January 8, 2007
Mitt Romney, Again II Posted by John Steele Gordon at 04:50 PM EST I have just two comments.
First, Joshua Zeitz writes, “If a politician makes faith a central part of his message, as Romney has done, he should explain precisely what that faith entails. Voters have a right to know.”
Perhaps I’m missing something, but I am not aware that Mitt Romney has made his faith “a central part of his message.” He has said that he is a person of faith, but I’m sure he has come out foursquare in favor of Mom and apple pie as well. Exactly what has Mitt Romney said that makes his faith “a central part of his message”? What Mr. Zeitz quoted him as saying in South Carolina is simply standard political boilerplate. George Bush, who in the last six years has not turned the country into a theocracy, would be perfectly willing, I’m sure, to say the same thing. So would many other politicians, including not a few who would be lying when they did so.
Second, he writes, “In an interview about the prospects of a Romney candidacy, Charles Colson, the Watergate felon who once was lost but now is found (Colson is a leading evangelical conservative), invoked the story of Martin Luther, who said he would rather be ‘ruled by a wise Turk than a foolish Christian.’ Doesn’t sound like Colson will be heading up Former Watergate Felons for Romney.”
Mr. Zeitz has argued on this blog that felons should have their full rights as citizens, including the right to vote, restored upon completion of their sentences. In other words, they should be assumed to have been rehabilitated and to be, once more, accepted among their fellow Americans. If he actually believes that—and it is a perfectly respectable position—then surely they should be treated with as much respect as other citizens, unless they give evidence of not deserving that respect. Bygones, Mr. Zeitz has eloquently argued, should be bygones.
Mr. Zeitz does not do so here.
Since Mr. Colson’s release from prison—more than three decades ago—he has, as far as I know, not only lived a life within the law but has indeed devoted that life to helping other felons regain their lives and their places in society, working tirelessly in prisons and other unpleasant places to achieve that. On his release from prison he founded the Prison Fellowship, (prisonfellowship.org), an organization that seeks “to mobilize and assist the Christian community in its ministry to prisoners, ex-prisoners, victims, and their families; and in the advancement of restorative justice.” The movement has now spread to 112 countries. In 1993 Colson won the Templeton Prize for his work, an award also won by Mother Teresa, Billy Graham, Immanuel Jokobovits, and Freeman Dyson, among many other distinguished people of faith. Mr. Colson, according to Wikipedia, has donated his book royalties to the organization he founded. I know I haven’t given away any of my royalties, and I doubt Mr. Zeitz has either.
Does someone who has accomplished all that since his own release from prison deserve Mr. Zeitz’s snide sarcasm and to have his long-ago prison record thrown in his face because he doesn’t attend Mr. Zeitz’s political church?
Or are only liberal ex-felons—Webster Hubbell comes to mind—entitled to be treated with respect by Mr. Zeitz?
|
