Deseret News | Candidate aims to boost faith

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News analysis: Candidate aims to boost faith

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Interesting point... | 2:58 p.m. March 21, 2008

Mr. Bernick--I hope you read this. Your opening paragraph is partially inaccurate. You say one of Mr. Leavitt's campaign promises is to "renew the religious faith of Utahns as it applies to government operations." Where does Leavitt say that? He never says we need to renew faith as it applies to government operations. I am disappointed in that sentence. You could have said one of Leavitt's promises is to "renew faith which Leavitt says is a key source of freedom in this country" or "which Leavitt says are vital to maintaining freedom."
Also, you don't have ANY source from David Leavitt's side of the story--you only quote three people who are against David Leavitt's view. Where is the balance?
Does anyone else agree? Disagree? I hope for better reporting in the future from this newspaper.

I.M.Watching | 2:59 p.m. March 21, 2008

I did a small amount of business with Mr. Leavitt. It was insignificant. However, when he realized I was not LDS.... he became a tyrant. He offended my Wife and children --- over a few bucks. Doesn't he have a few million from daddy.... I can assure you this guy's politics is out of the same mold as the islamic extremists. Juab County and Millard County found out how outrageous his thirst for power is.... Even the LDS folks were happy to send him down the road. What a KoooooK!!!!

Anonymous | 2:59 p.m. March 21, 2008

Outside of Zion, people are tired of public officials prosleytizing their beliefs.
Lots of luck to this candidate and his vote-for-the-holiest-guy type of politics.
America by and large is sick to death of this sort of thing.

Comments continue below

re: William Bennett | 3:34 p.m. March 21, 2008

..."I think Leavitt is simply echoing our need to not remove God from the public forum, but rather rely on Him for the hope to find answers to our Nation's problems."...
As individuals we must rely on God. But if we are going to have a "public forum" God whose will it be? For a Mormon in Utah with Mormon public officials it all may be fine but what if that Mormon lives in Huckabee-land? Will you be comfortable having your children's public school teachers ridicule their religion as part of class instruction? (not a hypothetical example) Or if you live in SanFrancisco are you comfortable with a public god that will endorse and promote homosexual behavior?
Whose God?

Anonymous | 3:33 p.m. March 21, 2008

To Reality check 2:13 -
I say let Leavitt renew his OWN faith.
Mine is just fine, thank you.

Anonymous | 4:12 p.m. March 21, 2008

God has NOT been removed from any public forum. That's Neocon political posturing nonsense. We're discussing God on this forum right now - aren't we?
There will always be different forms of worship no matter how much one group or groups proselytize their POV. And there will always be a non-secular element too.
The Founding Fathers knew this back then and we know this today.

DeLaval Milker | 4:28 p.m. March 21, 2008

I'm really sick of guys like this flowering their religion up a bit and bringing it to the political arena. I'm not buying. You've got an agenda, mate. Stop spraying air freshener on the manure pile and telling us it's the flower patch. Just come out of the closet, and tell us you're the mormon candidate, with that agenda. We'll vote, or in my case, not vote for you accordingly.

Utah Valley Resident (Original) | 5:19 p.m. March 21, 2008

What is this buzz word "transparency". It doesn't exist in politics. All of the mischef/work is done behind the scenes....wake up! One remedy for some of this hokus pokus is to uncreate this so-called political class the politicians have invented. You are not entitled to public office as a career. Is that why we have law schools? to create politicians and ACLU functionaries and ambulence chasers? As to David Leavitt....let us see what happens....we certainly don't need more demos in Washington or any place else. We definitely need to get a double wall around this country on both borders, and get an energy policy...ethanol is going to kill the country....get real!!! The U.S.A was set up by the founders as a nation of lawabiding citizens....what we have now are criminals running wild...in and out of the prison system.....I vote for Sheriff Joe Arpello of Maricopa County, Arizona as the Sheriff of the U.S.A.....he would straighen out this mess we have in this country. Who is going to run against Matheson in my congressional district? That is the better question!!! And how about who is running against Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reed? Maybe it is time for Chris Cannon to retire.

russ | 5:48 p.m. March 21, 2008

Leavitt is actually an Iranian in disguise, isn't he. He wants his version of the Almighty spread throughout the land. I suspect he can read Persian and secretly wants to be like them.

Soon he will call upon his god to tell him to take positions on issues, and let all of us know that if you do not follow him, you are not following god.

As my mom used to say, "Not all the nuts are in cans, son."

Anonymous | 5:51 p.m. March 21, 2008

The founding fathers did not put their trust and faith in God. Thomas Jefferson read 15 hours a day when he was growing up; he helped create our government based on secular knowledge. He believed the Bible was a fairy tale, and that the only ones who would believe such drivel were imbeciles. I know because I attended his prestigious university. He allowed no religious buildings on the grounds. George Washington, it should be noted, was so unreligious that he did not have any clergy at his deathbed. The painting of him "kneeling in prayer at Valley Forge" is artistic, not factual. Read primary resources on the lives of the founding fathers and you Utah religious zealots will learn that they created a country where religious zealots could practice their faith, but they were not religious themselves. They were actually too intelligent. Thank goodness they were inspired by Locke, Rousseau, and Paine, and other educated, intelligent individual, not religious kooks.

As for Leavitt thinking we are going to turn into the Soviet Union without a belief in God, well, he needs to go back to 5th grade. There's something called checks and balances built into our government.

Anonymous | 6:02 p.m. March 21, 2008

Just more neocons trying to use religion to further their political agendas.

leroy | 6:05 p.m. March 21, 2008

Can this huckster, using religion as his club, really win?

Nice Punt Chaffez! | 9:06 p.m. March 21, 2008

If Chaffez pushed this story to the newspapers it just backfired on him.

Why in the world would any candidate in their right mind push the separation of church in state in a campaign district composed of Provo/Orem?

He was a long shot anyway but now he's just an also-ran.

Raul | 9:55 p.m. March 21, 2008

To whomever it was that responded to my comment (anon) 8:20: I carry my belief in "god" in my heart that means I carry this within me everywhere, always. This is very personal and affects every decision I make. One's faith is not quantifiable, or a matter that is up for debate. It should not be a preface for divisiveness only for unity and altruistic desire.

Doug Brockbank | 10:35 p.m. March 21, 2008

"Congress shall make no law with respect to the establishment of religion NOR prohibiting the free exercise thereof." (Article 1 of the Constitution)

That seems to be what David is saying. No more and no less. That seems reaonsable to me.

BBKing | 11:37 p.m. March 21, 2008

Hey Mc, I've met Mikey (as G Bush calls him) several dozen times. He's as fake as an orange sun tan!

And my bias aside, when he left Utah for DC the only people at the Capitol that were sad were the Democrats and the staff who worried they may not be hired back.

Mike pandered like it was an olympic sport, and he was going for the gold. Did you ever watch his state of the state? Several legislators told me that they would take informal bets as to how many props he would use. He made Shallow Hal look good.

When he got booed at the State convention, which I was at, it wasn't because big mean uglies got after Mikey. It was because he first made everyone wait for 5 minutes while they set up his teleprompter. Then he brought out a new immigrant and made the most pathetic photo op you could imagine. Even Hatch and Bennett were rolling their eyes. Then he got into why he was going after the 2nd Amendment.

The fun part was hearing delegates say they had never seen anything so pathetic.

That's Mikey for you, and now David Leavitt. Uuggghhh

Littleton | 4:08 p.m. March 23, 2008

Let's get one thing straight: Our Nation was NOT founded on religion, nor religious principles, nor religious beliefs of ANY kind!

Our nation was founded by a collection of people of MANY faiths, including some atheists among them. And those who were religious were most often DEISTS, who deny REVEALED religion altogether, including what they called the lies and fantasies of the Bible!

It is a constant amazement to me that Christians in general, and Mormons in particular, are deluded into believing that the Founding Fathers were such religious (and by that they mean "christian") men, when the historical facts show just the opposite!

IF there was religion involved in the founding of our nation (and that is a BIG IF), it was certainly NOT CHRISTIANITY! It was a generalized form of Deism that is ultimately indistinguishable from a tepid agnosticism, at best.

ABC | 11:59 a.m. May 7, 2008

Anybody But Chaffetz!!!

Chaffetz is too similar to Hillary Clinton in his approach - too Dukakis-like.... and when did he change to be a republican? Just so he could work for Huntsman? How convenient...

Jim Ryan | 5:05 p.m. June 25, 2008

government >stay out of religion
close the borders
aclu - disban you are worthless

we the people will be out there taking control in
a very short time - it is time to join forces
and take out the garbage
I hope it will start in pompano beach fl first
we are getting stronger every day
go - for - it you may post this to receive more comments thank you

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