NPR: GOP Campaign Workers Target Romney's Religion

GOP Campaign Workers Target Romney's Religion

It seems that more than a few people working on GOP presidential campaign teams are taking every chance they can to diss Mitt Romney's Mormon religion, despite the actual candidates' opposition to such efforts.

The Boston Globe reports today that a member of John McCain's team in Iowa, attending a meeting of Republican activists in April, questioned whether Mormons were Christians, brought up an article that "alleges the Mormon Church helps fund Hamas, and likened the Mormons' treatment of women to the Taliban's," according to sources at the meeting. The worker didn't return The Globe's phone calls.

Earlier this week, The Washington Post reported that a field operative for Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback sent an e-mail to Iowa Republicans that contained numerous criticisms of Mormonism, including the familiar charge that it's not a real Christian religion.

Rudy Giuliani's campaign issued an apology earlier this month after the Latest Politics Blog reported that the director of Giuliani's e-campaign had sent another blogger a story from The Salt Lake Tribune that talked about Romney's campaign in light of a disavowed Mormon prophecy that a Mormon would one day save the Constitution.

McCain, Brownback and Giuliani have all denounced the actions by their workers and maintain that attacking personal faith has no place in American politics.

If it were only so. But as Alan Wolfe, director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College, says in the Globe story: "In some ways, [Romney's candidacy] is the best test of whether Americans have really put some of the old religious differences aside. And my guess is that they haven't."

11:20 AM ET | 06-21-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

I think criticism of a polticians ideology, their personal faith is important. We should judge a candidates character, and faith is a big part of how an individual defines themselves. In this case the only issue with mormonism is that it was made up by a militaristic and degenerate "false prophet" and centers its belief on the the family unit. Those are "all American" values though, so I don't see why anyone should be offended.

Sent by Jody Sol | 12:38 PM ET | 06-21-2007

It is fascinating to me that after 170 years and a campaign of ethnic cleansing (a term which I do not use lightly) which drove members of the LDS church and its members from three states and finally to Utah, that it is still considered par for the course to criticize Mormons, their integrity, and their patriotism...at least Mormon Republicans. Interestlingly enough, I never see any of these kind of statements attached to Democratic Senator Harry Reid, also a member of the LDS Church.

Sent by Christopher Rich | 3:00 PM ET | 06-21-2007

When I heard about Romney running for president I tried not to automatically set him apart for religion. I have family in the LDS church and it is rooted in family. Consider this, Bush is a claimed born again Christian and look at the damage he has caused. I feel that Americans need to take a hard line aproach to presidential canidates. We are trying to elect someone that can lead the greatest nation in the world, with intellect, poise, and corrage. Not a patsy that can sell lies with ignorant catch phrases, false information, and pandering.
Making Romeny a target is just easier for people to do, instead of actually learning about his skills and abilities.

Sent by Jason | 4:13 PM ET | 06-21-2007

This only serves to reinforce my suspicion that strongest opponents will be the Christian right. Liberals will reject any conservative Christian candidate, Mormon or otherwise. Though they might have a little more hostility toward Mormons than other denominations.

When I served my two years as an LDS missionary I never had any opposition from Liberals: only from Evangelical Christians. And why not? A lot of Protestant Christianity believes that if you are not "saved" you burn in hell for all eternity. So they have a different motivation for opposing Mormonism than do Liberals.

Sent by troysrepublic | 12:37 PM ET | 06-22-2007

I am shocked at how this man is being targeted for his religion, and how so many people are accepting it. If Barack Obama were targeted like this because of his race, people would instantly jump on his attackers. If Hillarie Clinton were targeted like this because of her gender, people would instantly jump on her attackers. But Americans have yet to learn true acceptance. We accept any race, we accept any gender, but we cannot accept any religion.

Sent by janae | 6:05 PM ET | 06-29-2007

Mormons are NOT Christians, they follow Joseph Smith - NOT Jesus Christ!

Sent by Shari Braun | 5:44 PM ET | 08-12-2007

Mormons themselves will be shocked by this. In general we are unaware that anyone calls us not Christian, and would be even more shocked to learn that Mormons-are-Cult lectures are mainstream in many churches. We don't tell our children such things.

Sent by M | 7:19 PM ET | 08-18-2007

A quick question for all "Christians": what makes you more Christian than Mitt Romney, any other member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and any other church that professes belief in Christ Jesus as the son of God and savior of the world? Furthermore, by what authority do you speak on behalf of all "Christians"? Please, Shari Braun, explain to the rest of Christianity what gives you the exclusive right to label someone Christian or not?

Sent by Paul | 1:48 PM ET | 08-20-2007

Romney told Bob Shieffer on Face the Nation that he's not qualified to explain church doctrine saying, "I typically direct them to the church because they could probably do a better job explaining than I can". Does anyone else have a problem with that? He was a missionary, a church elder and his father and son's were too. I doubt there is anything in Mormon doctrine he doesn't know.

I think he's afraid to discuss his Morom doctrine because knows his religion is anti-Christian in the minds and hearts of all Christian faiths. He's banking on a hope that he can keep his religion a non-issue up until election day. I'm hoping Christians everywhere expose his church doctrine so that Americans will know what he really believes in.

Sent by Michael | 10:28 AM ET | 10-22-2007

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