Article VI Blog

Religion and the interrogation issue. Lowell, there's a question for you in there.

Lowell: Here's the question:

The big question for me involves how Mormons view the torture issue theologically. As far as I can tell, their leaders do not address the issue directly and it’s unclear that Romney would be willing to allow his religious beliefs to affect his politics. It is not a situation where Romney could be refused the church’s blessing, as was attempted with John Kerry and other Catholic Democrats for their position on abortion, but I could be wrong. Are there any Mormon readers out there who have more information?

I am quite sure the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has not taken a position on the issue of torture and Islamic jihadist detainees. It would be very unusual for them to do so, for the reasons discussed earlier in this blog. In terms of how Mormon doctrine might be interpreted by church members as it relates to the issue, I think most Mormons would be very uncomfortable with true torture. What they consider "true torture," however, would vary according to their political views. I am sure there are Mormons who support the Administration position wholeheartedly (probably most do), and there are doubtless others who disagree vehemently. For example, this blog, operated by liberal Mormons who seem to consider themselves not only intellectuals, but also wiser than most Mormons, reflects pretty standard left-liberal views on the subject and includes a heated discussion in the comments section. Also, the comments to the post above may be interesting to those who wish to explore the issue further.

On another subject, here's a video like the ones we might see as the 2008 election nears, if Romney is a candidate. This one is not offensive, however, and really pretty funny, if you ask me.

Hotline seems to think McCain is the big winner in the interrogation "deal" I'm not so sure, I think Bush may simply have given him the opportunity not to go completely down in flames. Nonetheless, the same source points out the Romney was doing some real work instead of just posturing.

Lowell: Meanwhile, a reader pointed us to a post by Jay Nordlinger in National Review Online, containing the following:

An interesting, even touching, letter about the father of the governor of Massachusetts, the late governor of my home state:

Dear Jay,

You mentioned Mitt Romney’s dad, the late Gov. George Romney of Michigan. I wanted to mention something you may find interesting. My late mother was, for most of her adult life, both a resident of the great state of Michigan and a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, but she thought George Romney was the greatest. To the best of my knowledge, he was the only Republican she ever voted for, and she often expressed regret that he had never become president.

My mother was not only a Democrat by political inclination; she belonged to nearly every demographic identified with the Democrats, being (a) Jewish, (b) Irish, (c) an immigrant, (d) a graduate of Boston University, and (e) (after my dad died) a single parent with two small children.

And yet she swore by George Romney, a Republican.

If Governor Mitt has inherited even some of his father’s cross-party political appeal, he should be a formidable candidate for president in 2008.

Isn’t that a beautiful letter? (It came from Jerusalem, incidentally.)

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