Thursday, December 30, 2010

Mitt Romney: Issues around his Mormon faith are so passe

Bob Abernethy host of Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly on PBS discuses issues ahead in 2011 with Kevin Eckstrom (Editor of Religious News Service), Kim Lawton (Managing Editor of Program), and EJ Dionne (Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution). Among the topics that were discussed were the upcoming race for the Republican nomination for President.

Here is the text from the Romney segment:
ABERNETHY: Now you were referring earlier to the fact that the beginning of 2011 may well seem like the beginning of the election campaign of 2012, E.J.

DIONNE: Right, and I think you’re going to see some sort of interesting positioning inside the Republican Party. I mean, we still don’t know if Sarah Palin is or is not going to run for president. Sarah Palin seems to be more representative of the Tea Party side of the right, although she has clearly some Christian conservative support. Mike Huckabee is going to be competing with her as the spokesperson for Christian conservatives, but every Republican running for president wants a piece of that vote, because it is such an important vote in the Republican primaries, and that’s going to start right now. It’s already started, before the show went on the air

ECKSTROM
: And I think something worth watching there is Mitt Romney, who is at the front of a lot of these polls, these straw polls, whether or not he tries to make the case about his Mormon faith again with the evangelical base. A lot of people say, you know, he did that; he doesn’t need to do it again. Other people say that he’s never going to win them over; there’s a certain amount of the base that’s just never going to accept a Mormon candidate. So I think it will be interesting to watch how he navigates the Mormon question.
Below is the video of the entire program. To view the 2012 race comments only, fast forward to the 15:00 minute mark:


As far as I'm concerned, the answer to the Mormon faith question for Mitt Romney in 2012 is, been there, done that. I believe it's only an ongoing issue for those folks with a personal agenda or those who would prefer one of the other candidates instead.

Anyone who puts a high priority on family values, a strong work ethic, fiscal conservatism, and a vast and successful background and experience in business, the private and public sectors, and takes a hard look at Mitt Romney, will know immediately that he is equipped to help turn around the economy and to put America back on the right path towards better times.

13 comments:

Michael said...

Excellent post Bosman.

I think that after President Obama and his pandering to the Islamic faith, Romney's Mormonism will be a refreshing change with most of the electorate.

zappo said...

The so-cons need a reason to dislike Romney. So they throw the Mormonism is a cult thing out there hoping it will stick.

I firmly believe 90% of this issue caused by the Huckabee supporters.

Palin would not make this an issue because it isn't.

Anonymous said...

I don't believe Romney's faith will be an issue this time around.

zeke

Doug NYC GOP said...

Bos,

Your closing paragraph should be cut & pasted into every comment section, of every thread on every site, which disses Romney.

His religion will be a negative to the religious bigots, who think they are better than everyone else.

Funny how you never hear about someone being an Evangelical being an issue to the Mormons.

Revolution 2012 said...

Great post Bos.

I agree with Doug. Your closing paragraph says it all.

hamaca said...

I also think religion will place less of a role this time around even if for no other reason than many people will want to avoid the bigot label.

Bill589 said...

2008 was before my political time, but I’ve read Huck tried a couple jabs at Mitt’s Mormonism. I don’t think Palin will consider this. I don’t know any of the other candidates that well, but doubt they would either. Nothing surprises me in politics.

Huck gets in snide remarks about Palin from time to time, always with his charming ‘innocent’ smile. I can only imagine it was a similar underhanded style that Huck tried to hurt Mitt in 2008.

Doug NYC GOP said...

Bill589 - That's pretty much how Huck operates. He holds a big Theology degree, yet when interviewed and asked about Mormonism by the NY Times, he said he didn't know much about them.

He then asked" the reporter something to the effect - "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the Devil were brothers?"

After the furor broke, it all puppy dog eyes and protestations of innocence. That's just one of the slime bucket moves he used to gain free press attention, which he relished in and why he became McCain's attack dog. It's also the only reason he stayed in the race long after it was over.

BOSMAN said...

Thanks Michael, Doug, and Rev. It's easy to write positive things about Romney when you know it's the truth!

phil said...

Great Post Bosman.

I saw people referring to this post over at Politico. You got everyone going over there with the 'passe' remark. Most agreed with you.

Anonymous said...

Bill,

I agree. I can't think of any other possible candidate that would make Romney's faith an issue other than Huckabee.

Take a look at Romney's personal life, his relation ships with his family and how they all turned out.

That seals the deal, as far as I'm concerned!

zeke

kelly said...

Bosman,

This is one of my favorite of your posts.

I also hope that those who question his faith, take a hard look at how he has conducted his life and that effect on his great family.

Ann said...

When people start choosing Presidents based on Character, experience, and ACCOMPLISHMENTS, we will get the best person in the White House. A particular religion has nothing to do with this. Only a strong faith in God does.

Mitt Romney qualifies in all of the above.