Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Sunday, November 04, 2012

Beck Acts as a Bridge Between Romney and Evangelical Christians

On radio and on his Internet network, the influential conservative pundit Glenn Beck frequently invokes God, religious freedom and the founding fathers, but he does not regularly discuss his own Mormon faith.

 But in early September, he broke with practice and hosted a special one-hour show, asking his audience, “Does Mitt Romney’s Mormonism make him too scary or weird to be elected to president of the United States?”

Mr. Beck has not always supported Mr. Romney. (“I think he’s an honorable man, but I don’t trust him,” he said last year.) But as perhaps the best-known Mormon after the Republican presidential candidate and a major influence on evangelical Christians, Mr. Beck has emerged as an unlikely theological bridge between the first Mormon presidential nominee and a critical electorate.

At the same time, Mr. Beck’s defense of his and Mr. Romney’s shared faith speaks to the long-frayed relationship between evangelical Christians and Mormons and raises the question of whether evangelicals will ultimately put aside religious differences and vote on common conservative issues.

During his special program, Mr. Beck took questions from mostly evangelical Christian listeners, colorfully debunking misperceptions about Mormonism. The “magic underwear” was compared to a skullcap, and Mr. Beck insisted that polygamy was seen as a “perversion” in the modern church.

“It’s not weird to be a Mormon,” he assured his listeners at the end of the program, “and it’s not weird to be president if you’re Mormon.”

 Although Mr. Beck’s national media profile has waned since he left Fox News last year, his support among his core audience remains strong. “The Glenn Beck Program” is typically the third-most-popular talk-news radio show, after “The Rush Limbaugh Show” and “The Sean Hannity Show.” In September, an agreement was reached with Dish Network to bring Mr. Beck’s online network, The Blaze, to traditional television.

Mr. Beck’s unique position as both a Mormon and a prominent voice among evangelicals has been too tempting for Mr. Romney’s campaign to pass up. Campaign officials have quietly courted Mr. Beck, according to a person briefed on his meetings with campaign surrogates who could not discuss private conversations publicly. Mr. Beck declined to comment for this article.

Last month, Mr. Beck, along with former Vice President Dick Cheney and Mr. Romney’s son Josh, headlined a Dallas fund-raiser that brought in more than $250,000 for the Romney Victory committee, and on Friday Mr. Beck held a rally in Columbus, Ohio, intended to influence voters in that swing state. On Saturday, he attended Mr. Romney’s rally in Dubuque, Iowa.

Stalwart conservatives who support the Romney-Ryan ticket, like Representative Louie Gohmert, Republican of Texas; Rick Santorum, a former senator and Republican presidential candidate; and retired Lt. Gen. William Boykin, have appeared on Mr. Beck’s program not so much to tout Mr. Romney directly as to discuss hot-button political issues like the handling of the attack on the United States mission in Benghazi, Libya.

Mostly Mr. Beck has helped Mr. Romney by directly addressing his devout Mormon faith, something the candidate himself rarely does. “I believe Mr. Romney prays on his knees every day,” Mr. Beck said recently on his radio program. “I believe he is being guided.” He has also said that a Romney victory would be “a sign from God.”

Mr. Romney already enjoys a commanding lead among white evangelical Protestant voters — 76 percent to 17 percent for President Obama, according to a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey released on Monday, and 54 percent to Mr. Obama’s 39 percent among Protestant voters. Influential Christian leaders including the Rev. Billy Graham and Ralph Reed have endorsed Mr. Romney.

But deep-rooted tensions between Mormons and evangelical Christians persist, and could affect the turnout on Tuesday, several evangelical leaders said.

“Romney has staked out issues that are aligned with evangelicals,” said Bryan Fischer, director of issue analysis for the conservative nonprofit American Family Association. But, he added, Mr. Romney’s faith may ultimately present a problem in the voting booth. “It’s still an issue for some evangelicals and may influence their voting decision on Nov. 6,” he said. “There are a number of evangelicals who will not vote for someone who doesn’t adhere to orthodox Christianity.”

Mr. Beck and Mr. Romney’s relationship dates to before the presidential campaign when they crossed paths from time to time at events in Salt Lake City. In 2009, Mr. Romney called Mr. Beck “my friend and a statesman in his own right” when he announced Mr. Beck via video at a fund-raiser for George Wythe University.

Born a Roman Catholic, Mr. Beck, 48, converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1999 just before he married his second wife, Tania. His personal story of born-again transformation from drug addict and alcoholic to best-selling inspirational author, as well as his rants against big government, made him a favorite among Tea Party conservatives.

But that does not mean they accept him as one of their own, spiritually speaking. Mr. Beck has come under fire from religious leaders, especially after his 2010 Restoring Honor rally in Washington, which some evangelical leaders suggested was a Mormon tent revival masquerading as a political event. Denny Burk, an associate professor of biblical studies at Boyce College in Louisville, Ky., part of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, called the event “Mormon-American-pie-populist politics.”

Russell D. Moore, dean of the School of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said, “It’s sad to see so many Christians confusing Mormon politics or American nationalism with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Mr. Fischer said of the complicated relationship between evangelical Christians and Mormons that “evangelicals appreciate what Glenn Beck has done in refocusing attention on the values of our founding fathers,” but “that doesn’t mean evangelicals regard him as a Christian.”

The Romney campaign has faced similar hurdles and has tried to reach out to evangelicals by focusing on conservative issues like opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage, rather than on Mr. Romney’s own religious beliefs.

“I think when people of other faiths decide to focus more on common values and less on common theology, they can get quite comfortable with Mitt Romney,” said Mark DeMoss, an evangelical Christian and a senior adviser to Mr. Romney.

The focus on issues rather than religious outreach has been a relief to some evangelical leaders. “I’m frankly surprised and relieved that I don’t see a movement of evangelicals who are waiting to claim Mitt Romney as a brother in Christ,” Mr. Moore said in an interview. “He’s won over evangelicals politically, not religiously.”

 The reluctance to embrace Mormonism was reflected in a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey, released Jan. 12, that found that about a third of adults in the United States said Mormonism was not a Christian faith and 17 percent said they did not know. Until last month, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s Web site listed Mormonism as a “cult” along with Scientology and Jehovah’s Witnesses. That characterization was taken off the Web site last month around the time that Mr. Graham endorsed Mr. Romney. The Rev. Franklin Graham, chief executive of his father’s association, said the characterization had been added by a staff member and should never have been on the site.

In an interview, Franklin Graham said Mr. Romney’s opposition to same-sex marriage trumped any concerns over his faith. “We have to remember we’re not voting for a pastor in chief,” he said.

 David Neff, editor in chief of Christianity Today, said that while evangelical Christians have no problem with Mormon politicians like Senators Harry Reid of Nevada and Orrin D. Hatch of Utah, a Mormon president would “mainstream a religion they’d like to keep marginalized.”

That fear of making Mormonism mainstream is perhaps the biggest difference between evangelicals’ willingness to accept a Mormon TV pundit who shares their views, as opposed to a Mormon presidential candidate.

“There’s a difference between a public figure like Glenn Beck and someone who could be the president of the United States,” said John C. Green, the author of “The Faith Factor: How Religion Influences American Elections.” “Many evangelicals believe this country was founded by Christian leaders. It’s important that the person in the White House be positive about Christianity, if not a devout Christian himself.”

Original Article
Source: ny times
Author: AMY CHOZICK

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