I wrote this diary back on April 25, 2012. Although It was not published here its discussion is even more applicable to Willard Romney today on the eve of his official nomination to be the Republican candidate for president. This is a complicated subject and as such requires a long diary, so I ask your patience to read it through entirely.
It should be expected that Willard Mitt Romney would naturally be more comfortable in an extreme authoritarian position and IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH HIS MORMON BACKGROUND. You likely have heard the old story of the five blind men whom when feeling different parts of an elephant's body misidentified the animal in every touching instance as something else wildly different than an elephant. Well people it is now time to take the blindfolds off of our eyes, and start to see the real animal for what it is, and what actually constitutes presidential candidate Willard Mitt Romney. I recognize that most American people object to any form of litmus test based upon religious evaluation when it comes to the office of President of the United States, and I am in total agreement with this point of view. However, an exclusionary case arises when you have a situation where the doctrine, tenets, and to some degree ideology of a particular religion have demonstrated such a highly influential intensity so as to be exclusively instrumental in forming the very essence of the motivational rationale components inherent in the character of a future president of the United States. Please continue below the squiggly page separator.
The American voter must be well aware of what to expect from the character of the person who occupies the highest office in the land. Therefore in the interest of complete transparency in this respect there is no other recourse but to examine the past and present influence of that religion upon such a candidate for President of the United States.
Whereas a sensitive subject such as any discussion of the tenets and doctrines of a particular religion must be undertaken with respect and thoughtful contemplation, this will be respected and used in setting the bounds for this discussion.
With all of the published threats by the Republican super-Pacs to essentially “buy” this election, the obvious strategy of the Republican Party has been to bet on the Obama Administration’s failure to bring the nation back to full employment and prosperity within the four years of the Obama presidency. However in the process of implementing this strategy the institutional wing of the Republican Party exposed its primary flank to the aggressive machinations of the Dick Armey contrived Tea Party. (I firmly believe that the creation of the Tea Party political power was an act of revenge by Dick Armey against the Republican establishment which in no little measure was responsible for his loss of political power in the House of Representatives and the eventual end of his career in Congress.) Thus in respect to the Republican strategy of “just obstruct any attempts by Obama to breathe new life into the economy”, it mattered little who the actual person was that would eventually become the Republican nominee for president as long as that person was prepared to rubber stamp all congressional bills authored by the Republican leadership after the Republicans win the presidency. Make no mistake the Republican establishment DID NOT WANT Romney to become the standard bearer, simply because they did not want to deal with the Mormon Church hierarchy for the endurance of a Romney presidency.
In this respect the Republican establishment is well aware that access to a president Romney would have to pass through some rather shadowy Mormon staff members almost immediately after his election, and as members of the Party elite they certainly would not be comfortable with this idea. By the same scenario they can easily visualize a significant loss of control and alienation from the Executive branch. Some others will argue that there are many Mormons already in Congress, people such as Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, and the Democratic leader of the Senate Harry Reid, so a Romney presidency should not constitute any political threat vis-à-vis the Mormon Church. This reasonable argument was highly acceptable as long as the real character of Mitt Romney remained a puzzling mysterious enigma. The argument has raged throughout the Republican presidential primary over who was the REAL Mitt Romney? Is he the moderate ex-Governor of Massachusetts or is he the super extreme conservative that he declared himself to be during the campaign?
This is the reason why Romney’s recent voluntary selection of Robert Bork to be his Judicial Advisor during his presidency speaks volumes and appears to have answered the question about the REAL Mitt Romney. I won’t go into Bork’s past radical history and the historic rejection of his nomination to the Supreme Court by the Senate because of his extreme strict constructionist’s views of the U.S. Constitution. Loosely summarized, Bork would repeal every adopted amendment to the Constitution as he does not believe that the Constitution is a LIVING DOCUMENT which as such is capable of being changed with jurisprudence to reflect the legal needs and governing burdens of a socially evolving nation. Romney’s comment when he selected Bork to be his Judicial Advisor was, “I wish Judge Bork was on the Supreme Court now”. With this highly significant act Romney has validated all those suspicions that he was a REALLY a hard line conservative, and that he was merely acting as a moderate while Governor of Massachusetts. Free from the constraints of a liberal democratic state leadership and now captain of his own destiny, Romney has hoisted his own “Jolly Roger” atop the mainsail of his premier “political” ship. Therefore it is now time to take a critical look at the shadowy rather obscure background of Romney so that we can gain a slight glimpse into Willard’s real character.
Firstly, the clues have been in plain view for better than eight years now in respect to Romney’s character. The public media, as usual misinterpreted Romney’s public persona. The media painted Romney as the quintessential stuffed shirt rich guy who was forever talking down to the average members of the public. Even his recent meeting with selected “ordinary” voters in an outdoor backyard picnic table setting went south when Romney, after being offered some prize cookies from the best local bakery refused them as he surmised aloud they were likely products from some 7-11 store’s bakery. It simply doesn’t register on Romney that he should be concerned about his social interface with people that he obviously considers far below his own class status. Another section of the mainstream media continuously painted Romney as the ultimate flip-flopper as he appeared to change his position upon issues almost on a whimsical basis. Currently after listening to hundreds of hours of Romney’s speeches during the long drawn out Republican presidential nominee campaign it has become commonly accepted that Romney will say anything or take any position on the issues that he thinks will garner voter support for his presidential campaign. This tendency to say whatever is necessary even to the point of blatantly lying as demonstrated by Romney is a key component of his character, and a clue to his obsessive striving to achieve a goal that for him may be much more important than the goal of just becoming President of the United States alone.
At this point there are many recorded events documenting this sort of behavior by Romney under similar circumstances; more than enough so that we can now ask the question where did Romney’s insensitive AUTHORITARIAN driven reflexive responses so integral to his character originate? It certainly did not originate with his father George Romney, who in many respects was the mirror image personality-wise to his son Willard Romney. We can’t blame it on the military as Willard never served in the military; instead he spent his time in France as a missionary for the Church of the Latter-Day Saints (LDS) in 1968. It is important to emphasize at this point in the discussion that Willard Mitt Romney is not just an everyday Mormon member of the LDS Church. Both Mitt and the Church regard the generation Romney as a special divinely appointed leader in the Church of the Latter-Day Saints. This role is encapsulated in a special blessing Mitt received many years ago and is bound up in the White Horse Prophecy which has circulated throughout the Mormon Church for 168 years. This prophecy is not part of the official doctrine or theology of the Mormon Church but it has never-the-less continued to be taught and spoken of throughout LDS Church circles.
An article titled “Mitt and the White Horse Prophecy” written by Sally Denton and published online by Salon.com on January 29, 2012 covers Mitt Romney’s relationship to this ancient Mormon prophecy. I will quote from some of the highlights that appeared in Ms. Denton’s article, which provide considerable illumination on the White Horse prophecy and its formative influence upon Mitt Romney’s character. Ms. Denton writes, “When Mitt Romney received his patriarchal blessing as a Michigan teenager, he was told that the Lord expected great things from him. All young Mormon men – the “worthy males” of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as it is officially known – receive such a blessing as they embark on their requisite journeys as religious missionaries. But at 19 years of age, the youngest son of the most prominent Mormon in American politics – a seventh generation direct descendant of one of the faith’s founding 12 apostles - Mitt Romney had been singled out as a destined leader.” Ms. Denton continues, “Upon completion of his foreign mission, he (Mitt) immersed himself in the 1970 senatorial campaign of his mother, Lenore Romney, who was running against Phillip Hart in the Michigan general election. That same year, the Cougar Club - the all-male, all white social club at Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City (blacks were excluded from full membership in the Mormon Church until 1978) – was humming with talk that its president, Mitt Romney, would become the first Mormon president of the United States. “If not Mitt, then who?” was the ubiquitous slogan within the elite organization. The pious world of BYU was expected to spawn the man who would lead the Mormons into the White House and fulfill the prophecies of the church’s founder, Joseph Smith Jr., which Romney has avidly sought to realize.”
Ms. Denton provides a brief history concerning Joseph Smith in the following;” Romney avoids mentioning it, but Smith ran for president in 1844 as an independent commander in chief of an “army of God” advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government in favor of a Mormon-ruled theocracy. Challenging Democrat James Polk and Whig Henry Clay, Smith prophesied that if the U.S. Congress did not accede to his demands that “they shall be broken up as a government and God will damn them.” Smith viewed capturing the presidency as part of the mission of the church. He had predicted the emergence of “the One Mighty and Strong” – a leader who would “set in order the house of God” – and became the first of many prominent Mormon men to claim the mantle. Smith’s insertion of religion into politics and his call for a “theodemocracy where God and people hold the power to conduct the affairs of men in religious matters” created a sensation and drew hostility from the outside world. But his candidacy was cut short when he was shot to death by an anti-Mormon vigilante mob. Out of Smith’s national political ambitions grew what would become known in Mormon circles as the “White Horse Prophecy” – a belief ingrained in Mormon culture and passed down through generations by church leaders that the day would come when the U.S. Constitution would “hang like a thread as fine as a silk fiber” and the Mormon priesthood would save it.”
Romney was a product of this culture and both he and his fellow BYU students actually believed because of Romney’s highly successful accomplishments as a youth leader that he was divinely appointed to finally be the “One Mighty and Strong” who would fill the Joseph Smith prophecy as the Mormon President of the United States of America. Ms. Denton summarizes her perception of the influence of the Mormon Church on Mitt Romney with these words; “Romney’s religion is not a sideline, but a crucial element in understanding the man, the mission and the candidacy. He is the quintessential Mormon who embodies all of the basic elements of the homegrown American religion that is among the fastest growing religions in the world.”
Finally Ms. Denton states; “Romney, like his father before him who voluntarily tithed an unparalleled 19 percent of his personal fortune, is among the church’s wealthiest members. And like his father, grandfather and great-grandfathers before him, Mitt Romney was groomed for a prominent position in the church, which he manifested first as a missionary, then as a bishop, and then as a stake president, becoming the highest-ranking Mormon leader in Boston – the equivalent of a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.”
Just to review, Willard Mitt Romney’s authoritarian character is a product of his long period of hierarchical grooming by the LDS Church, which is in keeping with his anticipated fulfillment of the 168 year old Mormon White Horse political prophecy. Romney’s personal selection of the ultra-conservative Jurist Robert Bork for the key position of “Judicial Advisor” not only underscores his authoritarian conservatism but clarifies his puzzling public actions and dialogue when viewed through the lens of his hierarchical positions in the Church of the Latter-Day Saints. An ever greater influence upon Romney is the possibility that he could he could be the “One Mighty and Strong” who would fulfill the Mormon White Horse Prophecy and thereby usher in Joseph Smith’s vision of the theodemocractic Mormon governing era for the United States of America. One fact cannot be over-emphasized, and that is America is politically at the most critical juncture in her history as she faces the presidential election in November.
I should like to briefly digress at this point to examine some of the public statements made by Willard Romney in respect to his anointment to be the designated one to bring Joseph Smith’s prophesies to fruition. When the discussion above is held to the forefront of one’s mind then many of the public comments made by Romney and his wife become clear and devoid of confusion. First a disclaimer concerning any political partnership between the Romney campaign and the LDS Church is in order.
Currently it is not known or documented exactly how much support Romney is receiving from the LDS Church. Also it is not known what role the Church hierarchy is playing in the Romney campaign. It is inconceivable to me that the LDS Church would sit on the sidelines as a dispassionate observer while Willard fights to win the Presidency. I say this for the following reason – the position of stake president is a significant position within the LDS hierarchy, and it would be normal to expect that members of the LDS priesthood would provide strong sympathetic guidance to Willard to help him evade any thorny issues that may arise concerning his lifelong leadership experience within the LDS Church.
We continue here with our examination of the Romney statements in respect to the Joseph Smith prophesy. Romney recently during a speech stated that, “We (America) should CELEBRATE those among us who are successful!” (Meaning people of wealth). The response by some members of the media was based on their faulty understanding of Romney’s remarks as simply coming from a very wealthy man who was essentially egotistically BLOWING his own horn and publically praising himself for being rich. IMHO this was a complete misreading of Romney’s statement. In Mormonism it is unemotionally understood that physical wealth is just a normal sign of a truly righteous strongly faithful adherent to all of the teachings and tenets of the LDS Church, and such a person is to be CELEBRATED with the context of the LDS community. Likewise such a wealthy person would NEVER be criticized or castigated within the LDS community.
Consider this; George Romney named his son Willard after one of the richest Mormons in history J. Willard Marriott. Consider another recent statement made by Ann Romney during a recent celebration of Willard virtually clinching the nomination. She said, “Now it’s our turn!” and hugged her husband. Many of the political commentators understood her statement to mean that in her mind there was some sort of political succession going on, i.e. the Bushes are now being replaced by the Romney’s. However, I submit what Ann Romney actually meant by her emotional outburst statement was “Now it is the time for the start of the realization of the Prophet’s White Horse Prophesy, incarnate in the form of her husband Willard Mitt Romney!” Listen closely in the future to statements coming out of the Romney camp and interpret them in the context of the 168 year old White Horse Prophesy and I guarantee that they will become far more clearer and sensible in this respect.
To return to the discussion - traditionally American voters use the ballot box to express their emotions. If the incumbent has been instrumental in putting a “chicken in every pot and a good wage in the pocket”, then the voters are happy and will vote the incumbent another term in office. Conversely if times are tough and the living is hard, voters will be unhappy and they will vote for the incumbent’s opponent without considering any other issues beside their own personal frustration with the economy, and their own personal economic circumstances. President Obama as the incumbent faces the danger of a potential voter backlash in November although he did not create the economic catastrophe that awaited him when he took over the office of President. Whereas President Obama has not brought the nation up and out from the fourteen trillion dollar deficit caused by the previous eight years of Republican control; many voters are now ready to BLINDLY VOTE for ANYONE who happens to be Obama’s opponent for the presidency. It should be noted that when the voters are against the incumbent they DO NOT CARE A WHIT ABOUT the incumbent’s opponent. They have little or no interest in the details concerning any of the programs that the opponent has proposed for the nation. Since the ballot has no provision for casting a NEGATIVE VOTE, disgruntled voters effectively create a negative vote by BLINDLY voting for the incumbent’s opponent.
As of this writing, Mitt Romney is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and therefore it appears that he will be President Obama’s opponent. However, this time the consequences for the nation will be drastically different if this particular Republican presidential challenger wins and becomes President. I submit that Willard Romney’s quest for the Presidency of the United States is driven more by a desire to achieve the historic fulfillment of Joseph Smith’s Prophecy from 1844 and the ultimate realization of the Mormon directed theodemocracy; than Romney is about becoming the full time leader of the United States of America, with the accompanying obligation to be a good shepherd to ALL of its citizens. The American voter must be fully informed as to what is exactly at stake in November. The choices are very clear; either a Romney incarnation of the Mormon White Horse Prophecy or a second term for America’s first African American President? I sincerely pray that God grant us all reasonably clear and deliberate wisdom as we cast our votes to decide this matter.