Something to Ponder: Mormons Getting Angry At Shabby Treatment By GOP

I didn't consider this. Given that Mormons are staunchly Republican, perhaps it's not wise to constantly attack them and inform them in no uncertain terms that we only want their votes.

Jonah:

Something teh GOP leadership should take note of, which I have not seen addressed so far, is the Mormon rank-and-file reaction to the treatment we've been given by the GOP. For decades the Republican Party was happy to have our support for their conservative agenda and our reliable vote, apparently as long as we kept our mouths shut and didn't go rocking the boat.

However, after having seen how Romney is treated in many GOP circles, there are lot of Mormons who are feeling more than a little put out with our own party. Of course, the Dems need not wait a mass exodus of Mormon to that party since much of their platform is still very objectionable to most Mormons, but it is
certainly enough to convince Mormons to either pull for a third party candidate or simply stay home, thus putting Utah up for grabs in the presidential election.

I don't buy the third party thing, but the stay-at-home thing is always a risk. It's one thing to disagree sharply with someone's religion; it's another thing entirely to essentially say that normal civic prerogatives of a US citizen should be denied to someone due to their religious beliefs.

That sort of thing antagonizes people, and for good reason.

What About Atheists? A lot of people seem to be troubled by the non-mention of atheists and agnostics in Romney's speech.

I'm an agnostic and I don't care. You know, conservatives get annoyed when liberals insist on that run-on string of inclusive language they do -- "men, women, the androgynous, the transgendered, the... bat-wangers..." -- and it seems a bit inconsistent for some of us to get our panties all in a bunch at not having our non-faith tradition go unmentioned.

Besides that, this was clearly a speech aimed at winning over, or at least blunting opposition by, evangelical Christians. Praising atheism in such a speech would be politically ludicrous.

posted by Ace at 05:15 PM

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