Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, Republican Presidential Candidate and Mormon gave a speech in Texas today about his religion. No, I didn’t watch or listen to it. I don’t care enough to devote that amount of time to this Ken doll of a candidate. I did, however, read the transcript after reading an article on Salon.com about a statement Romney made in his speech.  I needed to make sure that my eyes were not deceiving me.

Sadly, they were not. Aside from trying vainly to connect himself with JFK, which I just find odd, considering that JFK was a Democrat and a Catholic, as well as an actual human being, three things that Romney certainly is not, he also made this statement:

“Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone.”  -Mitt Romney, in Texas, December 6th, 2007

Freedom requires religion? Really? So, atheists and agnostics aren’t free? Religion requires freedom? Hmm, so there’s no dogmatic practices in religion that you’re free not to participate in if you want to go to heaven?

From either viewpoint, that’s an insane statement. In fact, from a political viewpoint, it’s downright blasphemous, considering how seriously most of us take the separation of church and state, which, with that statement, Mitt basically advocates ignoring. The last sentence is especially galling, “Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone.” when you consider it from a constitutional standpoint.

If there were any accountability in today’s presidential race, I’d say that his viability as a candidate would be finished right about….now.