Via K-Lo comes Jeff Jacoby on the subject of Gov. Mitt Romney's presidential aspirations. Jacoby dismisses concerns that a Mormon could never be elected president:
A second problem is Romney's religion. Both Eastland and Miller cite a 1999 Gallup poll in which 17 percent of respondents said they would never vote for a Mormon candidate. Some of that is bigotry, some simply ignorance, akin to the bigotry and ignorance that would once have kept a Catholic like John Kerry or a Jew like Joseph Lieberman off a national ticket.
[snip]
But Romney's family history convinces him that most voters are not that shallow. ''Before anyone heard of my dad, the fact that he was a Mormon could have been a real big matter," he said. But the more voters came to know him, the less of an issue his religion became. '' 'Oh, he's a Mormon?' Well, so what? It became such a footnote."
There's a difference between getting a Mormon elected in Massachusetts and a Mormon elected in Alabama. The first has a chance, the latter has zero. Selecting a candidate that many evangelicals label as a heretic at best, and a cult member at worst, would smash the Republican base.
Jacoby says, "most voters are not that shallow", which really shows readers that Jacoby doesn't understand how conservative evangelicals think. I guess that secular conservatives just don't get it: conservative evangelicals take their faith seriously, and will not consider a Mormon just a different kind of Christian.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
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2 comments:
Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Oklahoma is Mormon and serves one of Oklahoma's most conservative congressional districts, which includes much of the Oklahoma City area. He has had high support among his district's conservative evangelicals.
The presidency might be a different matter, but Im just not sure.
My own view is that people should vote for candidates based on their integrity, their stands on issues, and their leadership abilities and that their religious background should not be a factor.
I didn't know that Istook was a Mormon. If he can get elected there, perhaps I have misread conservative evangelicals.
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