Romney's strategy regarding religious criticism can be explained through Down's theory of ideologically based spatial location on a political spectrum. Both the Democratic and the Republican party gravitate towards the middle of the spectrum to get the most votes and are very concerned about taking the most uncontroversial paths possible so that they can appeal to the more typical median voter. However, they also try to make sure they do not alienate the extremes on the spectrum, or groups that feel strongly about a particular issue. Romney is obviously concerned about alienating Republican evangelical voters because he has tried two different strategies for addressing their criticisms in order to get their support. When it became clear that his strategy of addressing their criticisms directly did not work, he switched to an argument about religious bigotry, trying to dodge the issue a bit. Whether his strategies for getting the Republican evangelical vote will be successful is yet to be seen.
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Taking the Middle Road
Ever since he first entered the political scene as a possible presidential candidate, Republican Mitt Romney has been battling criticism from his own party's evangelical base over the fact that he is Mormon. Romney has been consistently addressing the criticisms about Mormonism with his own rebuttals about the similarities between it and Evangelicalism, stating "that he is as Christian as they are." However, at an annual summit of Christian conservatives this past weekend, when faced with jabs by evangelical pastor Robert Jeffress that Mormonism is a cult faith and that it is "not Christianity," Romney instead decided not to address his faith directly. Rather, he denounced religious bigotry in general, without even saying the word "Mormon."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Antonia, I really liked the connection you made between this article and Down’s Median Voter Theory. Mitt Romney’s religious views shift his position on the political spectrum to the right, but it is difficult to apply Down’s Median Voter Theory directly to all of Romney’s opinions because Romney’s faith is only one dimension of his political campaign. Since Romney’s Mormon faith is something that distinctly separates him from the rest of the presidential candidates, and more importantly, the rest of his Republican opponents, it is in his best interest to underplay his strong views in order to appeal to the median voter.
This article Poll: Mormonism shows how Romney’s Mormonism may be his Achilles’ heel for the 2012 presidential election. Democrats are most likely “uncomfortable” with Romney’s Mormonism because there is a link to extremely conservative social values. This article also points out that GOP disapproval could be even higher than the polls indicate because voters don’t want to sound intolerant. Romney’s strong religious views could be too extreme to win the 2012 presidential election and possibly even the Republican primary. It is obvious that Romney acknowledges his weak spot, and I predict that as the election nears he will underplay his Mormon faith even more.
Post a Comment