Mormon Issue Hurting Romney In Iowa

New York Times:

The religious divide over Mitt Romney's Mormon faith that his supporters had long feared would occur is emerging in Iowa as he is being challenged in state polls by Mike Huckabee, a former Baptist pastor who has played up his faith in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

Mr. Huckabee's rise in Iowa -- some recent polls now put him in a dead heat with Mr. Romney, who had led surveys for months -- has been fueled by evangelical Christians, who believe Mormonism runs counter to Christian orthodoxy.

Although Mr. Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, has been able to make inroads among the evangelicals, an influential voting bloc in the state, interviews with Mr. Huckabee's supporters make clear that a sizable number are distinctly uncomfortable with Mr. Romney's religion and cite it as a major reason they would not vote for him in the state's Jan. 3 caucuses.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[Meah]

I cannot believe that the Mormon religion would prompt one of its own to do and say ANYTHING to become president. I do not think Mormonism is his problem. I think Mitt Romney is his own problem. He has a mouth that says stupid things, bigoted things, and his ambition is obscene. Mormonism is the problem of others, like the good Christians who are supposed to tolerate and love everybody. I think it is disrespectful to call others' religion a cult. I think nearly all religions were labeled with that. I have no religious affiliation, but grew up in an absolute religion. I soon figured out that God has to care about everybody. That was when I was nine years old.

[helonias]

Time for a better set of seer stones and a new hat

[Dandy12]

Mitt is just weird.
Who can identify with him?
His Morman faith thing is the least of his problems.
He's way out of the mainstream, a departure from the norm...

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

A "JFK-style speech?"

As in not letting personal religious affiliation interfere with public leadership in our (formerly?) secular democracy?

Too late for THAT. We ARE talking about someone from a minority religion stating he would have no interest in having in his government anyone from ANOTHER minority religion, albeit one (Islam) that greatly outnumbers his (Mormon) worldwide.

[Qbear]

Romney exhibits the WORST of Mormons! He said one thing to seem liberal in a liberal state..."I am better on Gay Rights than Ted Kennedy."
Then he used a FILTHY racist anti-inter racial law from 1913 to stop any non MA resident from being able to marry in the ONE state which allowed LGBT equal rights.
His flip flops are Legendary on Pro Choice, Immigration, Taxes, and Guns. Even Conservative columnists dubbed Mittler..."Old Mitt New Mitt Red Mitt Blue Mitt."
he has at minimum 4 positions on every issue.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1210139/MittPRIDE.jpg

a B*TCH slap from american gays MITTLER

[cpotter]

Hold on...Romney's a Mormon????

[Qbear]

The most Iowa voters know about Mormons, is that on occasion nicely dressed missionaries knock on their doors and want to press a pamphlet in their hands, like the Jehovah Witnesses. They are just an irritant, most people don't feel much for Mormons one way or the other, but they DON'T like being bothered, and they don't rank Mormons equal to their Catholic or Protestant beliefs.
I was raised by a Mormon mother/Lutheran father, who moved from Salt Lake City to Minneapolis.

[Qbear]

If Mittler is thinking ALL the Iowa Mormons are going to save his campaign....he is as deluded as Obama, thinking Oprah and he can get ALL the young Black evangelical voters to win his iowa Primary.

imaginary folks don't vote in Primaries...except in Chicago and New Jersey and New Orleans.

[desertdweller]

This dust-up is a perfectly illustrative example of the bigotry that pervades the Republican party and its loyal supporters. The fact that it is happening at the top of the "food pyramid" where one so-called "believer" is questioning the legitimacy of another "believer," leads one to conclude that the same bigotry must be even more pronounced towards the non-Christians, non-white, un-married, non-heterosexual, non-believers, and non-prosperous, among us. Isn't this one of the principal reasons that most of us identify ourselves as Democrats, progressives, and liberals? As Democrats, progressives, and liberals, we need to do a better job of being inclusive, embracing diversity, and distinguishing ourselves and our movement from the rethugs. The American society is becoming more diverse every day while the Republican party remains focused on the whitebread, christian, "patriotic" segment of society. In theory, The Republican society should become increasingly irrelevant. Let's give it a shove in that direction.

[Benthead]

I'm a leftist atheist who was raised a Mormon in Utah, and I have no sympathy for Romney––he is reaping what he sowed.

But I gotta say: I used to tell my Mormon friends that they should let go of their persecution complex. The church is rich. Mormons have succeeded in business (Mariott, Huntsman, JetBlue), the professions, and government (especially CIA). Yes, Mormons were hounded in the 19th C, but they're protected and privileged today--get over it, I would tell them. But the reaction to Romney's campaign has made me change my mind. The Huffpost responses to any article on Romney or Mormons prove that Mormons are still subject to inordinate suspicion and hatred.

I certainly have my disagreements with Mormons and LDS belief--it's why I left the church. But it's quite remarkable the way y'all sound like torch-bearing villagers right out of frontier America. Light 'em up! Burn!

I still blame Rove and the Bushies, but I blame them for taking us back to the day when everyone (well, everyone who could afford to indulge in it) let loose with their most ignorant, venomous antipathies against whole groups they deem alien and dangerous.

[francoise]

"I also find it interesting how liberals claim that a persons gender, orientation, and racial make up should make no difference in how they run things and that these are non-issues, yet religion is somehow exempt from that group."
sandiegoconservative

Gender, orientation, and race, are determined by genetics.

Religion is determined by ignorance, stupidity, or weakness.

[Norge]

Mor mon ey, needs more money...............

[PaceSetter]

Mitt Romney said that he wouldn't permit Muslims to be appointed to the presidential cabinet because of their religion, so Romney has now made his own belief in Mormonism fair game. If we are to look at Muslims' religious beliefs before placing them in the presidential cabinet, then we should look at his Mormon beliefs before placing him in the Oval Office as well.

[markusmarkus]

Why does Romney remind me of used car salesman?

[stlrfan]

I suggest Mittwit gets out his hat and peep stones and gets a read on this election.