@mckaycoppins Anti-Mormonism will be to @JRubinBlogger what anti-Semitism was previously, at least through election/Romney presidency. — Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) April 17, 2012
McKay Coppins discusses the role Mormonism may have played in Ann Romney’s decision to stay home:
[F]or many Latter-day Saint women, staying at home to raise children is less a lifestyle choice than religious one — a divinely-appreciated sacrifice that brings with it blessings, empowerment, and spiritual prestige. These doctrinally-defined gender roles aren’t entirely unique — they’ve been preached by various sects for centuries — but Mormons have proven uniquely unwilling to bend them to fit modern times. The Church took heat in the ’70s for waging a high-profile campaign against the Equal Rights Amendment; and even today, Mormon women remain twice as likely to be homemakers as non-Mormons, regardless of income levels.
Dreher is pleased:
[G]ood on Mormon women and their husbands for walking the countercultural walk. My wife and I have never had to make a critical financial sacrifice to live out our professed values in this way, but I hope that if we are ever in that position, we will have the courage to do what the Mormons do.
Jennifer Rubin somehow sees a smear piece:
The BuzzFeed piece is misleadingly titled, “Why Ann stayed home.” In fact the reporter, McKay Coppins (who has identified himself as a Mormon), reveals nothing about her motivations. That, rather, appears to be the “hook” for a discourse asserting the Mormon faith is discriminatory and oppressive toward women. Ann wasn’t interviewed. The Romney campaign didn’t comment for his report. And the reporter doesn’t indicate he tried to reach either. The piece foreshadows, I fear, of what is to come — effort to portray Mormons as weirdly out of step and unmodern, and by implication, Romney as being unfit for the presidency.
Larison is puzzled by Rubin’s reaction:
Rubin ignores the parts of the story that describe the LDS support structure available to mothers, and it is Rubin, not Coppins, who has concluded that report portrays “Mormons as condescending and backward thinking.” Rubin wants to appear very concerned that Romney’s religion is being used against him while simultaneously attacking the beliefs and practices of his co-religionists. All in all, it’s a very weird “defense” of Romney in response to an article that isn’t attacking him or his religion.
The Dish 