A Mormon in the White House

[nonesuche]

Romney isn't getting the press that others are currently but I have to say in reading and also listening to his campaign platform and his responses to hard-hitting questions, I am impressed that he does have a strategic plan. The obvious question is his religion and will this impact his candidacy? I think it already has and this column is a good examination of why we should not allow it to.

That being said I do not approve of polygamy or some mormon history, but I've known two mormon families well in my lifetime and both have been stellar families with high achievers and a familial bond of commitment to one another that is impressive. I am looking forward to the book Hewitt has written to gain some insight, but I do think we are already seeing Romney's religion take it's toll on his chance at a strong run at the presidency.

I wasn't old enough to recall JFK's presidential campaign but he was thought to be the 'dark horse' due to his age but also due to his religion? I guess we have forgotten how many were concerned we would have a Catholic in the White House during that era?

So if we and MSM examine Romney's religion with such scrutiny,  why not the same regarding others with religions and habits that fall outside the acceptable curve? How is being a mormon different from drug use or even infidelity?

Food for thought I think, so I am trying to bring this to the forum for comment by others but not to sidetrack this into one more Obama gets slammed for Romney is being slammed far more in real and vivid ways such as airtime and coverage by the media - even when many of them admit Romney is likely the "most intelligent candidate" thusfar?


A Mormon in the White House?
By Hugh Hewitt
Saturday, February 17, 2007

The headline of this opinion piece is the title of a new book I have finished writing and which is now rolling off the presses for a release date in a matter of weeks. I have spent the last year interviewing Mitt Romney, members of his family and his closest friends, as well as politicians, public figures, historians and religious leaders of all sorts on the question of whether or not Romney's faith ought to be a factor in his election.

If you ask a list of people whether Barack Obama's race ought to be a factor, they will shudder and collectively say, or shout, absolutely not. And they would be right to do so.

If you ask a similar list of people whether Hillary Clinton's gender ought to be a factor, they will shudder and collectively say, or shout, absolutely not. And they would be right to do so.

But pose the "Mormon question" to hundreds of Americans, and very few will look at you with shock or even curiosity. What is going on here?

Not surprisingly, I think that takes a book to answer in full, but the short course is that anti-religious bigotry serves a lot of agendas. The war on faith in America — the effort to drive faith-based people from the public square and faith-based arguments from polite conversation — has been under way for three decades, and is picking up steam. A Mormon is just a convenient target, and one that provides media pundits with a convenient cover. They voice their concern with Romney's faith by putting that concern into the mouths of unnamed evangelicals.

MSNBC's Chip Reid began an assault on Romney yesterday by noting that evangelicals have a problem with Romney. Some undoubtedly do, but many do not. The equivalent comment about Sen. Obama would be: Southerners have a problem with Barack Obama. Reid would never make such a foolish statement. But because it is an issue of religious bigotry getting mainstreamed, he didn't think twice.

It isn't just promoting religious bigotry as a mainstream objection to a political candidate, it is actually expressing it. I have written elsewhere about the stunning display of raw bigotry by Jacob Weisberg, editor of Slate here. But he is hardly alone. And in fact most of the published attacks on Mormons for being Mormons come in the mainstream, secular press. The legitimizing of this bigotry is far advanced. Excuses are offered for it, but it remains bigotry.

One of the surprising and encouraging aspects of my research and interviews through 2006 was the number of evangelicals and Roman Catholics eager to stand up and denounce the assault on Romney's beliefs — beliefs which the same speakers do not share. They recognize, however, that theological debates should never degenerate into assaults on religious liberty or the right of any citizen to hold any office for which they are qualified.

Will Romney's religious faith hurt his candidacy? That remains to be seen, but if it does, it will have hurt the country much more than him. The bigotry that was thought to have been buried in 1960 will have been exhumed. It will be difficult to kill a second time.




Hugh Hewitt is a law professor, broadcast journalist, and author of several books including A Mormon in the White House?: 110 Things Every American Should Know about Mitt Romney.

http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/HughHewitt/2007/02/17/a_mormon_in_the_white_house?page=full&comments=true

*** this comment by a reader was thought-provoking as well...

Tryor writes: Saturday, February, 17, 2007 8:33 AM
Personal Integrity is the Issue
 
Unless there are allegations that he used his religion inappropriately in governing Massechusetts, why would Romney's religion make a difference?
 
Moreover, what is the big deal about changing positions? Reagan did it. And we hope others will. As long as you change to the correct position, and come down on the side of life. Romney is pro-life. Pro-marriage. Pro-family. In favor of lower taxes. Successful in business. Acknowledged as a turn-around guy. Experienced in governing. These are qualities that none of the Democrats have; and few among the Republicans.

I see nothing in Romney's personal life that would detract from his ability to govern. From all reports, he is incisive in his ability to ferret out the most important issues in any given situation. The last thing we need is a career politician. At least Romney has been successful in another career besides milking the public trough.

[mrs. red]

Oh yes, I love Mitt Rommeny.  As for the Mormon faith... one of my closest, dearest friends is Mormon and there is no polyogmy going on there.  Also, the Mormon faith shares the main stream Christian views on most things.

Thank GOD, most Christians aren't as stupid as the media likes to think we are.   Interestingly enough, more and more of my colleagues that are Christian are being to take back their right to express their faith.  Wonderful thing about freedom of speech, sometimes it does get pushed to where reasonable people get angry and begin demanding the rights that are so easily afforded to others.

Right now, my hope for our Country lies with Mitt Rommeny or Rudy Gulliani.

[nonesuche]

I realize some have blamed Romney's policies around marriage rights for gays as well as his pro-life stance as having impacted while he was governor but I'd argue back that's a tunnel vision view for the opposition to both is far larger than the governor?

[mrs. red]

I realize some have blamed Romney's policies around marriage rights for gays as well as his pro-life stance as having impacted while he was governor but I'd argue back that's a tunnel vision view for the opposition to both is far larger than the governor?

Ah, but living next to MA gives me that unique ability to say that he gave the voters of MA the right to decide and the Supreme Court of MA... (which is one of the most liberal states in the US btw) took that away by legislating from the bench.

I was heartened to see Rudy Gulliani's answers about Supreme Court Justices btw,  he didn't seem to have an issue with conservative Consitutuional Judges.... which is a good thing.  Neither does Mitt Romney.  

Unfortunately, Mitt Ronmey will have an uphill battle on recongition, which unfortunately so many of the uninformed use for picking candidates.

I actually yelled at one of my closest friends the other day for telling me he is not paying attention... he will never say that to me again...LOL...

good thing he loves me!

[nonesuche]

thanks for reminding me MA is a more liberal state, I did forget that.

I read some good pieces on Guiliani today as well, I just didn't want to overwhelm the forum with tons of new threads. I'm also hopeful since Romney is a candidate that tylergal promoted that we'll see her come afford us more insight on him?

I'm no political expert and far from it, I'm just trying to actively think through this election and also gather information from others here regarding platforms and candidates.

I'm glad when we have forgiving friends too !

[mrs. red]

Yes, I do hope Tyler will come in and share her knowledge of Mitt Romney.  He did some good things for MASS and actually lowered some of the taxes there.... now NY, and ME are the highest ... we took that distinction from MA under Ronmey...

and I give him credit for that, because a lot of ppl in MA want this country to be more "european" in their tax structure ....

[LouiseVargas]

I remember Mitt Romney's father George Wilcken Romney (July 8, 1907 – July 26,1995) who was chairman of the American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962 and was elected three times as the Republican Governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969. He was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968, losing to Richard Nixon.

Mitt Romney was appointed to organize the LA Olympics in 1984 (23 years ago) and he did a stellar job. The traffic jams that were expected in LA never happened. He was an organizer of the first water.

Mitt came from a political family and has an excellent pedigree. Even though he is not in a polygamous marriage, I don't think his being a Mormon is of any critical importance.

People were skeered of JFK because they thought he would be more faithful to the Vatican than to the United States. It was a big hurdle for him to overcome, but he did overcome it, and he never took directions from the Vatican.

The next religious issue was that Joe Lieberman was a Jew. I cannot recall anything detrimental said about his religion by anyone.

I think we should give Mitt Romney a chance. I like him and don't believe that his religion is a threat.

Go Mitt!!!!!

[mrs. red]

I remember Mitt Romney's father George Wilcken Romney (July 8, 1907 – July 26,1995) who was chairman of the American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962 and was elected three times as the Republican Governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969. He was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968, losing to Richard Nixon.

Mitt Romney was appointed to organize the LA Olympics in 1984 (23 years ago) and he did a stellar job. The traffic jams that were expected in LA never happened. He was an organizer of the first water.

Mitt came from a political family and has an excellent pedigree. Even though he is not in a polygamous marriage, I don't think his being a Mormon is of any critical importance.

People were skeered of JFK because they thought he would be more faithful to the Vatican than to the United States. It was a big hurdle for him to overcome, but he did overcome it, and he never took directions from the Vatican.

The next religious issue was that Joe Lieberman was a Jew. I cannot recall anything detrimental said about his religion by anyone.

I think we should give Mitt Romney a chance. I like him and don't believe that his religion is a threat.

Go Mitt!!!!!

I totally agree with you LV that he is a great candidate... he did a great job in Massachusetts as well, and with him being conservative and that being one of the most liberal states... well that is saying a lot!  

I would love to see him and Gulliani on the same ticket...

[Dihannah1]

Here's an example of learning on here.  I know very little of Romney and reading here has peaked my interest.  Now I need to go do some reading up on him myself.  Thanks Monkeys,  keep up the informative posts!

p.s.  Mormon's haven't practiced polygamy for at least 100 yrs.   My former boss and great family man is morman, so not an issue.

[mrs. red]

DiHannah,
I too think that it's a non starter but in reading today, oh how the press is trying to make it an issue.  One of the articles I read kept calling it LDS so that it seemed like LSD... tricky... sneaky... and thankfully won't work on people that pay attention. Close attention.

He is a wonderful candidate and I saw today that Jeb Bush is stating his support for him.

[nonesuche]

Well I'm pleased to see we're all curious, so maybe tyler will come share with us now,  it would save me lots of reading and research  

Thanks to each of you for keeping an open mind, that's my only goal in flooding all these threads today!

[justinsmama]

It is simply incredulous to me that anyone would deem an individual unfit as a candidate due to their religious affiliation or lack thereof (unless it's satanism). It is also ridiculous that people view the Mormons as polygamists. It as silly as believing that all Christians are murderers of doctors who perform abortions. My intolerance is for those who are intolerant of diversity.

Rant over.

[Artcolley]

It is simply incredulous to me that anyone would deem an individual unfit as a candidate due to their religious affiliation or lack thereof (unless it's satanism). It is also ridiculous that people view the Mormons as polygamists. It as silly as believing that all Christians are murderers of doctors who perform abortions. My intolerance is for those who are intolerant of diversity.

Rant over.

THese prejudices have always been around and always will be, unfortunately.
Sometimes they are just thrown out there to try and muck the waters.
And, there will always be those that will fall for it, hook line and sinker.

[nonesuche]

justins-

Prejudice not only still thrives, look at what just happened to Weisenthal bring drug from an elevator and beaten, over the holocaust ? I was glad to see this being spoken out loud and called out for prejudice, for most of the talking heads on MSM freely have said "can Romney be elected being a Mormon"? At times I think our own supposedly liberal media create half of these issues or at least are catalysts for it, by even giving these types of issues one ounce of lip service.

That being said, go to any large political forum and there are more than a few posters making comments they would never vote for a "mormon", and I am not kidding.

[justinsmama]

justins-

Prejudice not only still thrives, look at what just happened to Weisenthal bring drug from an elevator and beaten, over the holocaust ? I was glad to see this being spoken out loud and called out for prejudice, for most of the talking heads on MSM freely have said "can Romney be elected being a Mormon"? At times I think our own supposedly liberal media create half of these issues or at least are catalysts for it, by even giving these types of issues one ounce of lip service.

That being said, go to any large political forum and there are more than a few posters making comments they would never vote for a "mormon", and I am not kidding.

Yes, nonesy, I know. Sometimes I feel like a misfit in Indiana, with the level of intolerance for diversity that is alive and well here. Makes me wonder how I came to have any measure of acceptance of differences. All I can figure is that it was passed along via my maternal grandmother to my mother and then to my siblings and me. My father was a racist. My maternal grandfather was rumored to have been a member of the Klan. His wife simply did as she saw fit, and continued to help a neighboring black girl who was neglected and mistreated. My grandmother would wash and mend the child's clothes, groom her hair, provide first aid and allow her to wash up and bathe in their home. And my mother played with the little girl. My grandfather was always at work. Haha! He did once "catch" my mother playing with the little girl, and had quite a tizzy fit. He must be rolling over in his grave over his granddaughter (me) and great granddaughter (my niece). As for my dad, well, he loved me very much, and I am certain that love for me would have had him abandon his views, especially once Justin was born. Alas, he passed nearly 30 years ago.

As for religious affiliation, I do not believe that there is "only one true religion". If there is, then the majority of the world is damned! The God of my understanding would not damn anyone. Everyone's spirituality is their own. I remember being somewhat taken aback with the answer of a client who was struggling with reconciling her identity with her religious beliefs. I had asked what she thought that Christ's message was (yes, we do address such things in therapy). She stated that it was that everlasting life  was available. That was when I began to realize that the message I had understood was different from others'.  The message I had received included that, though was essentially secondary to the message of brotherhood amongst all mankind. For me, it is that we are here for each other, regardless of the diversity between us. As for the client, well, the course that I had planned to take with that was in need of revision. It was not my place as a therapist or anything else to challenge her beliefs, even if aspects of it (If I am who I am, then I am damned) of it were emotionally crippling her.

[nonesuche]

justins, I agree that we can't sit in judgment of others who interpret religion differently unless their brand of religion such a al jihad flies in the face of all human rights. I do think we all interpret religion in different ways but the world would be a better place if we could all trust we are here for one another.

It's sad that acceptance for diversity is so hard for so many, living it is all the harder, I cannot say I've had to experience that. I know it can't have been easy for you. I worry that if we allow our leaders to campaign on issues of diversity as qualifiers for office, then we only give fuel to the great divide of rascism too. So for me, I can't vote for anyone based upon race or gender or religion, or in pursuit of reparations as it applies to either. I have to have far more significant reasons than that  

[justinsmama]

That is the point, though, nonesy, an individual candidate's race, sex, orientation, religion are of little to no consequence to me. Their stance on issues are.

[Tamikosmom]

Read entire article at:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,254362,00.html
February 24, 2007

<snipped>

Romney has joked about polygamy, saying in various settings that to him, "marriage is between a man and a woman ... and a woman and a woman." But in serious moments he has called the practice "bizarre" and noted his church excommunicates those who engage in it.

An introductory film played at his fundraisers and campaign appearances features his wife, Ann, talking about their 37-year marriage. Romney himself notes they started as high school sweethearts.

This month, Ann Romney tried a different tack, taking a lighthearted jab at her husband's main Republican competitors, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, as she introduced Romney at a Missouri GOP dinner.

The biggest difference between her husband and the other candidates, Ann Romney said, is that "he's had only one wife."

McCain has been married twice; Giuliani three times.

The Romney campaign had no comment for this story.

Joseph Smith, who founded the Mormon church in 1830, quietly introduced polygamy. He believed it had roots in the Old Testament and was necessary to reach the highest salvation in heaven. Smith is believed to have had 33 wives.

[crazybabyborg]

I'd vote for Mitt Romney. I wouldn't vote for Joseph Smith.

[justinsmama]

I'd vote for Mitt Romney. I wouldn't vote for Joseph Smith.

Me neither! The perv!