Ok, since this blog is written from a Christian perspective, this is one place we probably need to examine it in that light. Now I’m not suggesting there are not other choices, but the race in the Republican primary is shaping up with two strong front runners. Neither are very desirable from a solely moral and Christian point of view.
Romney was a notorious liberal Republican when he was the governor of Massachusetts. He also was and is a Mormon. Neither of those issues will set well with fundamental Christians.
As governor he was pro choice, i.e. pro-abortion. He was also pro gay rights (you know… the special rights). Now the temptation here is to launch off into all kinds of ranting, but I’ll resist and stay on target for the article.
Romney was and then is and then was again ……
Magically, when Romney ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 he was then pro life and was only for a marriage between a man and a woman. All of a sudden, magically, he became what he needed to be for his run for national office. Odd how his Mormon faith originally played into his liberal stances as governor, because the Mormon church clearly does not go for Romney’s former positions on moral grounds.
As a Mormon, having gone so far as to fill several significant leadership positions in his church and on to serve as a Mormon missionary, he represents a religion that is the antithesis of fundamental Christianity. Again, I’ll stop with that comment as it goes far enough for the purpose of this article.
So, a clear master at morphing for whatever crowd he is entertaining, that alone would make him suspect. But from a Christian standpoint, in the event he becomes president, it will add credibility to a religion that Christians believe is insidious and deceptive from its founding to its present day activities.
I’ve visited with quite a few Mormon missionaries over the years discussing our faith. I had one young man pull out a sheet of paper and show me his family tree that traced his physical heritage back to Jesus. And he actually believed that the paper he handed me proved that this blond haired, fair skinned young man was a physical relative of Jesus. That’s what Romney represents.
Gingrich may make even Romney look good
Now to Gingrich who is admittedly one of the smartest, government savvy politicians running for the Republican nomination. His intelligence, ability, and vast knowledge has resulted in him rising to a front runner in the primary race. This is without what would normally be the necessary finances for other candidates. He has managed to get in front of the media and has excelled in debates where he rules the rhetoric most of the time.
Gingrich was the leader of the Republican House when Republicans in both houses of congress took control in the majority. That was during the presidency of Bill Clinton.
While Gingrich was highly regarded for his leadership in that revolt in congress, his personal life, shady political actions, and moral discrepancies clouded his reputation for years to come. While he’s been as open as possible during his run in the primaries, his shady deals and moral life continue to plague him. His ex wife has just gone on national television to talk about how Gingrich had a long time affair during their marriage where he requested an “open marriage” from his wife.
Gingrich has a huge amount of knowledge, great political insight and vast experience. But the rest of the package leaves the slime dripping noticeably from him.
Now if you’re not a Christian, one or the other of these guys might be a clear choice for you. But if you are, then both of their character issues should be of concern. Neither of these guys are inspiring enough speakers to make a nation vastly aware of everything about them forget about their character issues. And true fundamental Christians will have a hard time dealing with the religious representation of Romney and the ongoing character failures of Newt Gingrich.
We’ll have to see where this goes. Maybe one of the other couple of candidates will emerge miraculously. We’ll have to see.
At this point I’m just glad the Republican primary is not until May 22nd in Arkansas.
AMEN, AMEN and AMEN!
Mark, you are right on so many accounts. I am not doing handstands on either of these guys. The struggle that I have is who of the candidates will be the best leader and most closely align with my fundamental beliefs – God, Country, freedom, life, economy, etc. I HAVE to vote for someone. Not voting is not an option. Actually I have 2 votes that I have to make – primary and general.
Clearly Newt’s divorces (plural) show a character issue. I’m not accusing him of the open marriage thing, he has denied it and his ex-wife certainly has an ax to grind. Thankfully I don’t have to be judge. However, let’s say it is all true and he did ask that of his wife. He has had affairs and multiple divorces. There have been ethics issues…. I think he is still pro-America, pro-jobs, pro-economy, pro-life, pro-liberty, etc. There may not be a Christian running in this race, which is sad. But I can’t vote for a pro-choice, pro-healthcare, pro-gay rights flip flopper… UNLESS he is the only thing running against Obama, can I?
I think it will be a disaster if Jeb Bush enters the race now, or any other candidate. And if Trump re-enters as an independent, we have just handed the race to Obama.
Point is, as a Christian, American, pro-liberty person – is there a different option that Newt?
I think that Santorum could have been the best candidate and yet he is Catholic and where I live in the south, evangelical Christians don’t accept Catholics anymore than Mormons. I think we all know that God is in control and His will be fulfilled, but from our human side, we still want to best leader possible. The closest we might have come to having a Christian as President, might have been Huckabee, but he is not available. I think in the end we might be stuck with two choices, Rommeny and Gingrich and I guess I lean towards Rommeny as I think he seems more stable in his ideas than Gingrich and might be better able to beat Obama, which for me is what is all about.