Redstate

I've spoken to some conservative Republicans in South Carolina, and they seem particularly perturbed by the idea of voting for a Mormon candidate. The problem isn't so much that Mitt Romney is a Mormon and they don't like that, but it's more like "Mormons show up at my house every couple months and try to convert me, I think they're weird and annoying." I don't think you'll see voters, even in South Carolina, get real heavy on the Mormon faith and really drill him over it. I think, personally, people will just back off slowly and won't want any part of him.

The abortion issue is a contentious one. His aide said recently that his pro-choice position for the 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was a political move so he could win election in that state. It's smart, accurate, and frankly I don't think the position that Romney took in the first place was pro-choice. I think it was hands-off, and Massachusetts happens to be a state with relatively lax abortion laws, so Romney wasn't going to change anything.

Romney is looking really good though, to be honest. He's a governor, he comes from one of the bluest of blue states, and he's got pretty solid credentials both for a primary election and he's shown the ability to move towards the center if necessary to win a general election. I don't generally believe in Al Davis' philosophies, but "Just win, baby" might be a pretty good one for 2008. And Romney, if nominated, might just win.

Romney is dead in the water before he even announces. Just do an issue search on Romney and gun control and you get all the answers you need -- he is a nanny state RINO, not a conservative.

If you don't trust people with guns, you don't trust people with anything. Responsibilities and rights are linked, Romney wants to remove all your responsibilities, with that go your rights.

Owning firearms is the most basic of human rights -- Look around the world today at the defenseless getting slaughtered in large numbers.

I suppose we'll see a return of the Straight Talk Express. Worked so well for Lazio.

Romney's a city conservative, scared to death of guns like a liberal and more than happy to legislate firearms ownership and the right to self-defense right out of the window. He'll never get my vote, even if he is the Republican candidate. I have no tolerance for city conservatives.

Good article in the Weekly Standard on this topic, in case you missed it:

http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/672kwvro.asp

Not only is that a good (and very favorable) article, but the candidate appears to be genuinely good too. I think the folks who don't trust Romney's conservative credentials ought to read this article, because he seems to be right in the mainstream of conservative thought on most issues.

Some of you commented on gun control, for example, but you might also want to look at the fact that he's a governor. State gun laws is exactly what the conservative movement has been calling for, instead of federal gun laws. I think you'll find that this is where Romney stands on the issue. He may have supported gun regulations at the state level, where they belong, but I bet he doesn't support them at the federal level like Democrats do.

I could be wrong, but it seems to be pretty likely to me.

Well then, maybe he ought to just go out and buy a big ranch and move there and fake it (wear a big belt buckle, chop some wood), just like Reagan and W.  It's pathetic but it sure works.  I bet he could get all "rancher" and "rural folk" and win you over in no time.

"If you don't trust people with guns, you don't trust people with anything."

Whoa there.

I'm anti-gun-control.  I trust my brother, but I don't trust him with a nuclear weapon.  Nor do I completely trust him with a .50 cal sniper rifle.

Do you trust your 5-year-old with an uzi?

Note that I'm not arguing that you should ban guns or anything like that, I'm just saying...your idea of trust seems way off to me.

Until he reveals the source leaking the identity of Plame, this pitiful excuse for a journalist should be rotting away in a lonely cell. Hell will freeze over before I read or support Novak.

I don't think Romney should be underestimated. He's a conservative whose surrounding himself with good people. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that our party's nominee in '08 will either be Romney, Allen, or Huckabee.

As long as he's a gun-grabber, he won't win me or any other conservative over--just the other city folks who don't know what conservatism is or can't read the Constitution.

Belt buckles don't have anything to do with it.

Having lived in conservative areas (State College, PA, Charleston, WV and Lex. KY) I have on occassion listened to conservative radio stations. I have also worked w/ a number of fundamentalist christians. Both of these groups express extreme dislike for people of the mormon faith. They do not consider Mormons to be christian. I have never really gotten a good explanation from either side as to why there is such anomosity. Once I asked a mormon lady why Sen. Hatch sided w/the Republicans when I heard so much criticism on the radio and she accused me of being anti-mormon and never spoke to me again. Never expalined anything just got pissed off. Since she was older and alone I used to assist her with jobs around her house but she ended up hiring someone to do the stuff.

If anyone can logically explain what's going on I would appreciate it.

Look, the answer is a long one, but briefly, Google "Mormon + Trinity," then "Mormon + Christ + substance," and see where it leads you.

My third-oldest friend is LDS, so I don't wanna dive too deep into this.

I thought I was reading a lefty blog for a minute with people turning their back on a candidate because of their religion.

For people to pick out one or two issues and say "I'm not voting for him, I'll be fishing that day, let Clinton win" is repugnant.  What if people said, "I'm would never vote for Allen because he is sponsoring the bill to have Congress apologize for not outlawing lynching a century ago?!?!  Or, "I'm Catholic and I'd never vote Allen who is Presbyterian".  See my point?

He was born into a Mormon family, so what?  What matters is his position on issues and ability to make smart decisions.  Romney is an economic genius and brilliant at planning and execution of those plans.  He is a top Republican leader and ALWAYS fully supports President Bush (never criticizes).

A lot of conservative Republicans were for the Brady bill a decade ago.  In MA the legislatures are going to pass their own paired down assault weapons bill that will ban very select guns by name like Uzis and AK-47s, and Romney will probably sign it. The pro-gun lobby in MA like Romney.  He can't push every conservative initiative and sometimes has to advocate smart compromise legislation.

Use RealPlayer and watch this short video of a Romney talk.

rtsp://video.c-span.org/project/rwh/rwh060505.rm

I think you'll open up to him after watching and see why he may be the best candidate.