Romney

[creekster]

I always envisioined Mitt having a lot more body hair. Guess you can't judge a book by it's cover.

DId you just say you had been fantasizing about Mitt's body hair? Ewwww.

[Indy Coug]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/15/opinio...tml?hpt=hp_bn6

[jay santos]

"most conservative candidate" seems like it's becoming the code word for closest religiously to a Baptist preacher.

[DrumNFeather]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/15/opinio...tml?hpt=hp_bn6

The comments section on these are always priceless:

My Mormon neighbors were so upset by this article that they sacrificed another animal last night.

[LA Ute]

For those who want a primer on Romneycare, a subject far too subtle and nuanced for the sound-bite era:

[YOUTUBE]mKzJtG3ecnc&feature=youtu.be[/YOUTUBE]

[Moliere]

For those who want a primer on Romneycare, a subject far too subtle and nuanced for the sound-bite era:

[YOUTUBE]mKzJtG3ecnc&feature=youtu.be[/YOUTUBE]

He seems even more robotic than I remember

[All-American]

Just met the guy. Awfully tan.

[Art Vandelay]

A ward member's fb status, "Let's discuss Mitt Romney today. Please no negative comments". Who say Mos don't like an open discourse?

[LA Ute]

A ward member's fb status, "Let's discuss Mitt Romney today. Please no negative comments". Who say Mos don't like an open discourse?

I think he wants to avoid contention, which repels the Spirit. And who would want a political discussion without the Spirit present?

[Pelado]

At a town hall event in Illinois:

“I am not in this race to make money,” he said to rising cheers from the audience. “I’ve already made enough… I’m not embarrassed about being successful, but I’m embarrassed for people who think there’s something wrong with that.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...3RJS_blog.html

[Viking]

This election really is about hijacking the republican party, nothing more.

you have a sore, disgraced loser in Newt who refuses to relent and wants to hold onto his delegates so as to block romney

then you have jesus's candidate, the scariest man to contend for president in modern history, rick santorum. he had zero shot until a bunch of bible thumping bigots got together and blessed him as their official "not romney/mormon" candidate.

so, we'll head to the convention with a candidate decided by the floor. likely to be romney, but also possibly the moment when the republican party jumps the shark and ceases to exist as we've known it.

the reality is that there are really only conservatives and moderates in this country, with a small cohort of very liberal folks. In my "Great Republican Schism" scenario that could play out in June, the majority of the republican party will migrate to become democrats by the next round of pres elections and we'll be left with the Tea Party and the Moderates. John Huntsman will run as a Moderate (democrat) and beat down the Tea Party candidate.

[Northwestcoug]

I just received this e-mail from my Mom, titled "A Heartwarming Story About Mitt Romney". Needless to say, she's a huge Romney fan.


A few years back, a hive of hornets decided to make its nest on top of
a second-story swamp cooler outside my cousin’s Boston-area home. My
cousin made an ill-fated attempt to remove the hornets, which resulted
in a two-story fall and a broken arm.
“This looks like a job for your home teacher,” said my cousin’s home teacher.
The home teacher brought over his own ladder and clothed himself in
homemade beekeeping gear. He then made his way to the hornet’s nest
and gathered the whole thing up in a garbage bag, avoiding any stings
or the more severe injuries that had beset my cousin. He did this with
no public fanfare, no accolades, and no thought of collecting payment
for his efforts.
And who was this noble home teacher? A man by the name of Mitt Romney.
Now, unless you’re familiar with Mormon lingo, you probably got lost
when I introduced the phrase “home teacher,” or you may have conjured
up images of some kind of private educational tutor who was taking
care of my cousin’s kids. That would have left you wondering why a
tutor thought it was their responsibility to wrangle hornets.
But if you’re a Mormon, the phrase made perfect sense, as did the rest
of the story. You would know that every month, every member of a
Mormon congregation receives a visit from two “home teachers,” who
share an inspirational message but, more importantly, are charged with
the responsibility of looking out for the family’s welfare. So if a
family is struggling, the home teachers are the spiritual “first
responders,” and a good home teacher jumps at any opportunity to be of
service.
Among other things, Mitt Romney is a good home teacher.
People who look to Mitt’s faith for clues about how he’d govern as
president usually miss the target by a wide margin. They rip the more
obscure elements of Mormon doctrine out of their theological and
historical contexts – polygamy or underwear or planetary real estate –
and think they’ve discovered or explained something. They haven’t. The
world at large, as it focuses on unusual theoretical elements of
Mormon doctrine, all but ignores the eminently practical aspects of
Mormonism as it is manifest in each Mormon’s daily life.
Consider the fact that “home teachers” receive no compensation for
what they do. In fact, neither does anyone else in a Mormon
congregation. The whole enterprise is supervised by a lay clergy that
will often work over forty hours a week in their unpaid positions in
addition to their “real” jobs – you know, the ones that actually earn
them money. Mitt Romney has spent his entire adult life in these kinds
of high-responsibility, time-intensive positions. He has been both a
bishop – a leader of a “ward” that consists of a congregation of about
500 people – and a stake president, who oversees a “stake” which
consist of about six or so wards, giving him ecclesiastical
responsibility for thousands of people.
So what does this mean? What, precisely, does a bishop or a stake
president do that eats up so much of their time?
Go to a Mormon meeting on any given Sunday, and you’ll see three dudes
sitting up by the pulpit. The guy in the middle is the bishop, and
he’s already spent most of the day in meetings where he reviewed the
ward’s staffing needs and organizing relief efforts for families who
may be struggling with health, financial, or spiritual issues. He’s
also been meeting one-on-one with members of the church who look to
him for counsel and support for personal problems that would turn your
hair white. Usually, he’s been doing all this since before the sun
came up, so don’t be surprised if he nods off while the meeting
progresses.
Please keep in mind, too, that there are no elections for bishops and
stake presidents, nor are there reelections. Each leader is “called”
to serve, and they accept the responsibility dutifully, no questions
asked. They then serve for a period of time, usually between five and
ten years, after which they are “released,” meaning they rejoin their
congregations as lay members and have no more responsibility than
anyone else.
The call to serve can come to any priesthood holder in good standing,
but it usually comes to a certain personality type. Remember, bishops
and stake presidents are confronted with massive organizational
challenges accompanied by the most intimate, personal, spiritual
struggles imaginable. So they must lead without being authoritarian;
they must judge without being judgmental, and they must minister
without offending. That means the people who get this assignment are
often more even-tempered that exciting, more reassuring than
revolutionary, and more competent than colorful.
Sound like any particular presidential candidate you might know?
Those who remain baffled by Romney’s cool public persona have not
spent a whole lot of time with an LDS stake president, a role for
which Romney provides the quintessential example. If one truly
understands his background, one shouldn’t expect a President Romney to
dazzle the masses with rhetorical virtuosity.
One should instead expect him to practically and quietly remove the
hornet’s nest from the nation’s second-story swamp cooler.

Successful Businessman? Check. Executive government experience? Check. Steely good looks? Check. Faithful home teacher? Checkmate.

[DU Ute]

That's a little over the top, but I think it makes a good point. Aside from maybe Ron Paul, Romney probably has a better grasp of the problems "real Americans" face than any other candidate.

[Omaha 680]

This election really is about hijacking the republican party, nothing more.

you have a sore, disgraced loser in Newt who refuses to relent and wants to hold onto his delegates so as to block romney

then you have jesus's candidate, the scariest man to contend for president in modern history, rick santorum. he had zero shot until a bunch of bible thumping bigots got together and blessed him as their official "not romney/mormon" candidate.

so, we'll head to the convention with a candidate decided by the floor. likely to be romney, but also possibly the moment when the republican party jumps the shark and ceases to exist as we've known it.

the reality is that there are really only conservatives and moderates in this country, with a small cohort of very liberal folks. In my "Great Republican Schism" scenario that could play out in June, the majority of the republican party will migrate to become democrats by the next round of pres elections and we'll be left with the Tea Party and the Moderates. John Huntsman will run as a Moderate (democrat) and beat down the Tea Party candidate.

Your analysis of the future of the republican party is similar to your analysis of the future of BYU sports. In both cases you have valid concerns but are overreacting.

[Uncle Ted]

The Atlantic: Are Mormons Keeping Mitt Romney Afloat?

This is not to suggest a stitch up, but rather to note the surprising demographic strength of the LDS Church. Worldwide, its membership rocketed from 4 million in 1978 to 11 million members in 2000. In America, it has increased by about 30 percent since 1990. There is evidence that domestic growth has flat-lined, but heavy concentration in certain states has given it increased political clout.

Consider the importance of states with sizable Mormon populations to this year's primaries. Shortly after he won the Florida primary, Romney faced his first Western challenge in Nevada. Although he was always going to do well in The Silver State, a strong victory was necessary to prove that Florida wasn't a one off and he had momentum to carry him to victory in Michigan at the end of the month. Romney won Nevada with 50 percent. Importantly, turnout was a dismal 32,894 -- well below the total Mormon population of the state, at 174,662. According to CNN exit polls, a quarter of all participants were LDS members and 88 percent of them voted for Mitt. Nationwide, only 2 percent of Americans are Mormon.

One month later, there was Arizona. Arizona wasn't as important as Romney's home state of Michigan, which voted on the same day, but for a while Santorum was close to Romney in polls and it was vital that Mitt win the Arizona primary. He did so easily, by 47 percent. Turnout was 505,635. The local Mormon population is 381,235 and, according to CNN, 14 percent of voters were LDS members. Three days later came Washington state, which was, again, important for establishing Romney's credibility after a series of defeats by Santorum. Romney won with 38 percent on an appalling 1.4 percent turnout. The turnout equaled 50,764 Republicans -- in a state with a local Mormon population of 263,004. Romney has also won Idaho and Wyoming, both of which have high densities of LDS members (Idaho is the second most Mormon state in America, after Utah). It is surely significant that Mitt has yet to be truly tested in a Western state that doesn't have a significant population of Mormons. The only such challenge he has faced so far was in Colorado, which he lost 40 to 35 percent. Ergo, even if Mormons aren't directly responsible for Romney's Western victories, they have been critical to their scale and maintaining his campaign's momentum.

Much has been written about the role that Mormons have played in the 2012 race, but most of it has operated on a conceptual level. What might voters think of Romney's faith? How will Romney's beliefs influence his decision making? What has been less well studied is the precise impact of Mormon votes and communities on the primary outcome. Given their obvious significance in early Western votes and the way that they have helped add to Romney's delegate count in the Pacific islands, it's clear the extended Mormon family has delivered for Romney and proven itself to be a vital part of the Republican electoral process. If and when Romney sews up the nomination, their Haka may well be heard at the convention.