"As I was going up the stair, I met a man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today... I wish, I wish he'd go away."

- Hughes Mearns (1899)

Gathering for their regular meeting at the county courthouse, Republican activists from Warren County, Iowa, were busy planning for the summer county fair, kvetching about illegal immigration, etc., when - according to at least four people attending the meeting - Chad Workman, county chairman for John McCain's crumbling presidential campaign, stood up and made a most unexpected digression, taking direct aim at opponent Mitt Romney's religion.

According to stunned witnesses, Workman brought up the question of whether Mormons were actually Christians, going on to cite an article suggesting that the Mormon Church helps fund Hamas, then likening the Mormons' treatment of women to the Taliban's.

One participant summed up Workman's argument this way: "The fundamental flaw of Mitt Romney... was that he was Mormon, not because he thinks this way or that way on one issue."

Workman did not return calls seeking comment. Go figure.

"But, Blaque - You can't possibly blame McCain for the underhanded hijinks of one or two of his staff members!"

Yes I can. A president (or in this case, a dead-ending wannabe president) is responsible for hand-picking his staff and surrounding himself with the very best people he possibly can. And with that responsibility full accountability for his choices.

And lest you think I'm picking on poor old John McCain - this is just the latest in an ever-growing line of instances wherein GOP campaign operatives are slipping Romney's faith into play. Over the past year, staff or "volunteers" from at least three opposing campaigns have subtly (and in some cases, not-so subtly), smeared Romney's religion in an effort to destroy his bid for the White House.

Case in point - Sam Brownback: This past week, the Washington Post reported that Emma Nemecek (Brownie's Iowa field operative) forwarded an e-mail to Iowa Republicans containing a number of slurs against Mormonism, including a charge that "it is not a Christian faith." The e-mail closed with a quote from a Founding Father, John Jay: "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."

Brownback, through his spokespeople - renounced this "violation of campaign policy," insisting that "the person that did it has apologized and been reprimanded."

And then there's our friend Rudy. His people were also forced to make a similar apology this month after it was revealed that Katie Harbath - Giuliani's (presumably hand-picked) deputy e-campaign director - had forwarded to a blogger a story in The Salt Lake Tribune linking Romney to an unofficial Mormon prophecy that "a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would one day save the Constitution."

"Thought you'd find this interesting," Harbath wrote to the blogger.

Senior Giuliani advisor Tony Carbonetti later told reporters that Harbath's e-mail was "a regrettable mistake."

But back to McCain.

The aforementioned meeting in Warren County is only one of several instances in which McCain's campaign has tried to "highlight" Romney's religion. Last year, when Romney and McCain were battling to sign up supporters in key states, Romney's campaign got word that Chuck Larson (former Iowa GOP chairman and now one of McCain's top Iowa advisers) had been comparing Mormonism to a "cult" while trying to woo state legislators and their staff. According to one witness, Larson actually said, "(Romney) is a Mormon for crying out loud - that's essentially a cult!" When senior Romney advisor David Kochel publicly complained, Larson called him to apologize, reportedly saying, "David, I just want you to know that I made a joke about Governor Romney's religion. It is not the kind of thing I'm proud of, and it's not the kind of thing I will ever do again."

Larson, too, has declined to comment.

Ah, but there's more. Earlier this year, The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C., reported that McCain operatives had distributed to reporters comments by evangelical leader James Dobson questioning "whether a Mormon could win the presidency..."

Responding to the allegations, McCain spokesman Danny Diaz said in a statement: "On behalf of Senator McCain, we apologize for any comments made on the part of this campaign concerning Governor Romney's religion."

Purely by coincidence (I'm sure), there's been a sudden surge of anonymous Romney-bashing in South Carolina, e.g. an unsigned, eight-page screed that arrived in the mailboxes of influential Republicans charging that Mormonism was a "politically dangerous" religion founded on a hoax. Sent from Providence, the mailing alleged that Mormons "believe in multiple gods," likened the religion's founder, Joseph Smith, to the Islamic prophet Mohammed, and raised the frightening question of "future directives Mormons may be required to follow."

Another anonymous bulletin - this one via e-mail - was sent to South Carolina voters warning of the "dark suspicions" about Mormonism, telling recipients to "trust your instincts" because "Mitt Romney has a family secret he doesn't want you to know." (The "secret," of course, is the long-acknowledged fact that Romney has polygamous ancestors.)

As for McCain himself, in an interview last week, he said Romney's faith should play no role in the campaign.

"I think it's a terrible thing, really, for us to judge someone on their religion," he muttered.

And hey - if you can't trust The Straight Talk Express, who can you trust... right?


P.S. Have a peek at the Fifty Hottest Brit Women of 2007. Whoa.

Tags: '08 elections, john mccain, mitt romney, religion, republican implosion
From: Chicago
Mood: Trainwreck Spotting