Today's first item is a transcript of a couple of calls from Hugh Hewitt's Monday radio program, in the show's third hour.  The first call was from a caller named Tim from San Diego, to be followed a couple of calls later by our own Lowell!

Tim: Hey Hugh.  I'm calling in regards to Mitt Romney, I'm a little surprised that Evangelicals and a lot of people on the media, conservative media, are embracing him being that he is part of a cult.

Hugh:  Well, I don't think he is and I think that's one of the issues I'm dealing with the book.  When you say "cult" you have to give me a definition, and my definition always includes coercion, and there is no coercion at all about the LDS.  It is a religion quite distinct from my own and it has beliefs which are not orthodox Christian beliefs, I know that, but cult is a pejorative that you need to give me a definition for.

Tim:  There's no proof whatsoever…

Hugh:  Tim, I know that, but what's you definition of cult?

Tim: As a Christian, it's something that's not following Christ.

Hugh: That means everybody that is not a Christian is in a cult.

Tim: Uh, no it doesn't, it's not a religion like Islam, which I would call a false religion.

Hugh: Again, you need to come up with some definitions, but I don't think they help so much in a political, we are in a secular country with a civic religion that says we don't look at what people's religious beliefs are.  And I do find that to be a general consensus.

Tim:  Ok, I've studied Mormonism and I'll give you something on your email.

Hugh:  You can if you'd like to, but believe me, I've been reporting on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for over a decade.  I've read all of the anti-Mormon literature.  I've discussed it with Mormons.  I've discussed it with Protestants.  I've discussed it with Catholics.  I've discussed it with Jews.  I know the whole debate, the political system of the united States is not about that debate.  That's what this book is about, is how we don't want those two lines to cross for a whole bunch of reasons.  And I know we're going to be doing that a lot, but I would encourage everyone who is fervent about their desire to convert Mormons not to confuse a political movement for a religious movement, 'cause they're just not the same thing.  Do you get where I'm coming from?

Tim:  Yeah, I do.

Hugh:  And . . . everytime I talk about Mitt Romney I get a number of calls from people who are convicted of the need to preach to or attempt to convert Mormons, and it's something that's going to happen a lot over the next year, and I don't really know how I am going to respond to it, Tim, but I want to be able to respond to it without dismissing your concerns, but I deeply object to the use of the term "cult."  I mean DEEPLY object to the use of the term because it's almost not an argument, it's an argument replacement — you know what I mean?

Tim:  Right.

Hugh:  If you just assert that someone is in a cult, they immediately think of something like the Branch Davidians or the Hale-Bopp people or something like that and that's just not fair to our Mormon friends.  You know, they could confuse it with being a Democrat . . . I'm just joking, sorry.

A couple of callers folowed in between, who basically "dittoed" Hugh's position, and then our very own Lowell called in:

Hugh:  OH! Lowell is here, probably Article 6 Blog Lowell!

Lowell: Hi there.

Hugh:  Hi Lowell, how are ya?

Lowell:  Great . . . hey,you know what Tom Wolfe's definition of a cult is?

Hugh:  What?

Lowell:  "A religion without political power."

Hugh:  [laughter] There you go.

Lowell:  We've spent lots of time on that.  John Schroeder's blogged about it on his own blog too, in a pretty scholarly way I might add.  But anyway, it's an interesting subject.

Hugh:  Well, I just hate the word, it's a pejorative and it's intended to foreclose argument.

Lowell:  I have to tell you, as a Mormon I've been on the receiving end of it for a long time, and it gets pretty old.

Hugh: Yeah, and it's just not appropriate in American political discourse.  But that's just a fight that is going to have to be waged throughout 2007.

Lowell:  It is.  We had an interview we published today with John McIntyre.

Hugh:  Oh, I haven't read that yet . . . Article, the number 6, blog dot com if you want to read that.

Lowell:  That's right, and he goes into this the way John would, he's a realist, a pundit, and he thinks you're right– that there will be a battle for the next year or so over this, and people will decide at the end of the day whether they think it's important or not.

Hugh:  That's exactly what's gonna happen.  Lowell, I gotta run.  Thank you.

I sure do like the way Hugh thinks, but just remember, we got there first.

Another big catch for the Romney team.

Boy, oh boy, the conservative wing of the party is lining up against McCain and Guliani in a big, decisive hurry.  Examples here — here — here and here.

Real Clear Politics prints the transcript of the roundtable from Fox's "Special Report with Brit Hume" on Tuesday night.  The important news is that Fred Barnes thinks Guliani's entrance into the race helps Romney because he and McCain are going after "the same universe of voters."  Sounds right to me.

American Thinker compares Romney to Gingrich.  That should warm the heart of conservatives everywhere.

Is K-Lo a Romney stalker?  Having been to one Romney event where she was also present, I can tell you her intentions were entirely honorable. 

Technorati Tags: Hugh Hewitt, cults, Mormons

Sphere: Related Content

Posted in Reading List | 1 Comment » |  Print this post |  Email This Post

Recently:

• “Meeting the Challenges of Today:” Neal Maxwell, Secularism, and The Separation of Church and Politics
• Wednesday Quick Links
• Prop 8 - Problem or Solution?
• Legality, Religiousity, Post-Prop 8 Ugliness and the Case Against Huckabee
• Prop 8 and religion: A moral or political issue, or both?
• RED MEAT! Hewitt, Huckabee and Anti-Mormonism
• Say What?!
• In The Wake Of Prop 8
• A Catholic Defense of Mormon Support (and other religions’ support) for Prop 8
• Being The Target