May 11, 2007
Who's up to this dirty trick? I don't care if you're for against Mitt
Romney, what's happening in South Carolina is not cool. The
Spartanburg Herald Journal is reporting the following:
Less than a week before the Republican presidential primary debate in
Columbia, a wave of anti-Mormon literature has hit select South
Carilina mailboxes. The literature does not mention former
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by name, but is an indirect attack on
him. Romney, considered by many to be one of the three GOP
front-runners despite polling low, is a member of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.The eight-page diatribe is titled "Mormons
in Contemporary American Society: A Politically Dangerous Religion?"
It calls Mormon texts "hoaxes" and labels church founder Joseph Smith
a "gold digger turned prophet."
It also calls Smith the "Mohammed of the West," stating that "Like the
prophet of Islam, Smith founded his religion upon prophecies and
revelations which commanded him to become a polygamist and warlord.
Many centuries apart, these two men became the focal point of large
religions that blurred the lines between religion, war, domestic life
and politics." Gary Towery, a GOP activist who is leaning toward
supporting Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback's campaign, said he was
"appalled" to find the letter in his mailbox. "It's an attack on
Romney," Towery said. "The fact that the man is Mormon doesn't make
any difference to me. He's got strong family values. He's a good
candidate. But there's two or three other good candidates in there at
this point."
The literature apparently is targeting a specific group of people,
Spartanburg County Republican Party Chairman Rick Beltram said. They
are unsigned and have no return address but are postmarked Providence,
R.I. No group is identified as having paid for them. "When somebody
sends this stuff out anonymously, and spends the money to know where
they're sending it to, it comes across as pretty poor that they
wouldn't want to identify themselves," Beltram said.
Read the entire article here. OK. Here's what's going on. Romney is
"hot" right now. He did great in the GOP debate last week. He's on
Time Magazine's front cover. He's the star of 60 Minutes this Sunday.
Even if CBS and Time rip him a little, he's getting national exposure
which should help his numbers. This Mormon literature stunt is just
more of the same.
I have said this from day one. Romney is a player in this race. The
rival campaigns know it. All of the Republican strategists I talk to
know it. The possibility of him becoming President is real and the
more positive reviews he gets in these upcoming debates, the dirtier
it's going to get.
Even though there should be no religious test for office, if you're
going to vote against someone because of their religion, that's your
business. But leave the nasty pamphlets home.
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