The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Matters of Faith

12.10.07 @ 12:01AM

GETTING TO FIRST BASE
Re: Liz Mair's Romney's Base Hit and Hunter Baker's Romney and the American Religion:

Both Liz Mair and Hunter Baker make great points about Mitt Romney's speech. But one point omitted by both is how uniquely and consummately American the speech was, and in that respect it filled me with great pride. The British press has recently touched on how forbidden it is for a politician in Britain to publicly discuss his faith and the relevance of his faith to his being, both public and private. It is in fact in the British context almost as intolerable as an American politician publicly using the N-word. It simply cannot be done and will not be tolerated. (Please note I am drawing equivalence to the probable reactions, not to the relative validity of the reactions.) The same can probably be said for public figures throughout Continental Europe, perhaps even in Italy. How truly magnificent it is to see American freedom exercised, and to know that only here can you enjoy it.

On a minor point, when Mr. Baker writes, "The American model continues to serve both church and state well. Institutional separation has made the church far more influential than anyone might have expected," he should perhaps consider the historical implications of Roman Emperor Constantine's embrace of Christianity. There is no avoiding the historical reality of Christianity's overwhelming spread through the Empire very much because of the institutional unity, not separation, that Constantine caused. America is arguably at the crossroads of a decision to institutionalize atheism and formally exclude religious thought and expression from all public discourse, in a sense a reverse Constantine. Mitt Romney would doubtless steer between the two extremes. But several candidates clearly would not.
-- Frank Natoli
Newton, New Jersey

Liz Mair seems to have an uninterested take on the Romney speech. It was, however, the best presentation any of the candidates running for President, Republican or Democrat, have delivered. He clearly established that he has Presidential timber and deserves serious consideration from the voters.
-- Howard Lohmuller
Seabrook, Texas

"On the one hand, his Mormon faith is a substantial obstacle to his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president. In his speech, Romney presented his Mormon faith as another version of Christianity, but that view is contested to say the least. Evangelicals make up a large part of the party's base as do Catholics. For both groups, Mormonism is a heresy." Hunter Baker

"But, by the same token, his inclusion of the sentence, "Americans tire of those who would jettison their beliefs, even to gain the world," will have struck some as ironic. Romney is, after all, the man accused with frequency of having changed his views on everything from abortion to immigration to Ronald Reagan to his favorite book." Liz Mair

These two sentences capture beautifully what troubles many about a significant segment of the GOP base and about Mitt Romney.
-- Mike Roush
North Carolina

I am not now or I have been a member of the Mormon Church, but I've met quite a few Mormons during my sixty years. When I was in the Army back in the late sixties my dog tags had "NO PREF" stamped on them. Not that I was an atheist or an agnostic back then. I just figured that if things got to the point where people might be taking a close look at my dog tags that I'd be happy to have a minister of any faith in my corner. I have yet to meet a Mormon that I felt that I couldn't trust and I have never met a Mormon that wasn't a strong supporter of their family, their country, and their faith. Mormons have a distinguished record of service in this country's military as well as a long record of public service -- with one exception. If I had to select a Mormon that didn't live up to my ideal of how a patriotic American public servant ought to conduct himself I'd have to pick Senator Harry Reid of Nevada. Senator Reid may be a member of the Mormon Church, but he appears to be more devoted to the Doctrines of Karl Marx and to the Gospel of Defeat than to the Doctrines of Jesus Christ. That's just my opinion, but that's how I see it.

If Governor Romney gets the nomination of his party I intend to vote for him for President. I consider him to be a decent and honorable man who "packs the moral gear" to lead this country. I can't say the same of any of the Democratic candidates who might get that party's nomination. And, by the way, I'm not worried that the day after Election Day I'll wake up to find my house surrounded by young men in white shirts and ties on ten-speed bikes.
-- T.L. Jeffrey
Carmichael, California

FEELING SAD
Re: Shawn Macomber's Tancredo in the Twilight:

If, in chronicling the last throes of the Tancredo campaign, Shawn Macomber's prose had been set to music, it would resemble nothing less than a threnody, for his storyline is that of a man and his campaign passing from the scene. Yet, at last look, "Tom Terrific" was still on the campaign trail, and, for those with a Christian perspective, while there is life, there is hope. While it would be soothing to claim that he was doomed from the start by his "one issue" candidacy, I would like to repeat what I've written in these pages previously: no candidate running in the GOP primaries has a better record as a fiscal and social conservative than the aforementioned Signor Tancredo. While candidate Paul may have chosen not to fund Planned Parenthood because of his belief that it is not the government's role to do so, Tancredo's philosophy was, and is, that abortions are morally wrong, and therein lies a major difference between these two honorable men. The disconnect between the reality of his consistently conservative record in the House of Representatives, and the willful disregard by the MSM, including "conservative" outlets, to cover his campaign, has made Tancredo's course of action easy to ignore.

But Macomber does have the decency to point out that, in the event of his withdrawal, Tom Terrific is a true gentleman, with a wonderful sense of humor. Early in the campaign, when asked if he could be elected president, he demurred, saying that he "didn't have the right hair." He also didn't attract the big GOP donors; they were too busy falling over themselves to promote candidates who would make Dwight Eisenhower blush. Yet, to have seen Tom Terrific as the primary season lengthened was to see a man confident in the righteousness of his cause. I do not how to say this without sounding corny: Tom Tancredo is, genuinely, a man of the people of this country.

The history of third parties in this country is filled with examples of them organizing and agitating for a particular set of laws to be passed. Our current front-runners are seriously challenged regarding their records and willingness to enforce laws that already exist in dealing with illegal immigration into this country. Perhaps, Tom Tancredo's political epitaph will be, not that he helped pass certain laws, but that he was instrumental in their being carried out. This country needs more representatives who measure up to Tom Terrific Tancredo.

Pax tecum,
-- Vincent Chiarello
American Council for Immigration Reform

THE BUSH LEGACY
Re: Quin Hillyer's The Good Bush Narrative:

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Harry Reid, Business, Religion, Abortion, Constitution, Law, Supreme Court, Military, NATO, Immigration