.
.
Posted on 02/04/2008 8:20:41 PM PST by JRochelle
Of all the possible Super Tuesday outcomes, one is more certain than any other: Mike Huckabee will not carry the state of Utah.
In large part it’s because Mitt Romney, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the man credited with saving the Salt Lake City Olympics, is more popular here than in any other state.
But the other reason is that overwhelmingly Mormon Utah has taken a profound dislike to the Southern Baptist preacher best known for his nice-guy persona.
The wellspring of Huckabee hate is a now-famous Dec. 16 New York Times Magazine interview in which the former Arkansas governor, in an “innocent voice,” is reported to have asked, “Don’t Mormons ... believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?”
To Mormons, Huckabee’s eyebrow-raising question represented not only a gross distortion of their beliefs but also a carefully calculated move by a Christian politician who surely knew better.
Huckabee’s remark prompted Romney to call the comments “just not the American way” on NBC’s “Today” show.
Huckabee quickly apologized, saying that Romney’s Mormonism had nothing to do with whether he should be president. With that, the candidates and the national media moved on to other topics.
In Utah, however, all was not forgiven.
“There is a feeling that Huckabee has exploited a lot of the anti-Mormon sentiment,” said LaVarr Webb, a political consultant and publisher in Utah.
“The feeling is that he would certainly know the answers to these questions that he’s been asking sometimes,” said Chuck Gates, assistant managing editor of Utah’s Deseret Morning News.
According to Webb and other state political insiders interviewed by Politico, many Mormons maintain that Huckabee’s apology did not go nearly far enough.
Quin Monson, assistant director of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University, says many observers believe that “evangelicals have rejected Romney, and that Huckabee is aiding and abetting that. ... He’s egging it on.”
As it turns out, this isn’t the first time that Huckabee has rubbed Utahans the wrong way. In the summer of 1998, then-Arkansas Gov. Huckabee, along with fellow national church leaders, attended the National Southern Baptist Convention in Salt Lake City.
At the time, the decision to hold the event in the shadow of the Mormon Tabernacle was viewed by many Mormons as an insulting stab directed at the very heart of the LDS church.
Worse, according to an account published in the Salt Lake Tribune during the convention, some 2,000 “messengers” of the Southern Baptist Convention went door to door in Utah and proselytized, “armed with questionnaires and their personal belief in Jesus Christ as their savior.”
Because of his participation in that convention and because of his theological background, many Utahans believe that Huckabee has been deeply disingenuous throughout the campaign — not just in one well-publicized interview — in his approach toward the issue of Romney’s Mormon faith.
The Huckabee campaign did not respond to e-mail and phone requests for comment.
The Baptists’ choice of Salt Lake City was a deliberate one, said James Guth, a leading authority on the influence of religion in politics and professor at Furman University.
The Baptists intended to “create a new mission field.” Mormons and the Southern Baptists, he explained, are members of “competing missionary religions.”
“It used to be that the Mormons were in Utah and Southern Baptists were in the South,” Guth said. “Now, Mormons are all over the world, and Southern Baptists want to be all over the world.”
Aside from the issue of clashing faiths, there is a more practical component to Huckabee’s unpopularity.
There is a widespread belief, not just in Utah but among many Romney partisans, that Huckabee’s long-shot — and lingering — candidacy is serving little purpose other than to siphon votes from Romney, Utah’s adopted son, by splitting the conservative vote against John McCain.
“There’s just the feeling that if we really wanted to unite behind a conservative candidate, we would unite behind Romney,” said Dave Hansen, former campaign manager for Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah).
“You can’t force [Huckabee] out, but all things considered, I think there are a lot of conservatives who wish he were not still in the race.”
In the unlikely event that Huckabee does capture the Republican nomination, his Utah baggage could come back to haunt him.
In the deeply red state where President Bush still maintains some of his highest approval ratings, a place that has ranked as the most Republican state in the nation in six of the past eight presidential elections, a BYU poll released Monday reveals that Huckabee would pull off the seemingly impossible.
As GOP nominee, he would lose the state of Utah in a hypothetical matchup with Democrat Barack Obama, 58 percent to 42 percent.
Romney, by contrast, would defeat Obama 69 percent to 31 percent. McCain would also win against Obama, though by a more modest 55 percent to 45 percent.
Still, there are limits to how much Utah dislikes Huckabee: In a head-to-head matchup with Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, Huckabee wins handily, 60 percent to 41 percent.
Cut me a break! Huck was in a one party state as well . . . and Romney raised taxes . . . ah, fees. As well as implementing state funded universal healthcare and appointing homosexual activists as judges. Romney is no conservative. His economic record in particular, with the health care programs and fee increases is abysmal. Romney is just another Rockefeller Republican running to the right in the primaries. He’ll happily sign gun control legislation after the next big shooting and tut-tut while allowing the homosexual agenda proceed apace. I think McCain will fight against excessive spending and for a strong military. I don’t think Romney will fight for anything.
I doubt the sentiment you quoted is completely true. As an evangelical Christian I can assert that we do not hate Mormons, we do loathe Mormonism. That is a big difference. I hope that the Mormons' view of evangelical Christianity is similar and most do not personally hate Mike Huckabee.
You are absolutely right, however, if Mitt Romney were such a strong candidate, Mike Huckabee wouldn't be a problem.
.
.
I pretended nothing, merely, stated a suspicion...that apparently is unfounded as you seem to personally know the heart, soul and motive of the poster. How that is, I am not quite sure.
“Mormons seem to be “shocked, shocked” and offended that Baptists would use door-to-door evangelism in Utah. Apparently, caring for the eternal destiny of those who are lost is forboden, especially by future presidential candidates.”
When the Baptists came here, they thought they could provoke some kind of confrontation, or get some headlines. Instead, our church leaders advised us to be kind and friendly. To “kill them with kindness,” as it were. That’s what happened, and the Baptists left with neither converts nor headlines.
IIRC correctly, it was around that time that Jerry Falwell modified his stance from “Mormons are going to Hell,” to “Mormons are nice people. Too bad they are going to Hell.” LOL.
Count’s not that rare.
Concede this: Mormons (and other conservative voters) who know only what they see in Romney’s commercials or hear on talk radio, will vote overwhelmingly for Mitt the alleged conservative.
This is also true: Mormons (and other conservative voters) who are actually knowledgeable about his past record of support for abortion on demand, the homosexual agenda, homosexual Scoutmasters, gays in the military, gun control, and dissing Ronald Reagan, will not vote for Mitt.
I personally know at least half a dozen Mormons who (1) are very familiar with Romney’s actual record, and (2) are not voting for him. One LDS woman in my town used to be on the local Scout council and is infuriated by that issue alone (i.e., Romney’s opposition to the Boy Scout policy on homosexuals). She was tempted to vote McCain because of his military background, but ended up voting for Huckabee in the Michigan primary.
That said, Romney will win Utah overwhelmingly, and Idaho, and probably Colorado, for the simple fact that most voters — LDS or otherwise — aren’t familiar with Romney’s actual record and do know only what they hear on TV.
I disagree. I think most of the voters in Utah will have some idea of his liberal past.
They will just ignore it. They believe that he is now the ‘real deal.’
>>>you sound like a political hack working for the Hillary campaign.<<<
You Hucksters seem to be in some sort of parallel universe. I am a conservative. That is why I despise the politics of liberals like McCain and Huckabee.
>>>Too bad you can’t debate the issues.<<<
Really? I love debating issues. When you have finished dwelling on Romney’s appearance, religion and your mother’s intuition; and on the Huckster’s musical prowess, give me a try.
You’re a Mormon and a Huckabee lover? You really take loving your enemies to heart. You can bet Huckabee will never return the favor.
Yea now your Republican is Manchurian Candidate McCain he he is a closet lefty!:)
Be sure to catch Mark Levin tonight and see who will roast you best McCain, Hillery, or Obama!
The way McCain is talking today there will be no love for America VP!
Oh I forgot you are Sooooo worried about Romney...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.