Article VI Blog

Does Hillary have her own "question"? Captain Ed comments on same. I don't think she's the juggernaut many do. Lowell: Opinion Journal's Political Diary (a subscription service) has more about a new group called Stop Her Now:

The Dallas Morning News reports that Richard Collins has put at least $80,000 in seed money into the group, which he hopes will raise millions of dollars and serve as a vehicle for anti-Hillary forces to rally around. He says his web site will feature cartoons along with a series of specially-produced animated features called "The Hillary Show."

"We're going to define Hillary as an ambitious, calculating, tough political operator who is trying to define herself as a centrist Democrat when, in fact, she's an ultraliberal Democrat," says Mr. Collins, who owns a group of newspapers in the Dallas area.

To be perfeectly honest, as much as the prospect of a Hillary Clinton presidency gives me the heebie-jeebies, I don't like this kind of thing.

A chance to meet the man.

Another Mormon voice, besides Lowell, comes onto the radar.

Brownback's in. The Corner thinks maybe he ought to look elsewhere. Brownback, a Protestant-cum-Roman Catholic, is far more overtly religious than almost any prior candidate, including Jimmy Carter. I think this will appeal to a small sub-group of Evangelicals, but I doubt seriously broad appeal.

Lowell: I share The Corner's worry:

If Brownback does choose to run, he will no doubt acquit himself honorably. He may also do so irrelevantly. Or worse: He could fracture the conservative base and contribute to the success of a “half-scale” Republican.

Like John McCain, perhaps?

A blog out of the University of San Francisco, of all places, raises the point - If Minnesota can elect a Muslim, what's the big deal about a Mormon?

Get Religion keeps hammering that Romney will have to explain Mormonism. I disagree, but he will have to do something that GR describes in the middle of this post:

…for Romney to be successful, he will have to explain why his faith matters to him…

He can do that without explaining much about the faith itself. I mean we all know George W. Bush's faith is important to him, but do you know if he is a Calvinist or Arminian?

Lowell: Perhaps more to the point, how many people even know what a Calvinist or Arminian is? Sometimes we who care about these issues (and I am included in that group) forget how much "inside baseball" is involved. I keep asking myself: How much does the average voter really care about all this stuff? We talk all the time about The Question, but perhaps that one is The Real Question.

Having said all that, I think Romney's a very smart man and will figure out a way to do exactly what John suggests.

As potentials exit the race, the actions of their "crews" speaks volumes. Rumor has it "Team Frist" will join Romney.

Update: Susan Estrich, a solid liberal who can see both sides of an issue and who does not take herself too seriously, has some thoughts about Romney and The Question. Lamenting what she sees as the absence of true conservatives in the GOP race so far (she probably wrote this before Brownback got in) she concludes:

Which leaves one of my favorite Republicans, the governor of my home State, Massachusetts, Mitt Romney. Mr. Romney is a conservative, but he is a Mormon conservative.

Will Southern Baptists vote for a Mormon for president? That’s what I keep asking. And the answers I get are mixed, to say the least.

You think it’s tough being Catholic, John Kerry.

You think it’s tough being a woman, Hillary Clinton.

You think it’s tough being black, Barack Obama.

No one will face the prejudice this election season that Mitt Romney will face as a Mormon.

And it is conservatives who will be the ones who must confront their own biases.

Stay tuned.

Which is worse?

A conservative Mormon or a moderate Christian?

Republicans may yet be forced to decide.

Or else to find their own version of a conservative Barack.