Big Hate: Liberal attacks on Mitt Romney's Mormonism begin to intensify

The American Spectator ^ | 4-18-12 | Daniel Allott

[Wolf13]

It's often taken for granted that Christian conservatives' uneasiness with Mormonism best explains why Mitt Romney has struggled to win-over those voters.

In Inside the Circus, a new e-book about the 2012 campaign by Politico's Mike Allen and Evan Thomas, the Romney campaign is depicted as so consumed with worry that the candidate's faith would hurt him with the evangelicals that dominated the Iowa caucuses that it failed to anticipate Rick Santorum's rise. "Part of the reason for the ceiling [of support], quite frankly, is the Mormon thing," a Romney aide told the authors. "If he was even an Episcopalian, he'd be better off today."

Negative perceptions of Mormonism so worried Romney's 2008 presidential team that, according to Politico, "the dilemma had its own acronym in campaign power point presentations: TMT (That Mormon Thing)."

Of course, Romney's ideologically malleability and political opportunism -- not his faith -- has always been his biggest liability with conservatives. But the Mormon angle allowed the media to portray conservatives as bigoted theocrats.

The media's preoccupation with anti-Mormon sentiment on the right has distracted from what is arguably a much more pervasive anti-Mormonism on the secular left.

Reams of polling data make clear that anti-Mormonism is not exclusively, or even predominantly, a problem on the right. A 2011 Gallup poll found that 27% of Democrats said they wouldn't vote for a Mormon of their own party for president, 50% more than the 18% of Republicans who felt that way. In a Quinnipiac survey, 46% of Democrats said they wouldn't be comfortable with a Mormon president, while 29% of Republican respondents felt similarly.

[brownsfan]

Good for them!

[reasonisfaith]

I refuse to be taken in by theater. Any disagreement between Romney and the left is only a show.

[reasonisfaith]

I will decide for myself who’s right and who’s wrong, based on the reality of what they’ve done.

Not based on something made into a show by the elitist RINOs for the purpose of controlling the vote.

[Tax-chick]

If only he were a Moslem, everything would be fine.

I’m joking - if a politically-conservative Moslem candidate emerged, suddenly his religion would be anathema to the left, too. But then they might be beheaded and stuff, and that would be a fun game.

[dfwgator]

You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.....but it’s too late now for the GOP, they’re stuck.

[BuffaloJack]

Does this mean that the Liberals are helping us get Newt (or Palin) installed in the White House?

[clamper1797]

A 2011 Gallup poll found that 27% of Democrats said they wouldn't vote for a Mormon of their own party for president

So they would rather have a closet Muslim than a Morman in the white house. Funny I don't remember any Morman terrorists flying airplanes into buildings.

[Graybeard58]

Of course, Romney's ideologically malleability and political opportunism -- not his faith -- has always been his biggest liability with conservatives.

There's the money quote.

[CitizenUSA]

Funny, because Free Republic is probably one of the most anti-Romney sites on the right. I can count on one hand the number of anti-Romney posts based on the man’s religion. My disgust for Romney and his moderate sycophants is probably the same as other FReepers. It has nothing to do with Mitt’s Mormonism and a whole lot to do with his support for big government and social liberalism. The man is a freaking Democrat posing as a Republican.

[struggle]

It simply proves that Obama’s folk hate religion.

Sound it from the rooftops.

[reasonisfaith]

It means there are liberals who think they need to campaign against Romney for Obama’s sake, and that the RINO elitists want to use this as a way to stir up conservative support for Romney.

[Paladin2]

We obviously need to wrest Senate control away from the Mormon.

[CaptainK]

OTOH the Dems love the Mormonism of Harry Reid.

[MNDude]

And to think, Harry Reid’s Mormonism has somehow gone under the radar all these years.

[Beagle8U]

The “mountain meadows” movie will run on ‘speed dial’ on the cable networks this fall.

[muawiyah]

For all practical purposes Romney isn't a Republican. His wife isn't either. Neither are his kids.

That whole crowd of otherwise smart people simply have no idea how to be Republicans. It's like they just flew in from Mexico or something.

[wrench]

Obama isn’t an Imam. Mitt is a morman bishop. Similar in rank to a Catholic Cardinal.

Also, Islam isn’t a multi-theistic belief.

The GOP is being punked.

[clamper1797]

Mountain Meadows defines todays Mormanism like the Inquisition defines Catholicism

[muawiyah]

I'd say "give 'em a chance" but it's likely they are over that infatuation they had with renting out Lear jets (so they could all become millionaires).

Romney simply isn't a Conservative, nor a very good Republican. That's his first two or three problems.