Running for President, Not Preacher
Kathryn Jean Lopez makes a strong and persuasive argument as to why Americans of any religious faith -- and no faith at all -- should be able to vote for Mitt Romney, a Mormon, and feel just fine about it.
I've pointed out before the difference between religiosity and theology. The fine points of any candidate's theology are irrelevant -- it's their policies that matter, as does the fact that a president is a religious believer of some stripe (otherwise, there's always the danger of a president giving in to a Nietzsche-style will to power).
Since Romney isn't running as the "Mormon candidate," it strikes me that the theological proctology exam to which he's routinely subjected is out of line. I'm not sure the same is true for Mike Huckabee, who is explicitly running as a Christian conservative.
I've pointed out before the difference between religiosity and theology. The fine points of any candidate's theology are irrelevant -- it's their policies that matter, as does the fact that a president is a religious believer of some stripe (otherwise, there's always the danger of a president giving in to a Nietzsche-style will to power).
Since Romney isn't running as the "Mormon candidate," it strikes me that the theological proctology exam to which he's routinely subjected is out of line. I'm not sure the same is true for Mike Huckabee, who is explicitly running as a Christian conservative.
posted by LadybugUSA at 5:24 PM
2 Comments:
My problem with Romney is that he's not a very good candidate in general.
You have a guy who was one of the most liberal governors in the history of Mass. (a very liberal state to begin with) trying to do a song and dance routine for a very conservative crowd.
He is compromising everything he stood for as a governor so that he could have a shot at being President, and that's what makes him morally suspect.
He is the John Kerry of the Republican party, and his flip-flopping worse than a fish out of water.
The Democrats (and I know many of them) would be very excited to run against Romney, as he is not going to be able to standup up in a general election the way that he is in a primary. (just like, ta-da, John Kerry)
It's a serious problem, and Huckabee and Giuliani are not much better, since Giuliani cannot win a conservative base and Huckabee could never win an agnostic swing voter.
The Republican party is sitting in a sinkhole, and the only seriously substantial party candidate is Fred Thompson, who has plenty of issues, not the first of which is that he is percieved as being slower on the uptake.
1) Miss Lopez is a Mitt Romney supporter. While her argument may sound persuasive, it's what she doesn't tell you that is the deal breaker.
2) Miss Lopez knows about the oath Mormons take to their church. You can google "mormon temple oath" and read the temple oath yourself.
3) I read somewhere you had said that if, say, a Catholic judge had sworn an oath to his church, that would disqualify him for office. That sounds like something you would say because it's logical. So maybe you didn't know about the oath Mitt Romney has sworn to his church because then you couldn't support him.
4) You seem to be missing the larger point, that may become clear to you as you push your book, Prude. "Policies" come from the heart, not the head.
I expect you will find, as you try to convince young women to abstain from sin, that if their "theology" is that they randomly evolved from dirt, there is no God and therefore, no sin and no eternal consequences for their sins, you will find, no matter how persuasive and valid YOUR arguments, they will not be moved. And so it is with Presidential candidates. Religion matters. A man's spiritual beliefs determine his policies.
(And you're forgetting that Mitt Romney continues to claim he believes in 'God,' 'Jesus Christ,' and elsewhere, the Bible. Aside from the fact these claims are troublesome to Christians, he is, like Mike Huckabee, running as a 'Christian.' He deserves the exam.)
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