Posted on 03/16/2012 10:19:21 AM PDT by C19fan
There are six kids in white shirts and black ties standing in a line. One steps forward and dances around the others, hissing and sneering like a bobcat. He moves to the front on the chorus and the boys start slapping their thighs in a steady one-two-three, one-two-three rhythm. The leader cries, "Grab the book from your pants!" They pull out a black book -- one-two-three. "Slap the book on your chest!" They slap away -- one-two-three. "Read the book, read the book, pray, pray!" One-two-three. "We've got the gospel, you get it, you get it?" Then they step towards the camera and wave their hands. "You come walk in the waters with meeee!" The boys fall to the floor in a fit of giggles. It's one of the odder sights on YouTube.
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Romney's victories owed something to the Pacific islands' large population of Mormons. In fact, local members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may have proved crucial to winning each of these caucuses. It wouldn't be the first case of Mormons bailing out Romney this campaign season. They've also helped his candidacy in two critical Western states -- demonstrating that Mormons aren't just a great fundraising network, but a surprisingly powerful demographic force within the world of low-turnout GOP primaries and caucuses.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
That’s the way it works. Identity politics always works out for the liberal. By all rights, Idaho, Utah (hasn’t gone, but will go for Romney) and Nevada should go to the conservative. But the lemming Mormons think because Romney is one them, that he must be the greatest thing ever. They also have some prophecy about a Mormon saving the U.S. Constitution or some such thing, and most Mormons are absolutely convinced that Romney’s the man to fulfill it. Ironically, it will probably just prove to be another false prophecy from the mouth of Joseph Smith even should Romney be elected.
The simple answer is yes.
I think it’s obvious that Mormons are, more or less, voting with just Romney in mind.
It’s probably made a difference in states where there are an abundance of Mormons and he’s won narrowly.
Does the Pope wear a funny hat?
You be the judge:
I rest my case...
I personally don’t believe there are that many mormons in this country.
There are however plenty of morons.
Joseph Smith never mentioned Mitt. I did not know we thought he did. But, you might have some poll that says that. You have a reference? I have been pumping Santorum. Should I switch to Romney because he is LDS?
My local mormon “wishes that Romney were more conservative”, but will vote for him anyway.
Mormons are 2% of the U.S. population. Romney has won about 40% of all votes cast in GOP primaries and caucuses so far. Do the math.
I didn’t say Joseph Smith mentioned Romney by name. He mentioned that some Mormon would save the Constitution, and this has been one of the several justifications my Mormon friends have for supporting Mittens. I do not believe the prophecy was made a part of the Standard Works.
“Raving moonbat Mormon hater.”
Listen, FRiend, my best friend is a Mormon, so shut your piehole about so-called Mormon hating.
I didn’t say Mormonism is why Romney is winning. I’m simply saying he is getting delegates he should not have gotten in Idaho and Nevada, and will get them in Utah. It’s practically undeniable that many Mormons are voting for Romney because he is a Mormon. How else can you explain a fairly conservative voting bloc breaking for the moderate?
http://us.mg4.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=7d1mfi4ov5sd2
STD, DrMike One of the Last Original FReepers
are there enough Mormons in Michigan or Ohio to swing an election? I doubt it.
And the blacks vote for the black.
Maybe I should vote for the conservative Catholic.
Further, I have the utmost respect for Mormons. If their most vocal critics exhibited even something close to their generally conservative voting behavior, this country would be in nowhere near the deep sh*t that we are.
I'm also aware that it is quite normal for voting to be influenced at least somewhat by group identification. Even more so if the particular group feels it is under constant attack from the mainstream. Catholics, for instance, were once a very loyal Democrat constituency for exactly that reason. Not so any more, because they no longer feel threatened. Jews are still a very loyal Democrat constituency, though that is changing, because the Democrat party is growing increasingly antisemitic.
If you look at exit polling in the states which have voted so far, Romney is still getting self-identified conservative voters in states where the Mormon population is negligible. So the answer to your question is that, of course, some of this support is identity politics, but some of it is also perception that his actual record of governance in Massachusetts is an anomaly because he was representing a very liberal constituency and he will govern far more conservatively as a president. Whether or not that is true is certainly a fair topic of debate. But it would be foolish to discount that said perception exists. (Anne Coulter is Exhibit A).
Feel better now?
I find it rather hilarious that people point at those nasty Mormons voting for Romney because, *gasp*, he’s a Mormon. These same people voting against him for same said reason are unable to see the irony.
I have not denied that part of their justification is that Romney’s record in MA is an anomaly. However, I’m suggesting that part of the motivation behind accepting this erroneous argument, for Mormons at least, is that Romney is a fellow Mormon, someone who they feel they can implicitly trust. That would explain the overwhelming majority of Mormons supporting him, not just a small amount comparable to the rest of the conservative base. It’s the overwhelming majority which I’m contending with here, not small amounts.
The options really, in the end, considering that Evangelicals and Mormons have similar political goals, are either that:
(1) Evangelicals accept arguments against Romney in large part because of their bias against Mormons;
(2) Mormons accept arguments in defense of Romney in large part because he is a fellow Mormon.
Considering the two diametrically opposed breaks for and against Romney amongst the “religious right,” it really comes down to these options. All things considered, option (2) makes more sense to me.
I think you are right. There was some mention of the Constitution hanging by a thread. I personally feel it has been hanging for a very long time. The Supreme Court has no interest in preserving it. I don’t know if even Mormons can save it now. The President ignores it as do most in Congress. Tyranny is upon us.
By your logic, I should not support Santorum. I, as a Puritanical Calvinist, think Roman Catholicism is a heretical belief system that does not preach the true Gospel. However, I do support Santorum in spite of his conservative Roman Catholicism. Why? Because he shares at least somewhat similar political goals. If a Mormon ran that shared my political goals, I would vote for him. I suppose, if all other things were equal, I would vote for a fellow Evangelical Protestant over others simply because they were a fellow Evangelical Protestant. That is only with everything else being equal, however.
I have to say that I am very disappointed. I always thought the Mormons in this country were a force for conservatism.
But there is more and more evidence that they will vote for a fellow Mormon no matter what. Harry Reid certainly demonstrates that. And now Mitt Romney.
He has gotten roughly 95% of the Mormon votes, with disproportionately large turnouts, in all the states where Mormons make up a significant part of the population. Even though Romney has done things like support abortion and gay marriage, which go against Mormon religious beliefs. And God knows that Harry Reid has been even worse—but they still turn out for him.
Catholics vote roughly 50-50. But Catholics had a history of being Democrats, the “party of the working class,” until recent times, when the Democrat Party changed its stripes and became primarily the party of death. The Catholic vote has steadily moved to the GOP over the decades, and most of those who still vote for folks like clinton or obama are not regular church-goers, or in these lousy times have never received proper religious instruction.
Let’s hope that the LDS Church will wake up to what they are voting for and return to more conservative ways.
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