Book argues that elite media is a bigger threat to Mitt than evangelicals
There are no comments for this page [ Add Comment ]Thursday, May 31, 2007
By Doug Gibson
Commentary
According to wire services, on Tuesday, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney was in New Hampshire campaigning when a patron at a restaurant refused to shake his hand. Al Michaud, of Dover, N.H., shouted, "I'm one person who will not vote for a Mormon."
Romney took the rebuke with a smile and continued campaigning. Later, Michaud told reporters he is not "a right-winger," but rather "a liberal."
This minor, petty event on a long campaign underscores blogger/radio host Hugh Hewitt's assertion in his book "A Mormon in the White House: 10 Things Every American Should Know About Mitt Romney": that Romney's religion is more likely to be used as a weapon against him by the political left, rather than the religious right.
While many evangelicals may deeply loathe Mormonism as a theology, Hewitt nevertheless believes most are receptive to voting for Romney, since he generally shares their views on social issues, as well as the War on Terror. An example: Quoted in "A Mormon in the White House" is Watergate conspirator-turned evangelical Chuck Colson. Even though Colson admits he believes Mormons are bound for hell, he tells Hewitt that Latter-day Saints and evangelicals are natural partners come election day.
In the book, several other religious right leaders echo Colson's enthusiasm for a Romney candidacy. Meanwhile, on the left, Hewitt sees a tendency to mock Mormonism as part of a larger strategy of contempt for religion in general.
As noxious as the Christian fundamentalists' fantasy of Mormons burning in hell is, Hewitt is among the first to puncture the conventional wisdom -- that Christian conservatives would likely short-circuit Romney's presidential hopes. This enthusiasm contradicts many elite media myths that the religious right is intolerant, clannish, unreceptive to accommodation ... ad nauseam.
The left, and its allies in the elite media, argue Hewitt, are a greater threat. They won't be arguing whether Romney is a Christian. Instead, these opponents will use the unorthodox tenets of Mormonism as an attack tactic for political reasons.
Hewitt refers to recent media stories in The Atlantic, Washington Monthly and Slate as instances where Romney's faith was obsessively critiqued. As for mocking the faith, anti-Romney liberal blogger Andrew Sullivan recently posted pictures of Mormon garments on his site. Hewitt says these types of news stories will intensify if Romney's campaign gains momentum.
Jacob Weisberg, in a mocking Slate article, wrote: "I wouldn't vote for someone who truly believed in the founding whoppers of Mormonism." Sullivan, with his photo of garments-clad persons, wrote, "So Mitt Romney will never have to answer the boxers or briefs question. But will he tell us whether he wears Mormon underwear at all times, including when asleep?"
Hewitt's advice to Romney is to refuse to talk about distinct issues of his faith, pointing out to the media the Constitution forbids a religion test for office. Hewitt is a bit of a conspiracist, believing that the largely secular elite media will use Romney's "Mormon questions" as a way to have a candidate's faith always be open for scrutiny in the future. Hewitt further warns conservative Christians who encourage liberal attacks on the Mormon faith that it could be their beliefs that are mocked and ridiculed in the future.
I don't go along with Hewitt's conspiracy theory. As far as I can see, Romney has done a masterful job describing his Mormon beliefs. Attacks on the Mormon faith from journalists such as Sullivan and Weisberg have been widely criticized from both sides of the political aisle.
"A Mormon in the White House" is a sympathetic portrayal of Romney. Hewitt thinks Romney has the edge when it comes to grabbing the GOP nomination. Main rivals Rudolph Giuliani and Sen. John McCain are not trusted enough by Republican activists to get the nomination, writes Hewitt.
Indeed, Romney is starting to move ahead in polls. He leads in New Hampshire and Iowa, and this week passed Sen. McCain in a Rasmussen national poll. But there's a candidate not mentioned by Hewitt: Former Sen. Fred Thompson, if he runs, could siphon off support from Romney.
It is too early to assess Mitt Romney's future as a candidate. If he does grab the nomination and presidency, Hewitt will have earned distinction as a pundit who saw his success sooner than most political fortunetellers.
Gibson is the Standard-Examiner's assistant editorial page editor. He can be reached at dgibson@standard.net.
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