WaPo Attacks Romney for 'Mormon Militia' Action 150 Years Ago

Weekly Standard ^ | 11:00 AM, May 21, 2012 | Daniel Halper

[Olog-hai]

Reporting from Carrollton, Arkansas, the Washington Post finds some locals still upset with actions of a "Mormon militia" over 150 years ago. The Post reports:

On Sept. 11, 1857, a wagon train from this part of Arkansas met with a gruesome fate in Utah, where most of the travelers were slaughtered by a Mormon militia in an episode known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Hundreds of the victims’ descendants still populate these hills and commemorate the killings, which they have come to call “the first 9/11.”

Many of the locals grew up hearing denunciations of Mormonism from the pulpit on Sundays, and tales of the massacre from older relatives who considered Mormons “evil.”

But the main concern of the paper is ... will this hurt Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney?

The article, headlined "Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith tangles with a quirk of Arkansas history," attacks Romney for being a Mormon, because, according to the paper, his coreligionists and ancestors were responsible for "the first 9/11." …

Keep in mind: Romney is 65. He was not a part of or responsible for the massacre in any way. Nevertheless, the Post justifies its publication of the story by writing, "Still, Romney’s candidacy has prompted some soul-searching in this area, where a historical group estimates that more than half the residents can trace their ancestry back to the wagon train."

And everyone (even Romney!) already apologized for the massacre, anyway. … Only halfway through the article do we learn that it was actually the Mormons who generally faced persecution. …

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Siege of Vienna was in 1529, the Battle of Vienna in 1683, both featured the Ottoman Empire vs. Roman Catholics. In 1683, the Pasha said he was going to stable his horses in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Olog-hai. Wonder what their FR nicks are? :’)

[rovenstinez]

BOYS and GIRLS, it is historical facts and we can’t say it’s okay to dig out the bag dirt about their candidate without knowing that they’ll bring out the dirt for YOUR candidate. So the Republicans have chosen:
A candidate who belongs to a religion he adheres to whose founder was a pedophile.
A religionist founder who had multille wives.
Who wrote a BOOK that only HIS way was the way to Salvation, and no one ever saw his original documents...and
HIS WORD only was the Revealed Truth of God given by the angel.... Am I talking about Barak Obama or about Mitt Romney, PUT THIS IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT, because it will be around during the campaign. Own up to it, and the Massacre that came out today, there is MORE to come.

[mountainfolk]

Tomorrow, May 22, Tuesday, is primary voting in Arkansas. We have good conservatives running with Mitt Romney at the top. I was pleased to vote straight Republican top to bottom the first day of early voting.

[SuziQ]

LOL! But they won’t mention Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, who were domestic terrorists, have never disavowed their actions, and who Obama counts as friends TODAY!