Meet my wife, and my other wife, and her too
We found this article from the Salt Lake Tribune with some facts that were new to us at the cooler. We understand that the "mormon" thing should not be an issue in a perfect world, but it is- and this kind of writing is NOT going to help Mitt. (And in the SL Trib of all places, strange).Romney, of course, didn't mention that about the time The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints renounced polygamy in 1890, his great-grandfather was among those Mormons who fled to Mexico to start their own community where plural marriage continued to be practiced...
Romney is a confirmed monogamist of nearly four decades and polygamy has been absent from his family going back two generations. But, like many Mormons whose pioneer ancestors trekked the Midwest to settle in Utah, Romney's family tree is rife with polygamists on the paternal side. Two great-great grandfathers, for example, had more than 10 wives each.
Criticizing Mitt for his ancestors "sins" would almost never work, but in this case... we at the Cooler are not so sure. Mexico? 10 wives? That's some serious stuff.
posted by Caucus Cooler at 8/22/2006
34 Comments:
Maybe Mitt could do a cameo on HBO's hit orginal series "Big Love." Could you imagine Roman Grant & the Juniper Creek crowd with Mitt Romney in their midst talking about the family tree?
I'm not sure how much the Morman thing hurts, but I certainly don't think it helps.
Has a Morman ever been elected President or even a party's nominee?
As much as the Romney campaign denies it, his religion WILL be an issue in Iowa. Maybe not elsewhere, but it will be here.
"I believe marriage should be between a man and a woman and a woman and a woman."
Mitt Romney is not funny and is not ever getting my vote.
No a morman has never been the nominee. Both George Romney and Orrin Hatch explored Presidential bids unsuccessfully though.
The ancestors marital status shouldn't matter, but it certainly shines a light on something that's going to be an issue for Romney.
Romney's "religion" is already a problem for him and 90% of Americans don't even know what Mormons actually believe and what they actually do at Temple yet.
Sorry if it hurts your feelings, Murphy, but America is not ready for a cultist President yet. Or maybe you just have not bothered to investigate Mormonism yourself yet?
Anon 12:56
Your statement throwing around the word "cult" truly disappoints. I am no Romney fan, but really, "cult." I hardly think my LDS neighbors are cultists. Poking fun is one thing, making truly divisive and uninformed accusations (with a twinge of bigotry) is another. Maybe it is you who should investigate LDS.
Plenty of Masons have been President. If Mormonism is a cult then so is Masonry. Being a cult member didn't hurt George Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Truman or the dozens of others. The "cult" term is mainly a term used by "mainstream" religious to classify and demean different religions.
People thinking that Romney's Mormonism would negatively impact on his ability as a president should read this link where a Evangelical thinker debunks most of those arguements. A well thought-out and argued piece.
P.S. Most mormons have polygamous roots. My great-great grandfather and his father were a polygamists. If McCain's great-grandfather was a horse theif would this make you think differently of McCain? It all seems silly to me and should be an non-issue.
The similarities you insinuate between Masons and Mormans should go no further than the fact that both start with the same letter.
I am a Mason and I've known many Mormans and I am dissapointed in you Jeff.
Key word in your sentence is "should" Jeff. We think it "should" be a non-issue to, but polygamy certainly brings out a lot of feelings in people that will affect the way they boat. Stories like this definately do not help Mitt.
err. typing too fast.
"to" should be "too" and
"boat" should be "vote"
Belonging to a religious sect who can claim to be the only religion forced out the borders of the US at gunpoint and sent into the wilderness to seek religious refuge is an interesting experience.
Back then my ancestors were shot for being Mormon, now I'm just called a member of a cult -- comparatively I can live with that falsehood! I remember bing in HS and being told that Missouri should have exterminated us all in the first place. So I'm not suprised at all this drama drama.
I, like Jeff, have polygamous ancestors. The sheer outnumbering of women and children to men among Mormons fleeing West almost necessitated polygamy. The society would likely have quickly died off in the wilderness without it. Women could not work or vote or own land, etc. It is so much of a non-issue today in today's society.
p.s. In Salt Lake, for your pro-Mormon slanted news, read the Deseret News. For your anti-Mormon slanted news, read the SL Tribune.
We really live in a strange country where a candidate's devotion and religious commitment is viewed as a bigger stumbling block than immorality or dishonesty would be. It seems that we want a candidate who 'believes' but is not devoted.
Fact check:
Mitt Romney has had only one wife.
John McCain has had two.
Oh, and Rudy has had multiple wives, too, as long as we're counting.
BOO-YAH!
Kristine did you just condone polygamy? It's views like that that will sink Romney's campaign. I agree with the Cooler. It shouldn't be an issue, but it is. Think what you want, but it's an issue. Especially in Iowa.
Fact check:
Mitt Romney is pro-choice
John McCain is pro-life
murphy is too quick for the monkey. monkey will have to sharpen up.
From the Boston Globe:
"We honestly don't know where he stands on this issue," said Marie Sturgis, executive director and legislative director for Massachusetts Citizens for Life.
When he ran for US Senate in liberal-leaning Massachusetts in 1994, Romney said abortion should be "safe and legal." As a candidate for governor in 2002, he said he would keep the state's abortion rights laws intact and has since said that he kept that promise.
I can't believe the robots are on the abortion thing again.
Mitt Romney is pro-life. Period.
When he ran in 2002, he said he wouldn't change the laws of Massachusetts, but then he opposed the lowering of the age of consent, took a pro-life position on stem-cell, became a national leader on defending marriage.
Get over it. You can't win by name-calling. You can dig out articles from 1994 and 1894 all you want, but it doesn't change anything. I can do the same thing against any other Republican running.
Let's debate what they are for. Nobody is better on the budget than Mitt Romney. Nobody is better on marriage than Mitt Romney. Nobody has better private sector experience than Mitt Romney. And among the Governors (which is, by the way, from whence we elect our Presidents, not the Senate), Mitt Romney stands out as a remarkable leader who gets things done even under the most difficult political circumstances.
Anon 3:06-Did I condone polygamy? Um, no. Just ask my man how fast I would be out the door with another lady-friend around.
When you are a descendant from such roots, you gotta try to understand where they came from.
Kristine, thanks for the insight on the Utah papers. We have done a little reading on the websites and chatting with the papers and are going to do a little update on it later.
CC
Burton- Who are you to call someone a "robot"? Who pays your paycheck? I think a disclosure on your comments is in order.
David Rider, oh wait, I mean Burton Kotchel, oh wait, I mean Burton Rider:
If Romney is so conservative, how did he get elected Gov in MA? I'm betting he had to pull the wool over many people's eyes then and I'm betting he is going to try to pull the wool over the nation's eyes to become President.
How are we supposed to trust Romney, and more importantly how are we supposed to trust you? - Maybe you should disclose your employment.
Many of our ancestors owned slaves. We should get on those restitution payments immediately!
anon 4:16. It's a blog, get a life. I call 'em like I see 'em, as would you. And I sign my own paycheck as the co-owner of a six-person marketing and public affairs company.
anon 4:31. It's spelled Kochel. And again, I sign my own paycheck thanks to good and loyal clients. And no, it's really not important to me that you trust me, I honestly don't care. I just get a little tired of the slam-fest. Governor Romney can speak for himself on these things, certainly much better than I.
Oh, and by the way, in full disclosure, I receive no consulting fee from Governor Romney nor from his PAC, unlike many of my counterparts in other campaigns. He was a client in 2002 in Massachusetts during his campaign for Governor, and I help now because I want to.
Any more questions?
P.S. WAR Murphy
No additional questions, just my initial question:
If Romney is so conservative, how did he get elected Gov in MA?
BR-
So are you saying that your company does not show up on any of Romney's PAC disclosure reports?
War BR- We always like your insight in the Cooler. At least somebody is an adult in the blogosphere.
Yawn...non-issue....
The holy underwear is weirder to me than the multiple wives.
I show up on a disclosures for printing brochures, letterhead, etc., which is (a small) part of what we do. However, as I said before, I recieve no fee from the PAC. If I did I'd have no problem saying it. I was proud to work for the Gov in Mass and I'm proud to help him now.
As for how he won in Mass: The election came down to a choice between a grown up with real world experience who could solve problems, take on a budget crisis, and fight the Beacon Hill crowd which is so rife with patronization and nepotism as to make CIETC look tame and a product of the liberal Democratic machine in Boston who wanted to lower the age of consent, raise taxes, and spend more money.
Even Massachusetts will make the right decision in that case.
Oh, almost forgot: WAR Cooler Staff
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