Romney Won't Lose Because Of His Religion-- He'll Lose Because He Embodies The Selfishness Of The One Percent

It will be ironic if his Mormonism beats Willard instead of his mammonism! Now that he's officially started ignoring Santorum and has, in effect, won the Republican nomination, the old question comes up again: will his devotion to Mormonism be lethal to his campaign? It seems to have played a significant role in his losing most of the red states he competed in. (Most Romney primary victories were in blue states where he won't have any chance in November.) Will the anti-Mormon Christians in the Bible Belt bite the bullet and pull the lever for him anyway? No doubt many will. My masseuse belongs to a fundamentalist church in the Inland Empire and she says the Republicans there will vote for Romney on the same day they vote for Satan.

David Gregory wasn't breaking any new ground the other night on Jay Leno's show when he said Romney is a fundamentally weak GOP front-runner who isn't comfortable with his religion.

"Let's be honest, this is the core of who Mitt Romney is. He was a missionary in France for two years. He has been a bishop in the church, which, in the Mormon church, is effectively like a priest. Philanthropically, he's made huge contributions. He's had a big impact on the church. And yet he doesn't talk about it. It's the core of who he is, and yet he doesn't feel like it's safe to talk about."

Yesterday Michael Keegan, president of People For the American Way, called out Mormon crusader Orrin Hatch on his absurd assertion that it's leftists who are "smearing" Romney because of his Mormonism.

Hatch's claim is ridiculous. In fact, it is right-wing politicians and pundits who keep on "warning" us that Democrats will attack Romney's faith-- and then use those "warnings" as opportunities to slam Mormonism themselves.

The American Family Association's Bryan Fischer, like others on the Religious Right, has continually attacked Mormons, even going so far as to say their faith shouldn't be protected by the First Amendment and claiming that a Mormon president would threaten the "spiritual health" of the nation. But Fischer warned in a column yesterday that the "the out-of-the-mainstream media" will attack "every unusual thing Mormons have ever believed or done"-- helpfully listing a litany of things he deems "unusual" about Mormonism.

The Southern Baptist Convention's Richard Land has likewise claimed that progressives will make Romney's faith a campaign issue-- while he himself insists that Mormonism is "technically...a cult."

The Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody used the same tactic this week when he posted a video of a Ron Paul supporter grilling Romney on quotes from Mormon scripture-- and then claiming that Democrats and liberals will be the ones to attack Romney's faith.

The Values Voter Summit, the Religious Right's marquee event, fell apart last year after the pastor who introduced Gov. Rick Perry repeated his claims that Mormonism is a "cult" that worships a "false god."

Meanwhile, one of the most powerful Democrats in the country, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, hasn't been held back by any progressive backlash to his Mormon faith.

Romney is receiving attacks on his faith. But, as much as the right-wing media is trying to spin it otherwise, those attacks are not coming from progressives.

Progressives have enough reasons to oppose Mitt Romney without thinking about his religious beliefs, no matter how weird. But it's pretty funny watching conservatives fighting among themselves over it.