July News Roundup

Here's a selection of news from the last few weeks.

Mormon Faith Seen as Guide for Mitt Romney

Mitt - A hack in sheep’s clothing

In Georgia Race, the Shoo Is on the Other Foot

Backer buffing Romney image
Mormon factor: The filmmaker hopes to counter a perceived religious bias in the U.S.

Mormon filmmaker supporting Romney plans anti-bigotry ad campaign

Utah governor throws support to McCain for president

Utah governor backs McCain; his father supports Romney

At home, in control

June ends 'jobs deficit' for Romney

Under media glare, Romney shines

Highlight:
Tecce found that Reilly blinked his eyes about 80 times per minute, 2 1/2 times the normal rate, suggesting that the attorney general ``is very, very stressed," Tecce said.

Romney, on the other hand, blinked about 30 times a minute, Tecce said, at the low end of the normal range, suggesting ``that he was in control of the situation, that he felt comfortable in what he was saying."

Mormon Filmmaker Supporting Romney Plans Anti-Bigotry Ad Campaign


Where Romney's loyalty lies

Mitt Romney Presidential Candidacy Faces Critical Disadvantage

White Horse Mitt

If you’re consulting for John McCain’s PAC, you ought to tell your readers

Romney signs bill to ease tests on target pistols

Commonwealth PAC Election 2006 Activity

Taking a look at the Commonwealth PAC's reported data (as of May 29) one sees a flurry of activity in key primary and battleground states. Romney's PAC has given a total of $8,000 to Republican House candidates, including $1,000 each to two New Hampshire Republicans, $1,000 each to two Iowa Republicans, $2,000 to Peter Hoekstra from Michigan, and $2,000 to Ralph Norman of South Carolina. It breaks down like this:

Bass, Charles (R-NH) $1,000
Bradley, Jeb (R-NH) $1,000
Hoekstra, Peter (R-MI) $2,000
King, Steven A (R-IA) $1,000
Latham, Tom (R-IA) $1,000
Norman, Ralph (R-SC) $2,000

On the Senate side the PAC has given a total of $10,100 to candidates from Michigan, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, including -- perhaps most interestingly -- $2,000 to Rick Santorum and $2,100 to Michael Steele of Maryland.

Bouchard, Michael J (R-MI) $2,000
Butler, Keith (R-MI) $2,000
Graham, Lindsey (R-SC) $2,000
Santorum, Rick (R-PA) $2,000
Steele, Michael (R-MD) $2,100

Now, what does this all mean? I don't know, I'm not Columbo. I'll leave some comments about it when I have more time though.

"It troubles me not that a Mormon might be president"

So says Cal Thomas in his Thursday column. He goes on to say that "It does trouble me a great deal that so many people would think a person's faith - whether one shares it or not - should be the only reason to deny someone the presidency."

That troubles me too, but I'm not willing to throw in the towel on Romney's campaign over it. First of all, I chalk up those poll numbers to unfamiliarity. How many voters know any Mormons let alone have had the chance to vote for one?

Second, if Romney's biggest hurdle is this one single issue he might end up getting a pass on other things, including his evolving stances on certain social issues.

Third, related to the above, a lot of what I'm reading and hearing is along the lines of "he's perfect, but he's Mormon." Take away the "...but he's Mormon" and you're left with "he's perfect." If the attention is consistently focused on his religion then a Kennedy-esque speech could single-handedly make it a non-issue. The fact that he will get a lot of sympathetic press like this will help.

I won't be surprised if all of this helps him in the long run.

June National Journal Rankings

Romney is still a solid number 2 behind McCain in the most recent National Journal rankings. I say solid, but National Journal doesn't give the numbers that determine the rankings, but he's been 2 for several months now.

National Journal also raises this question:

Also, as Protestant pastors start to consider the race, will the denominational threat posed by Mormonism be a factor?

I'm very interested in knowing the answer to this question. I'd like to know what if anything is being/will be preached in various churches regarding voting for a Mormon candidate.

Also, it's interesting that on the Democratic side Mark Warner has moved down a spot to third place and John Edwards has moved into second.

A Mormon for President? Voters Balk

"More than twice as many say they'd oppose a Muslim or a Latter-day Saint than a Jew or a Catholic. Mitt Romney could have a problem."

This link is to a recent poll reported in the LA times. The two interesting findings were that over half of those polled said that they would not vote for a Muslim for President and over one third said they would not vote for a Mormon. Nowhere have I read that those polled were "likely voters." I think that questions in a nationwide poll about whether one would vote for a Mormon says much about Governor Romney's viability as the GOP candidate for the Presidency. On the other hand, the results do not sound good for Governor Romney.