Romney courts Catholic, religious right voters in new ad campaign about religious freedom

In the latest ad from the Romney presidential campaign titled "Be not afraid" (embedded below), the Republican candidate uses the "religious liberty" card, proclaiming that President Obama has declared a war on religion.

"Who shares your values?," the ad begins as it moves into black and white imagery with a couple piano notes plinking in the background.  "President Obama used his healthcare plan to declare war on religion, forcing religious institutions to go against their faith."

With a crashing intro to sunshiny music and colored imagery, the ad continues.  "Mitt Romney believes that's wrong," and then flashes to Romney speaking in Warsaw, Poland on July 31.  "In 1979, a son of Poland, Pope John Paul II, spoke words that would bring down an empire — Be not afraid."  An image of Lech Walesa with the Pope is shown during this segment.

The ad then shows Romney being endorsed by Lech Walesa, a devout Catholic, trade-union organizer, and human-rights activist who co-founded Solidarity, the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union. Walesa won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. Walesa is said to have opined that he would rather have resigned the presidency twenty times than sign into law a bill permitting abortion in Poland, and that as a Catholic, he opposes in vitro fertilization and homosexual marriage, adding that if his son were a homosexual he would pray for him to stop going down the wrong road."

Romney's ad concludes, "When religious freedom is threatened, who do you want to stand with?"

As of this writing, YouTube voters are not impressed:

YouTube votes


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D. Beeksma

One of the growing crowd of American "nones" herself, Deborah is a prolific writer who finds religion, spirituality and the impact of belief (and non-belief) on culture inspiring, fascinating and at times, disturbing. She hosts the God Discussion show and handles the site's technical work. Her education and background is in business, ecommerce and law.

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  • http://www.houseofbetazed.com Mriana

    I believe it's wrong to force religious views on others and endanger people's health and lives, but yet the religious still attempt to impose their views and now they are trying to do this through our government. That seems wrong to me and a violation of our Constitutional rights.

  • http://www.facebook.com/josh.keegan.39 Josh Keegan

    This ad is simply wrong. Fox News was the first to launch this "War on Religion" campaign and kept going, even after the administartion changed their initial announcements and although a majority of Christian support contraception health care support. Here's a great article about exactly that http://goo.gl/Gl7To

    • Deborah_B

      Fox News, the Catholic bishops and the religious right.

    • http://www.houseofbetazed.com Mriana

      This goes to show, while some, many Repugs, accuse Dems of shooting themselves in the foot by adding LBGT issues to their platform, three fingers also point back that the Repugs. I think the Repugs are shooting themselves in the foot by not listening to Xians who support contraception health care.

  • http://www.donnyrothbardt.vpweb.com/ Donny

    Religious freedom? An oxymoron if ever there was one. Religion is a mental prison. As soon you "believe" in some religious dogma (of any faith), your "freedom" is no longer. The only real freedom is thinking for yourself. Forbidden in most religions.