Mitt Romney for President My Man Mitt


	5 Comments: Woah! Sharpton is redeeming himself. I applaud him for it. I think we need to let it go and fast! By Anonymous, at May 10, 2007 at 5:18 PM Ok, I hope we can put this behind us and move on. I don't think complaining any more about Sharpton will accomplish anything. Complaining puts a bad taste in my mouth whether it comes from Sharpton or from Romney supporters. So please, no more Al Sharpton posts. By Anonymous, at May 10, 2007 at 5:33 PM I think it is obvious that Chris Matthews is off the mark in suggesting that Romney is criticizing Sharpton for political gain. Give me a break. Nice try Matthews but that is a retarded idea. By Anonymous, at May 10, 2007 at 6:49 PM Well, there you have it! No matter how you look at it in context or out Sharpton went after the Mormon church and used religion to attempt to discount Romney. Nice try but no cigar! By Cory, at May 11, 2007 at 8:16 AM HA HA no more like Sharpton, is trying to hitch his star to ROMNEY'S to keep his pathetic self in the media. Let's get this in the right order, now. By Anonymous, at May 11, 2007 at 12:19 PM Post a Comment

After getting in hot water for his comments on "true" believers defeating the "one Mormon" in the race, Sharpton gets out his shovel and keeps digging. The logic runs thus:

1) Mormonism didn't allow blacks the priesthood before 1978
2) Mormonism is therefore racist
3) Romney was a Mormon before 1978 (1965 or whatever)
4) Romney is not a believer in God

I don't get it.

OH.. and it was Hitchens fault too!

Labels: al sharpton, hitchens, Mormon, video


	6 Comments: I am not a member of the LDS church. The bigotry Mitt has endured ENRAGES ME especially that from the right as I expected better of them. But Al Sharpton is doing Mitt a huge favor here. The RIGHT is going to rally to Romney's defense against Sharpton's bigoted and ignorant rantings. The debate now is not about Mitt being a Mormon but about the right of all American citizens to worship as they wish. By Anonymous, at May 10, 2007 at 3:07 PM This will be a defining moment for the Romney campaign. If it can handle Sharpton's barbs really well, then it can survive anything and yes it will thrive. I will be a curious observer how this will be done. P.S. Isn't Katie Adams, a Mormon, on the Rutgers Woman Basketball Team. I would be curious of her thoughts on the matter? By Anonymous, at May 10, 2007 at 3:25 PM You really need to let this issue die. I am as big a Romney fan as they come, but continuing to push this issue is not going to win allies. Just about everyone outside of Sharpton sees the folly of his remarks. Dwelling on it incessantly is unnecessary and overplayed. Let's not waste more bandwidth on this chump and get back to the real issues of the campaign. Unfortunate as it is, continuing to drag this out just opens the door, as Sharpton points out, to focus on obscure aspects of Mormon history that simply will NOT play well with most voters if given continual airtime. It removes the focus from Mitt's message and places squarely where the MSM wants it. Stop giving your opponent a podium. It isn't helping ANYONE anyone, anymore - particularly GMR. By Anonymous, at May 10, 2007 at 3:33 PM Am I the only one who sees this episode as potentially harmful to Romney? The beginning of the whole affair was a comment by Sharpton's debate opponent regarding the status of blacks in the LDS church in decades past. Sharpton made his inappropriate comment in partial response. That was where the issue should have been left to die. Instead, the Romney camp implies that Sharpton is a "bigot" with the result that Sharpton has now turned the bigotry accusation back on Romney and the LDS church and gone on record (with CNN) demanding that Romney repudiate the church's former position on blacks. I fail to see how this does anything but put Romney on the defensive and call attention to an issue that would better be left out of the headlines. Already, in comments from all corners, I see various glaring errors in the way the LDS church's relationship to blacks is being portrayed. Stuff like this definitely hurts Romney more than helps. I have to wonder what the Romney camp expected to have happen once they opened this Pandora's box. I suppose they were thinking that any publicity is good publicity. I would respectfully disagree. By Anonymous, at May 10, 2007 at 4:51 PM Sharpton's comment highlights a fundamental truth. Mormons and Evangelical and Pentecostals don't believe in the same God. Mormons believe that a man ascended to godhood, I say they believe in 'that guy, god.' Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians believe in God who always existed, is eternal, and manifested as a man in Jesus Christ. It's an important distinction. I live in a 99% mormon community and have heard all sides of the doctrine. The mormon community should not try to blur doctrinal lines. By Anonymous, at May 10, 2007 at 11:13 PM Yeah the issue is ting out of control but he needs to understand that what he said was a direct slam at Romney and the Mormon religion. By Cory, at May 11, 2007 at 8:20 AM Post a Comment

So after offending Mormons, conservatives and lefties... Sharpton goes on CNN with Paula Z to explain.

It turns out... it's all my fault!

You see, before 1978, black males were not allowed to hold the priesthood (for a deeper discussion see here). So Mormons are bigots and don't deserve to run for President.

I can't cite the quote yet (I'll look for the transcript somewhere shortly here) but essentially Al's logic is thus:

1) The Mormon church didn't allow blacks to hold the Priesthood until 1978
2) The Mormon church was therefore racist and bigoted
3) If you belonged to the Mormon church before 1978 that made you a racist and a bigot
4) Therefore he can decry any Mormon running for public office and wave them off because "true" believers in God will defeat them.

Did I get that right? Can I take that shovel from you Reverend?

You will seriously not believe what you hear when the YouTube is posted.

UPDATE: Hitchens digs in now as well

This really isn't that hard to understand.

Labels: al sharpton, hitchens


	4 Comments: Isn't Katie Adams a Mormon? She is on the Rutgers Women's Basketball team, right? Shouldn't Al apologize to her? --nowandlater By Anonymous, at May 9, 2007 at 8:03 PM I don't particularly expect anything more than this from Sharpton. What we must realize, I think, is that he is merely part of the democrat smear machine. Since the official candidates will, hopefully, not be dirtying themselves too much in religion bashing, they need surrogates to perform the role for them. Sharpton wants to reinforce those who may be inclined to pre-judge Romney based on his religion, and pre-judgment is prejudice. From my perspective, I don't believe you can ever kick a guy like Romney down. You only kick him up. His vision to strengthen the economy, the military, and the family shine through amidst the slander. Ultimately, I, like him, have faith in the strength of the American people to be conscious, considered, and informed voters. We believe in the ultimate good of America and the voter's ability to resist demagoguery. In the end, we believe in the triumph of reasoned discourse over ad hominem argument. That is why it is so good to be a part of the party of ideas and to support the candidate of ideas, Mitt Romney. By Anonymous, at May 9, 2007 at 10:13 PM Justin - while your efforts to combat Sharpton's unfortunate antics are sincere and well-placed, I offer that you are playing right into his hands, and into the hands of whoever may have put him up to making his comments. He now has a forum and for at least two days, the attention from Romney's campaign and post-debate successes has been diverted to a bright spotlight, once again, on his religion, with Sharpton using the stage to highlight (as unfairly and out of context it may be) the LDS former ban on black priests. Continuing to respond to Sharpton does nothing more, at this point, than keep the attention right where the liberals, democratic candidates, and MSM want it: squarely on hard to understand nuances of Mitt's religion. Both the campaign and volunteer supporters alike should rise above this and refuse to let it generate discussion. Rather, after a brief calling out of Sharpton, time to return the focus onto Romney's agenda for America. A return to that focus can't come too soon. This is a loser of a fight and time to cut the damages. By Anonymous, at May 9, 2007 at 10:49 PM Paging Don Imus: MSNBC and CBS are seeking your input on this latest Al Sharpton episode of bigoted faith-baiting. I agree with the previous comment, this only helps elevate Romney. Sharpton pulls these stunts to try and raise his own profile as he's being overshadowed by more sincere and untainted persons. Hopefully after this 2008 cycle his days as "leader" are over. Or sooner. By Anonymous, at May 10, 2007 at 12:12 AM Post a Comment

American Thinker, one of our favorite websites, picked up our reaction to Al's Mormon slam.

We think the traction is deserved to call out the glaring bigotry

Our initial reaction here

Anger builds to a climax here

Kyle calms me down here

The Romney camp explains here

Jason posts the actual video after Sharpton denies the comments:

Labels: al sharpton


	4 Comments: My point wasn't necessarily to calm anyone down, but to look at his motive. It makes little difference to me, at least, that Sharpton is bigoted for its own sake or for partisan political reasons. By Kyle Hampton, at May 9, 2007 at 2:07 PM I am not a religious person (Baptized a Catholic and have struggled my whole life to even wonder how we could possibly understand the nature of God) but this whole thing angers me to no end. Mitt Romney has lived his life as a MODEL CHRISTIAN on this earth. That is all people on THIS EARTH need be concerned with. The disposition of his soul should be left to God, not the likes of Al Sharpton or any other mortal. By Anonymous, at May 9, 2007 at 3:23 PM Even if you actually buy his explanation about when he said "we people who believe in God", he was actually comparing himself to the athiest he was debating, and not to Romney. It actually makes sense in the context of the debate. However, that only takes one of the points away that Justin wrote earlier, and it still smacks of egoistic, snobbish politics, at best. By Mike, at May 9, 2007 at 4:15 PM There is a PBS documentary that starts tonight about the Spanish Inquisition. I wonder if Sharpton will claim Rudy Giuliani isn't a real believer in God, because God wouldn't have priest kill people in his name. No... probably not. Bigotry is only ok for certain religions. By Anonymous, at May 9, 2007 at 7:45 PM Post a Comment

Not! Come get the details behind one of the more bigoted comments to grace this campaign

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Labels: al sharpton, mittcast, rudy

Justin, I think you ARE missing the point. I've seen and heard Sharpton do this type of thing before. Sharpton's comment has to be interpreted for its intent and not its language or logic.

Sharpton's comment is a purely partisan comment. Sharpton has largely been a political, and not a religious, operative for many years in the Democratic Party. In his statement he makes an invidious slight of hand(in the verbal sense) by replacing the word Democrat with believers in God. It's not that Sharpton believes that evangelicals will not vote for Romney because of disagreement with his faith, but that eventually a Democrat will win the presidency. Sharpton's thoughts about Mormonism are probably the same as other religious leaders (a general distrust), but he doesn't share the values and purpose that Mitt, as a Republican nominee, has with other religious leaders. Thus, Sharpton feels free to disparage Mitt by using religious terminology to advance a partisan political point.

Sharpton regularly pulls this trick be making a faith argument when he really is making a partisan argument. This type of casual interchange of political and religious motives is especially harmful. It encourages stereotypes about both Mormons and Christians. Mormons in that they are still some sort of outcast or outlier of society. Christians in that they are an unwelcoming and biased group, who know better than to vote for a Mormon because of religious differences. Both of these are patently false. That a person of Sharpton's profile continues to maintain legitimacy in the face of statements that are false and bigoted on so many levels is sad to say the least.

Labels: al sharpton

In case you missed it. Al Sharpton threw some more verbal spears (his forte really) -- this time at the Mormons and Mitt Romney.

Now that the initial shock of Al's jab has worn off -- I have to revisit his quote again and try to decipher the logic therein.

There is none.

Here's the offending sentence: "As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation.”

It's almost a throw away insult from Sharpton which makes the insult even worse. With 25 words Sharpton insinuates a boat load of raw bigoted crap:

1) Romney is a Mormon and therefore not a serious candidate. In Al's mind, Romney's denomination is as much a disqualifying characteristic as it is a defining one. The "one Mormon running for office" - he can only bring himself to refer to Romney by his abhorrent faith and not by name. In Al's world, Romney's faith makes him irrelevant. It also layers his bigoted cake with a twinge of removal and flippancy, something Al is adept at using when confronted with, say, Tawana Brawley.

2) Romney is a Mormon and thus disqualified. In Al's mind, no right-thinking Christian could ever vote for the "one Mormon". According to Al, Romney is as much a throw away as his one-liner. No need to worry of course: "those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway." Who is he referring to here? Will McCain and Rudy be hailed as the Mormon-eating Christian warriors for Al? Will Obama defeat Romney next November with Sharpton whistling "Onward Christian Soldiers" as they unlatch the door on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? Why did he need to make this statement in the first place? Is there "worry" out there about the "one Mormon" might actually win this election?

3) Mormons have no place in the American politics. What!? A Jew is on the ship? No worries, those right thinking Christians will toss him overboard. That's offensive... but it's essentially what he said. How about we lower the race a bit... say School Superinendent of Fairfax County, Virginia. Let's do a bit of editing and roll tape... "As for the one Mormon running for [School Superintendent], those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation.” Yikes! That sounds almost as bad as our semitic replacement. Use anything... how about Student Body President, PTA Board member, paper boy... where does it stop? Or... is it only for important jobs.

4) Real believers in God will rise up and defeat all non-believers in God. The subsequent deed following the cry of "Allah Ho Akbar!" is thankfully absent from Al's quick diatribe... but the sentiment is striking similar. Al - Let's leave the religious political poisonous infighting to the Shiia and Sunii. There's no place for it here. You see Mormons don't really believe in God. Al may question (indeed many of my readers may question) the God I believe in but don't tell me I don't believe in God. And don't tell me that someone who doesn't even believe in God can't participate in American politics. And what does "temporary situation" really mean? I can picture Marlon Brando, cotton balls in mouth, reciting that quick diddy... but I expect more from a supposed religious leader.

Perhaps I'm missing the context. Here's the quote again in the context of the NY Times writer:

Noting that Dr. King had established the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, he said, “There’s no question that he himself saw that the basis of the movement was God-based.” He added, “To try and secularize the civil-rights movement is just totally inaccurate. It was a church-based, faith-based movement; there’s just no question about that. … Let’s not reinvent Dr. King any more than we try to reduce God to some denomination or convention.”

But Mr. Sharpton, in a jab at Mitt Romney (and the Mormon religion, which Mr. Hitchens had criticized because it once endorsed racial segregation), added, “As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation.”

Well, that didn't help his case any. So Sharpton declares that Dr. King's movement was a faith-based movement, a God-based movement. But apparently, Al's interpretation of the movement has no room for Mormons even though Mormons made room for him 30 years ago.

This exclusionary faith-based mantra would come as a surprise to my 9th Great Grandfather, Jean Pierre Bondurant, a devout Huguenot, who fled to America from France in 1700 to avoid persecution and help found the area of Manakin, Virginia.

This is upsetting on so many levels. I guess I shouldn't be shocked. Al Sharpton has a history of this type of divisive nonsense.

One last word... watch out Harry Reid, Al is coming after you with his legions of true God-fearing challengers. They will defeat you... and all of us if we don't call Al on his bigoted comment.

Labels: al sharpton, Mormon, mormonism

UPDATED ANALYSIS - SEE HERE -

Yesterday Al Sharpton said: “As for the one Jew running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation.”

Are you kidding me! Oh, wait... I got that quote wrong.... here's the actual quote:

“As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation.”

Does that sound any better? As Hugh Hewitt points out... if Al said:

If Al had declared that a Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim or candidate would be defeated by those "who really believe in God," how great would the outcry be?

I'm speechless?!

For all his banter and vile against Imus (some of it justified) -- how does he justify these comments? Any ideas on how to counter this? I'll have more later.

Labels: al sharpton, Mormon, mormonism


	12 Comments: No no please do not dignify this malicious nutcase by putting his picture on your website! He causes me complete revulsion because of his total, Godless, lack of morality. I don't want to hear another word about this poser. By Anonymous, at May 8, 2007 at 9:29 AM Truthfully in my humble opinion this man doesn't deserve the light of day in terms of press. I think he's a non-issue, most of America knows his true colors. As for Imus, I hope he goes on Sirius or XM radio and makes a killing. htt By Anonymous, at May 8, 2007 at 9:50 AM Where is my megaphone? I DEMAND he apologize for his offensive and bigoted remarks. Who do I shake down for ten million dollars for this insult? By Anonymous, at May 8, 2007 at 10:18 AM We should approach this as honorable Latter Day Saints. I suggest we flood his show with calls. I just called and the producer I spoke to insists that it's not a topic they are discussing right now. He told me to call back on Friday. I think if we all start calling we will get some play. If I have the opportunity to speak to Rev Sharpton, I will address this issue calmly and ask him to apologize to the millions of LDS people he discriminated against by making this remark. 1-877-532-5797 Heather By moms4mitt, at May 8, 2007 at 12:42 PM Of course, he should resign or be fired for from any positions in any organizations he has. By Anonymous, at May 8, 2007 at 7:28 PM He has a show?!? By Anonymous, at May 8, 2007 at 8:10 PM I still believe that he isn't worth even talking about. The more we talk about it and try and "go after him" the more legitimate he's going to sound. I say just let it go! By Anonymous, at May 8, 2007 at 8:25 PM Anyone know where we can send a letter/email/fax to Sharpton? I see that Heather posted the phone number for his show but I would like to send a letter if possible. Why is it that this is the only place where I have seen this piece of news?(No need to answer...) By The Fear Fam, at May 8, 2007 at 9:33 PM I found an email on his website info@sharptontalk.net . I am sure that would get to him if you sent it there. Worth a shot, anyway! By Anonymous, at May 9, 2007 at 9:28 PM My first thoughts are anger and annoyance; but, my LDS upbringing has taught me better. The very UN-reverend Sharpton is nothing more than a bigot who will do or say anything to get attention and we all know that includes blantant falsehoods. He's not worthy of any additional effort on behalf of the public. Let Mr. Romney handle him. His words will be sufficient...at least for me. By Anonymous, at May 9, 2007 at 9:40 PM What about the laughs you hear after his comment about Mormons not believing in God?! Really...what is so funny? By Holly, at May 9, 2007 at 10:03 PM It's all over the news--the Washington Post, the Guardian, the LA Times. Google [al sharpton mitt romney] and you'll get a lot of hits—Google News lists >300 stories. (This site is #1 in the regular search.) By Jordan McCollum, at May 9, 2007 at 10:55 PM Post a Comment

Sharpton: I'm going to SLC! "I would apologize to Mormons"

Sharpton: Don't blame me! Blame Mormons! Blame Romney! Blame Hitchens!

Sharpton, Paula Zahn and a Big Shovel

MMM on American Thinker

The MittCast - 05.09.07 - Al Sharpton Loves Mormons

Sharpton's political purpose

You can't run for Superintendent! You're a Mormon!

Holy Bigots Batman! Al Sharpton Knocks Mormons?!