to learn from you. Best regards.
I grew up in north-central Oklahoma.
Raised in a solid (mainstream) Church of Christ environment.
Graduated from a Church of Christ-affiliated college.
And I’m totally open to having Mitt on the Republic ticket, either as
Pres or VP candidate.
Even if Mormonism AIN’T my theological cup of tea.
But then I suppose my admiration of John Moses Browning (Mormon),
“America’s Gunsmith”, might have colored my opinion!!!
The Romney For President National Faith And Values Steering Committee Chairs:
- Dr. Robert Andringa, President Emeritus, Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, Arizona
- James Bopp, Jr., Romney For President Special Adviser on Life Issues, Indiana
- Barbara Comstock, Former Department of Justice Spokesperson and former Susan B. Anthony List Advisory Committee Member, Virginia
- Mark DeMoss, President, DeMoss Group Public Relations, Georgia
- Ovide Lamontagne, New Hampshire
- Chris Long, Chief Operation Officer, Foster Friess & Associates, Delaware
- Gary Marx, Executive Director of the Judicial Confirmation Network, Former Executive Director of the Virginia Christian Coalition, Bush-Cheney '04 Conservative Coalitions Director, Virginia
- George Seay, Co-Founder and CEO, Annandale Capital; Co-Founder and Chairman, Legacy, Texas
- Jay Sekulow, Constitutional Attorney and Supreme Court Advocate, District of Columbia
- Lou Sheldon, President, Traditional Values Coalition, California
- Matthew Spalding, Director, B. Kenneth Simon Center For American Studies, The Heritage Foundation, District of Columbia
- Jack Templeton, Jr., Chairman, Let Freedom Ring, Pennsylvania
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