Article VI Blog

Some people think religion matters . . .

This one's for those who don't think the left will hit below the belt on religious issues. Ed Morrissey has more.

Also on NRO, S.T. Karnick holds forth on why a governor is the best nominee for the GOP:

On the Republican side, the top-tier candidates are more varied. Among them are a Senator, McCain (although he’s just barely hanging on at this point, with New Hampshire his only hope for renewal); a former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani; and a governor, Mitt Romney, who would surely be the odds-on favorite if he were not a Mormon but who cannot energize the Republicans’ crucial voting bloc, evangelical Christians, unless there is no other viable alternative.

(Emphasis added.) Karnick goes on to promote Mike Huckabee as the right choice: Huckabee's a former governor and, as a Baptist minister, doesn't have that nasty religion problem preventing him from "energizing the Republicans' crucial voting bloc."

If Karnick is right, evangelicals vote as a bloc, and are energized to support a candidate only when he or she is an evangelical too. Evangelical readers, how do you feel about being characterized that way?

John comments: This is the second time I have seen something like this, let's call it "Romney, but…" It happened quite a bit at the apex of Thompson-mania and threatens to happen again when and if he pulls the trigger. And now in the interim, we are seeing it with Huckabee, a man with any number of admirable traits, but who simply lacks the horses for the long haul.

This is a very subtle form of bigotry. It is as if we feel we are not bigots if we hold our nose and cooperate, but at the first opportunity to escape the "stench" we dive for cover. Just a couple of things to think about. The "stench" is a manifestation of bias, perhaps bigotry, and has nothing to do with the candidate himself.

Secondly, it takes an intensive and whole-hearted effort to win the presidency of the United States. As Republicans, if we engage in the battle with one hand holding our noses it is a formula for the second President Clinton. Romney is increasingly looking like the most viable representative of what we hold dear, regardless of where and how he worships - we are going to need to learn how to let go of our noses if we are going to have a chance in the fall.

Others are not so sure . . .

Oops, it looks like Iowa's voters haven't noticed that Romney is not supposed to energize them. Maybe having a message, a strong organization, an advertising budget and a strategy actually mean more than the candidate's faith. S.T. Karnick, call your office.

Meanwhile, David French over at EFM has a little more to say about Mark Davis. (Hint: David thinks Mark is wrong.)

And here's a thoughtful view of how believers might view their associations with non-believers or other-believers:

[A]s Christians we must balance the courage and confidence of our convictions (Jesus is Lord!) with a desire to love and serve others who are wrong. We cannot just “be friends with everyone” nor can we simply abandon all friendships with those with whom we have serious disagreements.

That kind of nuanced thinking is probably too much for some people to bear.

And finally . . .

Some guy who runs an influential GodBlog has some thoughts about what's going on inside the Evangelical world, the Mormon world, and some possible parallels. And yes, it relates to Article VI. And some Mormon guy who co-writes a political blog actually commented! It's a brilliant exchange, and I recommend it to everyone.