At least the Republicans are entertaining. Any normal party would nominate Mitt Romney in a heart beat. He’s white, rich , monogamus , tall and has great teeth. What’s not to like? But Republican voters seem determined to try various candidates du jour because they don’t really like Mitt. A big reason that they don’t like him is because he’s a Mormon. Never mind that Mormons don’t drink or smoke and are all about the family. The evangelical wing is wary of Mitt because of what they think are his weird Mormon beliefs. Never mind that Mormons self identify as Christians. A lot of Republicans ain’t buying it.
Now to be sure the part where Joseph Smith got a visit from the Lord telling him where some gold tablets that laid out the essential truth were buried seems a bit far-fetched. But c’mon. That’s no more far-fetched than Mary being immaculately conceived; and Jesus rising from the dead, and then zooming off to heaven 40 days latter. I’m sure half the Republican candidates don’t believe in dinosaurs, and that the whole world was created just 6000 years ago. Remember George Bush was told by God ( and Dick Cheney) to invade Iraq.
So picking on the Mormons and their religious beliefs seems unfair to me. The Republican tent may not be big enough to include gays, persons of color or pro-choice women, but surely it’s big enough to include all candidates no matter what their religious beliefs.
