This hardcore section of the Republican base is not buying Romney’s used car salesman song and dance about the differences between his Mormon faith and theirs.
Many conservative Christians are quietly nervous about Romney’s religion and the issue surfaced as Romney opened his campaigning at a forum in Pella, about 40 miles south of Des Moines.
Mary Van Steenis asked Romney how he would ponder important decisions as president and which source of inspiration he would seek.
"Where would the Bible be in that process?" she asked. "Would it be above the Book of Mormon or would it be beneath it?"
"I don’t know that there’s any conflict at all between the values of great faiths like mine, like yours, like other faiths, like Jews who don’t believe in the New Testament," Romney said.
"People of faith have different doctrines and different beliefs on various topics of a theological nature. But in terms of what it is we are going to believe and also based on our values for our country, I think we come from the same place," Romney said.
The answer did not satisfy Van Steenis.
"I asked if you had to look to one source what would it be? He didn’t really respond to that," she told reporters after the event. "This is serious to me."
Just about an hour ago I saw Hugh Hewitt on C-SPAN shilling his pro-Romney book (coming soon to a discount bin near you if it isn’t there already) and he again lied about how it’s the left that has a problem with Romney’s Mormonism. We really don’t care, we just think the guy’s a disingenuous, duplicitous, flip-flopper who mistreats his dog. I don’t care what God he does or doesn’t worship.
Why can’t these lies be crushed?
More importantly, why won’t people in the media help crush them?
Oh right, they are too busy getting their funk on to Hillary Duff:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/06/30/david-gregory-boogies-to-hillary-duff/
Wow, Potato Salad, you complete lack of substance speaks volumes. No wonder your side got skunked in ‘06. Keep it up and you’ll get skunked in ‘08 as well.
(On a side note, it is not the left that’s freaking out over Romney being a Mormon. It’s the religious right.)
To tell the truth, it doesn’t matter what Hewitt lies about–his boy is losing in a battle of his own fellow Repugs. It will be Repugs who reject Romney–not liberals.
And the fact is Romney was probably the best hope the GOP had of keeping the WH. McCain is done. Thompson’s life as a DC lobbyist with the much, much younger lobbyist wife isn’t going to sell. And Rudy will just be fun to run against.
“And the fact is Romney was probably the best hope the GOP had of keeping the WH.”
No. Romney’s Mormonism would kill him in the South. Hillary Clinton, with the help of Bill, would crush Romney in the south giving her 400 EC votes.
HAHAHAHAH HEHEHE HOHOHO
Repugs!!! LOL!!
– Chimpy McBushitler
No. Romney’s Mormonism would kill him in the South.
You miss the larger point; Romney is the only Repug who has chance overall. To be sure, there are those evangelicals in the South (and elsewhere) who consider Mormonism an evil cult. They’d either stay home or hold their noses and vote for Romney. Rudy’s 2 or 3 marriages, his pro-choice stance kills him in the South. Thompson might fool enough Repugs in the South to make them believe he’s one of them, but he loses everywhere else.
“You miss the larger point; Romney is the only Repug who has chance overall.”
I don’t know where you are getting your numbers from. McCain has a better shot against Hillary. Guliani is tough on terrorism and a leader… well, not really, but that will be enough to sell him to the south and central states. Thompson is good at acting the same way, but doesn’t have the political chomps to win in a debate. He can’t even answer questions from his own party members.
It gets even worse if Bloomberg enters, and I’m 90% sure he will. If it is Clinton / Bloomberg / Anyone, Bloombery will split the Anti-Hillary voter with the Republican nominee. If that nominee is Guliani, there’s little difference. If it’s Thompson, the Dems pick up a state or two more. If it is Romney, the Dems will win Texas.
“a disingenuous, duplicitous, flip-flopper who mistreats his dog” and panders to torture lovers for applause.
Just because Media Matters says that Hugh Hewitt’s predictions are baseless does not mean it’s true.
A cursory scan of the liberal blogs about Mitt Romney will show that most of them contain denigrating remarks about his religion.
Then there are the statements from Jacob Weisberg of Slate Magazine: “I wouldn’t vote for someone who truly believed in the founding whoppers of Mormonism.”
And the article that appeared on SFGate.com, Romney Family Tree has Polygamy Branch, co-written by Glen Johnson who is an AP writer located in Boston. It was an attempt to connect Romney to polygamy.
Hugh was correct. Eventually, southern Christians at first will have trouble with Romney’s religion, but the more they hear from him, the more comfortable they are with his faith, which is something the Left will never be.
Want to now how bizarre a cult Mormonism is? Ask a jack Mormom, a person who’s left he cult behind. Truly bizzare stuff.
And it ain’t gonna fly with Baptists, ever.
I think this story brings out an additional flaw on Romney’s part: he does a lousy job explaining Mormonism whenever he’s asked to. This is odd, because apologetics and learning how to respond to critics have always been a huge part of Mormon religious indoctrination. As a former missionary Mitt shouldn’t have any trouble with this. But when he gives lame, aphoristic, evasive answers like he gave that woman, it makes it look like he has something to hide. Anyone raised Mormon knows exactly how to answer that question: “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God” (Joseph Smith, 1842). I don’t get why he’s being supported by so many Mormons: he’s a terrible representative of the faith.
And let us not underestimate the power of Battlefield Earth!
I see there are folks here too, trying to convince someone that the religious right will actually vote for a Mormon.
It does not matter that Romney might run well against Sen. Clinton, or anything else Romney might be good at. He’s a Mormon and they ain’t gonna vote for him, not in enough numbers to take to the nomination. That’s the bottom line.
As a sidebar, I have to say it’s interesting watching the media dodge the issue. They only talk about whether a Mormon can win the general election, a la Kennedy and his Catholicism. Not a peep about whether Southern Republican voters will go for a Mormon.
“A cursory scan of the liberal blogs about Mitt Romney will show that most of them contain denigrating remarks about his religion.”
Are you sure about that? Cause I mostly see remarks about his religion being an obstacle with the religious right and there’s a huge difference.
Slate is a liberal blog?
Strowbridge, a quote, or prefereably a link, would be useful.
You make an allegation no usually associted with Slate. Be nice to back it up with something solid.
“Strowbridge, a quote, or prefereably a link, would be useful.”
I could say the same to you.
“You make an allegation no usually associted with Slate. Be nice to back it up with something solid.”
Ditto.
If you can give me quotes from left-win blogs attack Romney for being a Mormon, as opposed to pointing out that being a Mormon will hurt him with Republicans, I can probably give you more counter quotes.
But I can’t give you one link that backs up my claim cause there is no single study that proves it.
Jaim,
Well, since I am a Mormon, I have heard already a hundred times all the silly things Jack Mormon will say.
He makes no new criticism.
Oh, and thanks for illustrating my original point for me.
Strowbridge, I owe you an apology. My comment improperly directed to you. I got the order of the posts mixed up.
And I got the nature of the comments mixed up. I’m going to quit before I manage to forget who I am, too!
Again, my apologies.
“Strowbridge, I owe you an apology.”
No problem.
Check this out from the Right:
http://romneyforpresident.townhall.com/
Like Mormonism, the blog isn’t what it seems.
(Some funny photos too.)