This is not an anti-Mormon comment ; I can vote for a Mormon without
experiencing
any kind of trauma. However, there certainly are questions I have with a
number
of LDS beliefs generally and with Romney's understanding of Mormonism
in particular. But there is another point :
The collapse, even if it turns out to be temporary, of the "Protestant
Establishment"
in politics / government has been spectacular. No more Protestants on the
Supreme Court despite Bush having two selections, and no Protestant
who was a serious contender for the GOP nomination by the time
that Iowa rolled around. Result , a Mormon candidate for president.
You would think that various Protestant leaders would be concerned.
So far no sign of any such thing. You would think that there would be
some serious soul searching about Protestant political failures
but I don't know of any such thing, either.
No conclusions at this time but an observation worth making.
Billy
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With Santorum suspending campaign, some religious conservatives wonder how
to proceed
Dan Gilgoff ("CNN," April 10, 2012)
USA - Evangelical activist Michael Farris was not exactly surprised that
Rick Santorum suspended his campaign on Tuesday. But that doesn’t mean that
Farris, a longtime political organizer, knows what he’s supposed to do now.
“Right now my choice is to sit on my hands and do nothing or to actively
try to find some alternative” to Mitt Romney, Farris said in an interview
shortly after Santorum's announcement.
“Some of us just have a hard time supporting a person who said he was going
to be more liberal on gay rights than Ted Kennedy,” said Farris, chairman
of the Home School Legal Defense Association, referring to remarks Romney
made in a 1994 letter.
Farris’ reaction is a stark emblem of the disappointment among religious
conservatives over Santorum's announcement, and a reminder that Romney’s
enthusiasm deficit among the conservative evangelicals who form the GOP’s base
hasn’t gone away.
“There are two kinds of disappointment today,” said John Green, a religion
and politics expert at the University of Akron. “One is felt by people who
care a great deal about social issues, especially white evangelicals, who
are uncomfortable with Mitt Romney.”
“And there’s another group who really liked Santorum,” Green continued, “
and were quite excited about him not only because of the social issues but
because they saw him as representing this positive role for faith and
values in a society.”
The conservative and largely evangelical Family Research Council said in an
email to supporters Tuesday night that Santorum's announcement "was
clearly disappointing news for those looking for a nominee who understands and
articulates the connection between the social and fiscal challenges facing
America."
"His historical run for President achieved remarkable success because his
campaign was based not on money spent, but on the pro-life, pro-marriage,
pro-freedom message he carried," the Family Research Council email blast
said.
Religious conservatives were the key to Santorum’s unlikely rise as a
serious presidential candidate. Conservative evangelicals and Catholics were
drawn to Santorum as much for his personal story – he is a conservative
Catholic and homeschooling dad of seven – as for his outspoken advocacy
against
abortion rights and same-sex marriage as a U.S. senator.
While polls showed him at the back of a seven-person pack just weeks before
January’s first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, Santorum won a plurality of
Iowa evangelicals, who accounted for nearly 60% of the electorate. That
support laid the foundation for a first place Iowa finish.
After Santorum’s primary loss in New Hampshire to Mitt Romney - and days
before Santorum would lose to Newt Gingrich in South Carolina - conservative
religious activists convened in Texas and congealed behind the former
Pennsylvania senator.
With strong evangelical support, Santorum went on to win primaries and
caucuses in 11 states, even as Romney racked up more than twice as many
delegates.
Not all conservative religious activists are as dead-set against Romney as
Farris, who is also chancellor at Patrick Henry College, a school for
homeschooled youth.
“Barack Obama will unite conservatives and people of faith more so than any
single Republican candidate can hope to do,” said Mat Staver, an
evangelical Christian who leads the conservative legal group Liberty Counsel.
But Staver said Romney would have to work hard to excite social
conservatives.
“He’s going to have to make some intentional steps to reach out to
evangelicals and religious conservatives,” said Staver. “It would be a mistake
to assume he has every vote from evangelicals and religious conservatives
locked up.”
At the moment, plenty of other conservative activists say they’re still in
wait-and-see mode about the primary season.
“It’s very likely that he’ll end up the nominee, but he’s not he nominee
yet,” said Steve Scheffler, president or the Iowa Faith and Freedom
Coalition, about Romney. “He was never my first choice, but I’ll support him
because the alternative is something we can’t live with.
“But I’m not ready to throw my support to him yet,” Scheffler said.
____________________________________
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