In my morning post on Mitt Romney’s wins I noted that the press is now starting to trot out stories about the Mormon Church, its race issues, baptizing the dead, etc. Contained in that post Seth Ellis goes there where there is pulling a David Brooks, comparing critics who I assume include me to Nazis, and violating Godwin’s Law.So first, I win. Thanks Godwin’s Law. But look at Ellis’s comment:

First they came for the Mormons. I am disappointed that Erick would promote this story as a reason not to select Romney without pointing out how shameful of an attack this is. It is an assault on religion, and it is no different from what they did to Santorum. The only difference is that Romney its smart enough to not fall for it. We cannot stand idly by as the media continues its assault on religion.It is exactly this sort of comment from Erick that leaves so many of us skeptical on Erick’s claim that “his Mormonism has nothing to do with it”.

Note first the “first they came for the Mormons” and see David Brooks from yesterday.Second, note that Seth Ellis proves me right.The Democrats smell blood in the water. Romney is weak. He’s headed into the South with his negatives going up. And whether you agree or disagree, as I noted here accurately on January 24, 2012:

the secularists in the media — not the Democrats, but the media to the extent it can be separated from the Obama Machine — will spend six months creeping out independent suburban voters about Mormons, holy underwear, Kolob, postmortem baptism, and views on black people and then, as the coup de grace, Barack Obama will fire up millions of dollars of ads on Bain Capital raiding pension funds forcing the government to cover the debt so Mitt Romney could make millions whether he won or lost a deal.

It is beginning. It is beginning early because Democrats see Romney going into Southern states and more conservative states hemorrhaging and they think they might now have a chance to pick him off and get Santorum — something they did not think was possible just a month ago.They think they can start unloading the opposition research, which will include lots of stories about the Mormon Church. So back to Seth Ellis. He writes

I am disappointed that Erick would promote this story as a reason not to select Romney without pointing out how shameful of an attack this is.

Each day the GOP spends defending Mitt Romney’s faith, which polling of independent and secular leaning voters shows hurts Romney more with them than with evangelicals (specifically, I believe, a Pew poll on the matter), is a day the GOP is not going on offense against Barack Obama.More troubling, the reality is that most Christians do not consider Mormons to be Christians, so while the left is attacking the Mormons and the right is defending Mormons, you’re going to have a lot of Christians happy to defend Mormons, but make it all the more awkward when distancing themselves from Mormons at the same time.Just as Santorum’s devout Catholicism will come under attack from the left, you must be nuts to think Romney’s faith won’t come under attack as well. The difference is the groups that will and will not rally will be different and potentially more disadvantageous toward Romney.And that is the point again. The more we’re all forced to defend Romney on this issue, the more the press will focus on it, and the more our attention will be distracted away from Obama. It is not fair. But it is reality.My opposition to Mitt Romney has nothing to do with his faith. It has everything to do with his opportunism. But I’m also not so naive as to think it will not be one more attack used by the left.And, by the way, had hypersensitive Seth not already developed a bunker mentality I suspect many Romney supporters will soon develop, would probably recognize that that line in my post was not meant to be me attacking Mitt Romney, but pointing out that the left’s assault is already beginning. And Seth’s overreaction shows just how badly many Romney supporters are going to handle it.I’d let him respond, but stooping to Godwin’s Law gets you banned around here.