Can Mitt Overcome his Evangelical Problem?

Last night's election results were obviously disappointing--

Well, actually, let me clarify--half the results of yesterday's contests were disappointing.  Mitt Romney lost two tight battles in Alabama and Mississippi, but he still won the American Samoa's and the state of Hawaii.

Ironically, despite the hype over Santorum's wins, Romney won 41 total delegates from Tuesday's contests, compared to 35 for Rick Santorum.  So, despite Santorum wins, Romney continues to come out ahead--with every race, he cushions his lead.

But I am not going to lie, a win in the deep south would have been a much needed boost for Romney. Oddly enough, exit polls showed that Romney was overwhelmingly seen as the best candidate to beat President Obama, yet, somehow his electability wasn't enough to win him a check mark on the ballot.

Why is that?

The answer is becoming increasingly clear.  Mitt Romney continues to face a deep resistance and prejudice to his Mormon faith.

The site politico.com ran an interesting article about it.  (Click here to read).  The article cited that 20 percent of Republican said they would not vote for a Mormon for president.  The bias is even deeper among Southern evangelicals--31 percent said they were unwilling to vote for a Mormon.

This is a huge problem.

Image from evangelicalsformitt.org

This bias is real.  The prejudice is deep.

The result? Voters are justifying support for a weaker general election candidate, Rick Santorum.  A candidate whose business and economic leadership pales in comparison to Mitt Romney.

The trick for Romney?  He cannot ignore this portion of the base.  He could of course, continue to secure the nomination, but without them, he cannot expect to win the general election.

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Question for the day:  How can Mitt Romney help evangelicals overcome concerns about his faith and focus on his resume not his religion? 


Furthermore, why is the burden only on Mitt?  Do evangelicals have a role to play?

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A few weeks ago, I stumbled on a fascinating website called, "Evangelicals for Mitt."  It is a collection of articles written by 4 individuals--all evangelicals--who although do not endorse Mormon theology--are supporting and strongly endorsing Mitt Romney.

These individuals are convinced that he is the best candidate.  They argue that he is driven by the right principles, values and has the resume that should silence all critics.

Yesterday, they dedicated a post to answer some reader mail.  A question was asked, "How do you think Mitt Romney can overcome his "Evangelical problem?"

Their answer was quite remarkable.

The writer replied:

"I'm not sure that Gov. Romney has an "evangelical problem" to overcome so much as evangelicals have a confusion problem to overcome.  That is, we get confused about the difference between pulpits and politics, between theology and values.  We need to overcome our ill-considered insistence that the people we elect as presidents meet the same criteria we'd use to elect our pastors.  We need to understand that while it is proper--indeed, to take theology very seriously, it is foolish to insist that our politicians share it.  Rather what matters when it comes to politicians is how their theology manifests itself in terms of their values and their policy priorities." (Click here to read entire post).

Wow.  Interesting take on a very real issue.

The site has an interesting section called, "Why We Support Mitt."  I highly recommend taking a minute to read their perspective and analysis of Mitt Romney.  They are brave individuals who despite the hate mail they receive, are tirelessly working to break down prejudices and help elect the best conservative candidate.

Image from Politico.com

I truly appreciate their efforts.  I agree with them and I hope their efforts will continue to break down barriers and eradicate deeply rooted resistance.

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Intolerance in the political arena is not okay.  Martin Luther King Jr. imagined a day in our nation when all would be judged by nothing but the content of our character.

How different would America feel today if we truly let that wisdom dictate our actions?

I am hopeful that prejudices can erode and that bigotry will no longer have such a prominent place in America.

I am hopeful that when it comes to choosing our leaders, Americans will continue to place greater weight on an individual's values and the content of their character rather than how that individual chooses to address their Maker.