For years, the religious right has clamored for a leader that represents their valies. That espouses the "family" values they hold dear, values, they say, that are consistent with those of our founding fathers (remember, though, that THEIR perception does not necessarily equal reality!).
And in this upcoming election, there are two whose values come close to those conservative Christians hold dear.
One of them they won't even consider.
For a conservative Christian, there's little not to like about Mitt Romney. OK, so he's soft on the gay marriage issue, but in most ways, he is the ideal candidate, as he places a heavy value on family and other values that the religious right hold dear.
But because Romney is a Mormon, he doesn't merit the attention of a Mike Huckabee, who has long been the darling of the "prolife" crowd. I didn't make the label, they did.
Despite knowing little or nothing about Mormonism, except from their slick televangelist wannabe preacher who told them Mormons were "of the Devil", many conservative Christians have written Romney off because of the faith he professes. And that is a shame, because while the theological beliefs between Mormons and conservative Christians differ greatly, their core values, the things they consider truly important, are very similar.
I'll put it simply, though. I'm not a Romney fan. But it is his politics, not his faith, that have caused me to discard him as a candidate (although I will stay true to my promise that if Hillary wins the Democratic nomination, I will probably jump ship to vote for the GOP candidate, I think it is THAT important!). Romney deserves to be judged based on his years of public service, not based on his membership in a faith most nonMormons know very little about. If the religious right does not even CONSIDER Romney, they will have proven in my estimation, their goal has nothing to do with political control, but rather, religious control over this country, a control our founding fathers CLEARLY never intended religious leaders to have.