In the upcoming
Presidential election, Mitt Romney faces a serious problem: there are three
major issues that relate directly to him --- and he wants to discuss none of
them. First is his record in the one elective office he has held, Governor of
Massachusetts. He does not want to discuss that because his major achievement
was --- ohmygosh --- creating the template for the Affordable Care Act. Ooops! He
likely also doesn't want to discuss his governorship because by the end of his first term his
popularity in the state had fallen so low that he decided not to seek
re-election.
Second is of course the
matter of Bain Capital (1). Actually, Romney is bi-modal on this one. He likes
to talk about his experience as a businessman as qualifying him to deal the
economic problems facing the nation. (Of course the last GOP President had
quite a bit of business experience [although unlike Romney, he generally failed
at it], and look where it got the nation.) But he doesn't want any details of
what Bain actually did to be the subject of discussion. In fact, when the Obama
Campaign does just that, Romney characterizes it as a "personal
attack" (and some good old-fashioned DLC "Democrats" like Cory
Booker, Ed Rendell, and Harold Ford, Jr. with their connections to venture capital/hedge funds, back up the GOP on that take).
Nevertheless, the Obama people do want to make Bain the bane of Romney's
existence --- and for good reason as has by now noted numerous times.
The major problems of US
industry since the advent of Reaganism have to with "downsizing"
(firing workers), "outsourcing" (otherwise known as exporting capital
and jobs), and organized bankruptcy. And what did Bain do (and apparently still
does)? It "downsized," "outsourced," and organized
bankruptcies, all in such a way as to maximize its own profits. When the
President actually pointed this out, the Romney campaign and its media
echo-chambers went nuts. "He's attacking the basis of capitalism."
Too bad he wasn't, but he wasn't. He was only pointing out what Bain in
particular is in business to do: make as much money as it can for itself and
its stakeholders, like (still) Governor Romney, following the business plan
outlined above.
But it is the third issue
that Romney doesn't want discussed that is perhaps the most critical one in
this election: that he is a Mormon. Is this a matter for legitimate concern?
Well, for those of us concerned with the central political issue of the
separation of church and state and the ever-expanding intrusion of religious
doctrine into the law and politics, in a word: yes. According to Frank Rich,
late of the New York Times and now of New York Magazine, "[Romney's] great
passion [his Mormonism] is something he is determined to keep secret" (2).
It is well-known that many Right-wing Christians (usually referred to by the
polite name "evangelicals" even though there are many evangelicals
who are not right-wing) refer to Mormonism as a cult, and the evidence contained
in the Book of Mormon (3) (see also [4]) to the contrary notwithstanding,
"not Christian." But such complaints generally don't make it to the
national stage.
Then came The New York Times article about Romney, Mormonism and his personal Mormonism (5). The information contained in it, drawn from named friends, colleagues and fellow Mormon activists (and he is, or at least has been, a Mormon activist), raise some serious concerns. The claims of the Radical Religious Right to the contrary notwithstanding, the US Constitution clearly established the separation of church and State and one doesn't need to delve into the correspondence of the Constitution's chief author, James Madison, to determine that. It's right there in the plain language of the "no religious test for office" clause of Article Six and the "no establishment" clause of the First Amendment. Further, neither the word "God" nor the word "Christian" appear anywhere in the document.
In historical Mormonism, the church and state were fully integrated in the person
of Brigham Young. Of course, it has not been, on paper at least, since 1890
when Utah made its deal to join the Union. But the important point now is,
where does Romney stand on this question? To my knowledge, he has not answered
it directly. But what he has said in the vicinity of the question must give
pause for thought to those of us concerned with maintaining that separation.
(Some would say, given, for example, the Hyde Amendment on abortion rights for
the poor and its progeny, and the homosexual discrimination laws on the books
in about 30 states and Federal statue as well, see DOMA, that we need to
concerned with re-establishing it). Consider the following.
1. Romney's Liberty
University Commencement Address (6) contains such phrases as: "Marriage is
the relationship between one man and one woman," a definition that is
derived from religious texts (and of course one to which the Mormon Church did
not adhere until 1890 [but that's another story]). And "But from the
beginning, this nation trusted in God, not man." (Tell that one to Tom
Paine, whose Reasonist pamphlet Common Sense sold in the hundreds of thousands
of copies back then [!] and fueled the Revolution, Mitt.) And "there is no
greater force for good in the nation than Christian conscience in action."
2. Ms. Kantor tells us (5)
that "Every Presidential candidate highlights patriotism, but Mr. Romney's
is backed by the Mormon (emphasis added) belief that the United States was
chosen by God to play a special role in history, its Constitution divinely
inspired" (which last would have come as a shock, I am sure, to the Deists
who wrote it). According to a friend, quoted by name, "He is an unabashed,
unapologetic believer that America is the Promised Land" (which must come
as a shock to both Christian and Jewish Zionists).
3. Finally, again according
to friends and colleagues quoted by name in Ms. Kantor's article, Romney prays
frequently, feels that he has a direct connection to "God," and
indeed engages in conversations with "God," asking for guidance in
making decisions, even about matters of investment. Now, one would have no
objection to Tevye talking with "God" in "Fiddler on the
Roof." But for someone who would be President of the United States the
questions do arise: what is the nature of these conversations; how often do
they occur; what influence do "God's" answers have on his
decision-making; does "God" accept the principle of the separation of
church and state and if so, how does Romney find that his conversations with
"God" are consistent with the principle.
Oh dear. From what we have
heard, the Obama Campaign has decided not to put the "Mormon" issue
on its political agenda. But it has now become apparent that with Mitt Romney
we have much more than a Mormon issue. We have a church/state separation, power
of religion and which one, issue. These are issues that Romney himself has put
on the agenda with his Liberty University speech. And that, my friends, should
be on everyone's political agenda, including that of President Obama, who should get
onto the national political agenda somehow, before it's too late and our
beloved country is on its way to becoming a theocracy.
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References:
1.ThinkProgress War Room, "Why Mitt Romney's Time at Bain Capital
Matters."
The Progress Report
(http://thinkprogress.org/progress-report/), May 23, 2012.
2. Rich, Frank, "Who in God's Name is Mitt Romney?" New York
Magazine, Jan. 29, 2012.
3. The Book of Mormon, Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints
4. Tarisco, V., "Former Mormon: What American Need to Know About
Mormonism," Alternet.org, March 26, 2012.
5. Kantor, J., "Romney's Faith: Silent but Deep." The New York Times,
May 19, 2012.
6. Mitt Romney Press, May 12, 2012