Sunday, October 9, 2011

2012 Candidates Blast Pastor Jeffress' "Mormonism Is A Cult" Comment

While the 2012 candidates disagree with each other on various political issues, they are all united on one thing: Pastor Jeffress was wrong to call the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints a cult:
Former Sen. Rick Santorum, a presidential candidate who performed strongly at the Values Voter summit, said he does not believe Mormonism is a cult, and believes Romney is a Christian.

"I'm not an expert on Mormonism, but every Mormon I know is a good and decent person ... by and large, except for Harry Reid," Santorum said on "Fox News Sunday," jabbing at the Senate Democratic leader.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said someone's specific religion has no place in the conversation.

"I think that none of us should sit in judgment on somebody's else's religion and I thought it was very unwise and very inappropriate," he said, adding that he thinks Mormons are Christians.

Businessman Herman Cain, who appeared with Gingrich on CBS' "Face the Nation," was a little more circumspect.

"I believe that they believe they're Christians," Cain said of Mormons. He added that the candidates aren't running to be "theologian-in-chief."

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., told CNN that the issue is about religious tolerance, not someone's faith.

"To make this a big issue is ridiculous right now, because every day I'm on the street talking to people. This is not what people are talking about," she said.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who won the Values Voter straw poll, told Fox News that he disagrees with Jeffress and the comment was "unnecessary."

“But I don't think that's the issue of the day," he said. "I think liberty is the issue of the day. Our Constitution is the issue of the day. And too much government -- that is the issue of the day. It's not the definition of a cult."
Another 2012 candidate, Rick Santorum has previously stated that Mitt Romney and John Huntsman's faith will not be an issue in this election.  Jim DeMint has also publicly echoed that same idea earlier this year. Furthermore, influential Christians like Pat Robertson and Joel Osteen have accepted the fact that Mitt Romney is a Christian.

Attacking Mitt Romney's faith is an old 2008 campaign trick that won't happen again. Voters have already gone through this issue before and they're not interested in going through it again. Additionally, Americans are becoming less tolerant of candidates who are willing to use an opponent's faith for political gain. American has always been a religiously diverse nation and it will continue to be in the future. 

All of the 2012 candidates, except Rick Perry,  recognize this fact and that is why they have blasted Pastor Robert Jeffress for his comments. 

This article was crossposted from Conservative Samizdat.


Please check us out on Facebook and If you like what you see, please "Like" us. You can find us here.

33 comments:

Doug NYC GOP said...

Rick Perry is an oppurtunistic dirt bag politico. He only ran because he thought he could walk away with this race by playing the Conservative savior.

The only propblem was, and is, he is a an idiot. He opened his mouth and the nation saw a fool revealed.

Now in desperation, he resorts to old, dirty tricks, having surrogates do the nasty work.

Let him go home to texas with his $17 million ( I can fore see him spending very little and trying to play games witht he money once he drops out)and sit on a cactus.

Anonymous said...

Glad to the candidates backing Mitt.

Religion has nothing to do with governing a nation.

Noelle said...

Cain's response is a little disappointing. He's kind of my number 2, but he sunk slightly in my esteem with his weak defense.

I appreciate, however, the response of the others.

After all is said and done, however, the faith of the candidate is not that relevant to me. If the candidate demonstrates a strong moral fiber, is honest, and has good judgment, all of them are equal, as far as their faith goes. I can quite comfortably vote for a catholic, a baptist, a methodist, a mormon, a jew, etc. Once we've established that they are decent, honest and moral, I look at their qualifications, their position on the issues, and their ability to lead.

Anonymous said...

This is great news.

Noelle, I was also disappointed in Cain.

Though Palin is not a candidate, I would love to hear her take on Perry and his bigots. Now is a good time for some of her frank talk.

I was so glad Romney had the guts to call Fischer out yesterday.

Doug, you're right--Perry is an idiot--every which way from Sunday. I guess he thinks this is how you win Iowa. It may be, but Huck wasn't an idiot, and had some charisma. Perry is his own worst enemy.

-Martha

Ohio JOE said...

Martha, what was so disappointing about Mr. Cain. The whole thing is a non-issue. Even Mr. Perry himself distance himself from Rev. Jeffress. Regardless of what one thinks of Mormonism, is cannot by a cult by definition because it has survived Mr. Smith. Ironically Martha, you have legitimized Rev. Jeffress non-sense by getting into the mud with him and failing debate properly with him. You are no better than yesterday's Front page poster on Race.

Anonymous said...

OJ,

Cain could have showed the kind of leadership we need by making a strong statement against people like Jeffress, Fischer, and the the AFA bunch, but he DIDN'T, for one reason or another.

What we need here is REAL leadership like Bill Bennett yesterday-who have the guts to call it what it is--BIGOTRY, Gary Bauer, and Rick Santorum.

I'm very disappointed in Haley Barbour, and Bobby Jindal, who were both asked about it, and declined to take a stand. I previously had a lot of respect and admiration for both. Not now.

And quite frankly, OJ, you disappoint me too. Over the past 4 years, you've always taken the side of the bigots, apologizing for them, and whitewashing over the things they say and do. Your head is either in the sand about it, or you agree with them.

There is a litmus test for me. I'm looking to see if the leaders in this party will take a solid stand against bigotry. In 2008, precious few did. I'm hoping for better in 2012. It's not trivial stuff to me OJ.

-Martha

Ohio JOE said...

"Over the past 4 years, you've always taken the side of the bigots," If that were true, I would take your side. You yourself are being a bigot foe calling AFA bigot. You see a bigot under every rock. Does it not get old playing the bigot card. You do not hear Mrs. Palin complaining like you do when bigots burned down her Church. You do not her Mr. Santorum crying every day about anti-Catholicism. To be blunt, you make yourself look more silly that the boy who cried wolf with all this talk of bigotry. Shame on you! You call Mr. Perry a bigot for being religious and you call Mr. Cain a bigot for not being religious, Which is it???? You cannot keep wanting your cake and than eating it too.

Ohio JOE said...

BTW Martha, if you are so concerned about bigotry, why did you vote for Mr. Bush? He had at least a few anti-Mormons, anti-Catholics and Anti-Semites in his camp. But if you want to be a single issue litmus test person. Be my guest. Further, it is rather rich that you think that I am a bigot when you were among those mocking Mrs. Palin's religion on the other web-site. At least I was willing to support a candidate not of my religion.

Anonymous said...

There is a rather interesting discussion of this Jeffress' comment going on at Article 6 blog. I encourage all of you to go and read the relevant posts. OJ, these guys established this blog to deal with these kinds of issues.

Although Romney's religion has probably prompted the most posts, they have also taken on the issues with Michele Bachmann's religion and even Obama's Reverend Wright issues. I think this blog has improved civility and discussion of religion, which has the potential to divide us, so I encourage all of you to read what they have written.

AZ

Anonymous said...

OJ, all I can recommend to you is that you study up a little on the people you defend. Have you ever read about these people at all? They say some pretty ugly and lunatic things.

BTW - Every effort should be made to find and prosecute the people who burned down Palin's church, and I've never said otherwise.

Also, I DID NOT call Perry a bigot for being religious. Please get your facts straight OJ. You're getting pretty pathetic with your twisting of the truth. I also did not say Cain was a bigot, I said he lacked the courage to take a stand against them.

There is no question, but that Perry played the bigot card on Sat with Jeffress, and he left no doubt that he agreed with Jeffress when he said he 'hit it out of the park".

Please OJ, do your homework.

-Martha

Right Wingnut said...

Martha, The leaders in the party (including Mitt) said NOTHING when the 2008 VP nominee was accused of mass murder after the Tuscon shootings by almost the entire MSM and even some elected Democrats. I'm no bigot (I voted for the Mormon in the 2008 caucus) but I don't think the party needs to carry Mitt's water on this.

Right Wingnut said...

By the way, I've seen some bigoted comments on these sites by a few Mormons as well.

Ohio JOE said...

"Also, I DID NOT call Perry a bigot for being religious. Please get your facts straight OJ." Then why were you so upset that he prayed? I know, I know, you are going to try to claim that you have a problem with the people he prayed with. That does not cut it.

OK, yes to fair fair, you attacked Mr. Cain on his courage, but I have trouble seeing the sense in that. He said that he was not running for 'Chief theologian' that comment seems right up your alley.

"There is no question, but that Perry played the bigot card on Sat with Jeffress, and he left no doubt that he agreed with Jeffress when he said he 'hit it out of the park". " And Mr. Perry also said that Mormonism was NOT a cult.

"BTW - Every effort should be made to find and prosecute the people who burned down Palin's church, and I've never said otherwise." That is true, but when your friend from Utah posted a video with Mrs. Palin and an African American Pastor in an effort to make her look cultish if you will, you played right in. MWS (back when he was more sane) called you out on it.

Ohio JOE said...

"Martha, The leaders in the party (including Mitt) said NOTHING when the 2008 VP nominee was accused of mass murder after the Tuscon shootings by almost the entire MSM and even some elected Democrats. I'm no bigot (I voted for the Mormon in the 2008 caucus) but I don't think the party needs to carry Mitt's water on this." BINGO!!! Exhibit A why we do not owe the party hacks any loyalty.

Anonymous said...

RW, Carry's Mitt's water?!

Well then you disagree with Reagan. He said everyone is welcome in our party, but not the bigots.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to be in a party that defends bigots.

-Martha

Ohio JOE said...

"I don't know about you, but I don't want to be in a party that defends bigots." Fair enough, but I do not want to be in a party that defends non-capitalism, cronyism and hackery.

Noelle said...

I thought Cain's response was weak too. Not bigoted, but certainly not a strong stand.

Anonymous said...

perry can say he disagrees and its not a cult and all, but the truth is he would love for the "mormon' thing to continue so it can expose romneys "weirdness".

Right Wingnut said...

Noelle, Did the other candidates line up and give statements when Perry was painted as a racist due to this stupid rock story? No. In fact, Romney, and especially Cain piled on to some degree.

Right Wingnut said...

Martha, We're only talking about a few individuals that will have no bearing on who the nominee is. However, I can see some evangelicals staying home in November if he's the nominee. It's not fair, but the same would happen if a Catholic, a Jew, a black, or a woman were the nominee. I can also see a few Mormons sitting out if Perry is the nominee based on religious beliefs.

Anonymous said...

perry's rock issue is totally different dude.

Anonymous said...

RW, I can't. Not over religion.

I was real happy to see Romney finally stand up to these clowns, though.

This flap actually helps Romney. He had to distance himself from the nutjobs/religious fanatics, and this was a perfect set up to do so.

-Martha

Slick-Willy said...

RW: "Did the other candidates line up and give statements when Perry was painted as a racist due to this stupid rock story? No. In fact, Romney, and especially Cain piled on to some degree."

Seriously? Do you really see these as equivalent?

On the one hand you have a rock w/a racist word on it that Perry was originally reported to be partially responsible for. Why would anyone get his back on that? And when it became clear that Perry took responsible action, no one piled on. It was a null point.

However, in this case it's an attack on ALL Mormons. It's inappropriate in politics, but it goes way beyond that. There are 6 million Mormons in the USA and these types of statements are hurtful. How would you like to be in high school and have your friends comparing your religion to Jim Jones' cult? Mormons provide more relief aid than the Red Cross bro. These are good people who love America and their fellow men. These statements are not kind and they make me think less of the religions who's leaders spew this hateful nonsense.

And this certainly causes me to think less of Perry. 10 minutes of research on Jeffress demonstrates he ALWAYS throws "cult" around when discussing Mitt or Mormonism. If Perry did not expect this, he's a huge fool. If he did, he's a bad person. His released statement (after his initial praise of the comments) didn't go far enough.

Slick-Willy said...

RW: "I can also see a few Mormons sitting out if Perry is the nominee based on religious beliefs."

You don't understand Mormons. Mormons loved W, JFK and presidents of many religions. They don't see the nominee's religion being an issue. Some may stay home if Perry is the nominee, but not because of his religion. They'll stay home because might believe Perry will attack their religion as president like he's done while campaigning.

Jed M. Merrill said...

Who would have thought the "great and spacious building" in Lehi's dream would be a mega church in Dallas? :)

http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/8?lang=eng

Shocking that such hateful speech would appear at a "Values" Voter Summit!

Mitt 2012!!!

Jed M. Merrill said...

It's worth noting that Jesus himself condemned Pastor Jeffress' style of speech:

Matthew 5:22
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

What does this word "Raca" mean?

RACA—word suggesting contempt in Aramaic and Greek

Ohio JOE said...

"Seriously? Do you really see these as equivalent?" It may be apple to oranges, but both are still fruit.

Noelle said...

I heard Romney address the rock issue in an interview where he was asked about it, and he certainly did not pile on. Unfortunately I don't remember who the interview was with, or where I saw it, so I can't give an exact quote, but he did not pile on.

Ohio JOE said...

Well Neolle, I will take your word for it, because I do not remember Mr. Romney piling on with regards to the rock. I think the larger point is that Mr. Romney is not the only one who has to defemd himself from non-sense. For the record, it is neither good nor nice that a few bad apples pick on Mr. Romney because of his religion. While I certainly do not defend Mr. Perry on everything. It was neither good nor nice that some made ulgy comment against Mr. Perry with regard to race. Frankly, I think this is why some of us resent comments made by Martha. No, religious bigotry against Mormonism is not OK, but there are a lot of comments made against various candidates that are not OK.

Frankly, it is rather stupid to attack either Mr. Romney or Mr. Perry on their religion, race or gender because they have enough policies to deal with that are both positive and negative.

Noelle said...

I agree that absolute non issues include religion, race and gender. I'm fairly certain, however that all of us, including myself, at times make assessments and judgments that are colored by our feelings regarding someone's race, religion and/or gender. This is the case in political and non-political settings. Some of those judgments are positive, and some are negative.

I'm pretty sure there are some Mormons out there who support Romney because of his faith. I'm equally certain that there are non-Mormons out there who don't support him because of his faith. Neither judgment is very sound. Cain probably encounters some support and some lack of support due to his skin color. Perry probably receives some support and some lack of support because of his religion, Bachmann probably receives some support and some lack of support due to her gender. My only hope is that the person who is finally elected is the person who will do the job the best.

While none of the candidates are perfect, I continue to see Romney as the best person for the job.

Revolution 2012 said...

Glad to see the other candidates take the high road.

Slick-Willy said...

OJ: "Frankly, it is rather stupid to attack either Mr. Romney or Mr. Perry on their religion, race or gender because they have enough policies to deal with that are both positive and negative."

Well said.

Jed M. Merrill said...

"Let me state it clearly. We evangelicals have sinned against you."

- Richard Mouw, President, Fuller Theological Seminary

http://www.deseretnews.com/m/article/700186695