Are Mormons the new conscience of the GOP?

[Joel]

Are Mormons the new conscience of the GOP?

“Unfit.” That’s what Mitt Romney said late last week about Roy Moore, the controversial former state judge who’s on the ballot as the GOP Senate nominee for Alabama’s special election on Dec. 12. Moore is under fire for allegations that he had sexual and romantic contact with girls as young as 14.

Romney said Moore should step aside, and that he believed the accusers. It wasn’t until Monday (Nov. 13) that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell followed suit without hedging his criticism by saying that Moore should drop out of the race “if” the accusations are true. On Monday, McConnell took a page from Romney’s playbook, saying he believed the women, and that Moore should leave the race, full stop.

But Romney said it first. And as I wrote in October, he’s not the only Mormon Republican leader to publicly criticize members of his own party in these unusual times. U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., denounced President Trump’s administration from the Senate floor, saying he could not be complicit in Trump’s irresponsible and vengeful behavior.

And that’s not all.

Orrin Hatch, the Senate’s longest-serving member, sharply criticized Trump’s handling of Charlottesville: “We should call evil by its name,” he tweeted. “My brother didn’t give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home.”



Hatch did support Trump’s candidacy in 2016 — but plenty of high-profile Mormons did not. Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah; Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho; Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah; and others either withdrew their endorsements after Trump’s “grab ’em by the pussy” comments became public or never supported him in the first place.

So … are Mormons becoming the new moral conscience of the GOP? Only halfway. Here’s why.

Do you notice a pattern among most of the LDS GOP politicians who have spoken out against Moore, Trump and other unconscionable members of their party? Many of them are either out of power already (Romney), choosing to relinquish power because re-election would be a challenge (Flake, Chaffetz) or planning to retire (Hatch). The ones who are still in power, like Mia Love – the only black female Republican in all of Congress – have been oddly quiet about Moore and other recent scandals.

Why do Mormon Republicans seem most apt to speak their minds when it’s concerning a question of sexual ethics? Moore has done some outrageous things in his career, like refusing to follow the law to such an extent that he lost his seat on the Alabama Supreme Court not once but twice. And the news is filled on a near-daily basis with ethical violations of Trump’s administration, including the ongoing and ever-expanding investigation into possible collusion with Russia.

Just last week, several Mormon GOP leaders voted in favor of giving a federal judicial seat to an untested 36-year-old (former ghost hunter ) who has never even tried a case. (However, as a blogger, this nominee openly denounced Hillary “Rotten” Clinton and background checks for prospective gun owners, which may be more than enough to qualify him in the mind of Trump.)

Where was the Mormon conscience then?

I don’t expect LDS Republicans to suddenly abandon conservative values and start voting for health care or against tax cuts. They have to vote their principles and represent their constituents.

I do, however, expect them to call out injustice when they see it, even if that injustice is being perpetrated by members of their own political party. And apart from these high-profile reproofs primarily about sex — an issue that Mormons still care about in their politicians, even if evangelicals have rapidly abandoned the idea that politicians’ personal immorality will spill over into unethical behavior in public life — Mormon GOP leaders have kept pretty mum.

Where we can see profound moral leadership right now is less in the cadre of (mostly male) LDS politicians but in the vibrant new group Mormon Women for Ethical Government, a bipartisan organization founded in the wake of Trump’s election. Whether it’s mass shootings or immigration or sexual violence, these women have no shortage of reflections on putting Mormon faith into action.

And in an era when Republicans and Democrats can’t seem to countenance one another, it’s heartening to see on the MWEG Facebook page that it is still possible, in 2017, for passionate members of diverse political persuasions to come together on causes that matter.

I wouldn't want any one particular religion represent the conscience for any political party.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4FPVZH8fIg

[Z2100]

Are Mormons the new conscience of the GOP?

“Unfit.” That’s what Mitt Romney said late last week about Roy Moore, the controversial former state judge who’s on the ballot as the GOP Senate nominee for Alabama’s special election on Dec. 12. Moore is under fire for allegations that he had sexual and romantic contact with girls as young as 14.

Romney said Moore should step aside, and that he believed the accusers. It wasn’t until Monday (Nov. 13) that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell followed suit without hedging his criticism by saying that Moore should drop out of the race “if” the accusations are true. On Monday, McConnell took a page from Romney’s playbook, saying he believed the women, and that Moore should leave the race, full stop.

But Romney said it first. And as I wrote in October, he’s not the only Mormon Republican leader to publicly criticize members of his own party in these unusual times. U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., denounced President Trump’s administration from the Senate floor, saying he could not be complicit in Trump’s irresponsible and vengeful behavior.

And that’s not all.

Orrin Hatch, the Senate’s longest-serving member, sharply criticized Trump’s handling of Charlottesville: “We should call evil by its name,” he tweeted. “My brother didn’t give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home.”



Hatch did support Trump’s candidacy in 2016 — but plenty of high-profile Mormons did not. Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah; Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho; Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah; and others either withdrew their endorsements after Trump’s “grab ’em by the pussy” comments became public or never supported him in the first place.

So … are Mormons becoming the new moral conscience of the GOP? Only halfway. Here’s why.

Do you notice a pattern among most of the LDS GOP politicians who have spoken out against Moore, Trump and other unconscionable members of their party? Many of them are either out of power already (Romney), choosing to relinquish power because re-election would be a challenge (Flake, Chaffetz) or planning to retire (Hatch). The ones who are still in power, like Mia Love – the only black female Republican in all of Congress – have been oddly quiet about Moore and other recent scandals.

Why do Mormon Republicans seem most apt to speak their minds when it’s concerning a question of sexual ethics? Moore has done some outrageous things in his career, like refusing to follow the law to such an extent that he lost his seat on the Alabama Supreme Court not once but twice. And the news is filled on a near-daily basis with ethical violations of Trump’s administration, including the ongoing and ever-expanding investigation into possible collusion with Russia.

Just last week, several Mormon GOP leaders voted in favor of giving a federal judicial seat to an untested 36-year-old (former ghost hunter ) who has never even tried a case. (However, as a blogger, this nominee openly denounced Hillary “Rotten” Clinton and background checks for prospective gun owners, which may be more than enough to qualify him in the mind of Trump.)

Where was the Mormon conscience then?

I don’t expect LDS Republicans to suddenly abandon conservative values and start voting for health care or against tax cuts. They have to vote their principles and represent their constituents.

I do, however, expect them to call out injustice when they see it, even if that injustice is being perpetrated by members of their own political party. And apart from these high-profile reproofs primarily about sex — an issue that Mormons still care about in their politicians, even if evangelicals have rapidly abandoned the idea that politicians’ personal immorality will spill over into unethical behavior in public life — Mormon GOP leaders have kept pretty mum.

Where we can see profound moral leadership right now is less in the cadre of (mostly male) LDS politicians but in the vibrant new group Mormon Women for Ethical Government, a bipartisan organization founded in the wake of Trump’s election. Whether it’s mass shootings or immigration or sexual violence, these women have no shortage of reflections on putting Mormon faith into action.

And in an era when Republicans and Democrats can’t seem to countenance one another, it’s heartening to see on the MWEG Facebook page that it is still possible, in 2017, for passionate members of diverse political persuasions to come together on causes that matter.

I wouldn't want any one particular religion represent the conscience for any political party.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4FPVZH8fIg

I was reading in a book that the LDS church could soon take over a lot of the government. it said something like, when another great war will happen, the president will turn to the church for advice or something like that. This actually already occured during WW2 when the current president of the church spoke with the current president of the country (I can't remember the link from Facebook), but could most likely happen again.

[Fiannan]

Mormon politicians certainly have a conscience...well...maybe not.

[Fiannan]

Remember, before taking any article about so-called Mormon political organizations seriously one needs to examine what their agendas are.

[David13]

In any good measure of conscience, Romney fails miserably.
Hatch also is nothing but a hack politician. He has shown me no conscience, other than to support Trump.
Reid, what a total phony low life. He would sell his own mother out to the highest bidder.
dc

[larsenb]

If Romney thinks he and such as McMullin, Mike Lee and the Deseret News Editorial staff, etc., etc., are the new conscience of the GOP, he and those are delusional.

Maybe Romney thinks his nasty, nasty public personal attack on Donald Trump, based largely on unfounded accusations gleaned from the anti-Trump MSM echo chamber, was exercising his conscience. Last I heard, LDS are supposed to avoid such displays.

[lundbaek]

Again, I remind readers of Mitt Romney's stumping for John McCain. I also remind readers of Romney's well demonstrated disdain for certain principles of the U.S. Constitution, which Mormons (Oops, sorry Robin Hood; at least American Mormons) are susposed to understand, uphold, and abide by.

[Benjamin_LK]

If Romney thinks he and such as McMullin, Mike Lee and the Deseret News Editorial staff, etc., etc., are the new conscience of the GOP, he and those are delusional.

Maybe Romney thinks his nasty, nasty public personal attack on Donald Trump, based largely on unfounded accusations gleaned from the anti-Trump MSM echo chamber, was exercising his conscience. Last I heard, LDS are supposed to avoid such displays.

There's nothing wrong with speaking one's conscience. Romney doesn't speak for me though. The only real thing is that the church as an organization isn't supposed to be stumping for specifiction candidates. Individual members can, but they do not speak for the church as a whole.

[larsenb]

If Romney thinks he and such as McMullin, Mike Lee and the Deseret News Editorial staff, etc., etc., are the new conscience of the GOP, he and those are delusional.

Maybe Romney thinks his nasty, nasty public personal attack on Donald Trump, based largely on unfounded accusations gleaned from the anti-Trump MSM echo chamber, was exercising his conscience. Last I heard, LDS are supposed to avoid such displays.

There's nothing wrong with speaking one's conscience. Romney doesn't speak for me though. The only real thing is that the church as an organization isn't supposed to be stumping for specifiction candidates. Individual members can, but they do not speak for the church as a whole.

I'm just doing a search on a particular post on the LaVoy FInicum murder and ran across this reply to one of my earlier posts.

If speaking one's conscience involves a nasty and very personal attack on someone, yes there is something wrong with that. Nothing I've seen from our scriptures or leaders advocates that . . . quite the opposite. If Mitt had confined his attack to what he thought were specific acts Trump had committed or his policies, that would have been much better.

This is especially true if you base your very personal attack on false or highly misconstrued information and hearsay. And for Mitt, this was especially bad when he had actually praised Trump during Mitt's own run for the Presidency after Trump came out in public support of him during the 2012 election.

I think this speech Mitt made did him significant political damage, and I hope it will add to the perception that we don't need carpet bagging Mitt to be the next Senator from Utah.

[gradles21]

If Romney thinks he and such as McMullin, Mike Lee and the Deseret News Editorial staff, etc., etc., are the new conscience of the GOP, he and those are delusional.

Romney and McMuffin don't even belong in the same sentence as Mike Lee. Lee isn't perfect but he's at least a real constitutional conservative. We don't need lds politicians to be the GOP's conscience, we need any and all politicians to return to the constitution, which Lee does a pretty good job of IMHO.

[ebenezerarise]

Why any Mormon would attach himself to any political party is beyond me. Talk about selling your soul.

[larsenb]

Why any Mormon would attach himself to any political party is beyond me. Talk about selling your soul.

Many people have done so, including myself (County and State Delegate, etc., to Republican Party) in earlier years, because I basically like the Utah State and National Republican Party platforms.

It was an education . . . and I did cast votes for people and situations that were Conservative/Constitutional. None of the candidates or significant propositions I voted for won, however . . . . as I recall.

[Fiannan]

Jeff Flake, Mitt Romney, Evan McMullin...they all deserve each other but I am not sure the American public has lost so much of their own conscience to deserve them.

[larsenb]

If Romney thinks he and such as McMullin, Mike Lee and the Deseret News Editorial staff, etc., etc., are the new conscience of the GOP, he and those are delusional.

Romney and McMuffin don't even belong in the same sentence as Mike Lee. Lee isn't perfect but he's at least a real constitutional conservative. We don't need lds politicians to be the GOP's conscience, we need any and all politicians to return to the constitution, which Lee does a pretty good job of IMHO.

I tend to agree, but Lee didn't need to join the Utah cacophony in denouncing Judge Moore, nor did he distinguish himself in the anti-Trump movement on the nominating convention floor, in my view.

[Silver]

Trusting in the Republican Party is to trust the scoundrels, liars and thieves who brought us:
+ 9/11
+ The Patriot Act
+ More war and more money spent on war

I sure hope we get tired of winning soon, we're winning so much lately, don't you know?

[Juliet]

There are many Mormons who are also Satanists. They laugh at us for being so naive. Being a Mormon doesn't make you a good person. That is why the very first section of the Doctrine and Covenants is about making the secret acts known from the rooftops and that the rebellious will be pierced with much sorrow. For now, these infiltrators are taking candy from a baby.

Any act of immorality the press denies is true, and any act of immorality the press promotes is a punishment to the slave who stepped out of line and disobeyed their evil masters and now are being punished by a lack of a job.

Until George Soros gets his hands out of the press you can be sure of one thing: it is lying to you in order to keep power.

[Arenera]

Trusting in the Republican Party is to trust the scoundrels, liars and thieves who brought us:
+ 9/11
+ The Patriot Act
+ More war and more money spent on war

I sure hope we get tired of winning soon, we're winning so much lately, don't you know?

So you prefer Democrats?

[Fiannan]

So you prefer Democrats?

Aside from having a fixation on Mitt Romney could you please list maybe five Republican political figures alive today you admire as well?

[Fiannan]

If Romney thinks he and such as McMullin, Mike Lee and the Deseret News Editorial staff, etc., etc., are the new conscience of the GOP, he and those are delusional.

Romney and McMuffin don't even belong in the same sentence as Mike Lee. Lee isn't perfect but he's at least a real constitutional conservative. We don't need lds politicians to be the GOP's conscience, we need any and all politicians to return to the constitution, which Lee does a pretty good job of IMHO.

I tend to agree, but Lee didn't need to join the Utah cacophony in denouncing Judge Moore, nor did he distinguish himself in the anti-Trump movement on the nominating convention floor, in my view.

It was a close election that Moore lost. Maybe this could have been responsible for putting a super-liberal Democrat in as senator from Alabama?

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government ... -look-bad/

Failed Independent candidate Evan McMullin and his anti-Trump super PAC announced plans to spend $500,000 for ads against Republican Senate Candidate Roy Moore.