Liberals and other genuinely tolerant citizens, regardless of political party, need to push back publicly against discriminatory campaigning for cheap political points directed against Republican candidate Mitt Romney over his Mormon faith.
Regrettably, conservative GOP/Tea Party candidates Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain are side-stepping the issue, so are giving their assent to the bigots because Cain and Bachmnn think there are votes from narrow-minded constituencies to be gathered through strategic silence.
Shame on them. This is every American's fight.
Religious intolerance was wrong when John F. Kennedy's Catholicism was
made into a campaign issue by bigots during his 1960 Presidential run,
and it's just as wrong today.
The flip side is that the overall emphasis of religion in US politics is out of place, too: Media should back off demanding answers and explanations about candidates' faith. And candidates should stop pitching themselves as believers worthy of votes because that translates as exclusionary, or judgmental, against other religions and their adherents.
That feeds intolerance and we're back to the attacks on Romney. Whether candidates are undermined because they are Catholic, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim - - it should all be out of bounds in America.
People who don't like Romney's politics - - too conservative, not conservative enough, flip-floppy on big issues like health care - - have plenty to work with.
If Republicans and conservatives want to select candidates using religious tests, it's not enough to sit back and let them hack each other up because it makes the entire debate and landscape ever more toxic.
When it comes to religion in politics, I'd be happy with don't ask, don't tell, don't criticize and don't wrap yourself in it, either.
Agreed!
ReplyDeleteNow what about Dolan?
Mr. Rowen -
ReplyDeleteIn a high-minded sense you are obviously correct, but in another sense why shouldn't we just let the Repukes self-immolate over this issue? Name one Republican who stood up and condemned the idiots who were calling Obama a Muslim and inciting harted of him. And furthermore, what earthly good would it do to condemn such behavior against Romney? Religious bigots will be religious bigots no matter what progressives say. But of course it comes back to the fact you are right. Someone has to behave like Amercians here.