Thursday, December 13, 2007

Larry O'Donnell on Mormons and Mitt Romney

I haven't had a chance to write down any thoughts on Mitt Romney's speech, but here's what one pundit thought:

9 comments:

Geoffrey Kruse-Safford said...

You know I'm a liberal, Cameron, but Larry O'Donnell is just nuts. And ignorant. I'm embarrassed by this bigoted kind of stuff.

Freddie said...

Im curious why you would even show this clip. People like this dont deserve any air time let alone to be watched over and over again. He is so hateful its funny.

Shan said...

I didn't watch the clip, but I just read over Mitt Romney's speech and I was really impressed with it. I felt he covered this sensative subject well. I believe he does understand that as President, he would have to honor all religions, all beliefs but at the same time he has vowed to privatley honor his own. He also stated that he would not give up his faith for the American people and that shows great courage. It shows he's not a man searching for power, but a man interested in being a great leader. I was impressed! So who you votin for anyways? And you should do a blog about whether it's right or wrong for celebrities, OPRAH, to endorse people for President!

Salt H2O said...

You know, this could have harmed Mitt Romney if Larry O'Donnell hadn't just flat out lied. Instead, you have people comming to Mitt's defense. This rant works in Mitt's favor. Mitt has OWNED the news for the past 3 days.

Please, more illogicall bigotry! This rant makes every one who is 'anti-mormon' look like hateful individuals. Bring it on! Mitt needs the press. The American people love an underdog, and the more blantant hatred that comes forth in the media, the more empathy Mitt will get.

Byron said...

Try reading Joseph Smith's 1844 presidential platform. Here's a link to in it in full text; http://olivercowdery.com/smithhome/1840s/1844Smit.htm
It's very 'enlightening' on several issues. Reading an actual source appeals more to me than an 'expert' opinion.

Tom Scharbach said...

Larry O'Donnell is flat off the wall. But Romney's speech did us no favor, Mormon or not.

Romney did not attempt to defend freedom of religion or separation of church and state, or even that the religious belief of a presidential candidate was a private matter, as Jack Kennedy did in 1960.

Instead, Romney attempted to persuade conservative Protestant Christians, who are determined to impose their faith on our government, that Romney, as a Mormon, is as "Christian" as they, or at least sufficiently so that conservative Christians could support him for President.

No matter how much he uttered the usual platitudes about religion in the United States, he could not hide the fact that he had caved, 100%, to the religious test imposed on Republican candidates by the Religious Right.

And that, like it or not, opened the door for conservative Christians to inquire whether Mormons are, in fact, "Christian".

It didn't take long. Mike Huckabee, supposedly innocently, asked a reporter who was interviewing him whether Mormons believe that Jesus and Satan are "brothers".

And while Huckabee quickly apologized to Romney -- he was supposedly just trying to alleviate his ignorance about the Mormon faith, which is an incredible assertion given that Southern Baptists and Mormons have been rubbing against each other for the last decade because of Mormon success at evangelizing -- the question opened the door, and the news media has been rife with explanations about what Mormons believe and don't believe.

But that is what is about to happen, like it or not.

And, whether it was fair or unfair for Romney to have to answer to the Religious Right -- I think that it was just as unfair in Romney's case as in Jack Kennedy's -- Romney, in doing so, all but endorsed a "religious test" for the Republican nomination.

When Jack Kennedy and Romney's father, George, ran for President, Americans believed in separation of church and state. Children were taught in the schools that religious freedom was the foundation of our country's freedom, and that this country was a bulwark against the evils of "establishment". Americans, in those days, believed it, whether or not it was true.

As a result, Jack Kennedy had to defend, not his faith, but his freedom from the shackles of Rome -- to convince skeptical Southern Baptists that he would not be dictated to by the Vatican. The "Mormon question" never arose when George Romney, the governor of Michigan and Mitt Romney's father, ran for the Presidency in 1964.

But times have changed. We now have a "religious test", like it or not.

I don't.

The founders knew the dangers of imposing a "religious test", and Article IV or our Constitution specifies that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States".

The founders also knew, as is evident from their writings at the time, that the slope toward a "religious test" is slippery, indeed. When Romney, in the "Mormon speech" asserted that he believes that "Jesus is the Son of God", he cooperated with the intolerant minority that seeks to impose a religious test. Romney, in doing so, did a disservice to our Constitution and our heritage of religious freedom.

Not that Romney is alone, by any means. CNN posed a videotaped question from a voter holding a the Bible, to the candidates at a recent debate: "How you answer this question will tell us everything we need to know about you. Do you believe every word of this book? Specifically, this book that I am holding in my hand, do you believe this book?" To their shame, not one of them answered, as Jack Kennedy did, "I believe in a President whose religious views are his own private affair ..." Instead, all answered the question.

The founders knew, as Jack Kennedy did and most Americans used to, that the answer to that question is nobody's business but the candidate's.

I really wish that Romney had simply answered, as Jack Kennedy did, that his faith was his own business. His speech was a real step in the wrong direction.

Anonymous said...

I'd just like to say that I find it far more interesting to read your blog then to actually WATCH the news. It's keeping me occupied at work.

Thanks :)

Cameron said...

Thanks B.P!

Geoffrey,

Even liberals are nuts sometimes.

Freddie,

I generally fall on the side of letting the nuts prove they're nuts.

Shan,

Watch the clip. I'm glad you liked Romney's speech though. I'm hoping to write something about it soon. I haven't decided who I'm voting for. I guess I'm ok with celebrities endorsing candidates, but I'm not necessarily ok with people supporting a candidate just because Oprah does.

Salt,

I think you are absolutely right. It looked to me like the other panelists in the clip were embarrased for O'Donnell.

Byron,

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

Tom,

Thanks for the comment. Definately food for thought.

Anonymous said...

I don't quite see why there is even a debate if Mormons are "Christians". The Mormon church is also known as The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints. The Mormon church, obviously, believes in Jesus Christ, and Mormons have a lifestyle to follow the example of Jesus Christ in the way they live their lives. Isn't that what a "Christian" is? Don't "CHRISTians" beleive in CHRIST??

And for Jesus and Satan being brothers; if you believe in God, and you believe God is our Heavenly Father, why is it so hard to believe that if he is our Heavenly FATHER, that would make everyone on earth brothers and sisters? Even of Satan and Jesus Christ.

And then about this Larry O'Donnell guy, This guy is a coward. He has no dirt on Romney, so what's the only thing he can do? Bash the Mormon faith. The sad thing is that everyone who is against Mormons anyway is going to believe him. He is so close-minded about the Mormon faith that all he does is say "Oh! Joseph Smith was a criminal, a polygymist, a liar, blah blah blah." Lemme guess who told you he was a criminal... some other anti-mormon. The funny thing about the polygamy is that Barack Obama's father practiced polygamy from the Islam faith. And one more thing about marriages and all the presidental candidates, Mitt Romney is the ONLY candidate that is still with his first wife. Just something to think about.