Today’s Reading List – November 15, 2007
Rumors about rumors…
The Prowler may have sources close to James Dobson that insist he is going to endorse Huckabee, but we have such sources as well. Our sources, which are indeed very close to Dobson, tell us that the rumor is just that. Said endorsement is not happening. Now, of course, like the Prowler we cannot name our source which means you have to take this for what it is worth – the big difference is we admit it.
Speaking of which…
In that self-same post I link above, I mention parallels between Evangelical and black political action. Jonah Goldberg is wondering about similar analogies.
Remember. . .
. . . early last week when we hammered the Joel Belz thing in World Magazine? Well, disappointingly, Belz' meme is being picked up in some very prominent places in Evangelical blogging circles. The bottom line about this is that it is an a priori decision that someone is a liar. It is precisely the same logic that liberals apply to we Evangelicals when they assume we are all jack-booted, legalistic, oppressive, theocrats. There are some creedal Christians that fit that mold, but that does not mean it is descriptive of all Evangelicals.
These arguments are not arguments, they are simple dismissal – a refusal to engage. We invite this sort of thing if we execute it.
This thinking is especially irksome from a faith tradition that is the root of rationalism and that has lead the charge against bias and bigotry throughout history. If we would but think about things a bit we would find such a priori dismissal highly irrational. It is one thing not to want to vote for Governor Romney. It is another thing to base that desire on something that is outside our tradition for reason.
Can we assume that because our creedal Christian faith is rooted in martyrdom that all Christians will end up martyred? Reason does not dictate so.
Lowell: I will simply say that it is disheartening to see a writer of Joe Carter's intelligence succumbing to the tribal urge to distrust the Other. It is also disgusting, frankly, to see the extent to which some people (Belz, and now Carter) will twist themselves into rhetorical and intellectual pretzels in order to make a rational argument that a man should not be supported politically primarily because of his religious affiliation. Once again, visceral prejudice trumps honor and good sense.
Speaking of below the belt…
Huckabee takes a fairly ugly shot. You know, gentlemanliness is one of my Christian values.
More Speech Talk…
Douglas Kmiec calls for The Speech. (This is getting tiresome.) Everything Kmiec says Romney needs to say, Romney has said, over and over and over again. This is a debate about venue and style, not content or message. This is being worried about the media, not the voter. The media wants media, the voter wants information. Romney has put the information out there time and again.
The important message is the one carried in the headline CBSNews uses to cover this same piece:
Now that message can be so much more effectively sent by Romney himself in smaller, more intimate gatherings than it ever can be is a set piece speech.
And Yet…
Larry King just had to ask the stupidly obvious when the Osmonds were on last night. I think King and the Osmonds were trying to be helpful, but like the headline said, there is more to it, much more. You know, I know several Mormons that I have never asked about politics, let alone Romney specifically. There is plenty to talk about in the world.
Subtle, and yet…
The NYTimes runs a story, reprinted here in the Houston Chronicle, about Romney's formative years in Mormon mission and at BYU. On the surface it sounds like the all-American success story. But I am wondering if phrases like this:
His sojourn through Paris and Provo, Utah, redoubled both his faith and his ambition.
Are not designed to send a subtle message to voters with a bias to exclude Mormonism against Romney. The NYTimes anti-Romney bias, as traditionally carried by its New England surrogate the Boston Globe is famous. This piece is certainly aimed to cement the Romney narrative as a Mormon narrative, not an American one.
And yet it is quintessentialy American. I too had a mission period, mine with Young Life, but nonetheless. I too left a top tier school (Vanderbilt) for a smaller school (Butler) that allowed me to better balance my studies and the rest of my life. I too have maintained my religious zeal and conviction while achieving success (though no where near the level Romney has) in my career.
Save for theology, the Romney story is very American, very wholesome and very presidential.
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