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Originally Posted By fkurucz >>I hear a lot of this Romney-style defense here in Utah. It's a very interesting thing to observe. Here are these people that will tell you drinking coffee is a sin, ditto seeing an R rated movie or even saying a mild swear word. And yet, they'll defend lying, dishonesty, shady business deals, and skimping on taxes.<< The only conclusion I can draw from that is that they support him because he's "one of our guys".
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 The only conclusion I can draw from that is that they support him because he's "one of our guys".<< More Republicans are shying away from Romney than you think. What is hurting the President is his base just isn't motivated to vote for him as he has really screwed up our country economically...Without an energized base, he won't win.
Originally Posted By tiggertoo <<The only conclusion I can draw from that is that they support him because he's "one of our guys".>> I won't deny that there is some of that. But consider the church's history of being 'outsiders' or considered 'not-one-of-us-regular-folks', despite the nation's founding on religious freedom. Even today, there is a sense of 'otherness' similar to that of Muslims or Hindus endure. So there is still a sort of 'circle the wagons' feeling amongst members, because they that sense of ostracization that has lingered for so long. It carries into music, sports, and several areas of normal life ("Oh...did you know the Killers frontman is LDS?" "No, that's pretty neat."). It's strange, I admit. But a product of history. It's growing less the case in recent years politically, though. A some very recent leaders in the church were Democrats (I believe James E. Faust, second counselor in the church presidency was), as well as some very well noted and respected church scholars (Hugh Nibley, for one). Not to mention that many of the most visible Mormons of national politics have been Democrats (Reid, the Udalls, etc.).
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Even today, there is a sense of 'otherness' similar to that of Muslims or Hindus endure. So there is still a sort of 'circle the wagons' feeling amongst members, because they that sense of ostracization that has lingered for so long. >>> And, it's not unfounded. Consider the situation with the GOP being heavily influenced by the hard-core Evangelical constituency in the past few years. Even though they publicly distance themselves from the likes of Akin, they nonetheless in the same week put Akin's policy into the national party platform. Not only does that particular policy not reflect the majority of Americans' opinions, it doesn't even reflect the majority of Republicans. Yet, it's in the party platform this year. More to the point, there's a group of people that simply don't believe in the separation of church and state, many of which are prominent GOP elected officials and party leaders. Yet the thing is, the stronger someone believes that religion should be instilled into government, the more they believe it's only their particular religion that should be considered, to the exclusion of all others. For example, consider the overlap of people that don't believe in church/state separation, yet are vehemently against any form of Sharia Law being enacted in the US, even on a local level where it might be the result of the democratic process in some small area. So, if I were Mormon, or anything other than hard-core Evangelical, I would be skeptical of getting in bed with those religious folks that control the GOP these days. To the extent that they smile and shake your hand with one arm, the other arm holds a hammer that is being readied to smash your belief system at the earliest opportunity.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost >>>What is hurting the President is his base just isn't motivated to vote for him as he has really screwed up our country economically<<< That is a phrase I've heard repeated over and over and frankly I don't think anyone knows why, unless one is grasping at straws to find fault. The economy is a mess because of the irresponsible, 1% member policies of the previous years. It took Roosevelt almost 4 terms and a world war to get this country back on track because of previous administrations. There is no magic button to push to make it all better. It's a long process, further hampered by the GOP jackassedness of putting roadblocks up at every intersection. Don't underestimate how many people still support Obama and are intelligent enough to realize why things haven't instantly turned around. And the some of us know why things are the way they are. Political sound bites are useless at changing anything.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer Most people are blaming Congress and Bush for our economic problems, according to recent polls.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>So, if I were Mormon, or anything other than hard-core Evangelical, I would be skeptical of getting in bed with those religious folks that control the GOP these days.<< And yet they do. FWIW, I knew more than a few Protestant Fundies who are very uncomfortable with the rise of the LDS within the GOP.
