Religion Drives "Anybody but Romney" Republican Primary

I have recently read a slew of articles from far-right Conservatives who suddenly have made Newt Gingrich their new flavor of the week.  In the "Anybody but Romney" Republican Primary it seems like the winner is going to be decided by which candidate can be more conservative than Romney and drum up enough anti-establishment rhetoric to hold the far-right's attention through the Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida primary votes.
 There's been a succession of socially conservative candidates to get the limelight, but Newt seems both the most unlikely candidate to gain the spotlight and the most likely to hold onto it.  Why Newt, though? And what does this say about the current state of the Republican party and its potential to win the 2012 election?

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This "anybody but Romney" primary is largely fueled by two things: first, his history of flip-flopping on social issues important to Conservatives and second, he is a Mormon.  Don't kid yourself into believing that this Republican primary race hasn't come down to religion; the religious views of the Religious Right, social conservatives who make up a huge portion of the Republican voting base, and the religious views of Romney, which most of the Evangelicals in the Religious Right aren't comfortable with.  Even Romney's history of changing his stance on key issues to Conservatives is at least partly religious based, the biggest (and only that I know of) non-religious issue being "Romneycare", the healthcare plan he enacted as Gov. of Massachusetts that has been called the "inspiration" for Obamacare.  Other policy change criticisms have focused on abortion, stem cell research, and gay rights, all of which Romney supported to some extent early in his political career but has since taken more conservative stances on since running for president in 2008.  Ironically (not really), these are the very same social issues that are important to the Religious Right, often so important that their political affiliations and support for candidates are based largely on these issues (in my mom's case, being pro-life is the ONLY determining factor for political support).  By taking more Liberal stances on these issues, even if early in his career, coupled with being a Mormon, many in the Evangelical movement don't see him as conservative "enough" nor trust him to maintain a strict conservative policy if elected to the presidency.

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That's where Newt (and Herman Cain, Rick Perry, and Michelle Bachmann before him) comes into play.  Gingrich's performances in primary debates caught the attention of and impressed grassroots GOP voters, who also tend to see him as more trustworthy and conservative than Romney.  His precipitous rise in the polls, rising past Romney to take the lead in the Republican primary race, has shocked many, and for good reason.  While Newt is a great debater, those looking for a candidate with less flip-flops, a strong moral character, and who's a staunch Conservative have picked the wrong guy.   Famous for rising to become Speaker of the House during the Clinton administration and leading a GOP take-over of Congress,  Newt's second claim to fame is his marital career which has included three wives, the first two divorces the result of his cheating on his current wife with his next.  Yeah, strong moral character.  Gingrich also supported federally-mandated healthcare in the 90's, which Conservatives are currently fighting desperately as a part of Obamacare, supported cap-and-trade in 2007 but opposed in 2008, flip flopped on climate change (even going so far as to appear in an Al Gore ad before changing his stance), and even called Rep. Paul Ryan's budget plan "right-wing social engineering", among other changes, according to nymag.com.  Despite being a recent outspoken critic of the Obama administration, Gingrich has in the past supported several Liberal causes, including the aforementioned health care and a variety of environmental issues.  I guess they really mean ANYBODY but Romney.

Don't get me wrong, Gingrich has plenty of achievements under his belt and was successful as Speaker of the House, but this issue really boils down to religion.  Gingrich and Romney both have shaky records on conservative policy positions, both of which can be justified, but Romney supported all the wrong issues in Evangelical's eyes.  Newt's environment? Right and left can agree that its important.  Healthcare? He was facing Hillarycare! And no one's been able to handle the budget.  None of Newt's more liberal policy stances aren't deal breakers, and certainly not against anyone's religious beliefs.  Romney's, on the other hand, are damning to today's socially conservative far-right Christian base and similar to what killed Rudy Guliani's campaign in 2008.  Abortion, gay marriage, and stem cell research are all against the most fundamental of the far-right's religious and political convictions.  To top it off, he's Mormon, which wouldn't otherwise kill Romney, but as it is it's icing on the cake.  His only real chance at redemption is to stress Gingrich's history of adultery, divorce, and re-marriage.  Recently a conservative church leader challenged Newt, saying that if he did not ask for forgiveness for his rocky marriage past, he would lose the Evangelical vote.  These guys take this seriously.

The real question here is, however, whether conservatives are truly doing whats best for themselves and the party, or has religious based policy become blinders?  Even more importantly, are they doing whats best for the country?  Sure, Newt is less-bad than Romney in a weak field of Republican candidates, but does that make him the right decision, especially when basing it on religious beliefs rather than political?  A stern look at the situation is cause for concern.  In the Evangelical movement to elect a socially conservative "not-a-Romney" who fits with their religious beliefs, they might be losing the election for themselves.

The Obama administration and the Democratic Party has spent millions already on ads attacking Mitt Romney, assuming he would be the candidate.  Their persistence and early start can only mean that Romney is the candidate that they believe will be the hardest to beat.  Dem. focus hasn't left Romney, despite several other candidates leading in the polls.  Newspapers even reported a Democratic aide describing Gingrich's nomination a potential "gift" to the Obama campaign.  That's how sure they are that they can beat the farther-right candidates, and how scared they are of Romney.  Recent polls have confirmed their position; in head to head match ups, Romney beats Obama, but Obama beats Gingrich.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Romney is not only the more politically apt candidate, but also the most appealing to independents, who are turned off by ultra-conservative Republicans and will likely swing the vote in either way and be the deciding factor in the 2012 election.  So why are conservatives so eager to elect someone else?  It seems to me that its time to take religion out of politics and choose the rational candidate.  Its great that Gingrich is more conservative and falls more in line with voter's religious beliefs, but if he can't win, then it won't make a difference anyways.  In America's current state, with unprecedented federal debt, very high unemployment, massive spending with no end in site, Obamacare soon to be enacted, a struggling economy, and a certified socialist running the country willing to turn the U.S. into a nanny state, logic says that a few disagreements over stances on social issues the candidate had a decade ago and his willingness to follow certain religious beliefs should be much further down the priorities list.  Number 1 for Republicans should be beating Obama in 2012 any way they can, and to do that they must choose the candidate most likely to win.  Can the Religious Right look past religion for the benefit of itself, the GOP, and potentially the country?  We'll see.

Related articles

• Romney campaign targets Gingrich's personal life (nzherald.co.nz)
• Religion ! is it Really an Important Issue for the White House in 2012? (madisonsrepublic.com)
• Iowa's Influential Social Conservative: Gingrich Convinced Us He 'Asked God's Forgiveness' Over Affairs (thinkprogress.org)
• Chris Weigant: Newt? Really? (huffingtonpost.com)
• Why Newt Gingrich Is Doomed (usnews.com)