Michael Luo of the New York Times reports on a letter written by an evangelical public relations executive to 150 “conservative & evangelical leaders” urging them to back Mitt Romney. Mark DeMoss, a Southern Baptist whose first employer was Jerry Falwell and whose clients include Franklin Graham, declared for Romney more than a year ago, and evidently is worried about the reluctance of others, especially evangelical leaders, to announce for the former Massachusetts governor. Romney, writes DeMoss, shares his values, has the experience and competence necessary to administer the government, and actually can win the nomination. He thinks that the GOP race presents a choice between Romney and Rudy Giuliani, and that the failure of evangelicals to support Romney will give Giuliani the nomination – not a good outcome. Giuliani, DeMoss writes, “clearly does not share our values on so many issues.” Read the whole thing. What’s notable about DeMoss’s argument is that he confronts what many evangelicals involved in politics are thinking, if not stating for the record – that they can’t vote for a Mormon, which is to say any Mormon, because of what Mormons believe. DeMoss’s key point: He decided he had to be “more concerned that a candidate shares my values than [that] he share my theology.” (A proper distinction, by the way.) DeMoss says he has more in common with most Mormons than he does with liberals in his own denomination or others. “The question shouldn’t be, ‘could I vote for a Mormon,’ but ‘could I vote for this Mormon?'” The Times doesn’t quote that sentence, but the “a Mormon” versus “this Mormon” question it framed is probably the one that the Romney campaign would like to see nervous evangelical leaders consider. When Romney finally gives a speech in which he talks at all about his faith – and there are writers working on that assignment right now – it’s a good bet that he’ll use DeMoss’s line.
