 |
|
|
|
 Mitt Romney announcing his presidential candidacy in New Hampshire on Thursday.
June 2nd, 2011
03:04 PM ET
Is America ready for a Mormon president?By Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor (CNN) - Mitt Romney’s campaign team knows that his Mormon faith scared off Republican voters the last time he ran for president. But they believe a lot has changed in the last four years. For starters, Romney is now much better known. The former Massachusetts governor campaigned hard in the 2008 primaries – even addressing his Mormonism head-on in a major speech — and has stayed in the public eye since, popping up on late-night talk shows and on cable news channels. Romney’s Mormonism, the thinking goes, is less exotic than it was four years ago because the candidate is more familiar. Plus, unlike in 2008, there’s a Democrat in the White House for Republican voters to unite against. The Romney camp hopes the Obama factor will boost support for a battle-tested candidate who’s shown he can raise the hundreds of millions of dollars White House bids require, regardless of the candidate’s religious affiliation. And unlike the 2008 Republican primaries, when George W. Bush was in the White House and debate over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan loomed large, next year’s elections are poised to hang on the economy. Not a bad time, maybe, for a guy with a Harvard MBA and a career spent turning around financially troubled companies and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. “The country’s really in a tough situation — the economy’s in a bad place and so people suddenly think that a guy with Mitt Romney’s capacity and experience looks a lot more attractive than he did four years ago,” says Mark DeMoss, a senior adviser to Romney’s campaign, which launched Thursday. “That makes his faith much less of an issue than it was four years ago,” says DeMoss, who is tasked with helping Romney woo evangelical voters, a huge chunk of the GOP base and a constituency that’s historically been wary of Mormonism. Whether DeMoss is right may make the difference in whether Romney, the current Republican frontrunner based on polls and fundraising, can actually win the Republican nomination and, ultimately, the White House. But Romney may not be the only Mormon running for president. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is seriously flirting with a presidential bid. Huntsman, Obama’s former ambassador to China, recently took a five-day swing through New Hampshire, site of the first-in-the-nation Republican primary, and has hired staff in South Carolina, another key primary state. The prospect of a Huntsman campaign means the nation could see an unprecedented test of whether the GOP — and, perhaps, the rest of the country — is ready for a Mormon president in an era when candidates’ religious beliefs have become weighty campaign issues. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the Mormon Church is officially known, certainly seems eager for Mormonism to be less an issue in the presidential race than it was for Romney in 2008 “Recent media coverage seems to lean toward the conclusion that among many Americans, faith will be less of an issue in this election than it was in 2008,” church spokesman Michael Purdy said in a statement to CNN. “But it’s really for others to speculate on this.” Public opinion polls suggest a lingering bias against Mormon candidates. A survey released Thursday by the Pew Research Center found that a quarter of American adults admit to being less likely to vote for a Mormon candidate for president. The survey found that resistance to Mormon candidates was even higher among two groups: liberal Democrats and evangelicals, who overwhelmingly vote Republican. One in three white evangelicals said they were less likely to support a Mormon candidate. That creates a stiff headwind for Romney and Huntsman, given evangelicals’ primary power. In 2008, evangelicals accounted for 60 percent of Republican voters in Iowa, home to the first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses, and in South Carolina, whose primaries come hard on the heels of New Hampshire’s. In 2008, Romney’s Mormonism “was a real factor in Iowa and South Carolina that predisposed many potential voters to never to consider Romney or hear his message,” said Gary Marx, who directed conservative outreach for Romney the last time he ran. That year, Romney placed second in Iowa and fourth in South Carolina behind then-frontrunner Mike Huckabee – a Baptist preacher who won major evangelical support. Though Mormons consider themselves to be Christians, many evangelicals consider the Latter-day Saints to be a cult. Evangelicals object to the Mormon belief that the Book of Mormon is the revealed word of God and to such Mormon practices as proxy baptisms for the dead. Evangelicals and Mormons also compete for converts. Many evangelical leaders have discouraged their followers from translating such differences into opposition to Mormon candidates. But that message isn’t always heeded. “I don’t think it’s much of an issue among the leadership in evangelical circles,” Michael Farris, an influential evangelical activist, says of Mormon candidates. “But I don’t know if that is always true at the grassroots level.” Richard Land, who directs public policy for the Southern Baptist Convention, the country’s largest evangelical denomination, says evangelicals could coalesce around Romney but that the conditions would have to be just right. “If Southern Baptists have a choice between an evangelical candidate, a Catholic and a Mormon and all three appear to be equally conservative and equally likely to beat Barack Obama, they’ll vote for the evangelical,” says Land, who has informally advised Romney on how to deal with his faith on the campaign trail. “If there’s no such evangelical [in the] race, they’ll vote for the Catholic,” he says, “But if there’s no other candidate who’s likely to beat Obama, they’ll vote for the Mormon.” Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, an evangelical, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Catholic, are running for the GOP nomination. Beyond theological challenges, conservative activists like Land and Farris say Romney faces skepticism among religious conservatives because he once supported abortion rights and signed a healthcare law in Massachusetts that critics say represented a dramatic government overreach. But those close to Romney argue that Huckabee’s decision not to enter the 2012 race creates an opportunity for Romney to pick up more evangelical support. Or, they say, it could wind up splitting evangelical voters among multiple primary candidates, making evangelicals a less potent force. DeMoss, a Christian public relations executive who also helped Romney with evangelical outreach in 2008, says one of the victories from the last campaign was that no big-name evangelical came out against Romney over his Mormonism. This time, DeMoss is working to get some evangelical leaders to go a step further and publicly support Romney. After Romney’s 2008 defeat, one nationally known evangelical leader privately told DeMoss that he’d voted for Romney in the primaries. “I remember thinking, it would have been nice if somebody else knew that,” says DeMoss, who believes such revelations would have made more evangelicals comfortable supporting a Mormon candidate. Huntsman’s entry into the presidential race could make Mormonism less of an issue if it has a mainstreaming effect. But the two candidates’ religious affiliations could play out quite differently. Romney has long been active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), having occupied Mormon leadership positions like bishop (the rough equivalent of a lay pastor) and stake president (someone who oversees groups of Mormon congregations). “I believe in my Mormon faith and I endeavor to live by it,” Romney said in a December 2007 speech in which he addressed his Mormonism. “My faith is the faith of my fathers — I will be true to them and to my beliefs.” Huntsman, like Romney, spent two years abroad as a Mormon missionary but has kept some distance from the LDS church. As governor of Utah, he loosened liquor laws that had been inspired by Mormon orthodoxy and broke with his church in signing a law allowing civil unions for gay couples. In a recent television interview, Huntsman affirmed his Mormon faith but added that Mormonism is “a very diverse and heterogeneous cross-section of people. ... I probably add to that diversity somewhat.” A Huntsman adviser who often deals with the media declined to respond to requests for comment. Matthew Bowman, an editor at a Mormon studies journal called Dialogue, says Huntsman hails from a slightly younger generation of Mormons who are less defensive about their Mormonism. “Huntsman is a Mormon who thinks of his faith not as something that separates him from American culture or as something he has to defend or explain away, which is what Romney did,” says Bowman. “Romney is always hyperaware of his Mormonism.” That means Huntsman may face fewer questions about his Mormonism should he run. The LDS church, for its part, says its policy is to steer clear of electoral politics. Some church observers say the controversy the church generated by supporting California’s 2008 gay marriage ban, Proposition 8, exacerbated its political reticence. At the same time, the church has capitalized on increased attention paid to Mormonism - provoked by everything from Romney’s 2008 campaign to the current hit Broadway musical, “Book of Mormon” - with a succession of public awareness campaigns. The church website Mormon.org, for example, was recently revamped with an eye toward educating non-Mormons about the religion. The site features video profiles of Mormons from different walks of life. “The message of these ads is that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are your friends and neighbors,” says Purdy, the church spokesman. “We are professionals and tradespeople, artists and teachers and everything in between.” Put another way, the message is that Mormons are normal, everyday Americans. With the Republican primary race finally starting in earnest, the nation is about get a major glimpse into whether GOP voters agree. soundoff (3,046 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 Next »
Next entry »Bishops bet on basketball finals
« Previous entryMy Take: More places Palin should visit on bus tour
|
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
|
|
|
Do we really need a president that is so brainwashed he believes in magic underwear? someone who believes in the baptism of dead people? Someone that believes he gets his own planet when he dies? not to mention the countless other weird ideas and beliefs the mormons have? I wish that fricken cult would just go away
mormons don't believe in magic. Baptizing of the Dead is out of respect, giving those who never had a chance in this life to receive the same as the living, seeing as just like many other religions, we don't see death as the end. With that (death not being the end), obviously life isn't the true beginning either. So, where'd this world come from? A magic explosion in the sky?
Who cares what they (we) believe happens after this life, let alone what they hope to gain from it? That just means we live with a purpose not just bouncing around hoping the images in our telescope are real. I'd rather a religious person (Mormon at that) be elected than some atheist placing all cards on science. The LDS faith believes Religion and Science, in all its honest detail, no faulty details included, go hand in hand, and when they are out of sync, one of them is off.
But at the end of the day, does it really matter if he's LDS? Honestly ask yourself if you'd let ones FAITH stand in the way of his CREDENTIALS.
I don't see how it is respectful to force your beliefs (baptism) on someone who is dead and has no choice in the matter, if they wanted to be a mormon, they would've joined while they were still alive. It does matter what someone believes because that can influence their thinking and voting. and it shows just how irrational and/or crazy they are. We should bet on science because there is actual evidence and not just the following of FAIRY TALES. like what Bill Maher says in Religulous, what if you were told that Jack in the Beanstalk was religion and the stories from the book of mormon or bible were fairy tales. You would've grown up thinking that all the fairy tales were religion. its all bull
Quoting Bill Maher to religious people is about effective as them quoting the bible to atheists. Either view requires a mind polarized to one side. To them the big bang is preposterous – the ultimate take away is that we have to be respectful of each others beliefs/opinions. No one is going to change anyone's mind in a thread designed by CNN to start a flame war.
You're ignorant. You have my beliefs all wrong and u want 13 million people to go away because u simply disagree with them? Is your white Hood at the dry cleaners? Oh we do do proxy baptisms but if you look in the kjv Bible in 1 Corinth 13 it talks about it too. Its not a Mormon thing its a Christian thing
Mr. Athiest, I hope all of your comments are not as uneducated as this one. Magic underwear? Sounds like you do not know how to read or do honest research.
ECONOMY IS BAD AND WILL STILL THIS WAY FOR SOME YEARS SO OBAMA WILL LOSE TO ANY ONE
Despite the political and even religious diatribe, most of which is innuendo and false accusations from the undereducated against Romney…
It’s still going to be about the economy and who can get the job done!
Romney knows and understands world economics. In the private sector, for most of his life, he successfully and profitably managed large businesses, helped turn around large companies that were sinking and helped other companies get started, saving and creating thousands of jobs, Domino’s Pizza and Staples to name just a few of many.
Funny. Half of MA loves what Romney did, the other half hate him, maybe because he left after completing only one term. Maybe he is not a “career” politician, do you always need a “career” politician to get the job done?
Yes, he worked as the MA governor for his entire term for FREE!!! Who else would have done that!?
As governor, Romney reduced corporate loopholes and cut state spending in order to cut taxes and increase consumer spending. MA had a huge deficit (about 2 Billion dollars) when he started, and he left MA with a surplus and balanced budget at the end of his term (yes, he raised state “fees”, but still kept them below the national average). He can't help it if the government screwed up after he left.
MA’s super majority Democrat controlled legislature wanted desperately some kind of Universal Health care program. Romney worked with them to create one that would work, similar to mandated auto insurance (most states have such mandates). It is estimated that 98% of the residents are now covered. It was within projected budget until Romney left and MA made changes to the program and now it is costing them. Romney believes that states - not the federal government - should be free to design their own plans for covering the uninsured if that is what they want to do.
He compromised on some political issues in order to keep the state government working together and moving forward.
He turned around a struggling 2002 Winter Olympics and made it into one of the most profitable Olympics in history. And only took a $1 dollar salary. Who else would have done that!?
He is against federalization and big government and believes in state’s rights to govern their own affairs.
He lives the example and believes in the importance of family.
He is for a strong military and believes the borders should be better protected.
The list of real positives is far greater than the supposed list of negatives.
And the Democrat Party is most afraid of Romney.
Congress is the problem not the President!! Get rid of some of those lifter politicians and something might get done!!
When pigs fly.
Well, we have a Muslim president now, whats the big deal?
I'd say Obama is more of an agnostic.
wow you are really out of tune with reality!!!
Why not, we have a Muslim president currently.
So what would be the difference between having a "Muslim" in office now and electing a Mormon? They are both organized religions!
No, America is not ready for another moron president! We are still trying to get the stupid out of Presidency!
another mormon president? pray tell who the last one was...
@An Actual Mormon: Go back and read Tony's comment. Here's some topics to consider while you read: "sarcasm" and "play on words".
@An Actual Mormon: Other topics to consider while you read: "stupid jokes" and "people who aren't nearly as funny as they think they are."
No one give a damn about j3wish-owned media, so why they would give a damn about a mormon prez?
I want to agree ...and yet...
You see the guy in the red hat behind Mitt? The one with the LDS name tag? That's the problem. By doctrine and belief, Mitt susbscribes to a testament that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and he must aver to the authority of the LDS leadership, incuding the President of the church who is also considered a prophet. To not aver to the Church is to go against his faith. As a self-avowed believer, can you trust him to do that?
We do not need religion in our politics. Haven't we learned that from GW? It is a distortion and does nothing but divide us internally and with the rest of the world. It sis time for America to grow up and stand on it's own rather than lean on a fairytale to excuse us from taking responsibility for our idiocy.
Since so many hold to their Faith as an important part of their lives, Mookie do you feel you united America or just did like others and divided it?
Did Kennedy do whatever the Pope told him to do? Look, he's going to not support gay rights, but that's about as far as his religion is going to go into his policy making. The mormon faith is overwhelmingly conservative, so i don't know why your freaking out about it.
n Actual Mormon – Kennedy actually publicly asserted the separation of church and state. Romney hasn't done that. As a Mormon, will you reject your Prophet if your politics advise you to? Or will you dance around it like your church did for the Blacks? Your church also shot down the ERA movement (keep those women in the kitchen!) and equal rights for gays in California. Your church has a very obvious record of interfering in politics. Keep it to yourself.
@Mark: Just because religion is important to many Americans doesn't mean it should be brought into the White House. Religion is a very personal, very private concept in general, and should be kept that way. If you really want to unite people, stop looking at them as Christians, or Muslims, or even Mormons and Catholics. Start looking at them as Americans.
"You see the guy in the red hat behind Mitt? The one with the LDS name tag?"
/Google lds missionary tag / image search. Don't think that's an lds name tag.
"Kennedy actually publicly asserted the separation of church and state. Romney hasn't done that." – The great Mookie
/google romney seperation of church and state... Here we are:
"Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. Their authority is theirs, within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin." -Romney
But I'm guessing that's not good enough, right Mookie? Relax..
pwnd.
@ Citizen: a good, logical, well-reasoned conclusion. Thank you.
Got to repear what N said earlier. Truth is always better than made up stories.
N quoteed...
"You see the guy in the red hat behind Mitt? The one with the LDS name tag?"
/Google lds missionary tag / image search. Don't think that's an lds name tag.
"Kennedy actually publicly asserted the separation of church and state. Romney hasn't done that." – The great Mookie
/google romney seperation of church and state... Here we are:
"Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. Their authority is theirs, within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin." -Romney
Thanks, N., Romney's statement is just as good if not better than JFK's
I agree with some of the comments, that the real issue is not his religion. CNN is stupid for even bringing this up. Anyways, Romney shouldn't even bee considered, but he will because of the millions of dollars he will spend. No, instead Ron Paul should be seriously looked at by every concerned citizen. And I mean a serious look at him, not some random youtube video. The man has what it takes, and is the only politician I have seen to be without hypocrisy.
Religion IS the issue. As a voter, I do not want my elected representative making decisions based on an external etheral influence. I do not intend to elect god to be my president. I do not want my president's advisor to be a Quorum of 12 who will hang celestial ascendancy over Mitt's head. The only way around it is for him to repudiate his unequivocal belief and serve for the good of ALL Americans. Is he willing to do that?
Mookie and the same was said about Obama before he came into office. Would he serve the African American community or would he serve everyone. Did you require Obama to declare that he is not black before he was elected?
So mookie...your only going to vote for athiests from now on?
An Actual Mormon –
As a freethinker standing tall and not afraid of the bogeyman or the dark, yes, I will vote for an athiest if he or she is the better candiidate.
Hey Cookie, you must be pretty dense to think that the leaders of the LDS church would try to influence the President of the United States...
And mookie, athiests and agnostics have beliefs too. They have faith. They have hope. It is just in different things, and their beliefs might influence their political decisions as well. I would just hope that in the tough times, there hope and faith in nothing and emptiness will allow them to preside over our country properly.
I really like Paul and his message. Unfortunately his politics require too much critical thinking for the average voter to understand. A well placed "God bless America" sadly wins more votes than debt statistics over the next 20 years. American politics at its best. =\
N, you are the most logical person i have seen on here 🙂 God bless :p
Not faith – REASON and FREETHOUGHT. Faith is a synonym for a closed mind and ignorance.
Mookie
From the looks of it, you are the most closed minded person here. Do you honestly believe that someone who ascribes to a certain faith automatically has less of a capacity to reason and think than an Atheist or Agnostic? I think that you have been around one too many crazed religious fanatics. Wake up! There are many, many religious folks in this country who understand the NECESSITY to use reason separate from their faith (of course, to an extent, but we won't get into the core philosophical debate here) because this nation is founded upon the separation of church and state. You have utterly lost faith (in an entirely non-religious use of the word) in the ability for Americans to act upon this founding principle and instead you are here preaching that everyone is discountable for having a religion in general, when the freedom to choose your own faith is ALSO a founding principle of the United States of America. Why don't you reason a bit MORE before you reply to this.
Although I also am worried about the dilution of the separation between church and state that seems to have been happening with increasingly worrying frequency in US politics, in Romney's defense, was his faith ever a problem in the way he governed Massachusetts? Why wouldn't that be a good indication as to how he would govern the US?
@ Citizen: a good, logical, well-reasoned conclusion. Thank you.
quick vote needs a third option: whatever, it's america
Romney can't possibly be a true Mormon. He's probably afraid of admitting he doesn't believe any of that BS.
The headline question should be: Is America ready for Another RINO?
H*ll no!
Mitt is a flip-flopper and he will be doomed by his Romneycare health insurance program. I'm a conservative and I'm seriously bummed about the upcoming Republican prospects. I may throw my vote away and vote for Ron Paul.
MONC, that shows how wise you are, throwing your vote away is a vote for Obama.
I am a Mormon. I voted for Obama in 2008, and will probably do so again in 2012 unless there is a better candidate. I do, however, think it is sad that some people dismiss Romney simply because he is a Mormon. I think there are a lot of misunderstandings about this religion. For example, my husband would not try to dictate my actions - nor would I allow him to simply tell me what to do. Also, I have always been taught to respect and love all people. I have a brother-in-law born in Brazil, a sister-in-law born in Korea, and another sister-in-law of Polynesian descent. I love this about my extended family. There are Mormons who are kind and those who are unkind, just like any other people. I hope that people make decisions about Romney based on his political views and/or personal attributes, rather than assumptions about Mormonism in general.
I wouldn;t dare argue that you aren't a very amiable, tolerant person, but how, in all honesty, can you believe all the BS your church feeds you about history and creation (among other things)? Couldn't you be just as good a person without believing stuff that Joseph Smith clearly made up?
Here's a hint, Andrea. Non-LDS folks do not want to hear about your church all the time. Your church will torpedo Mitt's chances if your members continue to bomard chat boards with your "I love my church" comments. It's extremely annoying. The Mormon mentality is too often I do this, I don't do that, I pray, I serve, I give, I blah-blah-blah... It doesn't win converts to your church. It just comes across as pushy and condescending.
Pete - YES, I absolutely do believe a person can be "just as good a person" if they are not Mormon. That is actually kind of my point - there are all kinds of people - good, bad, in between, whatever - and religion doesn't necessarily have a whole lot to do with their character.
Pete, how can you expect a decent discussion when you call anothers beliefs BS? Oh, i guess you didn't want a decent discussion, you just wanted to name call. Well wish GRANTED! 🙂 Congratulations on joining the other 95% of people on this article in showing everyone how bigoted they can be.
im mormon and i wont be voting for either romney or huntsman, the media never mentions the fact that harry reid is mormon, which is evidence of mormon diversity in politics, and evidence that their religous beleifs hold less influence on policy making than the media makes it out to be. mormons need to be smart and vote for the most honest man, who is ron paul by the way, instead of giving their vote to the guy who shares the same religion as them and for no other reason. theyre just politicians who will lie and flip flop and make empty promises just to be elected even if they are mormon. but none of this will effect the church in a bad way, the church will only have a boost in missionary efforts from all the media attention. sorry haters.
Can anybody please tell me how it's possible that ANYONE believes the Mormon doctrines and tenets? What a joke...
Who cares.. They could believe in a lava monster from venus for all I care – they're productive pleasant people. If the Mormon culture is the spawn of a huge lie, then so be it, WHO CARES... Let em' have it, don't be that annoying kid running around kindergarten telling all the kids they're dumb for believing in santa.
I like what N said. And p.s.... Pete you need to make your trolling a little less obvious. We all can see right through your hate and bigotry.
Simple brainwashing
The Mormon nonsense is no more crazy than "mainstream" Christian beliefs like virgin birth, talking snakes and dudes rising from the dead.
I'm atheist, but I'm just a little curious about what him being Mormon has to do with anything. Personally, I don't care what religion someone belongs to; I'm more interested in what he plans on doing with the office and where he wants to lead the country.
It's because it's one thing to believe in a religion that's been around for 2000 or more years or it's derivative, but Mormonism is just like Scientology, new and totally fabricated. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are also fabrications, but they have a long history, which gives them more 'cred'. To believe the tenets of Mormonism is to lack self-respect and/or intelligence.
Exactly. I believe in God, but I'm not a religious person – I follow no religion and very much dislike when it's shoved down my throat. All this hype over his religion is so ridiculous. The man was my Governor for four years, I didn't feel the least bit Mormonized nor can I think of a single instance where he made a professional decision based on his religious beliefs. Folks oughta decide to like or dislike him based on his political, economic, etc. views and not his religion, he's already shown me he leaves religion out of his job.
A person who would say anything that Pete just said is lacking in self-respect and/or intelligence.
How is that?
Because Pete! Your points show NO logic! How does length of time give a religion more credibility? More of mans time on earth has been spent in believing that the Earth is flat, so does that give that theory more 'cred'? That is besides the point. You can't argue about the legitimacy of religions when you have no understanding of their scriptures and history.
I'm LDS, but I wasn't raised LDS and I can tell you that the Church of 13 million people is very diverse. That being said, Mitt Romney wouldn't get my vote on a good day. Huntsman would because he's a moderate and was a very good Governor. But, I'm tired of the extreme wings of the party giving me candidates that are either too liberal or too conservative. Just once, I would like to see someone more middle of the road. A rational human being not beholden to right wing evangelicals or left wing psycho environmentalists. Someone who can weigh public interest AND economic growth and find compromises. Mitt Romney will do anything to get elected and that means he'll betray the very principles that made me want to vote for him in 2008. Really, I'm very disappointed in him and so many other of the candidates. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and there will be an upset like Herman Cain or Huntsman. Then the republicans will get my swing vote. Otherwise, I'll stick with the devil I know.
Mitt Romney is a very moderate kind of guy, if you noticed how he worked hard in MA, where despite his personal feelings or opinions he negotiated and sometimes compromised to keep the very strong Democrat government moving forward.
Despite the political and even religious diatribe, most of which is innuendo and false accusations from the undereducated against Romney…
It’s still going to be about the economy and who can get the job done!
Romney knows and understands world economics. In the private sector, for most of his life, he successfully and profitably managed large businesses, helped turn around large companies that were sinking and helped other companies get started, saving and creating thousands of jobs, Domino’s Pizza and Staples to name just a few of many.
Funny. Half of MA loves what Romney did, the other half hate him, maybe because he left after completing only one term. Maybe he is not a “career” politician, do you always need a “career” politician to get the job done?
Yes, he worked as the MA governor for his entire term for FREE!!! Who else would have done that!?
As governor, Romney reduced corporate loopholes and cut state spending in order to cut taxes and increase consumer spending. MA had a huge deficit (about 2 Billion dollars) when he started, and he left MA with a surplus and balanced budget at the end of his term (yes, he raised state “fees”, but still kept them below the national average). He can't help it if the government screwed up after he left.
MA’s super majority Democrat controlled legislature wanted desperately some kind of Universal Health care program. Romney worked with them to create one that would work, similar to mandated auto insurance (most states have such mandates). It is estimated that 98% of the residents are now covered. It was within projected budget until Romney left and MA made changes to the program and now it is costing them. Romney believes that states - not the federal government - should be free to design their own plans for covering the uninsured if that is what they want to do.
He compromised on some political issues in order to keep the state government working together and moving forward.
He turned around a struggling 2002 Winter Olympics and made it into one of the most profitable Olympics in history. And only took a $1 dollar salary. Who else would have done that!?
He is against federalization and big government and believes in state’s rights to govern their own affairs.
He lives the example and believes in the importance of family.
He is for a strong military and believes the borders should be better protected.
The list of real positives is far greater than the supposed list of negatives.
And the Democrat Party is most afraid of Romney.
I fell asleep within 10 minutes of his speech. Can you imagine listening to that for four years.
"Liked"
**Liked**
Mitt Romney has business experience in turning around companies that were tanking. He turned around the 2002 Winter Olympic games from a system bleeding money into a huge success. He is exactly the thing we need right now. Who cares about his religion? Our country is bleeding. We tried the president from academia who never made a dime in business and look where it got us. We're headed to a double-dip recession and stagflation.
I am Mormon and would vote for anyone with this experience no matter what their religion was. All of you haters need to get a life!
Turned around the Olympic games???????? You apparently have a rather twisted view of the Olympics in general if you think that.... And the people care about his religion mostly due to the fact that many many mormon have tried to the convert and/or impose their religion on the rest of the country. As much as you'd like to blame Obama for "our country bleeding" the real blame goes to congress....and everyone knows it...
Rabbi – I'm from Utah and lived there during the Olympic games. They were millions of dollars in debt and doomed to failure until Mitt Romney came on board and turned it into a financial success. Get your facts straight, dude.
His being a Mormon SHOULD be a big deal because the LDS church has a mission to get as many of their own into office in order to change laws and push their religious agenda. I used to be a Mormon and I assure you this is a not so hidden fact within the Church.
>>>"His being a Mormon SHOULD be a big deal because the LDS church has a mission to get as many of their own into office in order to change laws and push their religious agenda."
forex – So if we exclude the Amish, it sounds like the Mormons are doing what pretty much all groups do. Heck, I heard a feminist on a news group declare that we need to get more women into office and more men out of it. Are you going to go around and attack every group.... cause when you get to the klan country and then whatever left of you gets to the Muslim strongholds of Michigan... let me know. Its easy to target ...the softer groups.