Glenn Beck's Mormonism Is the Apocalyptic Kind

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»

Iowa political director out after less than a week

(NEWSER) - Newt Gingrich's Iowa political director is out of a job after less than a week because of disparaging remarks he made about Mitt Romney's Mormon faith, the Des Moines Register reports. "A lot of the evangelicals believe God would give us four more years of Obama just for the opportunity to expose the cult of Mormon," Craig Bergman told a focus group last week. "There's a thousand pastors ready to do that." More»

'I'm a Mormon' ads not running in Iowa, NH, SC

(NEWSER) - The Mormon Church has stepped up an advertising campaign aimed at overcoming their poor image among many Americans . The ads, which stress that Mormons are regular people, are airing in 21 media markets—but not in the key primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. Church officials say the ads have nothing to do with the candidacies of Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman but are an effort to overcome widespread negative perceptions of Mormons and the belief that Mormons are not Christians. And the New York Times notes that the church's "political neutrality policy" bars it from endorsing or even promoting a candidate. More»