Mormon Democrats

[YoungDemCA]

Someone came up to a relative of mine in Sacramento, CA, who was doing voter registration for the Democrats, and said the following:

"I'm a Mormon, and I'm a Democrat, and I'm voting for Obama. And I'm not the only one."

While it is true that the LDS is a heavily Republican-voting demographic, we need to be careful about making broad brush statements. Not every Mormon is a Republican or Romney supporter.

[Drunken Irishman]

1. It's true...there are Mormon Democrats.

Living in Utah, most our elected officials here are Mormons, so, the Democrats are Mormon too.

[Fla Dem]

26. Yeah...Harry Reid; just to name one.n/t

[quinnox]

2. yep, and the religious bigotry and plain old ignorance is a little embarrassing

to be honest.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

7. I've tried to raise that point myself

It only made the vitriol worse.

[YoungDemCA]

16. I don't get the hatred

Is it because they vote overwhelmingly Republican? Or because of the LDS Church institution itself?

[mitchtv]

27. duh don't get it?

I am Gay, marrried and live in California. LDS largely financed an attempt to steal my rights. They are my enemy until proven otherwise. I HATE them and their dumbass religion that worshiips mammon

[Raster]

33. I am Gay and a recovered mormon, born and raised in the church. And I get it.

The LDS church not only CHIEFLY FINANCED Proposition H8, they - coupled with the catholics - initiated it. The church discretely asked for funds for Prop H8 from just about every ward in the Western states, and when confronted about it: lied about it.

[mitchtv]

35. thanks , Raster

Ifeel damaged by them and I have plenty of hate left over for my own RCC(retired)

[Raster]

36. You have EVERY RIGHT TO BE PISSED. The mormon church raised money to meddle in California State....

....politics, and MOST OF THE FUNDS contributed to Prop H8 by the church were NOT from California residents. And again, when confronted with the abuse of the political process, THEY LIED. There is also a question if the church clandestinely contributed tax-exempt church funds to the Prop H8 effort, which would be illegal.

[Egalitarian Thug]

59. What I don't get is why these people are so desperate to give this cult of crazy dupes a pass?

Is it because they themselves are members of another vicious cult dead-set on repressing, suppressing, or killing anyone not in their cult?

Why can't so-called Christians just do what their God told them to? If they really think this (likely) fictional character knew and preached The Truth, why does the Old Testament even exist? Their God denounced it time and again, yet there it still is, like a pile of dung on the living room floor while everybody steps over it and pretends not to notice.

[SammyWinstonJack]

46. ...

[fascisthunter]

43. so is your constant defense of cults that are fronts for organized crime

So how many gay families are you looking to diminish? You do defend bigotry...

[demosincebirth]

54. ...especially when you see it here on DU.

[Scootaloo]

76. Not a single bigoted post I've alerted has been hidden

Instead we get a bunch of Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski responses. "That's just like, his opinion, man"

[_ed_]

80. I think the LDS church's ACTUAL bigotry toward gays and other minorities

is more embarrassing. This racist church didn't even admit blacks to the priesthood until the late 70s. They tortured gay students at BYU with shock therapy, among other abuses.

I don't give a shit if "some LDS are Democrats." They need to stop supporting a racist, sexist, and homophobic organization before they get my respect.

[rawtribe]

3. Mormons For Obama.

http://mormonsforobama.org

[Taverner]

8. This makes me feel good

[gademocrat7]

4. Senator Harry Reid is a Mormon and a Democrat.

I stand with Senator Reid.

[DissidentVoice]

9. Something often overlooked n/t

[DissidentVoice]

5. Here in Michigan

Here in Michigan I don't see a lot of Mormons, despite the fact that it's Romney's birthplace. The ones I have met are reliably Republican but the OP makes a good point nonetheless. It's really stupid the way religion and politics are intertwined in this country, how if you mention your religion or nonreligious affiliation you almost immediately get pigeonholed.

There are atheists and agnostics who are Republicans. There are very devout Christians, Jews, Muslims, etc. that are Democrats.

I am a member of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, which is fairly orthodox theologically. I am also a near-lifelong Democrat. I just cannot square voting Republican with the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth or the Jewish Prophets. Jesus and the Prophets all railed against greed, mistreating the poor and materialism, as did Saint Paul.

The old "judge a book by its cover" is fairly apropos here, I think.

[Erose999]

6. I googled "Mormon Democrat" all I found were pictures of this guy...

[rug]

63. I found this.

[Raster]

68. Halleluja! She is AWESOME! Hanah, you are wonderful!

[Egalitarian Thug]

10. Lie down with dogs and get up with fleas.

When I was dating a lot of dancers, my actions carried certain assumptions and a reputation with it. It was my choice to date them and the prejudice comes with it. That was my problem.

They choose to follow a ridiculous cult of con men, that's their problem, not ours.

[YoungDemCA]

13. "Ridiculous cult of con men"

What a way to endear yourself to them.

[Egalitarian Thug]

28. You can't endear yourself to them. In their eyes you are subhuman and as such,

what is taken from or done to you is irrelevant. If you're not white you might be able to get into one of their Kingdoms as a servant and that concession is only due to pressure in the last 50 years or so. They believe it is fine to rob or cheat a non-Mormon. The rules only apply to Mormons and every good thing they do, they do to recruit and mainstream their crazy.

There's a nearly endless list of things these cultists believe that would shock and/or horrify people if they became widely known. Try living with them for awhile then get back to me on that endearing thing.

[Booster]

34. You're right about what they believe in shocking people. My stepfather (not a nice man) was the

Bishop in a small town in Texas. A young Mormon woman with a couple of kids moved into the town and she went to my stepfather and told him she needed a little money to feed her kids. He gave her $20. A couple of weeks later, she came back and told him she needed a little more money to feed her kids. He leaned back in his chair and said "ya know, I don't think the Lord wants me to give you any more money". Every time he told that story he would rear back his head and laugh and laugh. Every time he told that story I would say under my breath "asshole".

[coalition_unwilling]

82. Oh, man, that is one hell of a story. I'm surprised you didn't do

something worse to your stepfather who clearly had it coming.

[Booster]

84. I didn't out of respect for my Mother, but believe me I wanted to. He eventually got the last word

tho. My Mother had 10,000 shares of Halliburton stock, was diagnosed with dementia & just before he died he talked her into selling all of it. Lord knows what he did with the money. Now they are both dead and I hired someone to look for the money but they found nothing. Apparently, if it's in bank accts it's off-limits for investigators. He told me he put it in CD's and my evil nephew, by marriage, went thru their safe before any of us could get there, so either he took the CDs or my stepfather gave the money to his own sons. Of course, all of them deny knowing anything. By the way, ALL of them are Republicans - I'm the only Dem in the family.

[coalition_unwilling]

85. Wow, I am so sorry to hear about this. I have been reading that there are cases where

Mormons believe it is perfectly acceptable - even desirable - to lie and cheat (mainly in defense of Mormonism), but it sounds like the lieing and cheating are pretty pervasive.

[indie9197]

70. Harsh but pretty much right on

As a non-Mormon in Utah for about 15 years, I can say that they make good neighbors generally. Everything is superficial but that is fine. However I hate the way they dominate politics and they have a "good ol' boy network" to rival anything I have ever seen or read about. Secret deals left and right in state and city politics. The church is into so many commercial and political ventures that they should definitely not be entitled to tax exempt status. IMO, they aren't into the religion so much. It is just a vehicle. Is it a coincidence that there are so many multi-level marketing companies are based in Utah?

[Egalitarian Thug]

74. That's the Thug part. I'm too old to fuck around trying to enlighten morons anymore.

My GF was born here (3rd generation Las Vegas) and has so many stories of how the "Mormon mafia" works, it was quite enlightening as I had been spared much interaction with this particular brand of crazy. Harry Reid converted and was miraculously elected. It is a long con run by the completely cynical descendants of a wanted con man. Now, we're really considering electing one to the most powerful position on earth.

"Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes. Now, you talk about a good bullshit story... Ho-lee shit!" - George Carlin

Maybe this will be my second hidden post. I went off, just the tiniest bit, on the "Great State of Texas" to get my first, and the delusional don't take kindly to having their delusions pointed out.

C'est la vie

[Rowdyboy]

11. My political hero in college was Rep Mo Udall, a liberal Democrat who I later found out was Mormon..

He didn't wear it on his sleeve and back in the 1970's nobody much gave a shit what religion a politician was. Ah, for the good old days before the rise of fundamentalists as a political force.

[YoungDemCA]

12. I blame Reagan

He made "moral values" a political wedge issue.

And the guy was not even that religious himself, ironically enough.

[coalition_unwilling]

83. Don't forget the influence of the hateful Lee Atwater (whose deathbed

conversion to a form of humanism has always seemed a little facile to me).

Reagan was a latter-day 'pagan' (judging from his and Nancy' use of astrologers). No offense to 'Pagans' intended.

[Frank Cannon]

72. His son Tom Udall is a New Mexico Senator.

And yes, he's a Democrat. And Mormon.

[Rowdyboy]

75. Mo's son is Senator Mark Udall of Colorado, Tom is the son of Mo's brother Stewart

who was JFK's Secretary of the Interior. Truly an amazing family.

[Frank Cannon]

81. Ah, thanks for that.

Yeah, they are an amazing family with a tradition of true public service.

[Nevernose]

14. They keep it on the DL

But they do exist. Most of the ones I know seem to be socially liberal and fiscally conservative, and terrified that the other Mormons would find out. I saw a few I know at a Kerry rally, and was begged several times not to tell anyone that I saw them there.

[YoungDemCA]

19. Yeah, they fear they would get ostracized

I wonder if that's part of the problem-the LDS-dominated culture in places like Utah perpetuates the "Mormon=GOP" social ethos, and it's so pervasive, that most of those within the Church who disagree don't do so publicly for fear of being ostracized.

[FreeState]

21. Utah Mormons are different than non-Utah Mormons

I was raised LDS outside of Utah - half my family is Democrats and dont hide it (and LDS).

Utah is a just a very strange place - the dominate culture is dying, however its kicking and fighting on its way out.

[YoungDemCA]

23. Someone who was a Mormon missionary told me....

...that the BYU business school in Provo is a big reason for some Mormons' ultra-conservatism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriott_School_of_Management

[FreeState]

32. Maybe some but not the Majority

Not every Mormon, not even close to a majority, even in Utah, go or went to BYU. I think the majority of LDS are conservative for the same reason most of the Religious Right is, they don't think outside their view of life. They want to make the world exactly like them (save, convert etc). That goes hand in hand with what the GOP has been for the last 50 years (before then LDS members were split politically, not favoring one over the other usually. Most of my Dads family are Democrats of that era).

[Raster]

37. Dude, BYU in general is a big reason for some Mormons' ultra-conservatism.

If you attend BYU, you are either an ultra-conservative mormon or an imported athlete.

[FreeState]

39. Not true at all

I have two nieces and a nephew at BYU - two are liberal democrats and one a republican.

[Raster]

40. Then they are atypical. You know this. Ask them about the code of conduct.

Don't tell me "not true at all." The vast majority of students at BYU are hard-core conservative mormons.

[FreeState]

41. Im sorry but your your wrong

Your statement was:

"If you attend BYU, you are either an ultra-conservative mormon or an imported athlete."

That is 100% not true.

[Raster]

47. No, not 100% true, however....

Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students are members of the LDS Church, and one-third of its American students come from within the state of Utah. BYU students are required to follow an honor code, which mandates behavior in line with LDS teachings (e.g., academic honesty, adherence to dress and grooming standards, and abstinence from extramarital sex and from the consumption of drugs and alcohol). Many students (78% of men, 10% of women) take a two-year hiatus from their studies at some point to serve as Mormon missionaries.

I think this is a question of semantics. I think we can agree that BYU is NOT a hotbed of liberal thought.

[FreeState]

50. Of cource its not a hotbed of liberal thought

78% and 10% - thats more sister missionaries than I would have expected. There were a total of 20 sisters on my mission (and most of them were former BYU students, although the majority of my sisters went on missions too, and none of them that did went to BYU)

[Raster]

51. just curious: idaho or arizona? Mesa?

[FreeState]

53. None of the above

Seattle

[Raster]

57. Federal Way

[FreeState]

60. Small world eh?

I dont live there now - but I was born and raised - my family is all up there still too.

[Raster]

61. truely, small world

[Raster]

38. Raised in Southeastern Arizona, the other Utah.

[FreeState]

42. LOL - so true n/t

[Raster]

44. Even attended Eastern Arizona College.....

....fondly referred to BYJC.

[Raster]

49. in addition, my high school principal was grandson to spencer w. kimball

[oldhippydude]

79. soutern Idaho

surname Ricks.... not a question if we are related, it's which wife,,,

[sadbear]

15. They're a needle in a haystack in Texas.

Well, so are most other Democrats, but that's another story.

[YoungDemCA]

22. Hey, I know there are plenty of Texas Democrats....

..in Dallas, Austin, Houston, and a few other urban areas, plus the Latino-majority areas near the border.

But yeah, some of those congressional districts there in TX are like R+30.

Texas used to be a solidly Dem state...of course, mostly conservative Dems, granted, but you gave us LBJ and Ralph Yarborough, plus Jim Hightower!

[sadbear]

24. It took a lot of Texans a while to figure out that Democrats were the party OF civil rights

and not the party AGAINST them. When they did, they became republicans.

But yeah, there are a lot of Dems here in Texas. It's a big state.

[YoungDemCA]

25. Well, race was a big reason, for sure

But there was also:

1. Mostly Republican transplants from the North coming in (the Bushes are a good example).

2. The growth of white middle-class suburbs in Texas, providing a large conservative social base.

3. The mobilization of the religious right in Texas (and other parts of the country)

4. Ranchers and oilmen in West Texas being really conservative and influencing that culture

5. The Texas Democratic Party going downhill., in general.

Would you say that these are all big reasons?

[Paladin]

86. 3.5 Million Texan Votes For Obama in 2008.

Needle in a haystack, my ass.......

[sadbear]

87. You live in Texas?

I do. 3.5 million in 2008, but not a single, not a FUCKING SINGLE DEMOCRAT elected state-wide since 1994. Have you ever thought about how many republicans crossed over in 2008 so they wouldn't have to vote for McCain and Palin? By the way, Texas is a huge state, and those needles I refer to? Yep, Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso. That's it.

[Paladin]

88. Yeah, I Live In Texas.

And when you rattle off those cities, you're talking some pretty big "needles." But if you want to be miserable about how things are, feel free......

[Alduin]

17. I can like them because they're Democrats.

I don't have to like them because they're Mormons. I have no respect for that religion.

[YoungDemCA]

20. Fair enough, I guess

I try to separate the people from their religion. There are plenty of good people who happen to be Mormon, but being a Mormon doesn't automatically make you better or worse than anybody else.

[SammyWinstonJack]

48. "I have no respect for that religion."

Pretty much how I feel about religion, in general.

[eridani]

18. The Mormons for Marriage Equality contingent was a big hit at this year's--

Seattle Pride march. At least 50 people!

[Bluenorthwest]

29. Yeah, most religions are full of folks who want the cake and also to eat it

They face a high bar to pass. They did not do much to oppose their church for Prop 8. So I take them with a grain of salt.
Also, with Mormons my age and older, knowing that they adhered to and preached to others deeply racist dogmas made up by some guy in Ohio is damn hard to forget and really should not be forgotten, and if those who did that seek redemption, they are the last ones that should want it forgotten....they, Mitt among them, were missionaries teaching racist crap to the world, and that's not nothing if you ask me.

[YoungDemCA]

30. I don't disagree

nt

[limpyhobbler]

31. yes there are tons of Mormon Dems.

A lot of people just belong to religions because they were born into it or that's where they get community, or there is some material benefit. All the extra scrutiny on Mormonism is because it is a minority religion. I don't see how it is any weirder than Catholocism or Islam or Judaism, etc etc.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

45. Right, I know plenty of Mormon Democrats

[bluestateguy]

52. If he gets 20% of the Mormon vote I'll be impressed

These people are not our voters.

[FreeState]

55. I think he will get more than that

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home2/53110048-183/mormons-utah-lds-party.html.csp

Mormons nationally are more than twice as likely to vote Republican than members of other faiths, and the margin is considerably higher in Utah, a new study has found.

Fifty-nine percent of Mormons nationwide identify themselves as Republicans, compared with 14 percent who say they prefer Democrats, according to the report released Wednesday by researchers from Trinity College in Connecticut. The remainder classify themselves as independents.

Among non-Mormons, 27 percent said they were Republican, 38 percent Democrat, and the remainder were independent.

[Egalitarian Thug]

56. So, because there was a really nice and charitable Nazi, they get a pass as well? n/t

[YoungDemCA]

64. Oh for fuck's sake

Comparing Mormons to Nazis? Godwin much?

[proud patriot]

58. A close friend is both

[undeterred]

62. There are progressive Mormons.

I worked on a campaign for a progressive Mormon Democrat a few years ago. There is probably no better preparation in the world for campaigning door to door than being a Mormon missionary. They really are fearless about telling their message to strangers.

[hifiguy]

65. I know a lapsed LDSer and he'a a liberal.

But then he's an ex-LDSer.

[Raster]

66. fondly referred to as a Jack-Mormon

[hifiguy]

67. Never heard that one before.

Live and learn.

[Raster]

69. that's what we call us

[IDemo]

71. Quite common around these parts (Southwest Idaho)

[ibegurpard]

73. not many

sorry but there's just not. I come from a Mormon family.

[davidpdx]

77. I'm glad to hear there are some

I suppose it could help in states like Nevada and Colorado.

[manoffire]

89. I am a Texas Mormon Democrat

yes, our church history is sometimes not pretty. I have started a FB group, Central Texas LDS Democrats. If the shoe fits, please join.