Layton book rips national GOP for anti-Mormon bias
Text 
LAYTON -- Frustrated by the treatment former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney received from the "religious right" in his run for U.S. president, a Layton historian has written a book documenting the anti-Mormon bias amidst the national GOP party.
The 244-page, softcover book, "A Different God? Mitt Romney, The Religious Right and the Mormon Question" by Craig L. Foster, lists for $24.95 and is now available online at Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com and is expected to reach book stores by Aug. 21.
The book was published by Greg Kofford Books, a Salt Lake City publishing company.
Foster, a 30-year GOP member and former Davis County party chairman, said his intent is to demonstrate there was an anti-Mormon bias by the "religious right" within the national party against Romney, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
That bias was a significant factor in Romney's failed attempt at the presidency, the 48-year-old Foster said.
Romney, who made Utah's 2002 Olympic Winter Games a success, received about90 percent of Utah's Republican vote in the Feb. 5 presidential western primary, well outdistancing the field.
"When you get right down to it, it was a slap in the face of Utah Republicans," Foster said, who, in the book, refers to the Mormon bias in boxing terms as "a low blow."
What frustrates Foster, an LDS Church genealogist and historian, is Utah Republicans are conservative party members who have been devoted to GOP candidates, including giving President George W. Bush his largest margin of victory in his 2004 re-election bid.
"But when it came right down to it," he said, "Republicans didn't care about Utahns' faithfulness."
The same anti-Mormon bias Romney encountered in his campaign, Foster fears, will make it difficult for him to be named to Arizona Sen. John McCain's ticket as his vice presidential running mate.
"I personally do not think (Romney) is going to be selected (by McCain). But I may be pleasantly surprised. Mitt Romney really is by far the best choice. Hopefully, McCain says it is worth angering a few evangelicals," Foster said.
He added that the biggest problem is that religion trumps politics.
"They couldn't trust (Romney)," he said referring to the concern that Romney would be inclined to listen to what LDS general authorities had to say, rather than the people of the nation.
There are also those, Foster said, who claim Romney isn't a conservative. Based on his political history, he said, Romney is conservative when it comes to fiscal, international and military affairs. On some social issues, Romney does portray himself as more moderate.
Those who have yet to read Foster's book are giving his anti-Romney accusations mixed reviews.
Utah's Republican Party is respected by the Republican National Committee, made up of party representatives from all 50 states, said Anne Christensen, a member of the Utah GOP State Central Committee.
Based on that, and her political experience, Christensen said she does not view the treatment of Romney as a slap in the face to state GOP members.
The Bountiful Republican does admit Romney's downfall in his campaign may have stemmed from opposition he received within the national party from segments in the South, where some view Mormons as being members of a cult.
The Mormon religion is still relatively new to a large segment of the nation's population, and over time people's perspective of the LDS faith will change, she said. The increased acceptance may open the way for a Mormon to someday become president.
"People didn't think a Catholic could be president, (John F.) Kennedy proved them wrong," Christensen said. "(Richard) Nixon was a Quaker."
But Christensen doubts it will be Romney, at least this time around, who will break through that barrier.
"I think McCain will see that Romney would hurt him. I would agree with Foster on that. There are a lot of strong feelings against Mormons," she said.
What is discouraging, Christensen said, is Utah Republicans believe in the same conservative issues as the Christian right does, based on the national party meetings she has attended. "But I don't know that they think we are a part of them."
While Foster and Christensen remain doubtful Romney will be named to McCain's ticket, the state's leading Republican remains optimistic.
State Republican Party Chairman Stan Lockhart said, based on everything he has read and heard from those within the party, Romney remains on McCain's "short list" of potential running mates.
Before dropping out of the race for president, Romney had won 11 states, Lockhart said, and seemed to be receiving good response from GOP members across the nation.
Foster has authored two books and co-authored a book with Newell G. Bringhurst, "The Mormon Quest for the Presidency."
Add Your Comment
I do not like Evangelicals, Baptists, or Protestants. I think they are members of a dangerous cult.