This is unacceptable

This has gone on far enough, and it needs to stop. This should be condemned by the person she supports:

This is the last thing Fred Thompson's campaign needed.

Cyndi Mosteller, a former chair of the Charleston County GOP and Vice-Chair of the SC GOP, has chosen the eve of Mitt Romney's Speech to expound on Mormonism.

Mosteller, a top McCain supporter in the state until the summer unplesantness, is now part of Thompson's South Carolina Steering Committee. In an interview she gave with "The Palmetto Scoop," a generally pro-McCain blog in the state, Mosteller had this to say:

TPS: Why do you think it is that Republicans, the previous issue aside, might be reluctant to support a Mormon president, such that Romney feels he needs to give a speech addressing just this issue?

MOSTELLER: I think the doctrines of Protestantism, Catholicism and Judaism are so vastly different from the Mormon doctrine; from the concept of polygamy being the order of Heaven, to human man’s progression to godhead of other worlds, to the idea that Jesus had multiple wives, to the idea that, after the death of the last apostle, all of Christendom was in apostasy – with a capital “A” as the Church refers to it – until Joseph Smith discovered the golden plates in the 1830s. So I think it’s inconsistent with so many basic Christian doctrines and it’s very unusual to the point that it’s almost unbelievable. These concepts are things that are theologically beyond our orthodox imagination.

TPS: But to many people, it seems that Mormonism is a part of the Christian faith. You’re arguing that assertion is incorrect?

MOSTELLER: Yes. I would say that the Southern Baptist Convention considers Mormonism not a part of the Christian faith – they’ve stated that on their Website – and most Evangelicals would not consider it part of the Christian faith. And the Mormon Church would consider us an apostasy, in all of Christian history, since the death of the last apostle. From their perspective, the Gospel that we preach on Sunday would be considered an apostasy to them.

Asked if his candidate had any thoughts on this analysis, Thompson spokesman Todd Harris said: "We respect her opinion just as we respect the opinions of those who disagree with her."

I often wonder if activists even know that they're causing their candidates undue issues when saying such things. Or is it that they know and just don't care?

Don't "respect" the opinion. condemn it. This sort of a discussion is going to lead us down a road we don't want to take. When these sorts of veiled attacks come out of the roach nest, it opens the door for similar attacks. We do this, and we'll be no better than what happened back in England, where the different religions were virtually at one another's throat.

Religion is an off-limits topic in politics. We don't do this, and the constitution forbids such litmus tests. If we want to debate the differences in theology, then let the theologians do that. Keep political hacks out of the debate. It's none of their business. Anyone asked such a question, and they're connected to a particular campaign, they should refuse to answer the question on the basis that such an inquiry is improper, and frankly quite rude.

Publius II