Evangelical Semantics Shadow Romney

Evangelicals only group becoming more aware of his religion

(NEWSER) - Despite Mitt Romney's religion getting plenty of press—especially when a Rick Perry backer called it a cult —fewer than half of Americans know that he is a Mormon, according to a new poll. The Public Religion Research Institute poll found that 42% correctly identified him as a Mormon; 6% believed he was a Catholic or a Protestant, and 45% said they didn't know what Romney's religion was, the Hill reports. That's virtually unchanged from the 40% who were aware of his religion in July. More»

Disguising a central biographical peg leaves candidate Romney with authenticity problem

(NEWSER) - In downplaying his Mormonism, Mitt Romney is a candidate “who seems to have no history, and, as a result, no heart,” argues Newsweek. When Mitt boasts of his “Judeo-Christian tradition” roots, calls Jesus his “personal savior”—not Mormon terms—and says he hasn’t “recently” performed peculiar rituals, he deepens his authenticity problem. More»

But leaves out crucial detail that could upset evangelicals

(NEWSER) - In an effort to win over Florida's wealth of Hispanic voters, Mitt Romney trotted out a little-mentioned piece of family history more than once this week. "My dad was born in Mexico," he often said, expressing sympathy for immigrants. "I wish I could claim that I'm Hispanic, and that would help me in the Latino community," he told Fox News yesterday. But he's not—his parents were born to Americans living in Mexico—but Romney said he was "very proud" of his father's story. More»

GOP voters angry, stuck with bad candidates, say pundits

(NEWSER) - Newt Gingrich's big win in South Carolina has the Republican establishment squirming and political experts churning, trying to explain what the results mean:

• GOP base in revolt. "People are mad as hell they are about to be stuck with another boring, moderate, uninspiring choice that has at best a 50/50 shot at losing to the worst president since Carter," says Erick Ericson at RedState . "Basically, today’s vote is about Republican grassroots giving the Washington Republican establishment the finger."
• Not about policy, but soul. Gingrich and Mitt Romney don't have many big policy differences; instead this is a debate about the emotion and soul of the Republican Party, reports the AP : 'It might not be pretty."

Including $1.9M in Burger King stock; was part of his tithing

(NEWSER) - If Mitt Romney does lift the veil on his tax returns, one thing that voters will get a look at is how much he gives to the Mormon church, and the answer might be a lot more than anyone thought. ABC News finds that Bain Capital routinely cuts the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in on its deals, handing the church millions in stock—including, notably, 65,326 shares of Burger King in 2008, worth some $1.9 million. Romney's campaign acknowledges that such transactions were made at Romney's behest, but says that some of the shares may have been donated by other Mormons at Bain. More»