Somebody is "push-polling" in Iowa, apparently trying to use anti-Mormon language to damage Romney. Jonathan Martin reports at The Politico:

In an apparent push poll, a research firm has called Iowa Republicans this week praising John McCain and critcizing Mitt Romney and his Mormon faith.

An individual in Manchester, Iowa, contacted me on Wednesday night saying he received a call with information about McCain's military service and anti-spending record.

Then there were "lots of negatives on Romney," said the recepient of the call in an e-mail, including mentions of his "flip-flops," hiring illegal immigrants as landscapers and extensive discussion of Mormonism.

"Statements were on baptizing the dead, the Book of Mormon being on the level of the Bible, and one about equating it to a cult," said the Iowan, deeming them "common criticisms of Mormonism."

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UPDATE II: AP's Phil Elliott has a story up detailing similar such anti-Romney calls in both New Hampshire and Iowa.

Apparently, they came from a Utah-based company called Western Wats with a track record of doing such negative calls. The firm worked with Tarrance in the 2006 elections, but Goeas said his firm had nothing to do with them and were using a Houston firm to do their polling.

Read the whole story at the link above. UPDATE: New Hampshire law requires any political advertising, including phone calls, to identify the candidate who pays for them or is being supported by them, and no such notification was made. If any campaign was behind them, then, they broke the law. My sense is that if the sponsor of these calls can be traced at all, it will come back to some "527" organization not connected to any specific candidate. Should any candidate be tied to them (so far accusations have been made against Giuliani and McCain, in both cases unsubstantiated), he can hang up the gloves right now. It's a blatant attempt to play on religious bigotry, and only Democrats can get away with that.

Let this be my one and only statement on "Mormonism" in politics: As a Christian, I do not consider the LDS to be a Christian church. Jesus laid out the offer of redemption in simple enough terms, and they are not subject, in my understanding, to additions or revisions. That said, every single person of the Mormon faith I have known in my life has been a good and decent person, honest so far as I know, and the sort to offer help to strangers without thought to their own convenience. I wish more of our elected officials reflected those values.