Romney hits Huckabee on remark on Mormonism
Mitt Romney gave his big speech last week on faith and politics, but he's finding himself talking again about his Mormon faith.
The impetus this time is a piece in this coming Sunday's New York Times Magazine in which Mike Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister who is Romney's main challenger in Iowa, appears to make some disparaging remarks about Mormonism.
"Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?" Huckabee asks, according to a preview of the article posted on the Times website. He made the comment after being asked whether he believes Mormonism is a cult, as some evangelical Christians do.
Tuesday night, the Huckabee campaign issued a statement saying that he was taken out of context and was not attacking Mormonism, but rather was demonstrating that he is unwilling to discuss theology.
Romney was not convinced. On morning news shows today, he said the comments amounted to an attack that was un-American.
"I think attacking someone's religion is really going too far," Romney said on the "Today" show. It's just not the American way, and I think people will reject that."
On MSNBC, he called the comment "an old attack. I was sad to see it come out again....Attacking someone's faith is simply un-American."
Huckabee said on CNN this afternoon that when he was making the remark, he was asking a question of the interviewer, who was an expert on religions, because he knows little about Mormonism.
When the remark drew attention, "We thought, 'Good heavens,' " Huckabee said.
He said after this afternoon's debate in Iowa, he went to Romney and apologized to him and told him he doesn't believe that Romney's Mormon faith should have anything to do with his qualifications for president.
"He was gracious," Huckabee said. "I hope he knows I was sincere."
The authoritative Encyclopedia of Mormonism, published in 1992, does not refer to Jesus and Satan as brothers, the Associated Press reported. It speaks of Jesus as the son of God and of Satan as a fallen angel, which is a Biblical account.
A spokeswoman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told the AP that Huckabee's question is usually raised by those who wish to smear the Mormon faith rather than clarify doctrine.
"We believe, as other Christians believe and as Paul wrote, that God is the father of all," said the spokeswoman, Kim Farah. "That means that all beings were created by God and are his spirit children. Christ, on the other hand, was the only begotten in the flesh and we worship him as the son of God and the savior of mankind. Satan is the exact opposite of who Christ is and what he stands for."
Michael Huckabee once accepted $40,000 in contributions from the tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds to campaign against a national cigarette tax proposed by Hillary Clinton. But later, Mr. Huckabee ignored his sponsors and imposed his own tax on cigarettes.
During his years in the governor's mansion in Little Rock, Mr. Huckabee granted convicted criminals 1,033 pardons and commutations of sentence — including a pardon for a reckless driving charge by the Rolling Stone Keith Richard. The number amounts to about twice as many acts of amnesty as his three predecessors combined, among them President Clinton.
While governor, Mr. Huckabee was also the subject of 16 ethics complaints that forced him to pay $1,000 in fines for failing to report outside income and payments from his campaign fund, and he was investigated for flying Arkansas state airplanes when on personal and political business.
These facts, which have been an embarrassment to Mr. Huckabee — who is now the favorite to win the GOP stakes in Iowa and who in a new national CNN poll yesterday pulled alongside the Republican front-runner, Mayor Giuliani — are the latest to emerge as the former Arkansas governor's rivals crawl through the minutiae of Mr. Huckabee's past in the hopes of turning up damaging stories to stop him in his tracks.
More if you have the stomach for it.
See the chart on MormonInfo.org
According to lds.org, the Mormon Church's official website, the church does indeed teach that Jesus is Satan's elder brother. For a link, go to www.biblebeltblogger.com
Huckabee's comments have actually helped me take a second look at Romney in a new light. At first I wasn't sure about Romney but this Huckabee/Romney conflict has shown me a man (Romney) who can stand up for himself without coming across as mean or vindictive (which Huckabee definitely comes across as). I have Mormon friends and have explored the faith to a fair extent and cannot fathom why any intelligent person still considers it a cult. It is a good church full of good, albeit not perfect (as the mormons will also tell you) people. I have not decided who I will vote for but I have decided who I will not be voting for and that is Huckabee. Romney is still on my list of possibilities.
Gayle,
You’d be surprised at what kinds of lies, partial truths, bias, etc. are being told about my church. Being a member of the “Mormon” church I have been amazed at some of the un-believe-able things people have said out of ignorance, bias, fear, or whatever. I do know that many, if not all, Baptist churches teach their congregation to attack the Mormon Church; pretty disgusting. I’ve even heard wild comments like: “Mormon men force women to marry them in the Salt Lake temple and the women have tried to jump out of the temple into the Great Salt Lake.” Not only is this outlandish, go get a map and do the math. It’s impossible for a person to accomplish this – in fact, I don’t even know if the windows are able to be opened.
So saying that you don’t ask a “Hitler” about the Jewish faith does have it parallels to what needs to be done here = rather than ask an “anti” Mormon, go to the source.
www.mormon.org or www.lds.org
You forget, people against the Mormons killed Joseph Smith, etc.
The problem here for Romney is that he is becoming a victim of intolerance and he really hasn't shown that much sympathy for other victims of intolerance during his political career and hasn't really geared his campaign toward those who oppose intolerance.
Hoist by his own petard.
My goodness, bigotry is alive and thriving in America. Was Huckabee actually a minister? I wonder if he would take these negative views of those of different faiths into the White House if we were unfortunate enough to see him elected. I like what Romney said about representing all Americans if he was elected.
As an aside thought.
President Carter said while defending Mormons thatMormons were Christians and any Southern Baptist who thought otherwise were "Pharisees"
President Ford considered the then leader of the Mormon Church to be one of the great spiritual leaders of the world.
President Eisenhower stated the same sentiment...that the then president of the Mormon Church was the greatest spiritual leader in the world.
President Reagan christened the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as "America's Choir".
President Bush bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the nation's highest civilian honor) on President Hinckley ( the present leader of the Mormon Church)
But bigots don't want the facts to interfer with their own prejdudices.. How did our country get into such a state?
YOU are making religion a part of the discussion on whom should run this country. Running this country is NOT ABOUT religion. It's about the best qualified person, male or female, black or white or hispanic. Not about their religions beliefs. It's SHOULDN'T matter, (but unfortunately it does) whether the candidate even believes in GOD. And it does matter because YOU think it's important. Feeding the poor, taking care of the sick and aged; That's what's important. Let's find a candidate that will do that.
YOU are making religion a part of the discussion on whom should run this country. Running this country is NOT ABOUT religion. It's about the best qualified person, male or female, black or white or hispanic. Not about their religions beliefs. It's SHOULDN'T matter, (but unfortunately it does) whether the candidate even believes in GOD. And it does matter because YOU think it's important. Feeding the poor, taking care of the sick and aged; That's what's important. Let's find a candidate that will do that.
Joseph Smith died during a prison riot. Some believe while trying to escape.
Chosing a cannidate because of his religion is purly outlandish and is really hipacritical, I hope that the cannisate that is chosen is not out of his/her looks but just based upon the fact that they can handle and perform the proper duties needed to run this country.
I can assure you that there is not love loss between me and Mitt Romney. As someone from Massachusetts I can tell you that he we had a part-time governor for 4 years and he changes his position to suit his own political aspirations. Now, that being said, his religion did not prevent him for running the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and should have no place in this presidential election. It really infuriates me that a candidate would smear someone's religion. That line about him simply asking the question because he's ignorant on Mormonism is pure malarkey. He knew exactly what he was doing and it stinks! Mike Huckabee should be ashamed of himself. I expect that type of sleaze from Giuliani, but not from an ordained minister. God help us is any of the men get elected president.
i think the mormon church teaches nice principles which include love, unity and it is not fair be called a cult.
I don't believe for one second that Huckabee, as a former baptist minister, didn't know enough about the Mormon Church to know that he was asking that question with the purpose of increasing the confusion about and bigotry against Mormons.
I also have heard lies and half-truths about the Mormon Church--many of them unfortunately spread by pastors and preachers of other churches who claim to be Christian.
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
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