McCain Admits Evangelicals Coalescing Around Santorum Bad For Romney

[ProSense]

McCain Admits Evangelicals Coalescing Around Santorum Bad For Romney

On State of the Union, Romney surrogate John McCain admitted that a decision by a large group of evangelical leaders over the weekend to endorse Rick Santorum was a hit to Romney’s campaign and might make a small difference in South Carolina. But, he argued, he still expected Romney to win.

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/updates/4089

From yesterday:

BREAKING: Social Conservatives Officially Unite on Rick Santorum As Romney Alternative | Moments ago, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins announced on a conference call that social conservatives had officially settled on Rick Santorum as their preferred candidate for the Republican nomination. The decision was made today after three rounds of balloting at a meeting of more than 150 social conservative leaders and political activists held over the last two days in Brenham, Texas. Though the meeting was widely seen as an effort to settle on a candidate to stop Mitt Romney, Romney’s own campaign sent a representative to make an appeal to the group and Perkins said it was “not a bash Romney weekend” and “not a lot of time” was spent discussing him. Jon Huntsman’s campaign was the only campaign not to participate in the meeting.

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/01/14/404546/breaking-social-conservatives-officially-unite-on-rick-santorum-as-romney-alternative/

[rbixby]

1. Don't evangelicals consider Catholics and Mormons to not be christian?

Or am I wrong here?

[customerserviceguy]

8. Theologically

Catholicism and all Protestant offshoots have much, much more in common than the LDS faith and any pre-Joseph Smith Christian denomination. Please note that I am not saying that Mormonism or its offshoots are not Christian, just that there are very major differences in their basic conceptions of things that nobody can prove one way or another. I'm an atheist, and all religion is made up nonsense to me, but I support the First Amendment freedom to think and believe any way you want to with regard to this, and to act accordingly as long as it does not infringe on the rights of those who believe differently.

Here's the difference: Mormon missionaries. Right now, when the LDS missionaries go door-to-door, they can cite only a few famous people as Mormons: Steve Young, Gladys Knight (without her Pips) and some obscure dead white guys who were Cabinet officers during the Eisenhower administration or thereabouts. Oh, and the Osmonds.

They'd love to have at least a major party Presidential nominee that everybody's heard of on that list, and they'd shit themselves silly if there were a sitting President who they could cite on the list. On the other hand, Catholics really aren't all about poaching people from other religions the same way that Fuller Brushes used to be sold, they'd be happy just to get escapees like me back into their mindfuck.

There's your big fat difference.

[Kurmudgeon]

3. And ponder this, how about a Romney-Santorum ticket this fall?

[aaaaaa5a]

4. Shouldn't they be coalescing around Gingrich?

He still polls better than Santorum.

[asjr]

5. Another reason

for separation of church and state. This is in direct conflict with it. Religious leaders should not be "electing" our president for us. "Selecting" is more like it. If this were muslims trying to intervene these so-called Christians would be screaming bloody murder!

[TlalocW]

6. Romeny has too problems - one his personality and two his Mormonism

If he gets the nomination (which I think he will), he still has to overcome the inertia he'll face in getting the evangelicals who consider Mormonism a cult (it is) out to vote. These people have been told for years by their pastors that Mormonism is as big a danger as Islam, liberals, pornography, etc., and while the pastors may do a 180 and fall in line behind Mitt, a lot of Joe Sixpack on the religious side are going to be thinking, "My choices are a Mormon or a Muslim? I'm just going to stay home."

TlalocW

[customerserviceguy]

9. There will be a third choice

and no, I'm not talking about Ron Paul, although if Mittens gets it, he'll be on that ballot, too.

Most certainly, the fundies will find their own third party candidate to run as a 'principled' choice, and the Republicons really won't oppose it. It will get fundie voters out who will vote for Rev. Joe Blowhard of the Church of Everlasting Damnation and then just vote straight Repuke down the rest of the ticket.

They'll order Mitt not to pick on the Rev. Joe in the debates, even when Blowhard starts up with his anti-Mormon screed.

[Dawson Leery]

7. At this point, the fundies have to take any religious reactionary.

Mittens does not fit the bill, and Santorum does not have as many problems as Newt, so Rick gets their endorsement.

[Hampton Jones]

10. What's going to be even worse...

What's going to be even worse for Romney is when democrats, independents, gay rights activists, minority activists and feminists coalesce behind Santorum. It begins this weekend in South Carolina and won't end until Obama has been guaranteed re-election.

[denem]

11. Mirr does NOT stand a reasonable chance of being elected. See on this page.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512077

Riddle me that.

But a continuing split the Not Romney camp - Newt & Santorum, benefits
you guessed it Romney.

Santorum may do worse than Romney,
but Mitt would be an unmitigated disaster for the GOP.