The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 5 of 16)

p>Sell your stocks, hide your billfold, and lock up the interns. The new American motto that follows could be like George Strait's #1 selling song's title, "Just give it away" br> -- Jerry Rodeheaver /p> p> Philip Klein partly misses the point, or is unwilling to broach the issue. The messenger of Conservatism in this Republican primary, Mitt Romney, had two problems. First was his background as a Moderate Republican. Many conservatives accepted his change in position to conservative as sincere, and many endorsed and supported him. At least a plurality of Republicans, however, does not appear to believe his conservative conversion story, and doesn't seem to particularly care about many conservative issues anyway. Second, and by far the greatest problem for Republicans (the thousand pound gorilla in the room which everyone is trying to ignore), he is a Mormon. It is abundantly clear that religious bigotry is alive and well in the Republican Party. From Huckabee's snide comments about Jesus and Satan being brothers, to the WSJ editorial page running a piece stating that Mormons are inherently racist (so I at least am pretty well convinced that the WSJ --an entity that one would think would be a huge supporter of Romney--editorial page is religiously bigoted), the distaste for Romney displayed by William Kristol, repeated articles critical of Romney and his religion by commentators in major neocon and conservative journals, it became clear that America in general, and Republicans in particular, would not vote for a Mormon. Credit Rush Limbaugh, Hugh Hewitt, Bay Buchanan, Douglas Kmeic, and many other conservatives who supported Romney with not being party to Republican religious bigotry. Unfortunately for Romney, they are a valiant few, but they will follow him into the breach again. McCain himself, however, seems to harbor considerable animus against Mormons, along with much personal animosity toward Romney. Don't count on McCain to automatically carry Utah in the general election, as irrelevant as it may be to the outcome. Utah has been hospitable ground for Republicans for many decades. McCain may change that, even if he doesn't destroy the Republican Party. br> -- Kent Lyon br> College Station, Texas /p> p> Better hope you are wrong Phil! The McCain-Huckabee-Clinton folks will not leave the country as free as they got it. There may be an end to conservative talk radio and bloggers but, if so, there will be no more American Spectator

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