Romney Endorsed By Dean At Bob Jones University
Hmm, perhaps Mitt Romney can reach out to evangelicals after all, despite being a Mormon.
His latest endorsement comes from an unusual place, picking up the support of Robert R. Taylor, the dean of the college of arts and sciences at Bob Jones University, the famous/infamous fundamentalist Christian college.
Just for some context there, university president Bob Jones III wrote an open letter in 2000 that attacked both Catholicism and Mormonism as "cults which call themselves Christian."
Comments (22)
Black Cat wrote on October 15, 2007 7:34 PM:Bigotry trumps salvation
Daniel wrote on October 15, 2007 7:50 PM:This confirms earlier reports that the Religious Right is moving towards Romney.
NCSteve wrote on October 15, 2007 8:01 PM:For a second there, I was reading "Dean" as in "Howard," and my head almost exploded before I worked it out.
freepatriot wrote on October 15, 2007 9:02 PM:NCSteve ain't alone
my head exploded too, and have you got any idea how much that stings. Not to mention the dry cleaning ...
your title sucks dude
and is it really news that the evangelicals would pick a religous nut to be their nominee ???
mormons are just from a different side of the religous loony bin that is the repuglican base
Black Cat wrote on October 15, 2007 9:09 PM:I always chuckle when I read about the Mormon polygamy thing being so 'sensitive' and controversial but EVERYBODY ignores the core racist revealed beliefs in the Mormon religion.
I guess it makes for more snickers per column-inch copy with a young virginal blonde girl mixed in there as opposed to asking him to explain why his church felt black people were devils.
"I'll ask my attorneys about that.."
Madorsky wrote on October 15, 2007 9:12 PM:I figured you had some Onion-y type story in the works--I agree that "Romney Endorsed By A Dean of Bob Jones University."
Besides, your story is totally implausible--they allow to be taught at Bob Jones University!?
Madorsky wrote on October 15, 2007 9:15 PM:Oops, I meant at Bob Jones University.
Madorsky wrote on October 15, 2007 9:18 PM:Oops I meant I meant I didn't know they allowed to be taught at Bob Jones University
Hal wrote on October 15, 2007 9:19 PM:How dumb is Mitty Rooney?
In order to keep up with Rudy he must renounce any connection with BJU.
How low will he go to court the looney right?
dweb wrote on October 15, 2007 9:39 PM:Wouldn't be surprised if the Mittster shelled out a few hundred K to buy some new stained glass windows for the BJ Chapel in order to get that one. He's got it, and at BJ, money talks...nobody walks.
Richard L. Adlof wrote on October 15, 2007 9:42 PM:Hmmmmm . . . So spending $20 to $30 million of your own money every quarter gains you acceptence from Blow Job University. Good deal.
cmorris wrote on October 15, 2007 9:59 PM:I have to agree with the headline problem folks.
"Dean" should have had the definite article "the" in front of it and the preposition "at" should have been possesive "of".
The point of this is not to be picky. The point of grammar and usage is always to communicate your meaning exactly. Clearly, this was a problem.
ARG in Chicago wrote on October 15, 2007 10:06 PM:I'm only here to state my agreement with half of the previous posters. Please try...
"Romney Endorsed By Dean *OF* Bob Jones University"
Thank you.
-- ARG
Dean of ARTS and SCIENCES at Bob Jones University??? That would be the science of reading bumps on your head, right? Or the ART of right wing New Testament hermeneutics, yes?
Romney and Bob Jones makes no sense at all. But then, we are dealing with Bob Jones University, si? And "Christian"? Oh my! In whose lexicon? Wait till these poor people figure out that Jesus was a member of a Semite tribe (lots of black inbreeding there, kinking hair, dark skin). I mean, this is like John Hagee coming out in support of Barack Obama for prime minister of Israel. Options must be extremely limited this year, no?
Next we'll hear that Tom DeLay has been endorsed for the next Secretary of State at the Vatican.....as soon as Saldono croaks on a pretzel and butt-weizer after slapping the shit out of Msgr. Laura, librarian of the Vatican Archives..
Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins and save us from your followers.
NCSteve wrote on October 16, 2007 8:11 AM:I'd suggest "Bob Jones University Dean." Btw, on a more serious note, the theocrats may be passing around stupid emails about Obama and his supposed muslim beliefs, but they're actually getting sermons and Sunday school lessons about the evils of mormonism. (How do I know? Take a look at the first two letters in my nym.)
I really don't see how Romney pulls this bid for the fundie vote off, unless he's trying for the "better a heretic cultist than a secular hoominist" vote.
Goldspinner wrote on October 16, 2007 8:31 AM:Black Cat, the racism is STILL LDS canon. All people with dark skins are still considered "less valiant in the pre-mortal life" or in the case of black folks, under the "curse of Cain". The doctrines have never been officially discarded. As recently as the late 1980's, Brigham Young University still sent official letters to black applicants to discourage them from applying or attending BYU. To this day, less than 1% of the church-owned research-level university's several thousand students are black. BYU may have one or two tenure-track professors, if any. Professors and students who speak out against racism have usually been fired or expelled.
To be fair though, BYU has never been a bastion of free speech for anyone else, either. Ask the students who protested against Dick Cheney earlier this year how the university administration and LDS church leaders retaliated against them. Try an online search and see for yourself: intimidation, illegal surveillance, blocked employment, etc. Bob Jones University and Brigham Young University share quite a few historical similarities.
What truly scares me about Romney is that he took a sacred oath to consecrate all that he has ("time, talent, money", etc.) and WILL EVER HAVE to the LDS church in order to build the Mormon version of Zion. At least when took out his endowments, he didn't take the deleted Oath of Vengeance against our federal government to avenge the blood of Joseph Smith. He did grow up singing the vengeance hymns that were in the older hymnals though. Some of his cousins in Colonia Juarez probably still do.
You're right, the MSM doesn't cover the truly critical aspects of a Romney presidency or the staggering implications of the newly-made alliances between his camp and the Evangelical Right. I've always assumed this might be due to the influence of Bonneville Media and the markets that Bonneville controls. Wait and see: the fix is in.
Bornso wrote on October 16, 2007 7:04 PM:Muckrakers--It appears that the Dean of Bob Jones is in violation of the University's 501(c)3, non-profit status.
The main lobbying group for Universities--the American Council on Education--advises that administrators endorsing a political candidate is forbidden under the tax code.
Check out their brief, "Political Campaign Activities of and at Colleges and Universities":
Gilbert wrote on October 17, 2007 4:18 AM:501(c)3?
I thought they lost that years ago.
They can endorse anyone they want without fear of losing tax breaks they don't have.
Sorry Gilbert, I just assumed they were 501(c)3 since these type of "churches" are the biggest abusers of the tax code.
bill wrote on October 17, 2007 5:01 PM:All the more reason for south carolina's voters to turn out for Stephen Colbert.
Bill wrote on October 17, 2007 5:02 PM:All the more reason for South Carolina's voters to turn out for Stephen Colbert!
JD wrote on October 18, 2007 10:12 AM:Dissent: Just a couple things to note about all the posts here...
Number One, Dr. Taylor's (the BJU dean) comments are his own opinion and views, not a policy of the University that employs him. The Bob Jones University webpage points that out explicitly. Please read that before continuing to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Number Two, what kind of comments are you people making? Many of the readers who have posted here are acting all high-and-mighty about how bad it is to call names and stereotype and judge people - but here's a bunch of people (most of whom have never so much as visited the college they're talking about) making judgments, tossing around slanderous accusations, writing crude nicknames for the school and condemning without research (or facts).
Number Three, a conservative Christian or a "religious nut" or a "repuglican" (or any of the other shallow labels used above) who chooses to vote for a Mormon in no way symbolizes a 100% support of that candidate. Good grief - every thinking voter knows that election day is quite frequently a choice between the lesser of two evils. I've never completely agreed with every tenet of any candidate - and neither have most of you! Anyone who agrees with every belief of any candidate is either very lucky or very naive. If Taylor wants to vote for Romney, let him. But we all know that that does not mean that Taylor supports every aspect of Romney's platform.
Number Four, just for kicks and giggles - I love the irony of the reader who posted a snide remark earlier about "allowing people to be taught at BJU" and it took three tries for that post to finally get corrected and almost readable! LOL!
Number Five, so now that we've had two days of BJU-bashing, how about something constructive? Like moving along to another page on the site that supports your preferred candidate and put some profitable comments on the bottom! I'm sure that no one who posted earlier is one of those negative people who just criticizes everything but doesn't offer any profitable suggestions...
