“Dr. Bob Jones III, chancellor of the fundamentalist Christian university in Greenville that bears his name, is looking past his religious differences with Gov. Mitt Romney and endorsing the Mormon for the Republican nomination for president, he told The Greenville News this afternoon.

`This is all about beating Hillary,’Jones said. `And I just believe that this man has the credentials both personally and ideologically in terms of his view about what American government should be to best represent the rank and file of conservative Americans.’….

Asked whether Romney’s religion was a stumbling block for him, Jones replied, `What is the alternative, Hillary’s lack of religion or an erroneous religion?… `As a Christian I am completely opposed to the doctrines of Mormonism,’ he said. `But I’m not voting for a preacher. I’m voting for a president. It boils down to who can best represent conservative American beliefs, not religious beliefs.'”

Greenville (North Carolina) News, October 16, 2007

“I venture this prediction: If the Republicans lose control of the House on November 7, Romney will be the 2008 Republican nominee. Christian Right leaders accustomed to a `seat at the table’ of political power will wrestle with their collective conscience, and win.“

Pro Libertate, October 22, 2006

“Politically conservative Mormons and Evangelical Christians are divided by serious disputes over doctrine, but presidential aspirant Mitt Romney has found a way to bridge that chasm: He stands `foursquare behind the president’ regarding his supposed authority to order summary imprisonment and torture of anybody upon whom he chooses to visit such treatment.”

Pro Libertate, September 26, 2006

If “beating Hillary” were the real objective, Rev. Jones would be supporting the only authentic constitutional conservative in the presidential field, the stalwart and principled Rep. Ron Paul.

But the grim, unyielding reality is that Dr. Paul — a man who is Christian to his chromosomes, and loves freedom with every molecule of his being — is disqualified in the eyes of Jones and his ilk for theological reasons: The God Ron Paul serves is Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace and Sovereign Lord of all creation, not the supposedly almighty State.

Mitt Romney, a man so empty he makes Peer Gynt’s onion look like an over-stuffed calzone, worships only power. So despite differences over doctrine — you know, relatively inconsequential stuff dealing with where and how we’ll spend eternity, as well as how we’re supposed to treat each other during mortality — Romney and Rev. Jones are on the same page of scripture. To wit: An adulterated version of Romans Chapter 13.

I don’t know what dwells within the heart of Rev. Jones or the other pulpit whores who have joined the GOP’s seraglio. It is clear that where political matters are concerned, people of that ilk are entirely fixated on power — obtaining it, retaining it, exercising it, cultivating it, serving it. Their kingdom is entirely of this world. They eagerly promote war and bloodshed, tyranny and torture.

A map, courtesy of Andrew Sullivan, graphically illustrating the geographic concentrations of Ron Paul’s donor base.

Today, as he picked up Rev. Jones’ endorsement, Mitt “Double Guantanamo” Romney also expanded his campaign team to include a national security adviser who blithely says he would commit or order torture “in a heartbeat.” That fellow will be in suitable company with Mel Sembler, Robert Lichfield, and other prominent Romney backers who have profited from the torture of American teenagers.

A Personal Note

My friends — those of you who are people of faith — please, please pray on behalf of Korrin. She once again is seriously, dangerously ill, and I’m entirely at a loss in trying to help her. At present she’s not in the hospital again (as I write, she’s sleeping and we’re receiving visits from a medical professional), but absent a dramatic turn-around, she’s headed there once more.

This morning she was convinced that she was going to die. Please, keep her in your prayers.

In making that request I do not mean to slight or demean those of you, my friends, who are not believers. My faith is integral to who I am and how I view the world; it’s why I am utterly obsessed with the matter of individual freedom and dignity, and why I detest war and tyranny to the uttermost depths of my soul. And at times like this my faith is the most important source of strength and solace.

I invite others to share it, but I have no right to impose it, even if that were possible: Each individual has to find it for himself. It’s my hope that this is understood by those who share my passion for freedom but not my convictions about God.

Please be sure to visit The Right Source and the Liberty Minute archive.