Article VI Blog

It was "Romney" day at Hugh Hewitt's blog and show. Dean Barnett gushes — Hugh picks up rumors of anti-Mormon whispering campaigns in Iowa and South Carolina, then interviews South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint who has formally endorsed Romney and says The Question is not much of a question when Romney is involved. Byron York reports similar comments from DeMint on the Mormon issue.

Lowell: The DeMint endorsement ensures that the South Carolina primary will be a battle royale. DeMint to Hewitt:

I think as they find out more about Romney, and I know this because every time I’ve had him someplace in South Carolina, in Charleston to Greenville to Columbia, when he speaks to a group, they come away feeling inspired, feeling good about being American, and hopeful about the future. And we need that in our country today.

It will be interesting to see if DeMint is right, and that Romney's faith will fade into the background as he connects with voters. John and I have both met him and heard him speak and we tend to agree with DeMint– but our opinions aren't the ones that matter.

Recall when an over-zealous Romney supporter approached BYU and church/state violation cries filled the land, well, McCain is reaching right out there to Mormons directly. And hence, the whispering campaign charge gains credence.

Does somebody still want to argue with me that "cult" is not a perjorative?

It is beginning to look like the Mormon issue is dying from the right (unless Hewitt's sniffed whispering campaigns from the McCain camp continues) but it isn't dead. (Ugly PROFANITY WARNING!) This guy claims to be my Christian brother and calls Lowell, et. al. "pagans' and other things I cannot repeat. Why do I feel more brotherhood with Lowell than this guy?

This observation will undoubtedly resurface not as a positive, but as evidence of something about Mormons that parallels, "The Jews control Hollywood and banking."

Amy Goldstein at American Thinker hits a homer:

But, as we approach the "silly season," other issues get overblown by a zealous liberal press that has relied on scare tactics and innuendo to attack public figures. Usually this tactic is reserved for the most competent candidates. For Governor Romney, the issue that the liberal press continues to press is his religion. Some on the far left seek to scare the radical secularists into believing that should he be elected, Romney will impose his religion on the American people. Some seek to scare the Evangelical community into thinking that Mormonism is in some way threatening to Protestantism. Still others seek to paint Romney with the brush of extremism, or portray him as endorsing the extremists in his religion. Respectfully, these arguments are poppycock.

One of the things that makes America a beacon of light and hope around the world is the our principle of religious freedom. Radical secularists insist that our public square should be wiped clean of religion - that it should not even inform the deliberations of our leaders. That would not only be contrary to the Founding Fathers' design and example, it would be dangerous for America and for the world. Should these anti-religious advocates prevail, religious persecution would begin in earnest in the United States. America would become a country where adherence to religion - any religion - would disqualify a person from public office, employment, or social institutions.

Lowell adds: This TV news transcript from Salt Lake's KSL reflects a typical discussion of the religion question between a Mormon scriptural scholar and an Evangelical minister. One interesting exchange:

Rev. Gregory Johnson, Founder, Standing Together [the Evangelical]: "[Romney] has said numbers of times in the media that I believe Jesus Christ is the son of God. That may be ok for now but I think as he becomes more successful, both the media and the individual citizens are gonna say, ok that's great, but tell us more."

Romney, they say, will likely answer the basics but may at some point draw the line.

Robert Millet, Ph.D., BYU Religion Professor: "Not because he doesn't have the answers, he doesn't want it turned into a theological debate."

I disagree with Rev. Johnson. Outside of truly religious folks (e.g., South Carolina primary voters) I'm not sure people will be interested enough in the issue to say, "Tell us more." It may just be that if Romney gets up a head of steam, people will want to know more about what he plans to do as president than what he thinks about baptism by immersion. John, do you agree?

John responds: I think Rev. Johnson will want to hear more, as will other people whose theology matters to them greatly, like me. But we must remember that even among the churched, we are the minority. There will be a curiosity about Mormonism as Romney gains public attention, but not necessarily about Romney's personal faith. The former being a matter for the CJCLDS to respond to, not necessarily the candidate.

Elsewhere in the Hewitt interview, DeMint compares crowd reaction to Romney to Reagan. The sparsity of Reagan's religious practice quickly faded into the woodwork when confronted with his personal charisma. I think the same will apply to Romney. I hearken back to Boston - the man is the very real deal in the communications department.

Sphere: Related Content

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments yet » | Print this post | Email This Post