Hugh Hewitt interviewed Karl Rove yesterday on the campaign and asked him specifically about Mormon voters and GOP party dynamics .
HH: You’re a student of American political history. Religion has played more of a role in the Republican primary than at anytime since 1960, or even 1928. Do you think, if Romney’s not the nominee, that the LDS, which is a significant portion in some states of the Republican values base, or on the other hand, Evangelicals who are literalists, are easily brought back in if their guy isn’t on the ticket?
KR: Oh, I think so. I do think so. And I think, look, again, it’s, they’re not drawn into politics simply because of the presence of Mitt Romney as LDS, though they applaud that. They’re brought in by the fact that he’s a person of deep personal faith, who has espoused socially conservative values, and fiscally conservative values, and has a life record that they find attractive. I don’t think it is the only thing, or even the principal thing that drives a lot of LDS to vote Republican. And so you need to be worried about does it look like if, does it look like 1928? I think it did hurt the Republican Party long term, that it looked like we were anti-Catholic. And so we’ve got to make certain that we don’t look anti-anything. We need to be for something. And to the degree that that happens, depending on what, you know, if a Huckabee doesn’t win, or Romney doesn’t win, or if their supporters who are going to feel…if they feel welcomed, are going to remain and be enthusiastic in the fall, particularly given a choice between our likely nominee, whoever that is, and the Democrats’ likely nominee, whom I suspect will be Hillary Clinton.
Would traditionally Republican Mormons leave the GOP if Romney lost the nomination? That would be a serious case of bad identity politics. If Huckabee won the nomination, I could see some Mormons sitting out this election but not if it was someone else.
Tags: GOP, identity politics, Mitt Romney, mormon
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I would have a hard time voting in the election if Romney loses - not because a Mormon lost, but because I could not bring myself to vote Hilary or Obama on the Dem side, or McCain or Huckabee on the Rep. I could vote for Guiliani, but I don’t see him winning the nomination.
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I would vote for whoever the Republican nominee. Gladly. I might have to hold my nose if it was Huckabee, but not because of any perceived anti-Mormon thing. (I think that charge has been overdone.) I just really don’t want him to be president. But I’d rather have him than a Democrat, no offense to them. I just don’t see the point of handing over the election to the other party just because I can’t have my favorite candidate (which at this point is Giuliani, not Romney, but his chances are looking worse all the time). I definitely don’t see doing it out of some misguided sense of religious pride. That’s really selfish and not good for the country. (I don’t think anyone has to worry about a Huckabee presidency, though. He seems to have peaked.)
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To me, a good mormon is civic minded. That means voting whether or not your top pick gets the nomination. After all, that happens ALL the time. It would be silly and irresponsible to sit it out.
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I would really have a hard time voting for Huckabee given his comments, but more importantly his record as governor of Arkansas. He’s not the conservative he claims to be, but I don’t think that we need to worry about it. It’ll likely be Romney or McCain at this point … and I just can’t see McCain getting the nod.
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Considering Romney’s chief advisor on national security is Cofer Black, the chairman of Blackwater, I have real troubles voting for Romney. His statements that torture is effective brings shame to all us Mormons. We need to show that we are neither prejudicial against peaceful Muslims, and that we hold sacred the respect for human dignity. Remember the photos of Abu Ghraib? Romney said we need more bases like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. A vote for Romney is a vote for using dogs to torture naked men. That image should haunt us to our dying day. We need to repent of the shame that we have brought to America. In not speaking out, we have tacitly approved. As long as Mitt Romney approves of torture, I will do all I can to remind voters of what that really means. I grew up hearing in church how the founding fathers were inspired to write the constitution. Yet I see no concern in the elimination of trials by jury, presumption of innocence, right to a speedy trial etc., etc. Presidents come, and presidents go. Political parties come and go (When was the last time a Whig was on the ballot?) but the Constitution must remain forever. Until I hear a candidate speak out on the need to uphold the Constitution, I will withold my decision. Please, ponder and pray about your vote. It may be the most crucial time in history for the United States.
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Rawley,
Romney does not support torture. He never said anything in support of Abu Graib.
He’s for reasonable measures to secure unlawful combatants and get valuable information from them. Guantanamo has been very effective and humane in doing so.
He’s correct and not an embarassment to this Mormon.
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I could vote for Mccain but I will NOT vote for any ticket that has Huckabee on it. He is a religious bigot. I will not support that. Ever. Has he spoken out about how Mormons are treated in the south by Southern Baptists? Will he take a stand against Bellvue Baptist church which has a huge anti Mormon library or that they are taught to mistrust and persecute Mormons by their own preachers.
I know all this because i lived it first hand in memphis tennesse. Mormons were not allowed to join christian school sponsered clubs. I myself have been verbally and physically asaulted by Baptists that were taught to hate by their pastors. Until he publicly renounces this I will NEVER vote for Huckabee. He is a bigot and I know many Mormons that feel the same.
I can honestly see Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona and California (all states with large mormon populations) going to Clinton if Huckabee is on the GOP ticket.
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I could vote for Mccain but I will NOT vote for any ticket that has Huckabee on it. He is a religious bigot. I will not support that. Ever. Has he spoken out about how Mormons are treated in the south by Southern Baptists? Will he take a stand against Bellvue Baptist church which has a huge anti Mormon library or that they are taught to mistrust and persecute Mormons by their own preachers.
I know all this because I lived it first hand in Memphis, Tennesse. Mormons were not allowed to join christian school sponsered clubs. I myself have been verbally and physically asaulted by Baptists that were taught to hate mormons by their pastors. Until he publicly renounces this I will NEVER vote for Huckabee. He is a bigot and I know many Mormons that feel the same.
I can honestly see Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona and California (all states with large mormon populations) going to Clinton if Huckabee is on the GOP ticket.
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i am LDS and a committed obamacan.
my belief is that obama would win utah, idaho, nevada and arizona, if he wins the nomination because:
1. obama’s uplifting spirit and message of hope will easily trump significant differences on policy with many LDS people. LDS overwhelmingly prefer unity and tolerance to the contentious and controversial. obama simply taps into our intuition in a positive way and we like him.
2. many LDS have developed a decidedly negative feeling towards mccain as a result of his condescending treatment of romney. note the surprisingly close primary race mccain had in arizona! i think obama could receive at least 1/3 of the republican vote in arizona, nevada, and idaho, and over 1/2 of the republican vote in utah.
i believe that karl rove knows what i say here is true. while he is not LDS, he did grow up in utah and knows the culture. however, the cognescenti know that george bush passionately wants hillary clinton to win the nomination to assure his mideast policy continuity and legacy.
clinton would not carry any of those states and obama might not if she is on the ticket. while a some LDS will vote for clinton over mccain, she is best symbolized in the LDS community by her “bake cookies and have teas” comment which is taken as contempt for stay at home moms.
OBAMA SHOULD NOT CONCEDE ARIZONA!!
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