Rolly: Romney's Mormonism a problem for ambitious Utah Republicans
Rolly: Romney's Mormonism a problem for ambitious Utah Republicans
Paul Rolly
Article Last Updated: 06/16/2007 01:15:26 PM MDT
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble say they are bucking their Mitt Romney-loving compatriots in the Utah Republican Party by endorsing John McCain for president because they are so impressed with the man. Skeptics would beg to differ. After all, it was just two years ago that Huntsman told the Deseret Morning News that he was writing briefing papers for Romney and helping the then-potential candidate behind the scenes. He also said then that he wasn't interested in joining a presidential administration because he loved his job as governor. But former Gov. Mike Leavitt spouted the same thing, right up until the time he accepted President Bush's nomination to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. In that same 2005 interview, Huntsman said that he had talked to national security and foreign policy experts in Washington, D.C. about helping Romney if the former Massachusetts governor were to run for president. But, like the ad says, life comes at you fast. Just a year later, Huntsman was foursquare behind Arizona Sen. John McCain's presidential bid. Did the governor think him the better man? Perhaps. But Republican insiders close to the Romney campaign say politics can provide cruel ironies sometimes. And here's a beauty: While Romney's presidential aspirations excite fellow members of the LDS Church, giving them a real hope that the country might see its first Mormon president, Mormons with their own high political ambitions will be disadvantaged if Romney wins. There will be no Mormons in a Romney Cabinet, or in any other high-profile job in the administration, Romney backers say, because of the candidate's sensitivity about the negative view so many people seem to have about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Romney candidacy itself has been beneficial for the church's image, especially with his recent rise in the polls and favorable showing in Republican candidate debates. If he proves himself an acceptable candidate, maybe Mormons really aren't so weird, the logic goes. "The only thing that would be better is if Romney were bald so people could see he doesn't have horns," joked one Romney worker bee. But Romney supporters say he is acutely aware of the misgivings about Mormonism, especially among Christian fundamentalists, and will not aggravate anyone's paranoia by appointing Mormons to high positions. So if Huntsman, say, would like to be in a Cabinet, or ambassador to China or India, Romney is not the star to which he would hitch his hopes. Shurtleff, too, has ambitions. And, as fate would have it, is a fellow Mormon. The attorney general has indicated he would like to run for the U.S. Senate when one of those two seats opens up. That means that either Bob Bennett, whose third term ends in 2010, or Orrin Hatch, whose sixth term ends in 2012, would have to retire. Both senators would be in their late 70s when their respective terms expire, making each of them old enough to be Strom Thurmond's son during his last term in the Senate. So Shurtleff, too, might favor an administration with no LDS ties. Then there is Bramble. His recently announced endorsement of McCain set off negative blog traffic in his home base of Utah County, where McCain is seen as too liberal. But Bramble is a dad. A good one, by all accounts. And today is Father's Day. And Bramble's son Jeff already is showing signs of political interest, serving as an intern in the Utah Senate and running a political action committee for Utah County Republicans. And, it is said, will soon be employed by none other than Sen. John McCain.
Paul Rolly
Article Last Updated: 06/16/2007 01:15:26 PM MDT
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble say they are bucking their Mitt Romney-loving compatriots in the Utah Republican Party by endorsing John McCain for president because they are so impressed with the man. Skeptics would beg to differ. After all, it was just two years ago that Huntsman told the Deseret Morning News that he was writing briefing papers for Romney and helping the then-potential candidate behind the scenes. He also said then that he wasn't interested in joining a presidential administration because he loved his job as governor. But former Gov. Mike Leavitt spouted the same thing, right up until the time he accepted President Bush's nomination to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. In that same 2005 interview, Huntsman said that he had talked to national security and foreign policy experts in Washington, D.C. about helping Romney if the former Massachusetts governor were to run for president. But, like the ad says, life comes at you fast. Just a year later, Huntsman was foursquare behind Arizona Sen. John McCain's presidential bid. Did the governor think him the better man? Perhaps. But Republican insiders close to the Romney campaign say politics can provide cruel ironies sometimes. And here's a beauty: While Romney's presidential aspirations excite fellow members of the LDS Church, giving them a real hope that the country might see its first Mormon president, Mormons with their own high political ambitions will be disadvantaged if Romney wins. There will be no Mormons in a Romney Cabinet, or in any other high-profile job in the administration, Romney backers say, because of the candidate's sensitivity about the negative view so many people seem to have about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Romney candidacy itself has been beneficial for the church's image, especially with his recent rise in the polls and favorable showing in Republican candidate debates. If he proves himself an acceptable candidate, maybe Mormons really aren't so weird, the logic goes. "The only thing that would be better is if Romney were bald so people could see he doesn't have horns," joked one Romney worker bee. But Romney supporters say he is acutely aware of the misgivings about Mormonism, especially among Christian fundamentalists, and will not aggravate anyone's paranoia by appointing Mormons to high positions. So if Huntsman, say, would like to be in a Cabinet, or ambassador to China or India, Romney is not the star to which he would hitch his hopes. Shurtleff, too, has ambitions. And, as fate would have it, is a fellow Mormon. The attorney general has indicated he would like to run for the U.S. Senate when one of those two seats opens up. That means that either Bob Bennett, whose third term ends in 2010, or Orrin Hatch, whose sixth term ends in 2012, would have to retire. Both senators would be in their late 70s when their respective terms expire, making each of them old enough to be Strom Thurmond's son during his last term in the Senate. So Shurtleff, too, might favor an administration with no LDS ties. Then there is Bramble. His recently announced endorsement of McCain set off negative blog traffic in his home base of Utah County, where McCain is seen as too liberal. But Bramble is a dad. A good one, by all accounts. And today is Father's Day. And Bramble's son Jeff already is showing signs of political interest, serving as an intern in the Utah Senate and running a political action committee for Utah County Republicans. And, it is said, will soon be employed by none other than Sen. John McCain.
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