Posted on 07/23/2012 9:33:15 AM PDT by greyfoxx39
Next year could be a banner one for Mormons in the nation’s capital, with their numbers and influence likely to grow whether or not Mitt Romney is elected president.
Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) could raise the number of Mormons in the upper chamber to seven, should he and Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) win in November.
Depending on who controls the Senate, it will have either have a Mormon Senate majority leader in Harry Reid (D-Nev.) or a Mormon president pro tempore and Finance Committee Chairman in Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).
“I wouldn’t be surprised, especially in a Republican administration, to see members of my faith well represented,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a rising Tea Party star who is Mormon, told The Hill.
“I don’t think that Mormons will be necessarily any more or any less represented in a Romney administration than they would in others…. But sometimes people tend to hire other people that they know, that they’ve worked with in the past.”
There are currently 14 Mormons in Congress: Sens. Reid, Hatch, Heller, Lee, Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.), and Reps. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), Wally Herger (R-Calif.), Raul Labrador (R-Idaho), Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), Rob Bishop (R-Utah), Jim Matheson (D-Utah) and Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah).
Those numbers are likely to grow some in the fall.
Flake, who traveled with Romney during the Iowa caucuses, is the frontrunner in both his primary and general election, though another Mormon, businessman Wil Cardon (R), is giving him headaches in the primary. Heller is locked in a tight race with Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.).
Flake’s old House seat will be filled by a Mormon, either former Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) or former Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams (R). Chris Stewart, a Mormon Republican, is considered a lock for a newly-created House seat in Utah. Mia Love, the African-American mayor of a small Utah town and a highly touted recruit running against Matheson, is also Mormon.
On top of that, if Romney wins the presidency there are a number of Mormon Republicans who are in line to gain political power.
Chief among them is former Utah governor and Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt (R), a close Romney ally who has been tapped to head Romney’s transition team. He has been mentioned as a possible White House chief of staff.
A number of prominent Mormons have been major Romney donors — the types of people who often wind up getting offered ambassadorships.
These include Bill Marriott, a longtime family friend of Romney’s, and Kevin Rollins, a former partner of Romney’s at Bain & Company. JetBlue founder David Neeleman and Credit Suisse banking division CEO Eric Varvel, both Mormons, are on Romney’s finance team.
“A lot of these folks are very dear friends of his — they’ve known each other for decades now,” Hatch said. “I know every one of them and I don’t know of one of them that wants anything from their donations.”
But Hatch, who was an early Romney backer in 2008 and received Romney’s support in his contested Senate primary this year, said there was a natural tendency for anyone to bring along people they know and trust.
“Let’s face it, you do tend to want to bring some people with you that you know very well, that’s just a natural thing. I don’t care who it is, people all feel the same way,” Sen. Hatch said.
“Should Romney win and bring some of his people into the government, there will be a lot of people who are devout Mormons in positions of power,” said Paul Hatch, a longtime Republican strategist who grew up Mormon in Utah.
“As far as ambassadorships, Romney really does have a very strong donor base among Mormons that he’s cultivated since he ran in 1994 against Ted Kennedy for Senate.”
President Obama has appointed Mormons to serve in his administration, including former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. (R), who served as his ambassador to China. He also tapped Larry Echo Hawk, a former assistant secretary of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Sen. Mike Lee noted that President Reagan named a number of Mormons to top positions, including Lee’s father, Rex, who was Reagan’s first solicitor general.
“While he was there he happened to hire one or two people who happened to be members of the Mormon faith, but that was not a conscious decision of ‘I’ve got to get more Mormons here,’ ” he said.
One of them was Terry Crapo, the brother of Sen. Crapo, who Rex Lee picked to be his deputy but died of leukemia before he could take the job.
“They had gone to [Brigham Young University] together,” Sen. Lee said. “It wasn’t about Mormonism — he was just one of the people he knew, an exceptionally bright lawyer.”
Paul Hatch, who ran Leavitt’s gubernatorial campaign and is now a consultant for Love’s campaign, said that devout Mormons tended to spend more time involved in church activities than those in other religions. He cited the church’s policy of having lay clergymen rather than full-time ministers as a reason.
“For a lot of people the Mormon Church becomes the center of their life. It’s more than going to Temple on Saturday or Mass on Sunday for an hour. People’s social circles are centered on their religious experience, particularly in Utah,” Paul Hatch said.
While Romney had a highly active life outside the church, he had also been heavily involved in its operations in Massachusetts, he added.
“Mormons are often who Mormons know — that’s who they’ve worked with, who they’ve built trust with, and the natural result is they’d bring in some of those people as staffers and assistants.”
Well, I won't. ('Cause having Obama has been quite horrendous -- if you're a preborn...quite horrific...and this would continue to be if he wins).
But I will begin to explain why having Romney as President is just as bad as Obama.
(They are political twins)
Careful re: the apologetical approaches being used by Romney supporters. They will tell you...
1. ..."It doesn't matter what Romney does or doesn't embrace."
All that matters to SOME zombie-like "All But Obama" voters (a sheer euphemism for RomneybotISM) is to...
...hype you up on fear-steroids so that THE ONLY THING that matters is who Romney is running against.
They employ, plainly speaking, pragmatic utilitarian political relativism. Pragmatic utilitarianism, simply put, reduces the socio-political to our own pet-agenda bents. Sadly, Spring/Summer of 2012 has shown how Romney "Conservatives" have tended to fall into the same type of utilitarian logic Democrats used in trying to keep President Clinton in office during his impeachment times. Some Democrats then argued that it didn't matter whether Clinton was guilty of sexualizing his employee; all that mattered was not disrupting a "good economy." Per the pragmatic utilitarians, a candidate supposedly isn't to be measured based upon true conservative principles he/she embraces (or doesn't); rather his resume' is 100% irrelevant!
"The ONLY thing that matters," they tell you, "is that Obama is wrecking the economy. (Hence: 'Tis only Romney's main opposing candidate that matters).
The end-game result? This will, of course, strongly replace the GoP with RINOISM. Permanently. To use a racetrack term, this is called "backing the wrong horse." RINOS indeed are the "blue lights" (the name for the 1813 pro-British traitors) of conservatism. They -- and grassroots Americans who have been raised to embrace free-floating relativism and utilitarianism -- are the cultural capitulators of our times!
And they are rapidly gaining new converts every day via Romney's candidacy!
Thus, Romney and Obama are the "G men" twins (Romney is six of one and Obama a half-dozen of another). What once-upon-a-time drew criticism of Romney...for example, his pioneering socialistic healthcare, has now become "acceptable" to these "born-again" Romneyites! The truth is that BOTH Obama and Romney are EACH "G men" (both government men who have pioneered socialistic healthcare).
Likewise, they will tell you...
2. ...that it "doesn't really matter what candidates believe religiously" -- that there somehow (miraculously and prophetically) won't suffer ANY bleedover to ANY other spheres of life...that religion is somehow hermetically sealed and carefully compartmentalized. Sadly, this simply caters to reinforcing one 2012 book published -- that we are indeed a "nation of heretics."
Likewise, they will tell you...
3. ... minus any evidence, mind you, that somehow one heretical religious system (Mormonism) being injected mainstream into our socio-political culture trumps yet another heretical system (Islam) -- all in the name that Obama is somehow a current Muslim (no evidence offered); or that Romney is somehow an economic political savior whom we have to trust implicitly. Never mind that hell stands eternal for all such systems that cater to counterfeit salvation (BOTH MormonISM and Islam).
Finally, they will tend to ignore...
4. ...the potential bleedover of a candidate's vulnerability -- his gullibility -- to deception. They will talk of this character defect -- this sheer lack of discernment -- as if it wasn't part of a presidential "job description!" Yet in areas such as foreign policy, a candidate easily deceived is easily subject to "hook, line, and sinker" foreign policy major fiascos!
Simply put, we must weigh a candidate's level of vulnerability to deception -- for that transcends religious considerations. (And a candidate's level to deception in the most important area of his life, his faith, is an excellent indicator of potential other gullibilities)
We all have blinders to truth. Nobody has a monopoly on it. (But I would say the Bible has the best snapshot of God & humanity and the interaction between the two). Deception exists in the world, and when compared to trustworthy sources of truth (the Bible), deception exists as a continuum. If we agreed that a candidate belongs to the most deceptive cult in the world, then certainly that candidate's vulnerability to deception in the most important area of his life--his faith--serves as an indicator that he/she might be more easily deceived in public policy issues. "Vulnerability to deception" belongs on a character checklist! Even one 2007 poll indicated that 54% of Americans would not vote for an atheist.
A similar principle revolves around this: Other-worldly commitments (faith, whether it's 'True' faith or misdirected faith, IS a character issue!)
There's no way around this realization! To try to extract such other-worldly commitments from character is simply not possible. Time & time again folks try to hermetically seal "faith" & "religion" away from the public square as if folks checked their faith at the door or as if folks were neatly cut-up pie pieces. (Just try telling any voter that he should never weigh "character" into his/her voting-decision considerations).
When the 52,000 mormon missionaries stop going worldwide and knocking on the doors of Christians and claiming their Christian faith is bogus and the only way to salvation is through being baptized and confirmed into the mormon church and taking part in arcane rituals in mormon temples, THEN we will pay attention to what the opinions of you and YOUR "ilk" are.
because I doubt they’d be honest.
pgkdan - I don’t know what your problem is, but I’ll bet it’s hard to pronounce.
Name names - what hate filled posts.
Name names - who are satanists.
Name names - make a valid reasoned point.
Are you honest?
What patriot could stand defending anyone who promotes abortion?
So the question is since you are supporting an abortion promoter are you a patriot or just as complicit?
You and your ilk are an insult and an embarrassment to Christians and conservatives everywhere.
_________________________________________
WOW
Kid you dont speak for me...
GF has never been an embassment to me, a Christian and a Conservative...
But if the Mormon and Liberal Wee Willie Mitty was to buy himself the White House, then you’ll see some embarrasment...on a nation wide scale...
As Americans we will have cause to hang our heads and want to hide...
MORMON
ATTITUDES OF SUPERIORITY
1. I’m Superior; I have a special gift of the holy Ghost -- you don’t!
2. I’m Superior; I have God’s true priesthood power -- you don’t! 3. I’m Superior; I can go in God’s secret Temple -- you can’t! 4. I’m Superior; I’ve been Endowed with special Gifts and Knowledge -- you’re just normal! 5. I’m Superior; I’ll have my family with me in heaven -- you’ll be with strangers! 6. I’m Superior; I’m becoming a God -- you aren’t! 7. I’m Superior; My women know their place as servants of man and yours don’t. 8. I’m Superior; YOUR creeds are wrong because they come from man - mine comes from God (you can find each one printed in our Scriptures). 9. I’m Superior; I don’t HAVE a creed - I’ve got 13 Articles of Faith. 10. I'm Superior; I have 4 "Bibles"-- the standard works (5 if you count the JST) -- you've only got one: in as far as it is translated correctly. 11. I’m Superior; I can lie with impunity about such things as church membership, church growth, church doctrine, church history, church influence, etc. — -- You can’t. 12. I’m Superior; I am right (everybody knows) when I say 'evangelical' Christians are lunatics -- -- You’re a hideous narrow-minded bigot, who is persecuting me by practicing discrimination by saying I'm not a Christian.
13. I'm Superior; I have a testimony about a prophet -- you don't. 14. I'm Superior; I have a Scripture-producing Amos 3:7 prophet -- you don't 15. I’m Superior; I have a Living Prophet who talks to god every day -- you have a dim-witted hireling of Satan who only talks to himself. 16. I'm Superior; I have my calling & election made sure -- you don't. 17. I’m Superior; I have magic underwear to protect me from the bogey man -- you don’t. 18. I’m Superior; I have secret clasps and grips to give the angel so I get admitted to the celestial kingdom -- you don’t ;so you can’t. 19. I'm Superior; I know secret handshake codes for afterlife entrances-- you don't. 20. I’m Superior; I will see Joseph Smith setting on the right hand of GOD, when I get to Mormon heaven, and he will recognize me and judge me favorably -- You’re on your own; when you get to wherever you’re going! 21. I’m Superior; I’m going to hie to Kolob -- you’re going to who knows where. 22. I’m Superior; I get to have a harem and act like a celestial stud for time and all eternity -- you don’t. 23. I’m Superior; I have sun stones, moon stones, sky stones, cloud stones, Saturn stones, and the evil eye of Osirus guarding my temple -- You have nothing but a stupid cross.
24. I’m Superior; My church has billions in assets stashed away -- yours has taken a stupid vow of poverty. 25. I'm Superior; Last - we have the power to keep a whole race out of our priesthood if we wanted to reinsert our 148-year legacy (we ARE still keeping an entire GENDER at bay!) 26. I'm superior; I have the "higher law" -- everyone else "lives under the "lesser law' because I say so...(over and over). Revision 46.5
Semi-Official creed of the EXclusive club of Freeper Flying Inmans.
All rights liable to be abused.
|
You assume that we cannot multitask. Post a Muslim article attacking Christianity. Lets see how things really go...
You speak of us guarding one side of the fortress. So if we turn and focus solely on your side as you seem to be wont for us to do, who then guards the now defenseless side...
Muslims are not the only boogie, they are just the most obvious. The Soul is attacked from many sides...
I’m part of an ilk!
Cool...
Agreed.
I knew nothing about mormonism 5 years ago. After reading the book ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ and a few other books I have educated myself.
Let’s make T shirts.
Of course I wasn’t speaking for you. I was referring to you!
Our next meeting (the 3rd Thursday of every month - 7PM) will be held at Red Lobster.
Our usual place; the Olive Garden, is being remodeled and will be done by next month's meeting.
You arrogant MORMONs haven't changed a BIT!!!
You, pgkdan, are an embarrassment to MORMONism and other cultists everywhere.
--MormonDude(Tommy cries at night over "I am a MORMON!" folks like you.)
I got a good laugh out of that!
It is amusing to know that there are people who think they are superior just based on their religion.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.