In response to NathanRudy's diary, Totally Selfish Request: No Mitt Romney!!!!! I just have to say...

sigh I need a drink.  There are more and more rumors of Mitt being named Veep for McCain and this disturbs me, and not just because he tied his dog to the roof of his car.  This changes a lot of races in my area.

I am FAR more selfish then NathanRudy in proclaiming "NO MITT ROMNEY!!!!"

Only Cheated On One Wife

(reposted from www.richieville.com)

Richieville News Service – HILDALE, UT

In harsh and often scathing language, leaders of a fundamentalist Mormon sect here ridiculed the extramarital affair of Congressman Vito J. Fossella (R-NY), calling him a "pantywaist" who did not deserve the title of adulterer.  

"Fossella cheated on his wife with another woman," said Rulon Weevil, a leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints or FLDS. Mr. Weevil addressed reporters outside the gates of the 2,000 acre Road to Zion compound.  "You call that infidelity? Why, we got one guy who cheated on his 18 wives here with 21 wives over in Texas. Or was that 21 wives here and 18 in Texas? I forget. Hell, we don't even begin counting until you're cheating on seven or eight women at the same time."

From CNN.com:

The U.S. government paid more than $1.7 million in defense contracts over the last decade to companies owned by leaders of Warren Jeffs' polygamous sect, with tens of thousands allegedly winding its way back to Jeffs and his church.

The Pentagon had contracts with three companies with ties to Warren Jeffs' polygamous sect.

In fact, some of the deals were made after Jeffs was named to the FBI's "Most-Wanted List" and remained in place while he was on the run.

CNN has learned that between 1998 and 2007, the United States Air Force and Defense Logistics Agency purchased more than $1.7 million worth of airplane parts from three companies owned by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which practices polygamy.

I'm taking a break from the all-BitterGate format to recommend a couple of books I serendipitously happened to read recently. Both have helped me process the freaky events coming out of the Texas polygamy compound -- and understand why the public (or just the media) seems to be tilting toward sympathy for the many-wived men and their Little-House-in-the-Prairie-like ladies.

The filing period for candidates has just begun in Idaho and I am so disappointed. As far as I know a Democrat has yet to file to run against Mike Simpson in CD-2.

Isn't everyone saying this is the year of years to run as a Democrat! After all GWB is finishing up the worst presidency ever! And I guess most of you are all aware of that whole Larry Craig thing. Yah, us folks here in Idaho remember that, too.

So what is the deal? Why would anyone stall hesitate to run in this Idahoan district under these conditions?  

Folks, there is an opportunity after Romney's exit.  During his candidacy, there was exposed some deep prejudice against the LDS faith and its tenants.  

What does that mean?  Well, let's take a look.

Yesterday I posted a diary in which I predicted that active Mormon voters in California would carry the state for Mitt, he being the "white horse" candidate and all (you'll have to read yesterday's diary to understand the reference).

I was wrong. And as I promised in my "tip jar," I am hereby posting a retraction of my foolish prediction.

According to the official church website, there are 750,000+ Mormons in California, a fair number of whom are voters. Of those Mormon voters, the vast majority will be voting for and canvassing for Mitt Romney. So don't be surprised when Mitt carries California at the end of the day. It's all part of his Destiny (from a Mormon point of view).

This is a short diary, but I hope it will prove telling about the sort of man Barack Obama is, and the sort of president he'd be.

Barack Obama was scheduled to have a rally in Salt Lake City on Saturday morning - but Gordon Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints died earlier this week. His funeral is set for Saturday.

Rather than hold the rally, Obama adjusted his plans and scheduled an event in Boise, Idaho, instead.

More below the flip ...

I've had a strange couple weeks as politics go recently. I've mildly supported Obama the last few months, but over the last month have come to give more of my time and money to his campaign. Yesterday I became a precinct captain for the campaign. As such, his name has come up more in my conversations with friends and family, my Mormon friends and family to be specific. I'd like to recount a couple of these stories. This is not so much to praise Obama (though of course I would :), as much as it is to illustrate how badly Bush has hurt the Republican party and the conservative cause.

While enjoying the remaining days of my vacation, I got a knock on the door - surprise! It was the Mormons, and they are here to help me get clear about God!

I was channel surfing last night, and came across, on BYUTV, "SACRED STONE: TEMPLE ON THE MISSISSIPPI," a documentary that describes in loving, glowing terms Joseph Smith's wild adventure of temple building and theocracy on the Mississippi.  That's right I joined Hal Holbrook who narrated this monstrosity (I liked him better when he was the bad guy in Dirty Harry movies), and I missed "Gordon Hinckley: Man of Intergrity."

    Despite his national speech in Texas concerning religion and government, Mitt Romney has a problem. It’s not a new problem, but it is one that will prevent him from becoming President. The reason it will prevent him from getting the Republican nomination is not because of his religion, but because of how he has cast his campaign around his religion. If Mr. Romney had run on leadership and business experience he could have avoided the whole Mormon issue, instead he has pandered to the Right on religious values thus bringing his religion to the forefront. By doing so he caused the same voters he was pandering to, to begin questioning his religion. And from the poll numbers and the rise of Mike Huckabee they didn’t like what they saw.

Maybe there's a product endorsement deal from Kleenex?

A few weeks ago I heard Cokie Roberts say on This Week that she was surprised Romney's religion was such an issue with some voters.  I get the feeling that a lot of people are about to get an education about the deep religious division in middle-America.

AP reports Huckabee asking:

"Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"

The article, to be published in Sunday's New York Times Magazine, says Huckabee asked the question after saying he believes Mormonism is a religion but doesn't know much about it. His rival Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, is a member of the Mormon church, which is known officially as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormons will immediately recognize that characterization of their faith.  The AP article shows the polite way of saying why.

A spokeswoman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Huckabee's question is usually raised by those who wish to smear the Mormon faith rather than clarify doctrine.

    This is a sort of "write your diary, reader", since I don't have a full diary idea. (?)

    I just find it interesting that

1. we have the "atheist-ish" movie "The Golden Compass" just come out, at the same time that

2. we have Mitt Romney telling us that "freedom requires religion" (!!), and his particular religion is based on certain golden plates from the angel Moroni (?) that Joseph Smith said he saw...

    This should add up to something. Write your own comment, but try not to be bigoted or unfair to Mitt Romney, Nicole Kidman, armored polar bears, Brigham Young, or anyone else...

In doing some research on Mitt Romney, I came across this, a guide written by Mark E. Peterson that instructs young Mormons on how to overcome masturbation.

It's the most unintentionally funny thing I have ever read.

Every once in a while left wing propagandists, including this writer, are forced to comment on odd ball political or social questions that are not directly related to the fight for socialism. Nevertheless such questions must be addressed to in the interest of preserving democratic rights, such as they are.  I have often argued that socialists are, or should be, the best defenders of democratic rights, hanging in there long after many bourgeois democrats have thrown in the towel especially on constitutional questions like abortion and searches and seizures.