"No...I think that is a ridiculous argument, He's expressing what he believes and that's a good thing. I want to know what a candidate believes. If a candidate is an atheist, be honest and tell me...If you're a genuine believer and it's very important to what makes you tick, then helps me to understand what your framework is. That's a valid understanding of a candidate."Too risky to talk about religion?
"Greater risk in electing someone who is not honest, someone who is a phony, who says something but doesn't really believe it. It's important for a candidate to say here are my values, here is my framework out of which I make decisions..."
Is Rick Perry disparaging Mitt Romney or Jon Huntsman by talking about his Faith?
"Unfair comparison that people have made. Some of the greatest public servants of our day have been Mormon. It is not a disqualifier. It's ridiculous to say it is. Jon Huntsman is a good friend of mine and Michael Leavitt is one of the greatest public servants this country has seen. I’d vote for them in a heartbeat. It has nothing to do with their faith. And I respect them dramatically for who they are and what they stand for."
H/T Mediaite
7 comments:
Perry can talk about his religion all he wants. Every time he talks about his faith INSTEAD OF SPECIFICS in any policy he would bring to the White House, another 1000 Independents decide he's nothing but a BAG OF WIND!
I don't want my President to wear his religion on his sleeve.
I saw this live... one thing that struck me, is when Mike Huckabee mentioned a series of Mormons who he supports, he mentioned Jon Huntsman, but not Mitt Romney.
Maybe it's because he knows Huntsman has no shot, but he doesn't want to give away his eventual endorsement of Romney?
Or maybe it's because he really still hates Romney?
No idea.
if it had to be romney or perry, huck will hold his nose and endorse romney.
I agree with Huck - knowing a candidate's espoused religion helps us to know where they are coming from ideologically (& anyone who looked at Obama's religious affiliation knew what was coming during his term).
It's also not about "wearing one's religion on one's sleeve", but about whether one's words match one's actions, and religion is a major part of a person's frame of reference ideologically. (ie. Obama's liberation theology which is socialism in a Christian costume)
As for mentioning Huntsman, but not Romney: Huckabee does not hate Romney; he simply sees him for the plasticman that he is (ie. no solid principles - whatever it takes to win). People who want political office that desperately are truly scary.
Huckabee's criticism of Perry has been just as scathing, but no one seems to notice - either because he's not running now or because it's hard to get away with characterizing it as religious bigotry, as was done with his criticisms of Romney, when Huck & Perry are of similar faiths.
And Huckabee has already stated that he will support WHOEVER the GOP nominee turns out to be because any one of them will be better than Obama.
Hard to disagree with that either.
"Every time he talks about his faith INSTEAD OF SPECIFICS in any policy he would bring to the White House, another 1000 Independents decide he's nothing but a BAG OF WIND!" Then these Independents are no less bigoted than those who would vote Mr. Perry over Mr. Romney simply because of religion. These particular Independents are disgraceful and it is pure foolishness to pander to him.
Fortunately, despite that fact that Mr. Romney has both Secular and Mormon extremists in his camp, Mr. Romney has proven to be a man of character at least when it comes to religious tolerance. That does not make up for his poor judgement on SS and HC among other things, but it is an admirable trait nevertheless.
The fact that Mr. Perry appears to be a man of faith (not my faith BTW) is an admirable. This does not in and of itself make up for his poor judgement on the vaccine among other things. The jury is still out as to whether Mr. Perry is sincere and religiously tolerant.
The Romneyites have failed so far to prove that Mr. Perry is this monster who is a religious bigot and a phony panderer. The Perryites have failed to prove that Mr. Perry is an actual tolerant man who is sincere and not just a panderer.
In short we are not in a good situation, but it is interesting.
I don't think Perry is bigoted. I haven't seen him do or say anything that would label him as such. I really haven't heard any Perry opponents call him that. I'm not saying that you haven't, just that in my rounds I have not.
He is a phony panderer. Maybe or maybe not to the religious right. He sure started touting his religion almost immediately when he hit the campaign trail. That seems a bit too convenient. But he is a phony panderer in many more ways. Just look at how he espouses to be a Tea Party favorite, yet none of his actions while as a governor even shows that he espouses Tea Party ideals.
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