"Mitt Romney’s run evokes pride, fear in Mormons; Anxious how faith will be perceived on grand political stage" by Matt Viser | Globe Staff, May 29, 2012
SALT LAKE CITY - For Mormons, this is a potentially volatile moment. They are deeply
proud that their faith’s most prominent adherent, Mitt Romney, is steps
away from a presidential nomination and could push the faith further
into the mainstream of American life. With these feelings, though, comes
a nagging fear that their beliefs, often misunderstood, will again be
subjected to scrutiny, even ridicule, on a national scale.
Related: Gay of Division in the Boston Globe
Apparently Mormons haven't yet gone beyond the hypocrisy.
Also see: Mormons More Faithful Than Government
Government doesn't like that regardless of the religion (except for, you know) because of the independence of being off the grid and prepared for deeply-laid plans that may or may not be activated. That's why you get Warren Jeffs stories and sex abuse in the compounds (Waco , too, remember).
“They think we’re secretive, but we’re not,’’ said his wife, Kristen. “We’re just sacred.’’
The Goaslinds were among more than two dozen Mormons of various backgrounds interviewed on the promise and the possible risks of a Romney candidacy.
Fear of rejection or prejudice has been part of the Mormon story throughout the church’s history, most recently during Romney’s presidential bid four years ago. But this will be the biggest platform yet for a Mormon public figure, and the sense of risk is more acutely felt. Some of the faithful worry that their comparatively young religion is less prepared for what they will face than Catholics were when John F. Kennedy was running in 1960, or Jews were when Joe Lieberman was the vice presidential nominee in 2000....
Yeah, thank God(?) Bush was awarded the presidency in 2000 or we would have had Joe directed war game simulations that mimicked the exact events of 9/11, not Dick Cheney. Or maybe Gore would have gotten a bullet, instead. It happened to that other guy.
Looking back that was one hell of a VP choice in 2000, huh?
Some of what they fear is already being felt. Comedian Bill Maher, who is also a top donor to the super PAC supporting President Obama, has repeatedly referred to Mormonism as a cult.
Aren't all religions (and I don't watch his controlled-opposition pos because he is close-minded about 9/11. Proved it when he booted crowd members)?
Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana, a Democrat, in April said Romney’s struggles with Hispanic voters were “ironic’’ because “his family came from a polygamy commune in Mexico.’’
Related: Mitt Romney Was Born in Mexico
Uh-oh!
Can we get a look at that birth certificate, Mitt?
Some of the harshest comments have come from the right. Robert Jeffress, an evangelical pastor, last year called Mormonism a cult and said Romney was “not a real Christian.’’
Polls suggest a deep wariness about Mormonism persists among the American electorate.
For Christ's sake, that is not the issue upon which I am basing my vote.
More than one in four respondents said having a Mormon president would be a cause of concern for themselves, their family, or people in their neighborhood or workplace, according to a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.
One in four fear(?) he will have that deep an effect with his religion when no president's ever really matters? There is a higher protocol for them, as we have seen over the years.
Wouldn't the public be more worried about the economic status and inequality as a common issue in the Wall Street Journal po.... oh, right.
The figure was higher than those who expressed concerns over a Hispanic, woman, or African-American president.
Then Obama wins.
The challenges and questions about the faith are nothing new. Since the church’s first days - when, they believe, God appeared to a 14-year-old boy named Joseph Smith and asked him to restore the church as Jesus had envisioned it - adherents have faced significant adversity.
Is that REALLY WHAT HAPPENED?
“Mormonism was created by a guy in upstate New York in 1830 when he got caught having sex with the maid and explained to his wife that God told him to do it. Forty-eight wives later, Joseph Smith’s lifestyle was completely sanctified in the religion he invented to go with it. Which Mitt Romney says he believes.’’
Uh-huh.
Early church leaders moved from New York to Ohio to Missouri to Illinois to Utah, each time being chased away by turmoil and hostile neighbors. In May 1844, Smith became the first Mormon to announce a presidential candidacy. A month later, he was killed by a mob.
Mitt is a brave man.
Much of the animosity stems from the church’s departure from traditional Western Christianity. Among the core tenets are the beliefs that God has continued to reveal his messages after the ascension of Christ, that some of those revelations were in lost biblical texts that Smith translated into the Book of Mormon, that Christ visited America, and that the second coming and the establishment of the new Jerusalem will be in America.
The sermons are where I start snoozing.
Facing brutal backlashes, Mormon forebears once talked about seceding from the country that Romney now wants to lead, and his own relatives fled federal authorities to Mexico to continue what their faith initially called “plural marriage.’’
Today, adherents are protective of their faith but also conscious that its insularity and unconventional beliefs make it the frequent subject of skepticism, or worse....
Mormons have played prominent roles in politics: Romney’s father, George, ran for president in 1968, Representative Mo Udall ran in 1976, and Senator Orrin Hatch ran in 2000. Harry Reid is Senate majority leader. Yet no one of their faith has been this close to the White House.
See: The Reincarnation of George Romney
It's not the son.
And if George was born in Mexico how could he become president?
For many Mormons, it is not just religious solidarity that draws them to Romney.
They cite his role running the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Utah. They highlight his business background at a time when the economy is struggling.
See: Throwing the Booker at Obama Over Bain
Many, in fact, were eager to detach Romney’s religion from the reasons they like him, saying their church taught them to evaluate candidates on the issues, not religious beliefs....
That's how I evaluate mine.
I have two qualifications for president: does he stand up to Israel, and....
Okay, I have one qualification for president.
Jabari Parker, one of the top high school basketball recruits in the country, was recently on the cover of Sports Illustrated and, in its pages, spoke openly about his Mormon faith. One of baseball’s sensations this year, rookie Bryce Harper, is a Mormon.
On a recent weeknight, as their two young children played and awaited an ice cream dessert, Bryan and Jenny Hamblin discussed Romney, and the so-called “Mormon Moment.’’ They both voted for Obama in 2008, but are undecided now. They appreciate the religious and family values they share with Romney but worry that he has tacked too far to the right.
Wow, Mormons for Obama. I see a future campaign commercial.
“I feel we have two strong candidates, and it’s great,’’ said Jenny, 30, a stay-at-home mother. “But in other parts of the country. . . it’s about [President Obama’s] birth certificates or that Mitt’s great-great-grandfather had five wives.’’
They get frustrated by the focus on polygamy, a practice the faith’s leadership banned more than 120 years ago. They are tired of hearing the accusations they are a cult, and they are comfortable with Romney being the person many Americans associate with Mormonism.
“As far as being the face of Mormons for the country, we could do a lot worse,’’ Bryan said (“It’s true,’’ his wife added. “He’s a handsome devil.’’)
Devil a Freudian slip?
Several observers point out that Romney may be able to do far more for the faith now than he ever has - whether as a missionary in France or a church leader in Massachusetts.
Mitt's "humble" beginnings.
For a faith whose signature work has been going door to door to win converts - and whose adherents cheerfully answer questions by anyone who asks - Romney provides an amplified form of outreach.
Yeah, they are not bad people but I'm still not opening that door.
“It will be good for the church, because many people around the world have really weird ideas of Mormons,’’ said Bob Bennett, a former US senator, a Mormon, and a Romney supporter, in an interview. “To have someone who is well educated, successful in his career, successful in his family have this high a profile sends the message to the world: The Mormons are not the crazy cult that many of you think we are.’’
Who would have made us think that?
--more--"
Just wondering where the Mormonism fits in with the war-mongering:
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney promised Monday to maintain a US military ‘‘with no comparable power anywhere in the world.’’
The probable Republican presidential nominee faced a San Diego crowd estimated at 5,000 in what was billed as a Memorial Day service paying tribute to the nation’s war dead, not a campaign rally.
But....
He turned it into one.
He turned it into one.
That's SO SITH-LIKE, isn't it?
Umm, I choose the first.
*************************************
A new Gallup survey found that veterans prefer Romney over Obama by a double-digit margin, 58 percent to 34 percent. That voting bloc, consisting mostly of older men, makes up 13 percent of the adult population.
And yet the vast majority of veteran contribution$ (and grunt votes) went to Ron Paul. Go figure.
Obama won the presidency handily four years ago while losing veterans by 10 points to Senator John McCain, a former Navy pilot. Neither Obama nor Romney served in the military.
In San Diego, Romney was joined by McCain, a Vietnam veteran who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war. McCain said that Romney ‘‘is fully qualified to be commander in chief.’’
Romney visited Afghanistan and Iraq during his term as Massachusetts governor but has limited foreign policy experience....
Romney said America’s military might is needed ‘‘not so that we just win wars, but so we can prevent wars.’’
Does that mean Israel won't be getting flyover request waivers for its air attack on Iran or Amerikan assistance in the endeavor?
Romney expected to clinch GOP nomination in Texas
Another subtle stab at Ron Paul?
When Texas voters push Romney over the finish line in the delegate race, the Republican Party of 2012 will have selected an unlikely standard-bearer: a New Englander in a party rooted in the South; a man of moderate temperament in a party fueled by hot rhetoric; a Mormon in a party guided by evangelical Christians; and a flip-flopper in a party that demands ideological purity.
Yeah, almost -- almost -- makes you wonder how the hell he got selected.
However reluctantly they may be have settled on Romney, most Republicans are now rallying behind him.
Ooooh, I am so sick of the scripted s*** narrative of AmeriKa's corporate press.
--more--"
Update: Romney secures presidential nomination with Texas win
Also see: The Future Romney Regime
They're back.
