Posted on 06/22/2012 5:12:13 AM PDT by Colofornian
Mitt Romney faces an anti-Mormon bias just as strong as the one his father confronted during his own presidential run more than four decades ago, according to a Gallup poll.
Eighteen percent of Americans say that if their political party nominated “a generally well qualified person for president who happened to be Mormon,” they would not vote for that candidate. Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee, is a devout Mormon who once presided over the church’s Boston stake.
When Gallup asked the same question in 1967, during George Romney’s bid for the White House, 17 percent of Americans said they would refuse to vote for a Mormon.
“The stability of resistance to a Mormon presidential candidate over the past 45 years is an anomaly, given that resistance to a candidate who is black, a woman or Jewish has declined substantially over the same period of time,” Gallup Poll Editor-in-Chief Frank Newport wrote in a press release announcing the survey results.
The electoral significance of a lingering anti-Mormon bias is unclear because only 57 percent of Americans even know that Romney is a Mormon, according to the poll.
“This suggests the possibility that as Romney’s faith becomes better known this summer and fall, it could become more of a negative factor -- given that those who resist the idea of a Mormon president will in theory become more likely to realize that Romney is a Mormon as the campaign unfolds,” Newport said. “That things will actually work out this way, however, is far from clear.”
Democrats, who are unlikely to vote for Romney anyway, oppose a Mormon president at a much higher rate than Republicans, 24 percent to 10 percent. Opposition among independents stands at 18 percent.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Smart people will vote for Mormon over the Muslim.
Welcome to my “Bigots against Mormon’s” list.
You're playing with numbers, here. (And you've offered up a very poor spin!!!)
If you already rule out almost 1 in 5 voters, then even if you capture HALF of the Independents willing to vote for a Mormon, you've only garnered 41% of their vote! Sorry...but 41% -- vs. say, 57% of the Independent vote -- is a landslide!
Even if Romney then captured 55% of the Independent voters willing to vote Mormon, he still would only capture 45% of the Independent vote!...He could still lose the Independent vote, 52 or 53-45%!!!
Take then also into consideration that more conservatives know Romney is Lds than Independents. The article says 43% of voters don't know Romney is Lds. I would guess that probably rises to 50% of all Independents.
So even as more of those voters become aware that Romney is Mormon, that, too, will erode overall voter numbers.
You Nuts!
—Welcome to my “Bigots against Mormon’s” list.—
You’ve probably have my old name on the list for some time.
;-)
Those who train their children and grandchildren how to operate based upon pragmatic utilitarian political relativism will one day result in their children and grandchildren voting for an (R) candidate to the left of Obama because he's to the right of the (D) candidate.
To show you how this works, perhaps Obama could lose this election, switch to the (R) party...gain the nominee status...and then run vs. a more liberal (D) guy...
Then we'd have posters like you advocating that we vote for Obama as the "lesser of two evils" and the "lesser impacts on our back accounts" and all the other relativistic drivel we hear...
—Welcome to my “Bigots against Mormon’s” list.—
You’ve probably have my old name on the list for some time.
;-)
I’ve studied mormonism since I almost became one after touring the Bellevue Wa. temple just after it was completed (and before it was closed off to non-mormons).
It helps identify the anti-Mormon Bigots at FR...
I call it the Landover Baptist list. Some of them practically cut and paste from that site.
OK...well, G Larry, you've just inspired my "anti-anti-Mormonism" Bigots' list...Posters who won't tolerate the religious expressions of those who oppose MormonISM.
To officially qualify, however...please show me your "Religious License" to practice intolerance and bigotry of certain religious expression...(Why is your frowning upon religious expressions above reproach? Who gives it special sanction? Who gave you your religious licenses to practice such intolerance in the name of 'tolerance'?)
Funny you should mention “aliens.” Ever heard of the planet Kolob? Just sayin ...
I’m old enough to remember when it was Catholics who were portrayed in this despicable manor. Mormons are free to believe anything they wish just like the rest of us. Most of this foolishness stems from the fact that their candidate LOST!!!! Personally I was for Newt, he lost. I am not crazy about Romney he was the last choice I would have made but HE WON. We don’t get to vote until our guy wins!!
Religious License = 1st Amendment
Didn’t even that wackadoo pastor Jeffress say he would reluctantly vote for Romney if he unfortunately wins the nomination?
How come he wasn’t accused of relativistic drivel at the time? I mean back then the sides were reversed, with all the LDS critics on FR supporting him for saying Christians shouldn’t vote for LDS! I thought it was reasonable for a Baptist pastor to be critical of an LDS canidate at the time, especially when there were other choices. But if there weren’t other choices, even pastor Jeffress said he would hold his nose which I also thought was reasonable.
Freegards
“...old enough to remember when it was Catholics who were portrayed in this despicable manor...
Me too.
Newt is the only one I sent $$ to, but voted Santorum in our caucus.
So, I’m in the same boat as you.
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