No More JKF Catholics

Catching up on a few things, I got to read this article by Amy Sullivan on Romney, Mormonism and electability. One thing struck me as true and having some interesting consequences.

All of this leaves Romney in a real pickle. Thus far, he's tried to follow in the tradition of other Massachusetts politicians and "pull a John Kennedy," declaring personal faith irrelevant to his qualifications for office. This is a nonstarter. We live in a political era in which, thanks largely to Republicans, candidates are virtually required to talk openly about their religious views. There is no way a Republican, especially in a GOP primary, can avoid the issue—if for no other reason than the press won't let them.

It's nice to know the spirit of the First Amendment is alive and well on the Right.

Personally I would never vote for or against someone based solely on their religion and never have. They all seem equally foolish to me and a sign that the candidate is subject to the will and judgment of priests, clerics and other ghost chasers.

It does highlight the problem of the Big Tent GOP though. Sullivan says that 30% of the GOP is made up of evangelicals to whom Mormonism isn't even a branch of Christianity. Given Bush fatigue, and other factors at play (the usual corruption, incompetence and spendthriftiness of whatever party is in power), it seems like the Right might have a harder struggle in 2006 and 2008 than they've had the past decade or so. There may be a crop of moderate candidates on the way in the near future, and if the other 70% of the GOP doesn't pick up the pace, those moderates might not be majority Republican.