>> Carlson warns GOP against religious litmus test
Former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson has asked Republican presidential candidate John McCain to reject "religious tests" in selecting his running mate.In a letter to McCain dated Saturday, Carlson said he is offended that some Republicans are demanding that McCain rule out some potential vice-presidential candidates because of their religious beliefs. He didn't mention Mitt Romney by name, but he implied that the former Massachusetts governor should not be eliminated from consideration just because he is a Mormon. Some evangelicals oppose Romney because of his religious faith.
"If a Mormon cannot be considered today for high office, who will be eliminated from the same consideration tomorrow?" Carlson asked. "If a segment of a broad religion can impose its religious criteria on a presidential candidate and the Republican Party, then what other challenges to the Constitution can they make?"
Considering a candidate's religious beliefs is both offensive and harmful to American principles, Carlson said.
"If there was ever a time for 'straight talk' and decisive action, it is now," he wrote. "There should not be any room in American politics for religious tests."
Carlson, a political moderate, often battled with religious conservatives during his two terms as governor from 1990 through 1998.
No comments:
Post a Comment