Religious Minority Candidate Mitt Romney Comes Out In Favor Of Religious Bigotry
Religious Minority Candidate Mitt Romney Comes Out In Favor Of Religious Bigotry
In a recent interview with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, former conservative Fox News pundit Mansoor Ijaz asked the former governor whether he would consider nominating a Muslim to be a member of his national security cabinet. Ijaz reports:
I asked Mr. Romney whether he would consider including qualified Americans of the Islamic faith in his cabinet as advisers on national security matters, given his position that “jihadism” is the principal foreign policy threat facing America today. He answered, “…based on the numbers of American Muslims [as a percentage] in our population, I cannot see that a cabinet position would be justified. But of course, I would imagine that Muslims could serve at lower levels of my administration.”
Note to Romney: As a Mormon running for President, you’re going to need to come up with a better justification for religious bigotry against Muslims.
According to the CIA World Factbook (which uses 2002 numbers), Mormons comprise just 2 percent of the U.S. population, while Jews and Muslims comprise 1 percent each. Based on 2001 numbers, there were 2.8 million Mormons and 1.1 million Muslims in the United States. Surveys since that time indicate that the number of Muslims may have eclipsed the number of Mormons living in the U.S.
Moreover, according to a recent Pew survey, Americans are about as familiar with Mormonism as they with Islam:
Overall, the public’s level of self-reported familiarity with Mormonism and Mormons is not much greater than its level of familiarity with Islam and Muslims. Roughly half (49%) say they know a great deal or some about the Mormon religion and its practices, while about as many people (48%) say that they know someone who is Mormon. (By comparison, 41% have at least some knowledge of Islam and 45% say they know a Muslim.)
Steven Benen writes, “Open and unabashed discrimination towards certain Americans — Muslims and gays, among others — is not only acceptable to too many conservatives, it’s expected. It’s why Romney’s vow to discriminate against Muslims will probably not hurt him politically — given the ideology of the GOP base, it might even help him.”
He adds, “The Muslim percentage of the U.S. population is similar to the Mormon percentage of the U.S. population. By Romney’s logic, wouldn’t he also support discrimination against members of his own faith?”
UPDATE: Josh Marshall has more.
UPDATE II: Kevin Madden, Romney’s national press secretary, told Politico: “At this point, we’re not focused on what Gov. Romney’s Cabinet might look like. But the governor does not believe that in order to effectively fight radical jihad you need to have Muslims serving in the Cabinet.”
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
According to Mitt’s logic, 51% of his Cabinet will be women.
November 27th, 2007 at 10:48 amwhat else is a religious fanatic member of a meat cult to do? all religions are based on hate. they gave up on respect and love 2000 years ago.
November 27th, 2007 at 10:53 amthat’s what being a good christian is about, well directed hatred for anyone different.
Article VI of you-know-what:
“…no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articlevi.html
Not only is religious bigotry expected of GOP candidates, so too it seems is the trashing of the Constitution.
November 27th, 2007 at 10:53 amSo Mitt, when will you be droping out of the race? There aren’t enough Mormans in this country for a Morman to lead it.
It’s funny that his bigotry will probably improve his approval within the GOP, even though that very bigotry will keep him off of the ticket.
November 27th, 2007 at 10:53 amIt’s disgusting that anyone wishing to win the Republican Presidential nomination feels that they must not even ‘consider’ having a muslim in his cabinet. What bigots!
November 27th, 2007 at 10:56 amWow
November 27th, 2007 at 10:59 amRomney will never never never be President. I do not want a mormon
November 27th, 2007 at 10:59 ammoron for a president. This guys grandfather had what 10 wifies. They are nothing but a cult. I don’t want a President that will discriminate
against other peoples religion.
You can’t make this stuff up, can you?
November 27th, 2007 at 11:01 amit would be unpopular with consternatives for him to choose a Muslim, but it would be smart for him to have one as an adviser…
November 27th, 2007 at 11:03 am“…based on the numbers of American Muslims [as a percentage] in our population, I cannot see that a cabinet position would be justified”
WHAT THE….?????!!!!!!!!
Lemme get this straight — Romney plans to stock his cabinet via the tokenism method? A Jew here, an African American there, a couple of Hispanics, etc. etc.?? Oh wait — if there aren’t enough Muslims in the U.S. to justify a cabinet position, then there aren’t enough Jews for a cabinet position either. Scratch that.
Like gummitch says, he would have to have his cabinet be about half women. I assume he would also have Democrats in the cabinet representing their percentage of Americans. And let’s not forget to have the cabinet be about 10% gay.
Whatever happened to getting the most qualified people regardless of their race or religion?
November 27th, 2007 at 11:03 amHe answered, “…based on the numbers of American Muslims [as a percentage] in our population, I cannot see that a cabinet position would be justified. But of course, I would imagine that Muslims could serve at lower levels of my administration.â€
Yeah, out of sight.
Mitt’s in favor of country club-style diversity.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:03 amMary Poplins, do you see the irony in your post #7?
There will just as many people in this country that will agree with Romney out of fear as there are people calling him out as a hypocrite.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:05 amand no, I don’t agree with Romney.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:06 amWhere is the love man?? It always amazes me how you guys look for the worst in someone. I heard no bigotry in that comment. As some of you noted, he was just saying statistically that it was unlikely he would have a muslim in a senior position. Its not different than Clinton or any other previous president, how many mormons were in their cabinets. Statisically very few. Stay off the lemons people, you sound so petty.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:06 amCaption: “Shhhh. Use your ‘inside voice’ to ask me questions. My brain is sleeping.”
November 27th, 2007 at 11:07 amWhat?? A bigoted Republican???
I’m shocked, I tell you: shocked.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:08 amWord has it that Romney has canceled all campaign appearances for the coming week. He has found it impossible to give his stump speech with both his feet lodged firmly in his mouth.
He has called in several podiatrists to assist with the extraction and scheduled a later appointment with a colo-rectal specialist to then remove his head from his arse.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:10 amRemember, folks, Mitt Romney has a primary race to win in the Republican Party.
If he fails to rule out allowing Muslims to serve in his cabinet, he cannot win the nomination.
He is trying to appeal to the GOP base.
This is the GOP base.
Any questions?
November 27th, 2007 at 11:11 ambob84108
No bigotry!? Mit-wit said there was no “justification” for a senior cabinet position going to a Muslim, not that there was “little statistical probability”. Try a couple of cups of coffee before you post – see my post #15.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:11 am“Stay off the lemons people, you sound so petty.”
Comment by bob84108 —
When specifically asked if he’d place a Muslim on the cabinet, he chose political calculation over informed advice.
Also, your Clinton hounddog is off in the weeds, because 9/11 (The Day that Changed Everything) hadn’t happened yet.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:13 amBottom line,
Romney is no better than Warren Jeffs.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:17 amLet’s see…Americans are just as familiar with Mormans as they are with Muslims.
Being that the average American has no clue about anybody but himself and his/her favorite TV shows they should be careful about saying these things. The next Faux News headline might read:
“Mormans responsible for 9/11 attacks on the US!”
November 27th, 2007 at 11:19 amThat sounds an awful lot like he’s going to put his cabinet together using a quota system. Is he going to bus cabinet members in if he can’t strike the right racial balance?
November 27th, 2007 at 11:21 amI see, so reverse affirmative action is totally acceptable with Oil Slick Mitt.
-GSD
November 27th, 2007 at 11:22 amMitts cabinet will have a woman, a Black, two Jews and a cripple.
-GSD
November 27th, 2007 at 11:22 amTo PatrioticLiberalChristian: he said; “based on the numbers of American Muslims [as a percentage] in our population, I cannot see that a cabinet position would be justified” I can see your point if you are looking for a sinister interpretation. But using the term percentage first sounds like he is dealing with statistical probablility, that given all of the good people out there, justifiably so he would probably not pick a muslim. You may not be sleeping but you are in a fog of liberalism. Again quit looking at everyone so negatively.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:24 amMitt won’t be president. It doesn’t matter because the other republican candidates are canibalizing each other daily. Any bets on what the other GOP hopefuls (that’s funny in itself) will do to show they are more anti muslim than Romney? And the flip side of that, any guesses on the Dem side who will bend over backwards to show how accepted muslims will be in their dream cabinets?
November 27th, 2007 at 11:30 amRomney believes, supposedly, that God created all the men that exist on this planet.
Yet he just denied that belief.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:32 ambob84108
But using the term percentage first sounds like he is dealing with statistical probablility, that given all of the good people out there, justifiably so he would probably not pick a muslim.
Um, no. Using the term ‘percentage’ coupled with ‘justified’ makes the most obvious meaning behind his phrase to mean that he won’t appoint one because they do not make up a large enough percentage to be represented in the cabinet.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:33 am‘Mittuns doesn’t like Muslims’…he can’t realistically commit to a cabinet level Muslim and still garnish support from GOOPers. It won’t work.
I think many Americans still consider Mormonism & Islamic faith sects. All we’ve ever heard is the weird stuff, like Warren Jeffs.
The problem here is religion. It has no place in American politics, and that’s why it should never be profiled on a candidate.
I don’t care if Mitt is Martian, I just despise his politics.
Kick religion out of politics along with Bush & Cheney.
God doesn’t vote, the last time I checked.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:34 amTHE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE VI, SECTION 3
“…NO RELIGIOUS TEST SHALL EVER BE REQUIRED AS A QUALIFICATION TO ANY OFFICE OR PUBLIC TRUST UNDER THE UNITED STATES.”
Which part of “supreme law of the land” isn’t clear?
I do hereby declare that henceforth, and for all time, that any person edeavoring to be elected, or appointed, to any one of the Executive, Legislative, or Judicial branches of the United Sates government, be required to attend, and obtain certification of attendance, of no less than one semester of an Introduction to the Constitution, and no less than one semester of Understanding and Implementing Costitutional Principles, to be completed within no more than one year of seeking office.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:36 amUpon completion the individual may then be elected or appointed. While in office the individual shall be required to attend, and obtain ceritification of attendance, of minimu continuing education requirements determined to be relevant by committees within each respective branch.
These requirements are not to be waived under any circumstance.
But using the term percentage first sounds like he is dealing with statistical probablility, that given all of the good people out there, justifiably so he would probably not pick a muslim. You may not be sleeping but you are in a fog of liberalism. Again quit looking at everyone so negatively.
Comment by bob84108 — November 27, 2007 @ 11:24 am
That’s not the point. The point is that his “statistical probability” line is a load of crap. Considering how much of U.S. diplomacy and trade involves Muslim countries, it is reasonable to believe that a U.S. president would want someone of the Muslim faith somewhere in the inner circle of advisors or Cabinet officials to provide a bit of policy perspective. That’s what good presidents do. And he’d have plenty to choose from, including Muslim neocons such as Ahmed Chalabi or Zalmay Khalilizad or Amir Taheri or Mamoun Fandy.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:36 amBut using the term percentage first sounds like he is dealing with statistical probablility, that given all of the good people out there, justifiably so he would probably not pick a muslim. Comment by bob84108 — November 27, 2007 @ 11:24 am
The highest percentage of posters to TP disagree with you, so justifiably you are an idiot.
Same “logic”.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:37 ambob84108,
You said – “But using the term percentage first sounds like he is dealing with statistical probablility, that given all of the good people out there, justifiably so he would probably not pick a muslim.”
Whether or not someone is muslim, should have nothing to do with it whatsoever. An un-bigoted response would have been, “I will pick the most qualified person for each position regardless of their religious affiliation.” Of course as we can see, Romney is obviously bigoted, and tried nothing more than to hide behind some ridiculous stats he pulled out of thin air.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:40 amWe believe that all men are born free and equal; that no man, combination of men, or government of men, have power or authority to compel or force others to embrace any system of religion, or religious creed, or to use force or violence to prevent others from enjoying their own opinions, or practicing the same, so long as they do not molest or disturb others in theirs, in a manner to deprive them of their privileges as free citizens-or of worshiping [worshipping] God as they choose, and that any attempt to the contrary is an assumption unwarrantable in the revelations of heaven, and strikes at the root of civil liberty, and is a subvertion [subversion] of all equitable principles between man and man.
Mormon article of faith by Oliver Cowdery
And if Romney wants to argue percentages then he doesn’t represent enough of a percentage to be president or serve on his own cabinet.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:42 amComment by questionauthority — November 27, 2007 @ 11:36 am
Well said. This would be a good idea for all of us.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:43 amYeah we Amerkins hate muslims! (just don’t pay any attention to how we are humping Saudi Arabia’s leg all the time).
November 27th, 2007 at 11:44 amI heard no bigotry in that comment. As some of you noted, he was just saying statistically that it was unlikely he would have a muslim in a senior position.
Comment by bob84108 — November 27, 2007 @ 11:06 am
If what he was saying was “it’s statistically unlikely that I would have a Muslim in a senior position because I plan to name only the most qualified people and if Muslims make up only 0.5% of the population that means that there’s probably only a 0.5% chance the most qualified person will be a Muslim,” that would be one thing.
However, what he said was “…based on the numbers of American Muslims [as a percentage] in our population, I cannot see that a cabinet position would be justified. But of course, I would imagine that Muslims could serve at lower levels of my administration.â€
This sounds like quotas to me — not statistical likelyhood.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:46 amoops — “likelyhood” should be “likelihood”. Not enough caffeine yet. Sorry!
November 27th, 2007 at 11:47 amAnyone want to bet me that Hillary will not have a muslim in the cabinet?
November 27th, 2007 at 11:52 amSame bigotry that Glenn Beck and his ilk spouted when Rep Ellison (D-MN) was elected to Congress, something about questioning his loyalty to the US. Just shameless when this viewpoint is in direct contradiction to the US Constitution.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:53 amComment by Roger_Roger — November 27, 2007 @ 11:52 am
Are you saying that you beleive Hillary will be our next President?
November 27th, 2007 at 11:58 amAwww, here’s Ranting Roger right on cue!!
Pull your string again, buddy, and let’s hear another fabulous Republican Talking Pointâ„¢!!
November 27th, 2007 at 11:58 amStatistically we shouldn’t have a 1 percenter for President [ By 2010, the top 1 percent will likely have about 1.4 million taxpayers, averaging $l million a year]
November 27th, 2007 at 11:59 amBELIEVE….. missmolly, can I have a cup of your coffee, please?
November 27th, 2007 at 11:59 amAnyone want to bet me that Hillary will not have a muslim in the cabinet?
Comment by Roger_Roger — November 27, 2007 @ 11:52 am
I’ll bet you. You can call on your winnings after her taking the oath.
November 27th, 2007 at 12:02 pmAnyone want to bet me that Hillary will not have a muslim in the cabinet?
Comment by Roger_Roger
I bet she will as all of these religions, Judaism, Mormism, X-ian, Muslim are Abrahamic in nature. Romney is as much a Muslim as he is a Mormon as He is a Judaist as he is a Christian.
November 27th, 2007 at 12:04 pmTo Mr. Bungle, I can see how he could have responded better to the question. I just think everyone here is looking for the most sinister motive behind his statement. Every politician out there running has stuck their foot in their mouth, from Barak O. to Ron P. If our candidate does it we are much more forgiving. I guess no one here supports Mitt. :-)
November 27th, 2007 at 12:05 pmWhen it comes to the demographic make-up of his future cabinet, Republican White House hopeful and legendary flip-flopper Mitt Romney proved he can completely reverse his position in the span of just a single day. Appearing on CNN’s Situation Room Monday, Romney told Wolf Blitzer he rejected the use of quotas in appointing cabinet members. But according to the Christian Science Monitor today, Mitt does indeed have a quota for the number of American Muslims in a future Romney cabinet. That number, as it turns out, is zero.
For the details, see:
November 27th, 2007 at 12:05 pm“Romney: No Muslims in My Cabinet.”
Mr. SlickTrick Romney’s beginning to sound like a snake oil salesman these days. Then again, there’s always the crossdresser Rudy – what a dazzling array of pulchritude, eh?
November 27th, 2007 at 12:12 pmAnyone want to bet me that Hillary will not have a muslim in the cabinet?
Comment by Roger_Roger — November 27, 2007 @ 11:52 am
Hillary may or may not have a Muslim in her cabinet if she is elected President. That’s not the point.
I would be willing to bet you that if she was asked the same question Romney was, she would come up with a better answer — something along the line of “I plan to name the most qualified people to my cabinet regardless of their race, religion, or ethnic background.”
Of course, just about ANYBODY could come up with a better answer than Mitt’s mangling, so it really wouldn’t be a fair bet.
November 27th, 2007 at 12:12 pmMitt Romney, once again, shows his level of shallowness when asked a tough question. This guy can’t cut the mustard by any stretch of the imagination.
November 27th, 2007 at 12:13 pmThe only “cabinet” Romney will fill is the one in his kitchen.
November 27th, 2007 at 12:22 pmWOW!!!! K, …just take out Muslim and replace it with “black”, “HIV positive”, “Women”…and the same freakin mindset is established.
This guy is dangerous.
November 27th, 2007 at 12:32 pmOK I get that there aren’t that many Muslims around (especially in middle america). But considering the need to understand what is going on in the Arab world (and the percentage of Muslims that make up the **WORLD’S POPULATION**), it seems to me that a wise man would want to have someone who understood what is going on. (and the messs we’ve already made of it by not understanding it).
Even if I’m not willing to accept Muslims as friends, several wise men have advised that one should know their enemy. There was Sun. ..(oops what would a person from China know)….there was. (well no, he was a Greek)………
November 27th, 2007 at 12:54 pmTo YouCantHandleDaTruth
I think its so funny how you can read so much into an off the cuff statement. Try focussing your narrow mind set on your favorite candidates own comments, and you can find the same freakin mind set.
November 27th, 2007 at 12:54 pmA religious bigot and practitioner of animal cruelty, sounds like a Dumbya protege.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1638065,00.html
November 27th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
bob84108
Wait, bob….you’re right…there’s no way a Mormon republican can be bigoted…dangit…what was I thinking :rolleyes:
BTW: Do we REALLY need ANOTHER stupid thoughtless person running the country who makes bigoted statements like this?
Also, if he put his words to actions not only would it be bigoted it would be illegal under title 7. You’re to leave peoples race, religion, sex etc out of hiring decisions unless there’s an appropriation to do so.
November 27th, 2007 at 1:06 pmHillary will place a Muslim in her cabinet to replace the skeletons in her closet.
November 27th, 2007 at 1:21 pmComment by Zimzone
But please, not a Muslim skeleton. We’ve created more than enough of those.
November 27th, 2007 at 1:26 pmDid I miss something? If his standard for eligibility for anything above lower level positions are going to turn on being a member of statistically significant religious segment of the population, didn’t this guy just disqualify himself from office? Shouldn’t he withdraw now?
November 27th, 2007 at 1:36 pmTo YouCantHandleDaTruth
To be honest with you, I dont think any of the candidates running in either party should be running this country. They are all thoughtless stupid and bigoted. Democrats and Republicans
November 27th, 2007 at 2:41 pmWell said Southern Man.
November 27th, 2007 at 2:49 pm63 & 64, Bush is the prime example of why we need to eliminate religion from politics. How can anyone who believes in a God think that God would waste her time with such a ignorant hateful person?
November 27th, 2007 at 2:57 pmTo Saint Augustine,
The only people I have seen full of hatred and ignorance are the non religious bigoted intollerant people on this site. Southern Man was right when he said you are so full of false pride you can not even see it yourself.
November 27th, 2007 at 3:04 pmbobblehead84108: Can you name one non-Muslin Bush cabinet member who is qualified for the job? How about a department head?
This administration has certainly set a record for hiring whores to protect the interest of corporations. Probably why they’re after the DC Madame, they can’t handle competent competition.
Bugger off arsehole!
November 27th, 2007 at 3:18 pm68, you are projecting again. Look in the mirror and read that back to yourself.
69, OK, get Larry Craig to bugger you.
November 27th, 2007 at 3:51 pmTo Comment by republicans hate facts
You are so funny, not one fact, just hate!!! Too bad you cant see how intollerant you really are!!!
November 27th, 2007 at 5:11 pm“Here is a link to an article that covers both sides of the story as opposed to the TP spin.”
Comment by cold_hard_left
So now CBS is a reputable news source? I thought they were a part of the “librul media.”
Just goes to show that wingnuts have no moral/ethical standards
November 27th, 2007 at 8:09 pmI can see your point if you are looking for a sinister interpretation.
Bob, there’s no interpretation of what he said. What he said is straightforward and unambiguous. His cabinet would reflect the makeup of the demographics of the country. A small demographic group like Muslims don’t have enough people to warrant or justify having one of their type as a cabinet member, as if demographics are how cabinet members are chosen.
As others quickly noted, then he would have 51% women in his cabinet, which he won’t. The problem here isn’t peoples negativity, Bob, it’s your lack of education, to be charitable, that prevents you from comprehending the unambiguous quote.
November 28th, 2007 at 1:49 amWTF indeed! I think there was a typo or something in the paperwork for his run for the presidency. Moron only has one “m”.
November 28th, 2007 at 3:03 pm