Romney the Mormon....take a look....

[TomFitz]

Take a look at this video. I saw it on Politico, and it is apparantly making the rounds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxMD02zU9SE&feature=youtu.be

Throughout this campaign, i have never said anything at all about Mitt Romney's faith. But I do feel this is worth watching.

Not because of Mormonism, although a few of you may be concerned about what Mitt appears to be saying.'

My issues is with Romney's tone and posture. He's being passive agressive, and repeatedly suggests that the talk radio host is attacking his religion (which he's clearly not). Romney is also constantly saying that the host isn't allowing him to complete his point, even though it is Romney himself who is jumping back and forth in the conversation (and doing nearly all the talking).

This isn't the sort of man who listens to other people, or thinks that persuasion is an essential leadership skill.

That may work in business, but it has no place in government.

 

[NightSwimmer]

Mitt Romney: "I think I know more about my own religion than you do."


In the first place, that is quite simply not necessarily true. Anyone may study a religion, and the scholars typically know more than do the congregates. Being a High Priest and Bishop in the Church, I am convinced that Mitt Romney knows more about the Mormon religion than he would care to share with the general public, and that is why he was dodging these questions so adamantly.

 

[MaryAnne]

I hate to say this but what I took away from that is that Romney wants to impose his belief on others while Democrats do not. That is judgement,brother,any way you look at it.

 

[Woolleybugger]

This is a man who is accustomed to being listened to and obeyed.

 

[MaryAnne]

This is a man who is accustomed to being listened to and obeyed.

That is also why he does not do interviews often. To question him is to insult him in his mind!

 

[amfh]

As in all things Romney, this just illustrates that he says one thing and executes differently.
He said, "Mormons are taught to never support or encourage abortion, or to have one themselves." Then he says they are not, however, judgmental about OTHERS choices. Then he says he vetoed every bill or proposal that came across his desk about abortion in Massachusetts.

That poor interviewer. He was NOT "attacking" Romney's religion, in fact, he said he agreed with the Mormon stance on abortion. It's like handling a wriggling eel, talking to the man. I found Romney to be extremely rude and combative.

As far as Jeruselem and Missouri - it's my understanding (yes, Mitt, I concede mine is different from your own understanding) that Jesus will establish the new kingdom on the North American continent, specifically in Missouri.


A New City of Jerusalem Will Be Built

Jesus said we will know He is coming soon when His Church has built a city called the New Jerusalem. Jesus said He will rule in that city, and righteous people will live there. He has told us where this city will be built. It will be in the state of Missouri, in the United States.

More interesting info about Romney, the 2008 interview, Glenn Beck and Mormon belief that a Mormon leader will save America and institute a one world government (wait...I thought rightwingnuts thought OBAMA was going to institute a one world government?)

Read more here

 

[NightSwimmer]

The only good thing that I can say about Mitt Romney and his Mormonism is that I suspect that (as with every other issue that he expounds upon) he doesn't really believe the foundational tenets of his own religion.

 

[TomFitz]

The religious angle doesn't bother me, although I do find some aspects of it weird.

What bothers me is the way Romney talks.

He did this in the debates as well. He often only gets through half a sentance before he starts to say something else. He ALWAYS interrupts the questioner, and then accuses them of not letting him make his point. Yet, Romney never makes clear and concise points.

This is a man who is used to saying whatever he needs to sell an audience, without any concern or thought about what comes next. His words don't maan anything because they are said for the sake of immediate expedience. When things change, or the real agenda emerges, he'll just disavow or deny.

That's what investment bankers do.

 

[MaryAnne]

As in all things Romney, this just illustrates that he says one thing and executes differently.
He said, "Mormons are taught to never support or encourage abortion, or to have one themselves." Then he says they are not, however, judgmental about OTHERS choices. Then he says he vetoed every bill or proposal that came across his desk about abortion in Massachusetts.

This said it all in your post,amfh.Any way the wind blows.

 

[amfh]

The religious angle doesn't bother me, although I do find some aspects of it weird.

What bothers me is the way Romney talks.

He did this in the debates as well. He often only gets through half a sentance before he starts to say something else. He ALWAYS interrupts the questioner, and then accuses them of not letting him make his point. Yet, Romney never makes clear and concise points.

This is a man who is used to saying whatever he needs to sell an audience, without any concern or thought about what comes next. His words don't maan anything because they are said for the sake of immediate expedience. When things change, or the real agenda emerges, he'll just disavow or deny.

That's what investment bankers do.

I agree that he's a bully and then tries to act like a victim.
But, after I read more at the links I posted above, I believe I AM concerned about the Mormon Messiah bit, wrapped in how and what Mormons really believe.
I believe that informs his "win by saying anything and everything it takes to win" demeanor. I fear he really DOES think he is the Mormon leader who is necessary to save America and hasten the second coming. That bothers me. And before today, I was not that bothered.

 

[amfh]

As in all things Romney, this just illustrates that he says one thing and executes differently.
He said, "Mormons are taught to never support or encourage abortion, or to have one themselves." Then he says they are not, however, judgmental about OTHERS choices. Then he says he vetoed every bill or proposal that came across his desk about abortion in Massachusetts.

This said it all in your post,amfh.Any way the wind blows.

Yes. Thanks.
It's also true about those who will vote for the man.
Particularly evangelicals and Baptists who have long portrayed Mormonism as a cult. But, they say, it's OK "this time" to vote for a cultist leader.

Did you see that Billy Graham's website has just RECENTLY removed Mormons from their cult list? So apparently "swaying in the wind" is a characteristic not only of Romney but even his "other" religious followers
Billy Graham’s Website Removes ‘Mormonism’ From Cult List
They DO still list Jehovah’s Witnesses and Scientology as cults, though....

 

[MaryAnne]

The only good thing that I can say about Mitt Romney and his Mormonism is that I suspect that (as with every other issue that he expounds upon) he doesn't really believe the foundational tenets of his own religion.

Are you suggesting Mitt is a hypocrite,Night? )

 

[NightSwimmer]

Are you suggesting Mitt is a hypocrite,Night? )

Perhaps I'm being overly kind in giving him the benefit of the doubt? I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Mitt Romney is a hypocrite. That is an undisputed matter of public record. I merely assume that his hypocrisy also applies to his professed religion.

 

[NightSwimmer]

Billy Graham’s Website Removes ‘Mormonism’ From Cult List
They DO still list Jehovah’s Witnesses and Scientology as cults, though....

That's odd, since Jehovah's Witnesses are actually Christians, whereas Mormons are not.

 

[JuliefromOhio]

I agree that he's a bully and then tries to act like a victim.
But, after I read more at the links I posted above, I believe I AM concerned about the Mormon Messiah bit, wrapped in how and what Mormons really believe.
I believe that informs his "win by saying anything and everything it takes to win" demeanor. I fear he really DOES think he is the Mormon leader who is necessary to save America and hasten the second coming. That bothers me. And before today, I was not that bothered.

a couple of Boston journalists wrote a bio of Romney (can't recall the title) and reported that Romney's advisors stated that one of the reasons Romney was running for president was to mainstream Mormonism.

 

[amfh]

a couple of Boston journalists wrote a bio of Romney (can't recall the title) and reported that Romney's advisors stated that one of the reasons Romney was running for president was to mainstream Mormonism.

Yep, that and it meets the general "We are special" attitude of Mormons in general.
Interesting points made in this article: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-a-mormon-should-not-be-president-2012-10
Excerpt:

So why does all this make a Mormon president a bad idea? Since it is so deeply ingrained in the Mormon culture to have a sense of truth that is private, unquestionable, and not subject to analysis, debate, or verification, Mormon authority figures, like Romney, become very accustomed to speaking from God’s point of view, and feeling entirely justified in keeping their motives or reasoning secret. Without any checks and balances, authority figures can easily become unmoored and drift from reality.

Some individuals drift a long way from reality. Mormon culture has produced more than its share of self-justifying lunatics, like Brian David Mitchell, Mark Hoffman, and Dan Lafferty--as have many other religions. But the difference in thinking between these outliers and mainstream Mormons is a difference, not of kind, but of degree, as both positions are based on truth as monolithic declaration.

This helps illuminate Romney’s flip-flopping, etch-a-sketching political character. His is not the cynical, coldly pragmatic moral calculus that Nixon so masterfully practiced for political gain. Romney actually believes he has a patriarchal right to say whatever he wants. His idea of the nature of truth is not something which is discovered after hard fought inquiry and testing, but instead is declared by a person with authority, often for unexamined reasons, and sanctioned by divine validation. This is much more dangerous than Nixon. Nixon knew he was lying.

It also illuminates Romney’s secrecy – about his tax returns, about details of his public policy, or any justifications behind his statements. Within Mormon culture, he is used to speaking to an audience who tell themselves, “ours is not to reason why.”

So when you see a smug smile on Romney’s face, it isn’t just the smile of a super rich guy marinating in his own ego. It’s the smile of someone who is always holding in the back of his mind a belief that he has a special, private truth, unknown to those outside his club, that makes him superior and unquestionable. Yet at the same time, he is ignorant of the dangerous fact that this “truth” is all too flexible. This would be a very bad characteristic of the leader of the free world.

Now it’s not the case that all Mormons are categorically disqualified from being president. It’s just that we should only consider someone with a bit more distance from the dogmatic traps of this young religion. Someone more like Huntsman, for example.

 

[MaryAnne]

amfh, I have always been concerned about the Mormon religion, just as I am also concerned about the way Christianity has been grossly distorted to suit a political view.

I see little faith in the hate being spewed all over in the name of being a Christian. I always knew this but have never seen it so blatant as it is now. I could live with it before,now I despise those phonies using religion to simply spread their hate.

I am voting for the Christian who shares my values.Lying,cheating and robbing others to make a fortune is not my bag. Never was,never will be.

 

[MaryAnne]

Isn't Beck a Mormon?

 

[MaryAnne]

Yes. Thanks.
It's also true about those who will vote for the man.
Particularly evangelicals and Baptists who have long portrayed Mormonism as a cult. But, they say, it's OK "this time" to vote for a cultist leader.

Did you see that Billy Graham's website has just RECENTLY removed Mormons from their cult list? So apparently "swaying in the wind" is a characteristic not only of Romney but even his "other" religious followers
Billy Graham’s Website Removes ‘Mormonism’ From Cult List
They DO still list Jehovah’s Witnesses and Scientology as cults, though....

We talked about Billy. He is 93,and is being abused by those around him. Full page ad in many papers telling us Billy wants us to vote for Romney.Billy said long ago,he was through with politics after the Nixon mess.

Franklyn is now running the show and is a die hard Right Wing. There is no way a 93 year old man would run a full page ad.

 

[Arkady]

I agree that what it says about his personality is more interesting than his Mormonism. From my perspective, every major politician in this country is a barking lunatic when it comes to religion. They all at least purport to believe some absolutely absurd things. But the vast majority of them also seem to be able to compartmentalize their belief in absurdities from their day-to-day functioning, and so it doesn't end up mattering much in how they behave. You'd have been hard pressed, for example, to guess that Jimmy Carter was a Southern Baptist and Dick Nixon was a Quaker, from their presidencies. Romney's flip-flopping on fundamental issues, though scary in its own right, at least convinces me that he's more of the same on religion -- a guy who pretends to believe silly stuff, because it's culturally necessary for him, but who doesn't actually let it drive his behavior. So, I don't care that he's a Mormon. I do, however, care that he's a jackass who has no apparent ability to discuss something calmly and rationally in the way he'll need to if he becomes president.