Redstate

my original stated position on this matter.

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The Red Sox Republican: Burkeanism, Baseball, and Sundries.

If his numbers weren't tanking he probably doesn't come out with this speech. He wastes millions in Iowa on a message that nobody pays attention to and now needs to come across as a victim. I wonder what his return on investment will be once McCain smokes him in NH.

IMWITHMCCAIN

I may be one of very few people on this site who are (1) non-Mormon, (2) has read the Book of Mormon and Bible in ful, and (3) has Mormon friends. Those are my bona fides, with that in mind, may I say the following:

As a Protestant, I believe Mormons are not Christians.

My Mormon friends, and based on my reading of the Doctrines and Covenants of LDS, will tell me in their most honest moments that I am not a Christian, but that Mormons are the only true Church.

That Mormons and traditional Christians both claim Christ is irrelevant; what is relevant are the *propositions* the two groups make about Christ.

While my proposition that Christ is part of the Trinity (one God, three persons) and that God was never as I am now, and I will never be as God is, would be an offense to a Mormon, the Mormon notion that God was once a man as I, and that my Mormon friends can attain the celestial level of heaven and be equals with Christ is likewise offensive to me. That doesn't mean we can't enjoy a Sprite together, but it does mean we believe in mutually exclusive things.

All that to say, so what? That I believe my Mormon friends are completely nuts with regard to their religious doctrine has no more bearing on their fitness to run for public office than does their position that I'm apostate because I believe Joseph Smith was a charleton. It's immaterial to our respective policy positions and our abilities to govern, were we running for public office.

So, Romney needs to own up to the sharp and distinct differences between Mormonism and traditional Christianity, and point out how that does not matter.

If a Deist can be president, certainly a Mormon can.

If I were Romney, I would say that I'm acknowledging that American has a Christian heritage, and holds many Christian traditions, which is why I'm going to respect that. I would suggest that Americans should and must choose between electing a presidential candidate based on his faith or values he shares with the voters. I would also say that, yes, I am a Mormon, but I want you to look at me as an American first, and elect me according to my qualifications or characteristics for which you are looking for in the next President.

Romney shouldn't hide his faith, but neither should he ever dare to claim that Mormonism and Christianity are on par as far doctrinal teachings are concerned. So, yes, Romney's faith will have an impact on this election, whether we like it or not. Finally, perhaps, but I'm not so sure, Romney should look for values that he as an individual shares with Christians, don't say that, "my Mormon faith shares..." Instead he should say, "I as a religious person shares many similar values with Christians, for instance, I am pro-life. Emphasize the invidualistic aspect of his Mormon faith without saying it so obvious as to turn off potential Christian voters.

At this point, the wording of his speech is very important, and every word uttered should be scrutinized thrice. It's probably a good idea not to say ambiguous things, but make it absolutely clear what you stand on and what sort of values you embrace.

Other than that, I don't know what will make his speech click with the rest of Christian voters. But that's not really my problem, as I will never be ever convinced that he's our man.

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Daniel 2:20 And he [God] changeth the times and seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.

I find it truly disturbing in the 21st century that this country which was founded on freedom of religion is using religon as a political marker for this man....shameful.

I find the christian right judging this man on his religion is more than a little hypocritical....judge not lest ye be judged.

Freedom of Religion not Freedom from Religion

Mormons are good people. They exhibit all the same "values" and "morals" that I and my fellow christians strive for.

I could care less what religion Romney, or anybody running for office, is. If they are good, charitable, and loving people, then I really do not care what the geographic location of the return of Christ is according to them.

Show me your ideas, show me your platform. Let's talk about things that are actually important.

Having said that, the sooner Romney gets this "taboo" out of the way like Kennedy did with his catholicism, the sooner we can get back to the issues.

Evangelicals, for the most part, don't want him to lump Mormonism and Christianity into the "we're all the same" category.

You need to find different language. I was watching the Baptist minister on Hannity and Combs on TV, he was very careful on what he said. Mormons are Christians, and no Christian group owns that title. They are not Evangelical Christians. It is after all the Church of Jesus Christ of Later day saints.

So if you watch Hannity and Combs, please follow his example. Its is very degrading to say mormons are not christian. But they are not Evangelical Christians. I have tried to byte my tongue, but couldn't take it anymore.

that Romney's Mormonism will cost him votes, especially in the traditional Bible Belt. I don't think it costs him enough votes to actually lose any of the solidly red south, but I could be wrong. So in that respect, I'm not sure he needs to make this speech.

In 'The Corner' today, Jonah Goldberg posed the question "What I would like to know, however, is what exactly these people think a Mormon President might do that would be so unacceptable? Are there Mormon public policies I do not know of that would be implemented? Is there a Mormon faction in foreign policy?" and here are some of the responses he got. I have to say that they're fairly representative of the evangelicals that I know who are concerned about Romney. You may feel that people who feel that way are bigoted, but if you do so, be aware that it's probably a pretty decent sized chunk of the social conservative base. And as the Senators who tried to push amnesty through found out, calling your base bigoted is not a winning proposition.

If he wins the nomination I'll certainly vote for him in the general election. I won't be excited about it, though, but because of his history in Massachusetts, not his religion.

I don't expect him to say "Mormons (are/are not) Christians". Given the dual definition of the word (some use it inclusively, some use it exclusively) he'll offend some potential voters whichever route he took.

If he says anything similar then I'd expect him to add an adjective in front of Christian to make it clear what he is saying: "Mormons are not Protestant Christians", "Mormons are not Evangelical Christians", etc.

All in all I expect he'll avoid the exact statement altogether and just stick with the shared values which really is the core of the matter. For some this won't be enough, just like some would never vote for a women, or vote for a black man, some will simply never vote for a Mormon. I hope that it isn't a large number, but I will plead guilty to being an optimist.

At least now the media will finally stop talking about how Romney should give his "Mormon Speech".

And focus solely on what they have in common on values and that he is going to be representing all of America, not the LDS.

I'm expecting theology talk to be non-existent. That is a Pandora's box that he definitely does not want to open.
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Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. - Milton Friedman

If he equates Mormanism THEOLOGICALLY with protestantism, then he forces the protestants to vote against him so as not to be seen agreeing with his THEOLOGY.

If he emphasizes VALUES then he can make headway.

If he goes after it on a THEOLOGICAL basis then he is doomed to the same quick exit as Senator Hatch who made that mistake in 2000 and never really figured out what happened.

Oz

Read my most recent story, "What is Thompson's path?" on First Cut Politics

delivered during the 1960 Presidential election on the role of religion in politics, specifically a Catholic running for President. CSPAN carries this speech, which I had read about, it also carries a Q&A session in which JFK engages various fundamentalist leaders. What jumps out at the listener is what a brilliant politician JFK was,to turn a liability into an asset by defending religious liberty. It gives JFK another chance to highlight his own and his brother Joe's service in WII, the oaths he took in Congress and in the senate -- really great stuff. At the end of the speech, there are questions, many of them about some long-forgotten episode in which JFK was dragooned into some event where he was the Catholic speaker -- after three or four questions on this event, he snaps "That's all you've got? -- a dinner where I've explained my involvement" and he gets round of applause. Wow, what a politician he was!

I don't see Romney pulling off anything similar -- but we willsee.

I think this whole speech is a stunt - and one that he would not have to pull if he were not losing ground. I think the timing is way off - it would be better during the general or if he had done it last summer. I think this will cost him votes, to be honest. It depends on how the press plays it, but my gut feeling is that it won't help.
For the record, as a lifelong Methodist, I must say that I consider Mormons to be Christians also. I have read parts of the book of Mormon - as well as Orson Scott Card's rather interesting SciFi version of it (The Memory of Earth). I don't believe in it, but I also don't believe in the first few chapters of Genesis either.
Overall, this just looks like a move of desperation and I think that's never a good thing for a candidate to show - especially not with the vote so close now.

...as a Catholic, I do not really think Mormons are Christians, and Romney would be wise not try and say that they are. Romney likely knows this and will speak very little about theology, and will stress common Judeo-Christian values.

I predict Romney makes a great speech.

“.....women and minorities hardest hit”

I've been told to my face by Evangelical Christians that Catholics are not Christians either, and since so far its been the Evangelicals making the fuss almost exclusively, I couldn't give a flying hoot.

Romney should stick with values, as others have suggested, and not delve into theology. The longer he stays above the fray on this Mormon question, the better he does, IMHO. We're electing a President, not a Pastor.

No, I don't. He doesn't have to answer that question for me. I'm not worried about Mitt Romney's mormonism and neither am I looking for him to give a point-by-point discussion of how it differs with other Christian denominations.

I worry about Romney's Momonism only to the extent that I think it's been his biggest liability, but substantively I haven't batted an eye thinking about it. If he was going to be unmasked as some kind of Mormon crusader, it would have happened during his tenure as Governor of Massachusetts.

And personally I think he's a church/state separation person, and I hope he emphasizes that during his speech. We are One Nation under God, but we are not a theocracy.

If Romney says that Mormons aren't Christians, he'll lose his Mormon supporters. What he needs to say is that there are big differences on some things between Mormons and traditional Christianity, and important common beliefs on others, and just leave it that.

They that are with us are more than they that are against us.

There is little question that whatever the content of Romney's religion speech it will be a make-or-break event for his campaign. Whatever he says will be disected, spun and analyzed.

This will either ease the minds of voters and make him more palatable as a candidate or solidify voters in their opposition to him and spell the beginning of the end of his campaign.

I don't think he can survive a poorly received speech on this issue. If, OTOH, he is able to deliver a moving, heartfelt, unifying speech with which most Americans can agree, he will provide a much needed boost to his stalled campaign.

I am hopeful that he will be able to deliver his best speech to date.

The last thing Romney should be doing is saying whether Mormonism is Christian or not. No matter which way he says it, he's going to offends a whole bunch of people - some so much they may refuse to vote for him even in the general.

Much better for is for him to say that he thinks Mormonism is truly Christian, but that he acknowledges that some other groups strongly disagree. But that it's not an American's politican's business to decide the case for the nation.

He can then point out that when it comes to encouraging good works, the faiths are much the same. Therefore, he can be as reliable as any other conservative when it comes to doing good - and look at all the good he's doing/proposing.

The more he talks about results, and the less about faith differences, the better for him.

First, this has already been worked out with many evangelical christians leaders. They want this so they can be more vocal in his endorse for his candicy why at the same time not endorse the mormon religion.

I expect him to say like something like this.

As Mormons we believe Jesus Christ is our lord and savior. But I am not running as a religious leader, I am running to be president of the united states.

I will leave discussion of religious principles up to the leaders of the LDS church, I am here to discuss the future of this nation.

My administration, if I am blessed enough to win, will include many people of different denomination, and together we will lead this nation into a better tommorrow.