The American Spectator

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Corrosive Negativity

12.7.07 @ 12:01AM

(Page 2 of 5)

Left two border guards rot in jail after being convicted in a kangaroo court.

Abandoned Libby.

Signed Campaign Finance Reform in the hopes of a Supreme Court Reversal.

Pushing a housing bailout that voids legally written real estate contracts, protects speculators and undermines the very nature of business contracts.

Welcomed bigots to Annapolis.

Is melting on global warming.

Lets scores of judicial nominees wither on a senate vine of deliberate inaction and vindictiveness.

Is too tongue-tied to use the bully pulpit.
-- Peter Mohan

THE MORMON QUESTION
Re: W. James Antle III's The Religion Test:

Thank you to James Antle for a thoughtful piece and I agree with him but I think in making his argument, he is pointing out the larger problem with Mitt Romney and it isn't his faith.

When a candidate becomes a President, no matter how conservative he claims to be, he is immediately besieged by the left, the media and all sorts of loud special interest groups and inevitably governs more to the left than conservatives would like. Paying attention to this pressure and polling data instead of governing from principal is how we get a GWB falling for this global warming myth and extending free prescription drugs to seniors or a Reagan raising taxes. So we now have Mitt Romney, who instead of running forward on issues and principals, begins to bend to a small and insignificant criticism of his faith. Unless I've been missing something, I haven't seen or heard a huge groundswell of criticism of Mormonism or Romney's faith. His over-reaction to this little bit of concern is telling. Can we expect a similar speech by Rudy on marital infidelity or a Fred Thompson diatribe on taking weekends off? I think not.

Antle's most telling statement is "All this can easily be overstated." Indeed!! I can see someone on his staff breathlessly reporting some poll that shows concern over his Mormon faith, quoting an article in some obscure evangelical publication and advising a response. The same guy that would race in to the oval office to frantically urge a President Romney to raise taxes, ignore pro-lifers or appoint a Supreme Court nominee that won't offend anyone, especially Democrats.

I'm Catholic and I could care less what a candidate's faith is. The more serious criticism of Romney is that his basic principals can apparently change depending on the position he's running for. My fear is if he bends to this little bit of public pressure, what will he do when he gets to the big leagues? His response to this does nothing to waylay those fears.
-- Pat Bruen

For quite a while now, I have been determined to stay out of the argument over Romney and his being a Mormon. One reason is because I consider myself a born again conservative Christian. I, therefore, consider that if I am not exactly an evangelical, I am at least on their side, an ally in their battles, so to speak. Another reason is that Romney is not my first choice for a candidate for President. I watched from New Hampshire when he ran against Ted Kennedy, and it was one of the worst run campaigns that I had ever seen. I then watched as he ran for, and won the Governorship in Massachusetts. The Dems often allow a Republican to be Governor because it gives them someone to blame for things that go wrong, like the Big Dig, even though the solid Dem legislature is the real power and the real governing body. Now he is a neighbor running for POTUS.

The argument, however, has taken a turn, and reached a pitch that I can no longer ignore. There is a determined effort on the part of many of the leaders of the more fundamental sects of Christianity, aided and abetted by many GOP activist elites to deny Gov. Romney the nomination on the basis that he is NOT a Christian. This is patently absurd and bigoted.

Letter to the Editor

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