Romney Steers Clear of "September Dawn"
It is of little surprise that Mitt Romney is staying out of the debate over "September Dawn."
After all, isn't there a campaign adage of not getting involved in any controversy unless you absolutely have to?
The upcoming film is about the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre, the first known act of religious terrorism on U.S. soil. The pic, starring Jon Voight and Dean Cain and directed by Christopher Cain, posits that Brigham Young had complicity in the massacre, a view denied that the Mormon Church denies.
Romney won't comment, even after repeated calls from Bob Novak, who wrote a column on the whole matter last week, noting that in the movie Young is portrayed as a kind of "19th century Osama bin Laden."
Novak wrote, "Mitt Romney surely is not responsible for Brigham Young, but questions about what kind of man Young was hurt his campaign. Romney has been described by many Republican insiders as the perfect candidate: magnetic, smart and with an excellent record as an executive. His greatest liability has been religious bias against him. He has never seized this issue, thinking it so wrongheaded that it will go away."
"On a matter like that that's not something he really addresses," says a spokesman for the candidate. "That's better off left to the church."
But the church, too, has not commented on the movie, other than to express its position that Young was not complicit.
For its part, Romney's campaign is eager to keep religion separate from the politics of '08.
Said Romney's spokesman: "He's running for commander in chief, not pastor in chief."
At the debate last week, for which Romney scored high marks, he said, "We don't choose leaders based on what church they go to."
Romney may have no reason to worry, as "September Dawn" is being released on June 22, a challenging environment for any movie that is not a franchise or a sequel. It already was pushed back from an opening last Friday, where it would have faced off against the "Spiderman" juggernaut.
---By John Clarke Jr. in New York.
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this is the beginning of the end of Mormoni hocus pocus in the USA and worldwide. sigh.
Posted by: danny bee | May 12, 2007 at 11:58 PM
How can the LDS church claim knowledge that Brigham Young had no involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre when their official statement in 1999 was that no one knows what happened?
I think Romney will have to address his religious beliefs to make Americans more aware of his position. I would want to know that if I vote for him, that he has only loyalty to his country and not just t o his church or cult. I would NOT want his strings being pulled for the financial benefit of the LDS organization/religion.
I don't want to find out too late that Romney is Jim Jones and we are all going to drink his cool-aid!
Posted by: Mr.Blonde | May 29, 2007 at 06:15 PM
Wow, I defiantly don't see what the problem is. Other presidents of other faiths have not received such idiotic discrimination. Again, should someone be persecuted jut because of his religion? I think that he should be viewed according to his OWN actions and not the actions committed by blind fools more than 150 years ago.
Posted by: Damon | February 09, 2008 at 05:39 AM