For more than 200 years Americans have debated the proper relationship between church and state. Recent presidential campaigns have featured candidates who have openly embraced their faith and others who have shied away from discussing it. Now, presidential aspirant Gov. Mitt Romney has announced that he will publicly address the issue of his faith at a speech in Houston the coming week.
Is Gov. Romney's religion more of an issue for him that it is for other presidential hopefuls? Why or why not? What impact does it have on his candidacy and on his fitness to serve in government? What messages should he convey to stakeholders in the upcoming address?
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/romney-to-deliver-faith-in-america-speech/
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
Gov. Romney’s religion is more of an issue for him than other presidential hopefuls because he has made it an issue. By building a wall around the issue, he has elevated public curiosity surrounding Mormonism. And on Thursday, he’ll feed that curiosity.
Most likely, his speech will focus on faith and not Mormonism. He’ll stress his religious strengths – values and tradition – while emphasizing the importance of separation of church and state in government. My speaking publicly on the topic, Romney is working to frame the debate on the role of faith in politics and take a side swing at Huckabee.
If Romney really wants to leave an impression on his stakeholders it is vital to discuss the topic at hand — Mormonism. By upsetting public expectations, Romney may be able to secure his lost primary votes in Iowa and New Hampshire and garner extensive media attention. This speech is crucial to the Romney campaign; with three weeks left before the primaries, Romney must pull the spotlight after Huckabee if he wants to make it past February 5.
Romney's religious beliefs are an issue, in part because he has built "a wall around it" as Arden suggests, but also because the religious conservative base of the Republican party views Mormonism with disdain. Many in the evangelical Christian community view Mormonism as a cult and therefore could not be a true religious conservative because he doesn't believe in the tenets of Christianity.
For this reason, Romney's religion is much more of an issue for him than it is for other Presidential candidates, especially the Republican hopefuls. While the Democrats primary voters are generally not as concerned with their candidate's religious beliefs, it is very important for a religious conservative.
Romney needs to do at least fairly well with religious conservatives if he expects to win the Republican nomination. Mike Huckabee appears to be surging with this voting bloc, but if Romney can temper these gains and win back 5 or 10% of them by giving this speech, he could secure a win in Iowa and New Hampshire, helping to propel him to the nomination.
Romney is attempting to do what John F. Kennedy did in 1960 with his speech in Texas addressing his Catholicism-allaying the fears of the electorate that his religion would somehow have a negative effect on his Presidency. After his speech, which was given during the general election (not the primary season) voters understood more about how his Catholicism would influence his decision-making. If Romney is successful in his speech, he will able to convey the message that his Mormonism WILL:
1. Enhance his compassion
2. Improve his appreciation and acceptance of diverse viewpoints (as he is a member of a minority religion)
3. Improve his ability to relate to religious voters, of many backgrounds
It WILL NOT:
1. Cause him to make any rash decisions.
2. Cause him to ignore other religious viewpoints.
If Romney is successful, he will cut into Huckabee's lead among religious conservatives in Iowa-improving his chances to win the nomination.
While the media (and the Romney campaign) attempt to link "The Speech" JFK gave in Houston about his faith to the one Mitt Romney delivered today in College Station, there are many reasons why this speech won't have the same impact as "the speech."
First, when JFK delivered his speech in 1960, it was during the general election. JFK needed to address these issues and speak to the entire nation (over 25% was Catholic). In contrast, Romney is delivering an address with the intended audience of Christian Evangelical Republican primary voters who view Mormonism as a perversion of their faith. In addition, Mormons make up less that 2 percent of the U.S. population--not exactly a large voting block, the way Catholics were in 1960.
Second, the speech Romney delivered today only highlights his differences with evangelicals and gives evangelical candidate Mike Huckabee another day to look like "one of us" ("us" being the 30-50 percent of evangelical Iowans expected to attend the caucus). By explaining his religion, even with the best intentions, Romney perpetuates the story of being an "outsider" and "different," which is not going to help his campaign with less than a month to go before the caucus.
Finally, when JFK addresses his faith, he made it clear that the Pope would not "control" or have influence in his work as president. Today, Romney made a similar statement about the role of the Mormon Church, but I don't think that is really what voters are concerned about. People, in general, don't know a whole lot about Mormonism and what they do know, they get from stereotypes perpetuated by shows like HBO's Big Love.
Instead of repeating JFK's talking points (as Romney seems to have done today), he should have blazed his own path by explaining and defending his faith and linking it to the reason America was founded in the first place--the right to practice your religion without government interference.
Governor Romney, who is giving his “Mormon speech” today, does have an issue on his hand – and the very fact that he is making a speech about his religion shows how worried he is. The issue is a bigger problem for him then other presidential candidates because Mormonism is not well understood, many in the Republican Party (particularly evangelical Christians) view Romney’s religion as a cult, and the media is focusing on this aspect of Romney’s life more so than others. He realized he needed to confront the issue now, rather than later, even against the advice of his political advisers (read this mornings Robert Novak column).
What impact does his religion (and for political junkies, will his speech) have on his candidacy? While ideally a presidential candidate’s religion, like JFK’s Catholicism, should play no role in their fitness for office (just like a candidates gender or race), it does raise interesting questions that I believe Romney should still address: How has his religion shaped him as a person? How has his religion shaped his view of public policies (if at all)? Romney was worried about Iowa, especially the religious voters in Iowa who come out disproportionately in the caucuses. Mike Huckabee is gaining in strength in that state, and Romney wanted to address the religion issue to try and squelch any fears or concerns about his own faith. I think if Romney were to win the nomination there are people who would not vote for him because he is Mormon, just like there are people who would not vote for Barack Obama because he is black or “has big ears”. The speech itself has a short term impact right now given the media attention.
His stakeholders are the media, the Republican base, fellow Mormons, and evangelical Christians and other voters who are skeptical of him and his faith. To voters who are skeptical of his faith he should make clear that he is a religious man, but what that means is he is a moral man – find common goals they can agree on. Make clear that he will be governed my no religious precepts – and just like he won’t be beholden to any one religion, make clear that he won’t be beholden to any other issue advocacy concern (and I think he did that in his speech). To the Republican base, hit all the themes they like to hear (strong family, moral principles, conviction to certain values, etc).
Overall, as I said, I don’t think the religion issue will be a MAJOR factor IF he wins the primaries - I think it can and is playing a larger role in Iowa.
I think people will have their concerns, I think it can impede his conversations with certain people, and I think some people may just not vote – but I think that can be overcome with the right strategy.
Since Romney is the first Mormon with a legitimate chance of becoming the next president, his religion, for better or worse, is more of an issue for him than other candidates. For years the US has had Baptists, Methodists, Protestants, and a Catholic as president and as country we know these religions and we are comfortable with them. Odds are very few of us know anything about Mormonism short of the thing about having multiple wives, and that clearly does not apply to Romney.
Romney’s religion does not make him more or less qualified than a Baptist or a Catholic to be president. However, in Republican politics it has an effect on his electability. Christian conservatives, who make up the Republican base, are clearly suspicious about Romney and his religion. It is no coincidence that Romney’s speech is timed for just days after Mike Huckabee, a Southern Baptist, has started to challenge Romney for the lead in Iowa.
At this point, the biggest stakeholders Romney needs to address are Christian conservative Republicans, particularly in the early primary state where Romney once looked unbeatable. He needs to emphasize to this group that his religion is not a cult and the negative stereotypes are just that, stereotypes. He needs to convince them that while he’s not a traditional Christian, he still believes in God and his views on issues such as abortion are in line with traditional conservative Christians (the flip flopping issue is another fight for another day). Most importantly, he needs to show this group that the leaders of his church will not be making policy decisions.
Romney's religion is going to be an issue throughout the primary and the general election. The many evangelical Christian voters who make up the Republican Party will be suspicious of someone who is a member of the LDS. This means he must reach to them on commonalities he has with them, family values, defense, and so forth. He should not, however, turn his religion into the center of his campaign. This speech does that in an attempt to replicate the speech John Kennedy gave in Houston. That is partly why Romney is giving it there. This address is not going to come close to doing what it did for Kennedy. Kennedy had the benefit of a larger voting bloc, Catholics; Romney has a far smaller group, Mormons, who are concentrated in the West. Kennedy also held the speech after he had won the primary and he could count on significant party support and had a larger audience to work with. Romney's speech here is to the evangelical Christians, and they are increasingly turning to Huckabee because of his religious views. The address focuses on too much about religious liberty in this country and not enough on why conservative voter's values are his own. This speech is ill timed and his campaign could have fought the press. The press has been pushing for this moment, and they got it. The campaign should have made it clear that Romney's religious views are not part of the campaign or his reasons for being president, and that they will be discussed when it is appropriate for the nation to begin such dialogue. Another message, which I am still interpreting after the speech is having it at George H.W. Bush's library, with him in attendance. The Bush's are not exactly loved in the country at this moment and the senior Bush exemplifies old Northeastern Conservatism just like Romney does. This could also be a ploy, however, to equate Bush senior with Bush junior, because President Bush still enjoys strong support from evangelical Christians.
Romney's religion is more an issue for him because his is less understood than others. His decision to speak publically about it was wise for his campaign. For this to be really helpful, however, he needs to address his religion before he proceeds into the inevitable church and state duscussion. There is not an issue because he is religious, the issue is his particular religion. Just as it was when JFK's religion was a matter of discussion when he was running. It is his religion (and his campaign is finally acknowledging) that has stunted his growth with the Republican base, particularly the Christian Right. Fear of the unknown. Educating the public about Governor Romney and his Mormonism will help his campaign.
It is more of an issue for Romney. He is a Mormon, and the other candidates are not. That being true, it's important to note that every candidate has to pass a religious "test". They have addressed (either in debates or public comments) the role of a supreme being in their lives and how it would affect their performance as president.
Romney's situation is different for obvious reason. His religion is one that a majority of American's are not familiar with, and some are downright skeptical of. By addressing his religion, and more broadly the role of faith in America, Romney is attempting to answer the questions of skeptics who are not comfortable with a president that does not adhere to a traditional Christian religion.
The message is going to be directed primarily at the republican base, namely evangelicals. Although polling suggests that Romney still holds their support over Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor has caught Romney in Iowa, a state that Romney has deemed he needs to win. The message in Romney's speech today was essentially, "Yes, I'm Mormon, but that doesn't matter and you shouldn't worry about it affecting my presidency." The problem I see with this message is this: it absolutely does matter to the people he is trying to win over. His religion DOES matter to evangelicals and they ARE worried about how it will affect his presidency, or more importantly, how his lack of traditional Christian beliefs will affect it. So, I don't think the "Don't worry about it" message is effective.
I believe the message about the role of faith in politics is an important one, and should be a part of the public dialogue. The problem is, evangelicals don’t want to hear it.
Yes, Governor Romney's religion is more of an issue for him than it is for the other presidential hopefuls. The truth is that in general terms, people are often afraid of change, of things that are different or unusual.
There are also so many rumours, questions and misconceptions about the Mormon faith. Many people just do not understand what Mormonism is and many times the only information they do have is not positive. I do not believe that Mitt Romney has properly addressed the misinformation about Mormonism or the untruths that have been spread during his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
He first must state that his faith is a positive thing and that it will have a positive impact on him as president.
Mitt Romney must be honest and straightforward. He talk about his personal relationship with God and how is faith gives him personal strength.
He should share his personal stories and find common ground with people of faith.
I have the impression that Mitt Romney tried to hide his faith or play down his Mormonism. This was a mistake. He should have been honest and open about it so that voters would not have a negative impression.
His speech today is his last opportunity to control his image. He must make certain that people understand that his faith is the same as any other person of faith. He must also make it clear that his faith will be a positive a president and that his commitment is to the United States and not some group of mysterious people in Utah.
He should end by saying that this is supposed to be a country of religious tolerance, where people are judged by their ideas and character. Today's speech may be too late.
I'm gonna have to intially disagree with, I think, everyone and say that Gov. Romney's religion is not more of an issue than for any other President. of course I am comparing him to JFK. I think there is some significance in the one way Ryan laid it out "the US has had...a Catholic as president," and if we simplify it a little, all the other presidents have been one denomination of Protestantism. So I think that Gov. Romney is facing just as much of a problem as Kennedy was.
Now a I do agree that there is a difference between the problem Catholicism created for JFK, and the problem Mormanism is causing for Gov. Romney. For JFK people were afraid that if JFK were to be president then the Pope would be running the country. However, in the case of Gov. Romney I think Charlie hit the nail on the head when he said "The issue is...Mormonism is not well understood." From my personal experience with freinds who were raised mormon but are no longer practicing, they were frustrated with all the secrecy and restrictions that the Mormons must live their lives by. So for Gov. Romney I don't think JFKs message of "I am an American first" will be enough to belay people's fears of mormanism.
This is some opportunities for Gov. Romney to make cross religion connections between mormanism and evangelical christians. For example the committment to waiting until married to engage in sex and the restriction on consuming alcohol and other drugs (although the alcohol thing definitely will not go over well with Irish catholics like myself).
But in the end I think there will be too many questions left unanwsered for the American public to feel comfortable electing a Morman.
Finally, in terms of his ability to be president, it will affect the way he would act as president, whether it would be a negative or positive affect I cannot say.
Romney's speech today focused on Religious freedom, diversity, and values while sidestepping discussion of his own religion altogether. As a result, it did little to assuage the fears of evangelicals, who are the main voting bloc that could prevent him from winning the Republican nomination. Though unfortunate, the truth is that Romney's faith is more of a factor for him than for any of the other GOP candidates because of the influence of evangelicals within the GOP. Despite the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state, the Religious Right has succeeded in making religion a qualifier for GOP candidates in the last few decades.
While Romney's Mormonism has no bearing on his fitness to serve as POTUS, it remains an issue for him because some see it as an indicator of character. The only way Romney might change the minds of evangelicals voters is by confronting the issue head on, talking candidly about his religion, downplaying the differences, and emphasizing the similarities with Protestantism. Today's speech failed to do so and is unlikely to win him any converts (pardon the pun).
Post a Comment