By Chad Groening and Jody Brown
November 30, 2006

(AgapePress) - A pro-family activist and former presidential candidate says it's more important to look at what a candidate believes on the issues than what the candidate's theological beliefs might be. That is why Gary Bauer says he wouldn't necessarily rule out voting for a Mormon.

Two-term Tennessee Senator Bill Frist, a professed Christian, announced on Wednesday that he has abandoned plans for a presidential bid in 2008. "In the Bible, God tells us for everything there is a season," said the outgoing Senate majority leader, "and for me, for now, this season of being an elected official has come to a close." Frist, considered by some a frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination in two years, said he will take a "sabbatical from public life," returning to Tennessee and spending more time with his wife and three sons.

Frist's departure from the national scene opens the door for other Republican hopefuls, among them Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who plans to announce in early January his intention to run for president. And while Bay State pro-family activist Brian Camenker contends that Romney is a liberal anyway, other observers are just as concerned about Romney being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS).

But Gary Bauer, president of American Values, says Romney's theology has no bearing on his ability to be president. "I think when it comes to political races, we need to go on the basis of the issues rather than theology," says the outspoken conservative Christian.

Gary Bauer

"My view is that voting for president ought to be done on the issues," he continues. "There are all kinds of people out there that I have deep theological differences of opinion with, but I might be willing to vote for them for senator or Congress or president, depending on the circumstances and who they were running against."

Bauer says he is not concerned that Romney would possibly use the White House to advance LDS theology. "I don't know how he would do that," the American Values leader states. "I think the public and the media would be on him in a second if he did anything that promoted his particular faith. And, in fact, I think he would be very hesitant to even appoint other Mormons to his cabinet."

Romney has been governor of Massachusetts since 2002. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Law School. He opposes same-sex "marriage," and just today argued before his state's Supreme Judicial Court in favor of a lawsuit that seeks to override the Massachusetts legislature and let voters decide whether to ban such unions with a constitutional amendment.

Last year, however, Romney ranked eighth in a list of "Top 10 RINOs" -- or Republicans In Name Only -- by HumanEvents.com. That list quotes the Massachusetts governor has saying he believes abortion "should be safe and legal in this country," and indicates that he supports civil unions, which for many traditionalists is merely a step toward legalized marriage for homosexuals.

Other current contenders for the GOP presidential nomination are Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Arizona Senator John McCain. A "thermometer reading"-type poll conducted during the week following the November 7 elections placed Giuliani ahead of McCain among Republicans named in the poll.

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