S.C. Republicans Get Phony Romney Card

Holiday Greeting Card Cites Controversial Passages From Book of Mormon

(AP)  Many South Carolina Republicans got a bogus holiday greeting card this week, purported to be from White House hopeful Mitt Romney, that cites some controversial passages from the Book of Mormon. Romney is a Mormon.

"We wish you and your family a happy holiday season and a joyful New Year. The Romney family," the card says.

The last page features a photograph of a temple above a box that says "Paid For By The Boston Massachusetts Temple."

Romney's campaign said it had nothing to do with the cards, postmarked Thursday from Columbia with a 41-cent stamp. Boston Temple President Ken Hutchins said Saturday he first heard about the mailing Friday from a woman in Charleston.

Hutchins said the temple had nothing to do with sending mail to South Carolina Republicans, who go to the polls on Jan. 19 in a key early primary.

"It is sad and unfortunate that this kind of deception and trickery has been employed," said Will Holley, Romney's South Carolina spokesman. "There is absolutely no place for it in American politics."

South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson said he intends to "contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Elections Fraud Division and other appropriate authorities, provide them the copy of the mail piece delivered to South Carolina Republicans and ask for a thorough investigation into this matter."

There was no indication how many of the cards were mailed, but Dawson said he got calls from several people who reported receiving them.

"I think it would be nice if somebody got to the bottom of this," Hutchins said.

The card contains passages that underscore some differences between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and those of denominations that are prevalent in South Carolina.

"We have now clearly shown that God the Father had a plurality of wives, one or more being in eternity by whom He begat our spirits as well as the spirit of Jesus His first born, and another being upon the earth by whom he begat the tabernacle of Jesus, as his only begotten in this world," reads one passage from Orson Pratt, cited on the card as an "original member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles."

The card also cites a passage on Mary's virgin birth that underscores her race. "And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white." On the card, "fair and white" are in a bolder, larger font and on a separate line.

Hutchins said the mailing hurts his temple, which, like the parent Mormon church, stays out of politics.

"They have no business using that name or referring to the temple," Hutchins said. "It's a very hurtful thing and creates a misleading impression in peoples' minds." Hutchins said he alerted Tagg Romney, one of Romney's sons, and church authorities about the mailings.

Romney's faith has been a recurring issue in South Carolina, where Christian conservatives dominate the GOP primary. Romney overcame some of those doubts this fall when he picked up an endorsement from Bob Jones, the chancellor of Greenville-based, Christian fundamentalist Bob Jones University.

Such a mailing isn't surprising for South Carolina politics, a state known for political mudslinging and backdoor maneuvering.

Those tactics backfire, said Warren Tompkins, a political consultant who ran George Bush's 2000 campaign in South Carolina and now is Romney's top consultant in the state. "Anything this outrageous and childish and nonsensical would have a significant fallout on whoever did it and on whose behalf it was done," Tompkins said.

[kansas1946]

This is just typical of the Republican machine in South Carolina. Remember what they did to McCain in 2000. Same creeps that no one knows who they are. I can''t believe there are any people left in the Republican party. I bailed out years ago. I was tired of apologizing for the insane neo-cons. They were more vicious to fellow Republicans that didn''t agree with them than they were to Democrats. If you didn''t follow lock-step with the rabid right, then you were labled a RINO and hated.

[paf715]

www.trueromney.com

The record is being set straight . . . .

-Paul

[rowdytexan2]

Doesn''t matter what his religion is...haven''t heard a hue and cry from him about what the Neocon republicans have done to this country. His willingness to serve is admirable, but serve whom? Serve the people, or the Neocon agenda?

[will_tyndale]

Come on people. You have seen the Mormon%u2019s come to your aid many times. You know them by their family centered values even if you don%u2019t understand their beliefs. Anyone who wants to understand their religion then go directly to them. They are not difficult to find. They have a Chapel near your home, and missionaries on your street, if not today then tomorrow. They are the fifth largest denomination in America, for Pete%u2019s sake. Don%u2019t just blindly discredit their beliefs because they differ from your own.

What a lame, no good, low blow to send this card. Get a grip. We need a great President. Romney could be one of the best ever. No one has ever become President with such ability to take a has been, in the dumps business and make it a powerhouse. I want that for America. I think this man could do it. And he is the only one the Democrats are afraid of.

[will_tyndale]

Come on people. You have seen the Mormon%u2019s come to your aid many times. You know them by their family centered values even if you don%u2019t understand their beliefs. Anyone who wants to understand their religion then go directly to them. They are not difficult to find. They have a Chapel near your home, and missionaries on your street, if not today then tomorrow. They are the fifth largest denomination in America, for Pete%u2019s sake. Don%u2019t just blindly discredit their beliefs because they differ from your own.

What a lame, no good, low blow to send this card. Get a grip. We need a great President. Romney could be one of the best ever. No one has ever become President with such ability to take a has been, in the dumps business and make it a powerhouse. I want that for America. I think this man could do it. And he is the only one the Democrats are afraid of.

[seraphim24]

The Church of Jesus Christ is not a cult. We believe in God- the eternal Father, in his son
Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost. We are Christians!
Mitt Romney seems like a very decent man. Do any of you remember when it was such a BIG deal when Kennedy was a Catholic?
Mitt is not trying to convert the nation to Christianity-his desire is to serve us...Having a president who doesn''t drink, smoke, cheat on his wife and who is honest and trustworthy wouldn''t be that bad. He is someone who I wouldn''t be ashamed of having over for dinner-or introducing to my children.
Have a good evening folks!

[iceman_1960]

"I think it would be nice if somebody got to the bottom of this," Hutchins said.

[denn034]

"a weird name"
Posted by Iceman_1960

And that matters how?

[denn034]

"That was 10 years after we stopped using the word ''Negro.''"
Posted by Iceman_1960

Too bad the dictionary has yet to be changed.

[iceman_1960]

"The church put its racist past behind it when it gave Negroes the priesthood in 1978."
- Posted by denn034 at 04:52 PM : Dec 30, 2007

1978. I remember it well.

That was 10 years after we stopped using the word "Negro."

[iceman_1960]

"Hutchins said he alerted Tagg Romney, one of Romney''s sons, and church authorities about the mailings."

Tagg Romney ?

Why would Mitt give his son a weird name ?

Barack would never do that.

[denn034]

"racist side of the [Mormon] church"
Posted by b-easy63

The church put it''s racist past behind it when it gave Negroes the priesthood in 1978. Blaming the church today for past mistakes that''re no longer relevant distorts and misrepresents the Mormons.

[iceman_1960]

"S.C. Republicans Get Phony Romney Card

Holiday Greeting Card Cites Controversial Passages From Book of Mormon"


I thought Karl Rove retired ????

Wasn"t he behind the "John McCain fathered a black child" whispering campaign years ago.

[denn034]

"refer to the Mountain Meadows Massacre in the 1800''''s to understand my position on this"
Posted by piercetheval

Brigham sent a messenger to tell them to abort the attack when he learned of it. It''s not Brigham''s or the church''s fault for the messenger arriving too late to stop it, that''s the messenger''s fault. It''s wrong to blame Brigham and the church for such under those circumstances. See my book (http://themormonites.blogspot.com/) for more details.

[p-syrus]

Hilarious! Who thinks this stuff up?

The tragedy is that so many are so STUPID that they believe this sort of cr@p and therefore make it "effective politicking".

What''s needed aren''t "honest politicians" but "intelligent voters".

Pigs''ll fly first.

[denn034]

I agree with Holley''s ""It is sad and unfortunate that this kind of deception and trickery has been employed" statement. Regarding Pratt being one of the original Apostles, he was one of the original ones under Mormon founder Joseph Smith. Pratt''s theological views, given the fact that only the Mormon First Presidency and Twelve Apostles combined can speak officially for the church, are irrelevant. Lastly, regarding Mary being "fair and white," isn''t that how she''s portrayed in Catholic and Protestant churches even today?

[sgtrds]

Straight out of the Karl Rove play book. It worked to beat McCain in 2000 so everyone is doing dirty *** like this now.

Posted by savdavid at 11:05 AM : Dec 30, 2007

Yep it does have the Karl Rove stink about it, though not quite as filthy and underhanded as he usually is.

[rowdytexan2]

omg! They''re doing it to each other again...shades of the pamphlet mailed out about McCain in the 2000 election that said he''d had an affair with a black woman. It was received in the mail 24 hours before the primary vote and McCain had NO time to fix it. That''s how Dubya stole the primaries. Then the obscure entity that mailed it disappeared into oblivion, rofl

I can''t imagine what the general election is going to be like. I don''t know who is the bigger fool, the ones who mail it thinking people are going to buy it again, or the ones actually buying it.

Not that Mr. Romney has a ghost chance of getting my vote, but this is pretty dastardly. We just don''t need another Dubya clone in the White House.

[cdfoxtrot]

One of the issues that helped settle this country was religious freedom. It is pathetic that in a recent survey 39% of those polled would not vote for a Mormon. This is a country that has all kinds of other issues. But we forget that Bubba Clinton was photographed repeated after Monica walking out of church with a Bible in his hand. Romney has a lot of other presentation issues, his religion should stay out of the mix.

Posted by frb01

Hard to believe the extreme right are still foaming at the mouth over President Clinton seven years since he''s been out of office. I guess they''ve got nothing else to talk about. And the polls showing that x per cent of people are reluctant to vote for a Mormon maybe say more about the core beliefs of that religion (i.e. a little, shall we say, loopy), than they do about religious intolerance as suggested by some.

[bdrlnt4rl]

gkc99

you are contridicting youself