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It's Mitt by a mile

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Sam Hofer | 1:05 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

It's not a mormon thing, though. No, really.

Does it matter? | 1:12 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Does it matter?

Matt | 1:29 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Mitt will sweep the Utah primary, but that's where it will end folks!

Comments continue below

sreams | 1:48 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

How truly sad. Utah's preference here is not reflected anywhere else in the country, showing that there are people who vote for candidates based purely on their religious affiliation... not on their stances on the issues and what they may or may not do for the country. That's disturbing.

Bo | 2:02 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Baa, baa, baa!!!!!!!!!!

bishop | 2:16 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

will take alot praying ..

bookaholic | 2:18 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Regardless of his church affiliation, Romney is the best man for the job.

Conejo | 2:56 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

If the African Americans vote for an African American is it an African American thing? Or will it just be said that the African American candidate understands the issues African Americans face and therefore African Americans vote for the African American candidate?

David Edward Garber | 2:59 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Mitt Romney's continuing support from Utahns rather baffles me. Yes, he's LDS, but so are folks like Harry Reid and even Ted Bundy--and it seems to me that Utahns should be far more concerned with what Romney does than what he considers himself to be. And, yes, he's clearly a skilled leader, and, if nothing else, he looks the part--but skilled leaders can also lead us astray and, in my view, appearance matters far less than substance. I want a President who is both good and wise and, in my view, Romney's character and record don't suffice. Moreover, when I read what LDS leaders (such as J. Reuben Clark Jr. and Ezra Taft Benson, among so many others) have taught us over time about political principles, I find it terribly ironic that LDS Mitt Romney adheres so poorly to them while non-LDS Ron Paul adheres so well to them. Ain't life weird? In any case, I keep hoping that Utahns will start to rethink their staunch support of Romney as next year's Republican Party primaries draw near. In the meantime, I'll keep following election news like this with great interest.

Blaine | 4:15 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

If Republican voters, including those in Utah, would conscientiously sit down and compare their own personal values with those of the candidates, Romney would likely rank about 6 or 8 among the current choices. We are too caught up in one issue (LDS membership) that has nothing to do with how Romney would govern if elected. While I believe in repentance, I am very concerned by the disparity between some of the values he should have had (but didn't) as a stake president, the values he now pretends to have as a presidential candidate, and the actual personal values that shaped the political decisions he made as governor of Massachusetts.

Views or energy independence? | 5:27 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

The one story that has yet to hit Utah is Mitt's stand on wind power in Cape Cod. He's aligned himself with Ted and Bobby Kennedy to oppose a major wind project 5 to 8 miles off the coast of the Cape that could provide 75 % of the Cape's electricity needs with price stable wind power largely because of the aethetics of the project. At a time when our oil dollars are paying for Mideast terrorism, Iran's nuclear bomb program, etc., I'd like to hear more about Mitt's views on how America will address our oil dependency and energy crisis. Is he for nuclear power, common in socialist countries like France and Japan that can afford the subsidies for that industry? Is he for biofuels/ethanol/wind power big in politically conservative midwest states like Kansas and Iowa? Is he for solar, like California's Schwarzenegger? Will he pursue domestic energy technologies to keep energy dollars here at home or will he support "more of the same" energy imports from hostile foreign countries? If Cape Cod and his Kennedy buddies are any indication, I guess we can be assured of keeping our ocean views off private beaches unobstructed.

Jay | 5:42 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

It's a shame so many members are having a knee-jerk reaction to a Mormon running for president. They seem to have forgotten (or overlooked) his record as governor of Massachusetts, especially his stance on gays, Boy Scouts, and abortion.

"When asked by Newsweek if he has done baptisms for the deadï¿½in which Mormons find the names of dead people of all faiths and baptize themï¿½Romney looked slightly startled and answered, "I have in my life, but I haven't recently." Based on his reaction, you'd think he was asked if he ever smoked pot!

It appears painfully clear that Brother Mitt is not at all comfortable with his membership in the Church. His politics are not the politics one would expect from a faithful member.

If by some stroke of luck Mitt makes it to the Oval Office, I guarantee the rest of us will be spending the next four years trying to explain to non-members "that's not the way most Mormons behave."

I would urge all those members who are voting to for Mitt to rethink their choice for a presidential candidate.

Mike | 6:42 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Should we be proud that an LDS member is running for president? Sure we should, but we have to consider: Do Utah polls really have an impact on presidential elections? 5 of the 535 electoral votes? That's less than one percent; is he really a ahead by a mile, or is he guaranteed one percent of the nations vote.

george | 7:23 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Sad commentary that this type of story appears under LDS Newsline

Meaningless mile | 7:47 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Yeah! Mitt Romney, the next President of Utah! Guess what? Utah's votes don't even matter and Mitt is barely on the radar at the national level.

BotchedExperiment | 8:21 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

300 million people in this country and the best we can do is Hillary and Mitt?

Duh! | 8:49 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

I think anyone here could have told you that. It's a little like saying the sky is blue. Utah is soooo predictable.

Happy Utah Valley | 8:51 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Utahns supporting a mormon republican candidate?

Is hell about to freeze over?

MEB | 9:00 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Can someone tell me why 50% of Democrats polled would not vote in the Democratic primary? Mitt getting the majority of the votes in Utah is not surprising, nor is it news. The news here is why so many Democrats are opting to sit this one out!

What better evidence.... | 9:04 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

....do you need for "BLIND OBEDIENCE"?

Sly | 9:06 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Unfortunately, this shows what's wrong with Utah politics in general. Romney is getting votes because he's a Mormon, not because he's the best qualified candidate. If he weren't Mormon, his fl-p-flopping, his playing to the conservatives without possessing conservative values himself would disqualify him for the majority. Obviously, this points to our problem electing some terrible state legislators.

Michael | 9:12 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

What ever happened to separation of Church and State?

Jason | 9:17 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Ron Paul is my man... I believe with every fiber of my being that he is the right candidate

Bubba Luv | 9:23 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

If this were the Trib you'd see no less than two dozen comments on this article. Big surprise that Willard is the front runner by a wide margin. Guiliani is a New Yawker and McCain is a Bushie...hard to believe Jon Jr. backs McCain...very odd. It's a shame the vote for Prez in Utah is a worthless vote....unless you vote Republican. BAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

MEB | 9:32 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Mr. Garber - Ted Bundy was not Mormon any more than Rocky Anderson is. He may have been born and baptized Mormon, but if you read his history, that's where it ended.

Now if you would have used Mark Hoffman, that would have been a better example.

Mitt Jr. | 9:48 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

to Jay,

Mitt's startled response was not because he is ashamed of his faith; it is because he was wondering what baptisms for the dead have to do with poltics. It is reasonable for him to react that way given an unreasonable question. What are his opponents afraid of - that he might do baptisms for the dead while in office?

Carl | 9:52 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

I find it really interesting that so many people who don't really know Mitt Romney are running to cast judgement on him.

Mitt was my bishop and stake president. He was an excellent bishop and stake president. His politics are very consistent with church values. He stood against gay marriage in Massachussetts at great political cost. He is consistently anti-abortion, but he chose not to spend his political capital on a losing cause in Massachussetts, because he was working so hard to get the budget balanced.

As far as the baptisms for the dead quote -- I think you'd find that most adult members of the church would find his statement exactly true for themselves, as well. Once people are endowed, they tend not to do baptisms for the dead any more.

What values should he have had (but didn't) while he was stake president? This seems like blatant character assassination.

I will be voting for Mitt, because in my personal experience he is both good and wise.

MB | 10:29 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

I can't believe the intellect of so many people who assume that the choice of members of the LDS Church is "just because Mitt is a Mormon". Because Mitt is a Mormon means that we know he has very high ideals and committment, education and wisdom. Comments like those from the above non-LDS simply show their ignorance and lazy lack of investigation of the real life and knowledge, application and education of the LDS people. The first thing they should discover is that the leaders of the LDS people are of the highest education, travel, awareness and experience of any people, and all active members are raised to be leaders from childhood. And they are broad-minded, not closed-minded as so many above comments seem to display. It's time to wake up.

Matt | 10:29 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Again, conformity over reason....every time. Really disturbing.

Trevor | 10:32 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Fascinating to see that Mr. Romney supports Bush's veto of an expanded child health insurance program. A bipartisan bill that would draw its funding from an added tax on cigarettes, this would appear to be a bill drafted by Mormons for Mormons. The only thing clear about Mr. Romney's stance is that he is a politician, and like most politicians he has no real values of his own, be it LDS, Christian, or otherwise.

Fellow FC Reader | 10:38 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Botched Experiment for President?

RS | 10:45 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

As far as Mitt's so-called flip-flop attitude from his stance in Mass; Isn't it true that he has been clear on his personal stance on these issues? Isn't it true that he was representing the majority of the population of Mass in voting the way he did (regardless of his personal conviction?)

Isn't that what he was elected to do? To represent the peoples views?

Isn't that a bit more like the church theology - to allow others to make decisions for themselves instead of forcing them into a stance that he would have preferred?

Tom in Mesa | 11:06 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

National polls show that over 30% of registered Republicans state that they will not vote for a Mormon. Period. Why LDS members continue to align themselves with a party so filled with hate never ceases to amaze me.

I've also noticed that no one mentions Romney's pro-choice stand when he was running for office in Massachusetts. While Romney claims that looking into stem cell research "changed his mind," loyal Church members should be asking themselves why he ever took a pro-choice stand to begin with. His exact words, that abortion should be "safe and legal." In fact, I know of several Church members who feel that, if Romney could be pro-choice and have his picture on the front page of this newspaper, so could they.

Of course, pandering to voters is clearly the Republican way. Which is the real Romney? We don't know. And that's far more scary than the fact he is LDS.

chuck d | 11:32 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

ANYONE BUT HILARY!!!!! WE CERTAINLY DO NOT NEED ANYMORE CLINTON'S ANYWHERE NEAR THE WHITE HOUSE DOING HECK KNOWS WHAT BEHIND THE WHITE HOUSE CLOSED DOORS!!!!!!!!!!

Mark | 11:36 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Do those who think that Mormons will vote for Mitt simply because he's a Mormon believe that they would vote for Harry Reid if he ran for President? I assure you they would not.

sreams | 11:42 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

"If the African Americans vote for an African American is it an African American thing?"

You are missing the point. This is -only- occuring in Utah. If this were about the issues, you'd see similar support in at least a few other states. Utah is not a coincidence.

sreams | 11:50 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

"Because Mitt is a Mormon means that we know he has very high ideals and committment, education and wisdom."

This pretty much sums it up. So now we know the quality of one's character based solely on what his or her faith supposedly is? I hate to break it to you, but there are bad apples in -every- barrel.

sreams | 11:56 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007

"Isn't it true that he has been clear on his personal stance on these issues?"

No.

"Isn't that what he was elected to do? To represent the peoples views?"

Are you kidding? Every time he speaks about abortion (either for or against), he sells it as his own personal view. If what you are saying is correct... that when he supported a pro-choice position that he was "representing the people", and that when he supported a pro-life position he was representing his own values... then he is a) lying about the motivations and b) completely inconsistent and untrustworthy. He made promises to the people of Massachussetts that he openly broke.

Robert Johnson | 12:31 p.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Don't vote for Mitt. Anytime someone spends millions of their own money to win a position that pays $500K per year, there's something going on. Mitt is in this race for the power only! He doesn't care one bit about regular citizens.

Bdoll | 12:38 p.m. Oct. 6, 2007

I was wondering instead of saying that someone would be bad for president. Why don't we find out what they have to offer before we cast stones. I am LDS, but I am going to vote for the most qualified for the position whether or not our votes count. Which they don't? That is what the electoral college is for, and they are going to vote for Mitt because of what he means to Utah and that has nothing to do with his religion ethicity. It has to do with the fact that people in Utah love him because of his devotion to the 2002 Winter Olympics, and the fact that he has good values.

Roscoe | 12:40 p.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Jay stated that Mormons have overlooked Mitt's "record as governor of Massachusetts, especially his stance on gays, Boy Scouts, and abortion."

That's a bad thing, Jay?

Gee, maybe I'll have to vote for Mitt if he really is tolerant of gays, despises bigoted Boy Scouts and is pro-choice.

JJ Suprise | 12:41 p.m. Oct. 6, 2007

I watched a Republican debate a while back and Ron Paul made ALL of the other candidates look like used car salesman. He is the only candidate from either party who has any values of his own. He is the ONLY candidate who is completely against this police action in Iraq that is being called a war. He is against the IRS, The Federal Reserve, The UN, NAFTA, CAFTA, The World Bank, The IMF and in favor of bringing our troops home from the 160 or so countries of which we unlawfully have them stationed. Mitt Romney is just another Democrat wearing Republican clothing.
RON PAUL FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!!
ronpaul2008
JJ Suprise
Sandy

To MB | 1:11 p.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Your insults (challenging the intellect) of non-Mormons are exactly why many of us have poor opinions of Mormons. Your believe that we Gentiles are not educated, have not travelled, and are closed-minded?

And no, I'm not going to leave. The last time someone told me to leave if I didn't like it, I had to remind him (a member of the Bishopric!) that I was a third-generation Utahn....and that he was a California transplant.

Closed-minded? Nah. Just the opposite. Prejudice FOR one religion, is still prejudice.

MB | 1:18 p.m. Oct. 6, 2007

It actually looks like someone is eliminating the good comments about Mitt. Mine appeared for a short time and then disappeared.

Salesgod | 2:13 p.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Trevor wrote: "Fascinating to see that Mr. Romney supports Bush's veto of an expanded child health insurance program. A bipartisan bill that would draw its funding from an added tax on cigarettes, this would appear to be a bill drafted by Mormons for Mormons."

I'm LDS and I'm a conservative, and I'm definitely not convinced that Mitt is the man for the job. I draw my morals from my faith. They do not deviate. Nor do my conservative values.

I find three reasons to oppose a bi-partisan bill for an expanded child health insurance program. 1) It's a bipartisan bill, laden with compromise. 2) It's funding comes from increased taxes. 3) The last thing we need is another government-run entitlement.

It's time to end the redistribution of wealth in this country. Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Our government steals from the ambitious and gives to the lazy. Such policy robs us of our incentive to achieve truly great things in this country, while filling the pockets of politicians and greedy insurance companies. Mitt is right to oppose it, regardless of what Orrin thinks

Anonymous | 2:24 p.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Mitt Romney is a C.F.R. member that alone is enough for me to eliminate him as a possible good president. Ron Paul in my next President. They only one that will bring any positive change.

Salesgod | 2:32 p.m. Oct. 6, 2007

It is very disappointing that the polarity that permeates the Salt Lake City area has crept into this forum. Why this article provokes people to accuse each other of being close-minded and ignorant makes no sense to me.

I believe that each person has the responsibility to come to their own conclusions based on their study of issues and, in this case, political candidates. I'm LDS, but I don't believe that Mitt Romney is the right person to be the next president of the United States. That's not because he's spending millions to win a $500K/yr. job. It's not because I believe he's power-hungry. It's unfair to accuse people of supporting him only because he's LDS. Support for a particular candidate can sometimes be based solely on the candidate's position on a single issue. There's nothing wrong with an LDS member supporting an LDS candidate simply because they share the same faith. But that's not enough for me personally. I'm pro-life. I don't believe in gay marriage. I despise government controlled education.

Mitt's candidacy is not a question of separation of church and state. Support the candidate that shares your values and beliefs. For me, it's not Mitt.

Mitt Romney is a Liberal! | 3:05 p.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Mitt Romney is a liberal, and the people that vote for him, are likewise liberals. Just because a candidate is Mormon, doesn't mandate that other Mormons need to vote for him or her. Harry Reid was elected by liberals. Bill Orton represented Provo in the US Congress for 3 terms, and he was a liberal Democrat. Frankly, I'm tired of the gimmick that Mitt and his supporters use (i.e., vote for Mitt or you are an anti-Mormon bigot).

Mitt Romney does not represent the Church - and when the GOP Primary sweeps the fruited plains - he surely won't represent the Party of Reagan.

Get lost, Mitt! The GOP does not want you.

slmg | 3:24 p.m. Oct. 6, 2007

Why would anyone be surprised that Romney would lead in the poles in ultra red Utah? Most Utah Mormons only know how to vote Republican and when it is a LDS candidate, stand back they will come out of the wood work no matter how bad or good the candidate is.

Madeline A. | 3:34 p.m. Oct. 6, 2007

I think that Mitt will make a GREAT President. I think that he is a great leader and deserves to get some credit!

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