GREAT question Lowell.  Hugh’s interview with Podhoretz will be later this afternoon Pacific and this evening Eastern, and it will take a bit after that for Radioblogger to get the transcript up, so I will save the meat of this discussion until then,  But in the meantime just a couple of quick points.

For one, check out this interesting analysis of the question from last year, by a blogger that is new to me.  Time has a way of changing such analysis in the world of politics, but it’s a great starting point.

Secondly, I don’t think the Jewish/Mormon comparison is a reasonable one.  There is a history of anti-semiticism in Christianity; however, it is largely, but not wholly, Roman Catholic.  More importantly, in recent years, evangelicalism has been embracing its Jewish roots.  (Jesus was a Jew after all.)  When you combine that with the great work being done by Jewish scholars like Dennis Prager and I think you will find that most politically active Christians long ago made common cause with Jews.  While there would probabaly still be a knee-jerk reaction against a Jewish candidate amongst some Roman Catholics, it would likely be in the ones that vote Democrat anyway.  Which means I think a Republican Jew would stand a pretty good chance, but maybe not a Democrat one.

Christians in general and Mormons have yet to find their common cause.  There are huge bases for one, but we are still struggling to get them established - distinctly possible between now and ‘08, but there is hard work to do.  So today, this minute, Podhoretz may or may not be right about a Mormon, but I think he is just wrong about at least a Republican Jew.

Now we’ll see what he has to say to Hugh and go from there.

UPDATE:  Hugh’s time with Podhoretz has just concluded and he did not have time to talk about Romney directly, but read the transcript at Radioblogger as soon as it’s up.  The fourth segment in particular was very informative.

Pohoretz is pumping his latest book - Can She Be Stopped? : Hillary Clinton Will Be the Next President of the United States Unless . . .  Apparently, the third section of the book is dedicated to the fracturing of the Republican party.  You know what he is referrring to, “they are spending too much” - Peggy Noonan this morning

It may take a defeat in November for the GOP to unlearn the lessons of power.

Based on his worries about internicene fighting amongst Republicans, I can only guess his dismissal of Romney is based on the fact that he will be (is?) a devisive figure that will feed that internicene feud beast.

Here is the rub though, the in-fighting that he does rightly diagnose is issue based.   Romney’s devisivness, if indeed it exists, is, or would be, on purely religious grounds.  I think Republicans are above that by this point in history.  The Dems have played more politics with race, religion, gender than the Republicans have, but in so doing they have kept those groups oppressed.  Republicans on the other hand, have been the ones to provide the steady progress that has been seen.

I also find it amazing that at a time when homosexuals argue about “equal rights” and “unthinking prejudice,” we would indulge in such prejudice on purely theological, as opposed to behavioral, grounds.  I’m pretty certain we are smarter than that.

I, like Podhoretz, fear the fragmentation that is so evident in the Republican party, but I am unconvinced that Romney is a figure that would contribute to that problem.  I certainly think that if we allow him to be, it will be flying in the face of many of the values that we as members of the party hold dear.

I do wish there had been opportunity for him to clarify his position more; however.

Technorati Tags: John Podhoretz, Hugh Hewitt, Mormon, Jew, electability

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