Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is now opening dealing with an issue that yours truly and some other analysts have long contended has slowly simmered in the Republican Party, limiting his poll numbers and a kind of ticking time bomb issue: bigotry among some aimed at his religion. Now, a day after it boiled over in the surface, he’s starting to deal with the issue of bgotry head on:
A day after a Dallas pastor’s comments shined a spotlight on Gov. Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith, the former Massachusetts governor told religious activists in Washington that “poisonous language” hurts the conservative cause.
“We should remember that decency and civility are values too,” Romney said at the Values Voter Summit. “One of the speakers who will follow me today has crossed that line I think. Poisonous language doesn’t advance our cause it’s never softened a single heart or changed a single mind.”
The Value Voters Summit is a gathering of cultural conservatives in Washington.
Romney’s comments came not in reference to Robert Jeffress, the Rick Perry-endorsing South Baptist leader who Friday referred to Mormonism as “a cult,” but instead appeared to be directed at Bryan Fischer, a member of the American Family Association who has made controversial comments about Islam, homosexuality and the Mormon faith.
“The blessings of faith carry the responsibility to civil and respectful debate,” Romney said. “The task before us is to focus on the conservative beliefs and the values that unite us. Let no agenda narrow our vision or drive us part. We have important work to accomplish.”
But Rommey’s task is not easy. In fact, the whole trend in the Republican Party — witness the virtual exiling and/or expulsion of Republican moderates derisively called RINOS — is to narrow the definition of Republican or add more conditions on what group is considered acceptable to have a party label, ideological label or acceptable to get the nomination.
Apparently to some Mormons are now in the same class into which some GOPers have thrown Muslims: not preferred candidates or office holders.
Fischer, whose remarks immediately followed Romney’s address to the group, opened his speech by saying that the next president should espouse a “sincere, authentic, genuine Christian faith.”
And thus we have further confirmation that if Arizona Senator John McCain had indeed followed his heart and gut and named Connecticut Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman as his running mate in 2010 there were have been a mini-rebellion among some Republicans, and not just because Lieberman was a Democrat.
During his remarks, Fischer also repeated past statements about homosexuality as a threat to the First Amendment and Islam as a inherently violent faith.
While Romney did not directly address Friday’s controversy due to Jeffress’ comments, he did praise another speaker at the summit who skewered the Baptist leader for “bigotry.”
Romney will have to continue to confront this issue head on — as will Rick Perry. Rick Perry and others will now be asked at press conferences and a debate how they feel about the assertion about Romney and his faith.
Those who play word games (for instance saying that they respect everyone’s right to see things as they want to see them) will basically be unfit for the Presidency in the eyes of a good chunk of voters.
Bigotry is bigotry is bigotry and the remarks about Romney will be seen by many (including some who may find Mormonism a bit quirky) as...b-i-g-o-t-r-y and those who enable it or send out codes that they have no problem with it will be seen by many as b-i-g-o-t-s.
But the issue was bound to come up in a big way sometime (some writers here on TMV predicted it years ago) and Romney will have to deal with it.
The net result? If he deals with it with eloquence it could help him in polls since he will get substantial press coverage when he addresses the issue.
UPDATE: Time’s Mark Halperin:
The Romney campaign played this very smart. The silence of “no comment” Friday in the immediate aftermath, and then Romney took the high road in elliptical but firm remarks repudiating Jeffress, with an implicit (but clear) shot at Perry. Another sign of the maturity and sure-footedness of Team Romney.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.