Tuesday, February 06, 2007

2008   [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

is in part, maybe at heart, an argument about what issues are important to the Republican party (same on the Dem side). Are conservatives content with a candidate who talks about a women's right to choose abortion or is an admiration for John Roberts enough? Is a candidate who often votes the right way good enough, even if he doesn't seem to be especially fond of you or your issues? Do conservatives want a voice in a leader on social issues, even if he's only found it in recent years?

In the spirit of the Ralph Reed - Ryan Sager debate at the NRI conservative summit last month, these questions should be openly asked and debated in the coming weeks and months and year and...

Both Terry Jeffrey and David Frum get into these questions a bit today. David warns that Rudy could split the GOP.

In that spirit too, I've long wondered if the talk about the "Mormon question" and Romney isn't a distraction. If people buy his conversion story — if evangelicals buy his conversion story — that he believes in God and convincingly wants to preserve and fight for a culture of life and defend the institution of marriage, that's going to turn a social conservatives onto him — even if said social conservative is an evangelical Christian, even with Romney being is a member of the Mormon Church.

Anyway, it's with those thoughts in mind that I wrote this "Latter-Day Pro-Lifer" piece up today— in part an exercise in what I've seen in him but more importantly, a bit of unsolicited advice for Team Romney: I don't think it's a big Mormon speech that Romney needs to give (and, actually, one in the Kennedy vein would be bad, if you ask me). Romney needs to give a big life speech. Folks who didn't watch the cloning and marriage debates in Massachusetts (among other fights) should hear what he has to say about where he's been and where he wants to lead — his full case and story, rather than a bullet point in a laundry-list speech. Right now the overwhelming images many have in their minds of Romney is a terrible debate performance and e-mail forwards chronicling a record that concerns anyone who cares about the sanctity of life and the protection of marriage. He needs to say his peace in some full-context way. Because the issues are that important. 

02/06 03:09 PMShare