Anti-Mormon Pastor Admits To CNN: Religion Should Trump Competence In Elections
Pastor Robert Jeffress is getting his 15 minutes of fame this weekend after publicly declaring that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was a non-Christian “cult” and getting the pleasure of introducing Rick Perry at a speaking engagement. After his initial comment, Jeffress went on Anderson Cooper 360º and made some eyebrow-raising comments about President Obama’s “purported” religion. Today he returned to CNN once more, answering in the affirmative when asked if religion should trump competence in elections.
This time, it was Kira Phillips‘s turn to do the honors, asking him to first reiterate his comments and then respond to Perry distancing himself from them. “I believe that Romney is a good, moral man,” he repeated, and of Perry noting he wasn’t surprised or offended at all, but that he remained a Perry supporter because “there are plenty of reasons I believe conservative evangelicals ought to vote for Rick Perry over Mitt Romney, and Mormonism is only one issue.”
RELATED: Anti-Mormon Southern Baptist Leader Slams Mitt Romney’s Faith As ‘A Cult’
Phillips then turned to religion on a more general plane, asking, “what does religion have to do with being a competent president?” and particularly, whether religion “trumps” competence in itself. Jeffress answered “yes,” citing a quote from founding father John Jay: “we have a duty and a privilege as Christians to select and prefer Christians as our leaders.” “Those of us who are evangelicals have a right to select a competent Christian over a competent non-Christian,” he elaborated, beside noting that Romney had been inconsistent on issues such as abortion which were important to him. When asked whether his religious preferences overshadowing his political ones defied constitutional principles, he called that absurd, as he is not a government entity but an individual, free to “apply any litmus test” he desires.
The segment via CNN below:
Sign up for Mediaite's daily newsletter.
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Re-Elect Obama 2012
-
PaulG85
-
Bruce Phylis
-
Anonymous
-
PaulG85
-
Re-Elect Obama 2012
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Ricci Dats Me
-
Ricci Dats Me
-
Re-Elect Obama 2012
-
Anonymous
-
Tucsonense
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Cecelia
-
Anonymous
-
Cecelia
-
Anonymous
-
Cecelia
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
The Real Royal Emperor
-
The Real Royal Emperor
-
The Real Royal Emperor
-
The Real Royal Emperor
-
No
-
Anonymous
-
News Of The World
-
Anonymous
-
http://mediamatters.org/ Leedog
-
Re-Elect Obama 2012
-
Pious Jeffy
-
http://www.facebook.com/people/Barbara-Schill/1361902552 Barbara Schill
-
Re-Elect Obama 2012
-
Pious Jeffy
-
The Real Royal Emperor
-
Anonymous
-
1000 out of 1000
-
http://twitter.com/pakattak natey p excello
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
cdnhawk
-
Irish189
-
Pious Jeffy
-
Cecelia
-
Tim Tebow
-
Cecelia
-
Tim Tebow
-
Tim Tebow
-
Tim Tebow
-
Cecelia
-
Re-Elect Obama 2012
-
Tim Tebow
-
Anonymous
-
Cecelia
-
Cecelia
-
joe
-
Re-Elect Obama 2012
-
labman57
-
Irish189
-
Re-Elect Obama 2012
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
William E. Methven
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
cdnhawk
-
Anonymous
-
Cecelia
-
Cecelia
-
Anonymous
-
Lloyd C
-
Lloyd C
-
Lloyd C
-
Lloyd C
-
Lloyd C
-
Lloyd C
-
Lloyd C
-
Lloyd C
-
Lloyd C
-
Rob
-
Anonymous
-
DoesThisOffendYou
-
Anonymous
-
Exgoper
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IC7HRBJRXKA7IKTTZS5W3UIECQ Agent of Truth
-
Bobby
-
Bobby
-
Anonymous
-
Bobby
-
Just some Blow Hard…
-
Just some Blow Hard…
-
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IC7HRBJRXKA7IKTTZS5W3UIECQ Agent of Truth
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
AliveStillKickin
-
M Colins
-
Anonymous
-
CarmanK
-
Anonymous
-
Bob Uda
-
expatpatriot
-
SYSPROG
-
Anonymous
-
http://twitter.com/Brandon2469 Brandon
-
http://twitter.com/Brandon2469 Brandon
-
http://twitter.com/Brandon2469 Brandon
-
http://twitter.com/Brandon2469 Brandon
-
http://twitter.com/Brandon2469 Brandon
-
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SIYF5565LXG7BBKTKGSSFWU7TA The Rock
-
HawkCW4
-
Anonymous
-
WardMD
-
Marika_p
-
MaybeMaybenot
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000354500602 Anton James Lat Dalay
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
-
Anonymous
When Did David Letterman Become Such A Liberal Partisan?
More TV:
















Explicit Image Of S.E. Cupp (It’s A Fake) In Hustler Magazine Sparks Outrage
Who Should Be On Next Season’s Celebrity Apprentice? A Mediaite Wish List
Letterman Confronts O’Reilly: ‘Why Doesn’t The Current President Get More Credit?’
The Uncanniest Cable News Doppelgangers
Penn Jillette Revisits Obama Drugs Rant On Hannity
Explicit Image Of S.E. Cupp (It’s A Fake) In Hustler Magazine Sparks Outrage
Conservative Teen Opens Up About ‘Vile, Vulgar’ Reaction To Her Video On Gay Marriage
MSNBC’s Ed Schultz: Is Birtherism ‘Just Another Form Of Racism?’
Yet Another Survey: Fox News Viewers Worst-Informed, NPR Listeners Best-Informed










RSS