Huckabee is perfectly right to question Romney on Mormon doctrine (re: Jesus and Satan as brothers)

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

It is widely believed that religious conviction lies within a zone of privacy, and that politicians should not have to answer for the particulars of their faith. Some people probably thought it was improperly intrusive to ask Mike Huckabee if he believes in evolution, though it seems plenty pertinent to me.

Personally, I pay religious people the complement of taking their faith seriously, even if they do not. When someone running for President says their entire conception of the world, of ethics, and of the duties and potential of humanity is informed by their faith it cannot possibly be off limits.

If a candidate said the things they routinely say about their religion about any other world-view or philosophical scheme it would clearly DEMAND examination. "Every decision I make is informed by the teachings of"... Ayn Rand, Max Weber, Karl Marx, Plato, Locke, Burke, Hobbes, Dr. Phil, John Wayne... whoever.

Our sense that overly specific religion talk is out of bounds is a perversion of the implications of our Constitution. The problem is not picking at sectarian differences. The problem is mentioning religion at ALL in a political context. Once you cross that bright line, it is absurd to then invoke a different line. The cutesy affirmation of a generalized love of Christ that is de rigeur in contemporary American politics is over the line. Doing so is a person's right, but it is counter to the ideals of American civilization.

The second a candidate mentions his faith as important to his world-view, then every particular of that faith is open to rigorous examination. We are talking about the fricking Presidency of the United States of America! When G. W. Bush said Jesus was his favorite political philosopher he should have been grilled on the substance and implications of Christian doctrine every day for the rest of the campaign. If he had said "Karl Marx" he surely would have been!

[Lerkfish]

1. I agree. If you make your religion a reason to vote for you, you should

be able to answer questions about it.

[TwilightGardener]

2. The problem is not the questioning--it's the questioner and his motives.

McCain did NOT ask Huckabee if he believed in evolution. Romney did NOT ask Giuliani if he felt he should still receive communion after his sins. Huckabee was NOT the one to bring up a question about a particular aspect of Mormon faith, because it's clearly a passive-aggressive ploy to remind the base of Romney's goofy beliefs, and to remind them HE'S the true Christian. Note he said, "I believe it's a religion, but I don't know much about it." Why not leave it at that then? Nooo, he had to make sure that his "flock" knows that he REALLY doesn't believe it's a legitimate religion (wink wink) by bringing up a potentially controversial aspect of the faith, all the while pretending he's asking out of innocent curiosity. Bottom line: Romney is an ass, but the entire Mormon religion doesn't need to be smeared for political gain.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

3. Mentioning a religious doctrine is a Smear of a religion? What does that say about religion?

Romney says "vote for me because I believe in God!" Any question about what sort of God he believes in has to be proper.

It is unfortunate, perhaps, that almost no devout American Catholic or Protestant will vote for a devout Mormon if they examine Mormonism. I find Mormonism no sillier than Catholicism... it's all the same to me. But if it is important to someone and Romney makes religion the basis of his appeal then it is plenty germane whether the religious voters he panders to accept the tenets of his religion, which he says he devoutly believes.

[TwilightGardener]

4. I think you totally missed my point. I don't have a problem with

exploring religious doctrine and beliefs. I do have a problem with one candidate using a particular aspect of a rival's faith against him for political gain. I think that's wrong. He obviously intended to throw gasoline on the religious-war fire, and I hope it ends up blowing back on him. We're going down a really, really bad road here if it ever becomes OK for candidates to attack the tenets of each other's faiths in order to render opponents less electable.

[sandnsea]

5. And if he said Catholics are idol worshippers

that would have been wrong too because it's an old old smear against Catholics. It's bigotry and that's what it should be called. It's always wrong. It isn't an honest attempt at questioning someone's moral values, which I do think are important in choosing a President.

[AlinPA]

6. In IA, I heard that Huckabee has an ad that says he is the "Christian candidate".

I've wondered what the reaction would have been if Lieberman were running there as an R.