Juan Cole: Pro-Perry Evangelical Leader says Romney not a Christian, Mormonism a Cult

[pampango]

The evangelical pastor Robert Jeffres, introduced Rick Perry at the Values Voters conference on Friday. He strongly implied in his introduction that evangelicals would have a choice between a non-Christian ‘good man’ and a ‘born-again Christian.’ In later comments he explicitly called Mitt Romney a “non-Christian” and termed Mormonism “a cult.”

Nearly half of Americans views Mormonism negatively. In opinion polls, about 25 percent of Americans say that they would be less likely to vote for a Mormon. But fully 34 percent of white evangelicals report these sentiments.

About a quarter of evangelicals voted for Barack Obama in 2008. Of course, it is not clear what percentage of Americans is evangelical. By a narrow definition, they would be only 7 percent. By a more expansive one they would be over 40 percent. I personally think that the expansive definition is silly, and favor the 20 percent range for their proportion of the general population.

But some 44 percent of Republican primary voters in 2008 were evangelicals, so they are an outsized proportion of the party base. If they aren’t lying to pollsters about refusing to vote for a Mormon, the anti-Romney evangelicals constitute nearly 15% of the core Republican Party membership. They are unlikely to swing behind Obama if Romney is the candidate, but they do have the option of staying home. The other question is how many of the independent swing voters are evangelicals. And apparently few Democrats are going to cross the aisle and vote for Romney (in contrast, Obama attracted about 10 percent of conservatives in 2008).

http://www.juancole.com/2011/10/pro-perry-evangelical-leader-says-romney-not-a-christian-mormonism-a-cult.html

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Imagine Robert Jeffres having the kind of influence (or worse) that Jerry Falwell had

if Rick Perry gets elected. And Robert Jeffres dictating new federal legislation which the Republican Congress enacts and so proliferate that the Supreme Court can't keep up with it.

[Ilsa]

2. Don't you just love it when the RR fight amongst themselves like this?

Let's hope John Hagee opens his big mouth and upsets Republican Catholics so that they and the Baptists are squabbling and bad-mouthing the candidates.

[CanonRay]

3. This is why Romney can never get above 25%

in Rethug polls.

[elocs]

4. I know from experience that religiously conservative evangelicals will NOT vote for Romney.

They believe that Mormonism is a cult, plain and simple. Republicans need every one of their votes that they can get. No, they will not vote for Obama--they may skip voting for president or skip voting altogether which is even better.

[elocs]

5. Ironic. Evangelicals who will not vote for Romney because he is a Mormon

has the same effect of helping Obama as does Democrats not voting for Obama because he is not progressive enough helps the Republican candidate.

Maybe they'll cancel each other out.

[Douglas Carpenter]

6. I disagree. Although some will stay home. Many will be less than enthusiastic and will not be the

faithful foot soldiers for the Republican Party like they were for George W. Bush - in final analysis they are right-wing Republicans first and born-again Christians second. We saw in 1980 where most white Evangelicals readily abandoned a very pious and fellow born-again Evangelical Christian and Sunday School teacher for a very worldly Hollywood B-grade movie star and the first divorcee elected to the White House in American history. Even when the story surfaced that Nancy had insured that many important decisions of state were in part being guided by the advice of her personal astrologers - most Evangelicals did not back away one single iota from their support and adoration or Ronald Reagan even though according to standard conservative evangelical teachings - astrology is the personal handiwork of Satan himself.

Most white American Evangelicals will be less than enthused over Romney and it is hard to say how many will stay home rather than vote for someone who they regard as a non-Christian - but in final analysis for the majority of them - their loyalty to the right-wing cause exceeds their loyalty to the Jesus Christ of Evangelical theology. They are after all as a group a very materialist people and where a persons treasures are - there will their heart be also.

[elocs]

7. You know this from experience? I do. In a young life I was a fervent evangelical.

Certainly some would vote for Romney, but many, many would not and the Republicans need each and every one of those votes.

[Douglas Carpenter]

8. yes I do have a fair amount of experience from the Evangelical world

I graduated from an Evangelical college and at one point even worked for a CBN affiliate - although I left the whole thing more than 30 years ago when the Evangelical movement was still more obsessed with the second coming of Jesus Christ and winning the lost for the Lord and not nearly as politicized as it is these days. Somehow or other most Evangelicals rationalized dropping Jimmy Carter and embracing Ronald Reagan. And that was when the movement was just beginning to get so politicized.

Many Evangelicals will have trouble backing Romney in the primaries. But when it comes to the general election should Romney become the nominee - some will stay home - most will be less than enthused - but most will in the end vote for him.