Mormons will always vote for their own kind over someone who isn’t part of the tribe, and as a group they greatly prefer someone who is NOT conservative over someone who is.
As a Catholic, I kind-of-sort-of resemble that statement. The same can be said of Jews-—it’s just that with Catholics and Jews there is diversity within the confession that at times can be a more defining trait.
While it was only in the 80’s that the Catholics and Jews collectively reached the three-seat benchmark on the Supreme court in what appeared to be a permanent way, since then, depending on how you count things, they at times have has a 9-0 majority——but the Catholics fall into rather distinctive camps. Jews can as well, but I don’t know if there ever has been a conservative Jewish justice.
Mormons are a bit more tribal than generic Catholics (if one has an Italian Catholic neighborhood one has a double-bond that may tolerate a sort of community justice that Mormons endorse only in theory. But “who am I to judge,” to quote one prominent Catholic of Italian descent).
I don’t see how one can take religion seriously (I would prefer that my politicians did), be capable of intelligently comprehending complex things (another desirable trait in a politician), have a fair idea about diverse important subjects in the world and history (another desirable trait, and one that is necessary if one is to stick to principles in the long run), and be a Mormon. I can only imagine being three of these four things simultaneously, at most.
I see that I said much, but failed to make the most salient points.
All three confessional groups have confessional beliefs—and all tend to be more receptive to immigration than wasps-—with this being especially rooted in the Mormon foundation-myth. THis works conveniently with the Mormon tendency to something resembling the prosperity-gospel.
COnfessional beliefs can easily nuance the generic “conservative” platform, but how this happens varies with the confession.
In my experience, one can count on MOrmons to drift left.
GOrdon Smith was a horrible pick for the Senate in Oregon, and likely helped to finish turning the state from dark purple to solid blue.