Mike Huckabee's "innocent" question regarding Mitt Romney's Mormon faith -- "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?" -- is the single cattiest comment to ever pass the lips of a Baptist minister. (If Clare Booth Luce, author of The Women, were alive, she'd be green with envy. Not even she could have penned such a wicked query.) It's clear that Mike Huckabee's talents would be wasted in the White House. The man should be writing for Desperate Housewives.
So what's the image Huckabee is trying to give us of what those Mormons believe? Watch below.
(My prediction: If Huckabee wins the nomination he will successfully turn Utah into America's bluest state.)
***
Brandon's comment led me to a widely seen cartoon (below) purportedly describing what Mormons believe. I HAVE NO IDEA IF THIS IS TRUE. I know nothing about Mormonism - except that Temple Square in Salt Lake City is the second cleanest place I've ever been (Toyko Disneyland is cleaner), and the acoustics at the Mormon Tabernacle Hall are perfect. I attended a choir rehearsal there and it was thrilling. (I have an album of the choir singing Civil War songs. Awesome.) I post the cartoon below simply because it's fascinating - wildly so.
Truthfully I find this pissing match between religions disgusting. Today during our morning coffee break at the office, I started fuming about it to my assistant, Peggy.
"The Founding Fathers are spinning in their graves!" I said.
"I was always taught the Founding Fathers were righteous men," she said as she poured herself a cup of decaf. I'd forgotten how, um, traditional Peggy is. (Today she was wearing a sweater with big appliqued holly leaves.)
"Give me a break, Peggy," I said. "The Founding Fathers would never condone this use of religion. Besides, everybody's religion is wacky when you start describing it. I'm Catholic. Ever hear of transubstantiation? That's where the priest magically transforms bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ before a live congregation!"
"Christians know that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior," she said pointedly. I'd forgotten that Peggy is hardly a fan of the Catholic Church. "I don't bother with all the rest."
"Fine, Peggy," I sighed. "But as far as I'm concerned, everyone's religion - and their sex life - is pretty freaky when you get down to the details. " The word "sex" ever so slightly startled the otherwise unflappable Peggy.
"We've got a shipment going out in about ten minutes," she dutifully reminded me - itself a reminder that I should never talk religion at work!!
Now on with the show...
Mo Rocca has appeared on a bunch of shows, including 'The Daily Show,' 'I Love the 80s,'...
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Jesus to Satan: He Ain't Heavy
Posted Dec 12th 2007 7:00PM by Mo Rocca
Filed under: Mormons, Mitt Romney, Mo Rocca, Mike Huckabee
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Mo Rocca appears on a bunch of shows, including CBS News Sunday Morning (with the indescribably wonderful Charles Osgood), The Tonight Show on NBC, and NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! He's a sometime judge on Iron Chef and was featured on Telemundo's Amore Descarado. Last year he starred on Broadway in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His expose "All the President's Pets" was published by Crown in 2004.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 4)
1. That Paris is a cute devil
mac65 at 7:19PM on Dec 12th 2007
2. Loved the eggs! I always suspected that they were evil.
Gabrielle at 7:44PM on Dec 12th 2007
3. Actually, Mo, this could be what he was referring to (though Huckabee's terrifying in his own right):
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/70372/
brandon at 7:47PM on Dec 12th 2007
4. JosephLied.com
PostMormon.org
Lon Horiuchi V at 7:56PM on Dec 12th 2007
5. Actually, Mo, I agree with you. Religion shouldn't matter one damned bit when it comes to their ability to lead a country. But in our modern day United States, for some bizarre reason, it does. Read the "response" to this video on Alternet here:
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/70427/
A teaser: "I mean, this is to what our national political dialogue has been reduced by these idiots. "
brandon at 8:25PM on Dec 12th 2007
6. Mo -this is so great!
The movie adaptation with Joan Crawford, and Norma
Shearer with her catty junta of society cows is an inner circle cult favorite with me and my sisters. Did Hucka-biotch narrow his eyes a' la Joan Crawford and smile smugly post stab?
Maybe Dodd can be in drag and play Marjory Main's role...his head is big enough.
Hence forth,***"I'm gonna let go and let Mo...."
great blog topic/ but why does Christ look like a beach boy? eh, no matter..
**************************************************
Kimball '08 you want contrast?
Laura Ingalls-yes!/ Nelly Olson-booo!
Vote for the WHOLESOME candidate! Vote KIMBALL!
ah, clem at 8:27PM on Dec 12th 2007
7. I'll have to agree with Mo on this one. I think they should leave the religion out of this. It's not really a matter who is Mormon, Catholic, Jewish, Baptist....
What impresses me is when a man actually has the balls to admit that he has faith, in whatever religion they may follow.
And faith itself is what a lot of people are lacking.
Jacqueline, 2007 Independent Debate Moderator at 8:27PM on Dec 12th 2007
8. ATHEIST
Reply to: Truthfully I find this pissing match between religions disgusting. The Founding Fathers are spinning in their graves. Give me a break: Everybody's religion is wacky when you start describing it. (I'm Catholic, one of the religions that espouses transubstantiation: bread and wine magically transformed to the body and blood of Christ live before a congregation!)
There are actually intelligent people in America who don't belong to ANY organized religion for exactly this reason.
If you think being a Catholic is a good thing, I challenge you to do a little research.
Matthew Murray was home-schooled and applied to Oral Roberts University before he posted:
"crying all alone in pain at the nightmare of Christinity."
http://allspinzone.com/wp/2007/12/11/matthew-murray-nghtmrchld26in-his-own-words/
nghtmrchld26
Friend
Posts: 58
(9/7/07 9:13 pm)
Reply
“Prophetic Child”
Since I was at least age 6 my mother and her church friends have always told me about how my birth was “foretold.” They say that while I was still in my mother’s womb a “prophet” told my mother that I was to be, quote, “a prophet to the nations” and something along the lines of the next Billy Graham/Peter Wagner.
They said that the following verses applied to me:
Mat. 12.18 and Ezk. 36:26-28
Basically, they believe that I am their “chosen one” for “the end times” and according to the Ezekial passage they believe that I am going to go back to their church/system.
The problem right now is the fact that it appears that they are always going to pursue me throughout life(and they have said so), as I am supposedly the “chosen one.”
______________
______________
It's all well and good for you to sit back and laugh at the silly beliefs of Catholicism. But try to feel the pain of a boy growing up in Colorado Springs, in a house 13 miles from Columbine High School...
Yes, I'm serious. Matthew Murray killed himself. He wasn't killed by a security guard. He took his own life. That decision was his Final Solution to the nightmare of Christianity... and since he died to get his message out, could you please read his story before you brag about being Catholic again?
William Hays at 9:15PM on Dec 12th 2007
9. the second video...mesmerizing...just mesmerizing.
...I feel like I've spent all day in an outdated Greyhouse Bus huffing diesel fumes after that!..
ironically, my son is in communion class at the moment! I have to calmly defend my faith as a Catholic here in the Bible Belt nearly weekly. The consensus is that we are going to hell in a rickety hand basket. What is odd is that they smile much like Joan Crawford does in The Women when they point this out(there is some perceived one-upmanship.) Oh well, maybe so maybe no, but guess what, I'll leave it up to God.
**************************************************
BTW,Have I mentioned that Hank Kimball is a demi-god?
ah, clem at 9:18PM on Dec 12th 2007
10. wow...the first video was cute, but gave me flashbacks to CCD classes. They had a picture of Jesus almost identical to that. I did love the "turn the other cheek" motions for Jesus...lol.
The mormon video i found deeply disturbing...do they really believe that? South Park did a mormon episode once, but they only touched on the John Smith writing tall tales portion. and why do all the god like children have blonde hair and light skin? makes you wonder if hitler was mormon...
Also made me a bit confused...is Christian Science a spin off of Mormon? (space theme, guy getting visions from space and writing them as doctrine...)
L. Ron Hubbard=John Smith?
i know that separation of church and state should be in the political process somewhere...now where did i leave it?
bobbleheaddoll at 9:24PM on Dec 12th 2007
11. LOVE love love the deviled eggs and the tasmanian devil!
I agree Mo. One should never cheapen one's religion for political purposes, or cheapen one's sex life (unless that's, like, their "thing")!
These tend to be private, wacky issues.
This is one reason Marie has chosen to discuss ONLY her Osmondism and her dolls in the upcoming debates. She is still reeling from the Reed Smoot case, anyway.
Not to mention dancing with the stars.
One question: how long will the debates be and will there be a rhumba segment?
wayne at 9:53PM on Dec 12th 2007
12. Hey!
I just watched that youtube. Am I seeing things, or were there two gay illegal undocumented grooms on their way to a wedding on a tandem bike?
It is mesmerizing!
wayne at 10:05PM on Dec 12th 2007
13. one more thought...so if he did win, and he gets to take multiple wives...would they all get secret service protection? and if they all have kids-wow, this could get expensive...have to take this into not-so-serious consideration...hmmmm...
bobbleheaddoll at 10:17PM on Dec 12th 2007
14. As a Christian - and to those who have been attacking the catholics and other Christians - look at Lee Strobel's Case for faith or case for Christ - I am offended at a person claiming to be a Born again Christian doing somenthing that Jesus never did - attack anothers faith - Christ was not about putting down but building up.- The Huckabee question was intended to harm Romney and attack the LDS. He knew he was lighting dynamite and yet he wants to act so innocent - "I tried to stay away from the Mormon issue" - Just happend to throw in the Jesus/Satan thing. Didn't intend to attack his faith". I don't know a lot about the Mormons, the Jews, the muslims, the methodists, the presbyterians. I know when a person is trying to emulate Christ and when one appears to use his Christianity to slam another.I do know when I see a sleezy bible thumper stoop to the lowest place you can be -professing to be the right kind of believer and do the unconscionable knowing that the question will resonate among the faithful to keep them from considering Romney. He has appologized but the damage has been done. They pretend to be righteous but the righteous know better. They will attack in ways that seem so innocent but shame on their sleezey tactics. I'm not a Romney supporter - More the former Mayor of NY but still evaluating - my comments are not about politics they are about hypocracy. We need to keep politics out of the church and the church out of politics. I'm against Theocracys including Baptist Theocracy. That's not fair cause there are a lot of good Baptists out there who are Godly Christians - I shouldn't lump the all in the same boat as Huckabee
tonySD at 10:54PM on Dec 12th 2007
15. my life is going unbelievably great since I started worshipping the goddess of spring and took up gardening.
yall should all try it. It really works.
btw: the priest does not "magically" transform the wine and bread, he symbolically transforms it and because you have faith it becomes so.
when you do it to bacchus it just stays wine, which is the difference.
giles chauvin at 10:58PM on Dec 12th 2007