Mitt Romney addresses a touchy subject about his religion
Mitt Romney鈥檚 religion, a subject he prefers not to talk about so far in the 2012 presidential campaign, inevitably comes up in political discourse. It did again this week in a way that forced him to respond.
Discussing the likely Republican presidential nominee's difficulty in attracting Latino voters, Montana's Democratic Governor聽Brian Schweitzer, pointed out that Romney鈥檚 family 鈥渃ame from a polygamy commune in Mexico.鈥�
Mr. Romney is Mormon, descended from English converts to Mormonism who immigrated to the United States in the 19th century. The denomination (also known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) encouraged polygamy or the taking of 鈥減lural wives鈥� by Mormon men until the practice was officially ended in 1890.
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At a time when Mormonism was under attack in the United States, resulting in state and federal legislation against polygamy, some Mormon groups 鈥� including Romney鈥檚 ancestors 鈥� fled to Mexico where they were able to continue the practice until the Mexican Revolution forced them to return to the United States.
As detailed in 鈥淭he Real Mitt Romney鈥� by Michael Kranish and Scott Helman of The Boston Globe, the former Massachusetts governor鈥檚 early ancestors did practice polygamy in North America, but that did not include his grandfather鈥檚 family in the United States or Mexico.
Gov. Schweitzer told the Daily Beast it was 鈥渋ronic鈥� that Romney could not use the fact that his father (George Romney, who became governor of Michigan and ran for president) was born in Mexico to attract Latino voters.
鈥淚 am not alleging by any stretch that Romney is a polygamist and approves of [the] polygamy lifestyle, but his father was born into [a] polygamy commune in Mexico,鈥� Schweitzer said, also noting that even a distant connection with polygamy probably would not sit well with women voters 鈥� another group Romney is seeking to attract.
To those voters wary of Romney鈥檚 religion (including some evangelical 海角大神s), it does not help the candidate that small offshoot groups disavowed by the church continue to practice 鈥� and sometimes be prosecuted for 鈥� polygamy in the Southwest.
Responding to Gov. Schweitzer鈥檚 comment, Romney told Fox News: "My dad's dad was not a polygamist. My dad grew up in a family with a mom and a dad and a few brothers and one sister."
"They lived in聽Mexico聽and lived a very nice life there from what I understand and then when [my father] was 5 or 6 years old there was a revolution in聽Mexico,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey escaped鈥�. My dad had a very tough upbringing."
Conservatives have criticized Schweitzer for bringing up Romney鈥檚 religion in this way, pointing out that President Obama鈥檚 Kenyan father was married to more than one woman at a time.
鈥淏oth Romney鈥檚 parents and grandparents were monogamous, so tying him to the polygamous practices of his great-grandparents is a nasty piece of business and no more relevant to the 2012 campaign than an investigation into the marital practices of President Obama鈥檚 ancestors in Kenya,鈥� writes Jonathan Tobin, senior online editor of聽Commentary聽magazine.
In response to Governor Schweitzer鈥檚 comments, Obama campaign spokesperson Lis Smith said 鈥淎ttacking a candidate's religion is out of bounds, and our campaign will not engage in it, and we don鈥檛 think others should either.鈥�
Asked by Fox News to respond to Romney鈥檚 explanation of his family background, Schweitzer spokesman Eric Stern issued the following statement:
"The Governor meant what he said, precisely. It has nothing to do with Romney's faith or his Church. Rather, he was describing the strategic conundrum that Romney faces: that Romney is in serious trouble with Hispanic voters because he took an ultra-right-wing position on immigration during the primary; that to reach out to Hispanic voters, Romney would probably like to be able to discuss the fact that his father was born in Mexico; but, that this is awkward for Romney to discuss, because it requires discussing, as well, the fact that his father was born into a polygamy colony."
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