Mitt Romney’s Evangelical Problem

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My mother asked me the other day why Mitt Romney’s religion was supposed to be a problem for him. “Because lots of evangelicals view Mormonism as a cult,” I answered, and evangelicals are a huge part of the Republican primary base. Unfortunately, my answer lacked emotional punch, and it’s not as if I can pretend to be an authority on evangelicals, so there’s no telling if she believed me. But Amy Sullivan is an expert, and she explained Romney’s evangelical problem six years ago here. Have things changed since then? Maybe, but here, via Paul Waldman, is a “lighthearted” report on a mainstream Memphis TV station about Mormon beliefs. I’m willing to bet there’s not another religion in the world they’d be willing to treat this way.

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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. The deadline’s almost here. Please help us reach our $150k membership goal by May 31.

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