Posted by
Steve on Thursday, November 17, 2011 11:26:34 AM
Yesterday, I was blown away by Ann Coulter’s column. I know she was basically saying what many others were saying, but to hear it from her at this time was surprising. She said that Mitt Romney is going to be the nominee for the Republican Party and that we should all accept that fact.
Mitt Romney does have some baggage. Most notable of Mitt’s baggage is Romneycare in Massachusetts. He has explained that federalism gives states the opportunity to try things that are not appropriate for the federal government to do. He says that Romneycare is one of those experiments that the states are allowed to do. I do tend to agree with that sentiment as states should be free to experiment with different programs to see how they work. Romneycare has been found to not work, but it also has been modified by the Democrats since it was originally implemented. So, the Romneycare that Massachusetts has today is not the Romneycare that was passed while Mitt Romney was Governor of Massachusetts.
Mitt Romney’s second heaviest piece of baggage is his reputation for changing positions. He has done that. Basically he has become more conservative over time. While he was a Massachusetts politician, he held positions consistent with most New England politicians. Since he left the governorship, he has modified his positions to fit more with the general public. Does that mean he has changed his positions? Yes. Is that a particularly bad problem? No. The only problem is one of perception. People know that he has changed positions on some subjects. So, he was labeled as a flip-flopper. That label is hard to get rid of once you get it.
The third of Mitt Romney’s problems is that he is a Mormon. Mitt Romney belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The members of that church are frequently called “Mormons” because of their belief in the Book of Mormon as scripture. Members of the church use the designation “LDS” as shorthand to identify themselves as members. Since The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not one of the largest churches in the country, most people do not have a good background in what the church believes. That means that people wanting to exploit this weakness can make wild claims and have many people believe them. I know the church is working hard to educate the public on what the church believes. I also know many individual members have taken time to educate different groups about different points of doctrine. But, there is still widespread ignorance about what the church believes.
Statements that Mormons are not Christians do not help the discussion. The statement is completely false. The name of the church says it all in regards to the church’s belief in Jesus Christ. The people that make this claim are basing it on the fact that the church believes that Jesus Christ, God the Father and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings with one purpose. That was the common belief at the time of Christ and for a couple hundred years after. By the time the Nicene Creed was written that knowledge had been lost. So, all Christian churches that base their knowledge of Jesus Christ on the Nicene Creed have a different view of Jesus Christ. That is how they make this “claim” that Mormons are not Christians. What they really mean is that Mormons do not subscribe to the Nicene Creed like most other Christian churches. The Nicene Creed says that Jesus Christ, God the Father and the Holy Ghost are the same person. Therein is the difference and how they arrive at the erroneous conclusion that Mormons are not Christians. Mormons are Christians or the name of the church would be different.
Romney may or may not be the candidate for President from the Republican Party. He seems to have the best shot. He is the best funded and is not making the mistakes that all the other candidates are making. That alone leads one to believe he is the one that will head the ticket in November 2012. Whether that is the best or not remains to be seen. No matter your opinion on Romney, he is far better than Obama ever could be.