Could a Mormon get elected POTUS?

Great Debates
41

Out of curiousity, has a former governor ever run for president and won without carrying his own state. Cause I can’t see him carrying blue state Massachucettes in 2008, especially as his approval ratings in that state are in the mid 40s.

Even given that Massachucettes is regarded by “out-of-touch” by a lot of republicans, I think they would still pause at electing a governor whose own state is unlikely to vote in his favor.

I don’t think that it’s impossible for a mormon to win, but his religion would be a handicap with some voters that I don’t think Mitt can overcome.

42

Well, a Quaker got elected, Nixon. Or was he not a practicing Quaker when he was in politics? If not, did he ever claim to follow some other faith?

43

Agreed. Many conservative voters are also evangelical Christians who would be turned off by LDS doctrine, and it seems unlikely that any Mormon candidate would be liberal enough for the other half of the electorate.

Are there any Mormon Democrats in politics? I’ve known a lot of Mormons, and they were all quite conservative, afaik.

44

Not the same. Quakers were one of the founding religions of the U.S., and their status as a Christian denomination has never been questioned.

45

Kyla, Harry Reid is Mormon. So there you go, a Democrat Mormon. :slight_smile:

I’m back. I took a look at the linked essay by Maxine Hanks. She’s a familiar name and is well-known for being annoyed about the priesthood not being given to women.

However, first I’d just like to say that I would not characterize Mormonism as “teaching wifely submission to her husband.” That’s the Fundamentalists you’re thinking of. It’s true that the LDS Church teaches a ‘traditional’ family model, and teaches that it’s a good idea for women to stay home to care for the children if possible–but at the same time everyone knows that every case varies, and that isn’t always possible or a good idea. There is a lot of wiggle room there.

The LDS Church teaches that men and women are partners–equal ones. My husband would never expect me to ‘submit’ to him, and if you ask the average LDS woman about it, she’ll just look at you funny, because it’s not something that is taught. It is of course quite true that many LDS women in general tend to think that they ought to be sweet and somewhat deferential–to everyone–I don’t know if we just tend to be a little behind the times or what, but OTOH I haven’t noticed a lot of that myself in my own area, so it’s just hearsay for me.

No, women don’t have the priesthood. The general idea is that men and women are equal partners who need each other to become a whole unit. So we don’t have the same jobs. Personally, I feel no need to hold the priesthood–but I would certainly call myself a feminist. The priesthood is supposed to be about service, not about exercising power over others. It’s not supposed to be a question of who has more power (that’s called unrighteous dominion).

Someone here once commented to me that she couldn’t see how a Mormon woman could be feminist. Well, guess what–we exist! :slight_smile: For proof, and as a sampling of the sorts of issues LDS feminists are concerned about, here are a few blogs that might be interesting to visit:

Feminist Mormon Housewives
Exponent II (the feminist Mormon’s magazine for the past 40 years)
Times and Seasons (general interest)
There are a whole lot of sites on the Bloggernacle, as it is called–you’ll find a list of links on all of these, esp. T&S. There are other women’s fora, such as Mormon Mommy Wars, but I’m not familiar with all of them–who has time?

46

  1. Perhaps we could manage to get people to spell the nick-name of our particular denomination as Mormon, instead of Morman?

  2. Misogynist? I’ve been involved in the LDS church for over 20 years and I’ve seen exactly zero misogyny supported by the church.

  3. Sexist? Depends on your viewpoint, I guess. That the Church doesn’t extend the Priesthood to females does not make it sexist, it just makes it an all male priesthood. Women fill plenty of positions in the Church and manage to do very well, and the Church’s bigwigs don’t seem to mind that. Since we believe that the Lord determines, by revelation, what the make-up of the Priesthood is, we’ll wait for another revelation to change things. A cynical view would say that it was political concerns that motivated the last revelation on the issue.

  4. Could a Mormon be elected President of the United States of America? I seriously doubt it. My personal opinion is that, so long as the Bible Belt is still a part of the US, a Mormon, a woman, or a minority member will never be elected President.

47

Carrying WATCHTOWERS? :wink:

Seriously, I’m an Assemblies-of-God moderate, still Rightist Fundy by SDMB standards, and I’d have no problem with a President Romney or Hatch.

48

Damn, I just read the OP as “Could a moron be elected POTUS?” And came to reply the obvious…

49

Twice in one thread? Let’s do a new joke :stuck_out_tongue:

50

Damn. Now, excuse me while I just stand over here and write “I will read the whole thread before posting” 100 times on the blackboard.

51

Heh. Nope, it was a radical peace-activist woman I know through homeschooling; our kids are good friends. (I quite like her, but would not call her a friend just yet–that was their first visit to us.)

But really, Ted, you’re a moderate by non-SDMB standards. Do you really think many of the Southern Baptists in the Bible Belt would vote for a Mormon? Most lefty people associate us in their minds with Fundamentalists, but the fact is that the Religious Right thinks we’re the devil, pretending to be Christian in order to lure unsuspecting innocents into hell. Romney could never carry the South, and a Republican can’t win without that. We’ll see black or Jewish or women presidents long before we see a Mormon one.

It is pretty fun, however, to imagine the dilemma they would have if, say, Hillary was running. Who to vote for then? :smiley:

52

An LDS politician has to fight 2 battles, don’t they?

First the ‘left’ sees them as fundimental christians.

Second the ‘right’ sees them as heretical.

53

:rolleyes: Unfair equation, & kind of a dig. Women & “minority members” aren’t “corrupters of the true faith & going to hell” for being such.

In any case, for many offices, many conservative Baptists, given a choice between a Mormon who agrees with them politically, & a Methodist who doesn’t, will hold their noses & vote for the Mormon.

First, politics is not religion. Theologically anti-Catholic Bible Belters make common cause with Scalia & John Roberts. For that matter, I don’t think the Bible Belt is anti-Orrin Hatch.

Second, it’s a two-party system. So it can come down “which of the two do I like better?” Whether a Mormon can get a nomination is another matter. I think Orrin Hatch could do it. Whether the GOP establishment would anoint him probably has less to do with where he goes on Sundays than where he stands on business regulation.

54

What are you talking about?

55

Mo Udall was a liberal Mormon Democrat from Arizona. He ran for the Presidency in 1976.

56

fg means that while many fundies may or may not be receptive to a female or minority President, they would be dead set against a candidate they considered to be a “corrupter to the true faith (who is thus) going to hell”.

57

Well, realistically, one would probably have to fight one battle. The left isn’t going to vote for Romney in any appreciable numbers, and the right isn’t going to vote for Reid (as a hypothetical) in any appreciable numbers, regardless of their religion.

Having strong credentials as a social conservative would likely gain as many bible belt votes as being a Mormon would lose. I don’t think anyone expects the country to become appreciably more theocratic, but a Mormon might be seen as someone likely to defend “traditional values” from the secular left.

58

And with some justice, yes?

59

Thanks, FriarTed. Most, if not all, of the Fundamentalists I’ve encountered are dead-set against a woman serving in a leadership position and certainly would not support one for the office of the Presidency. Those whom I’ve encountred, also, are firmly convinced that it is the whites who are “God’s chosen people.” And I’m not talking about that racist Christian Identity movement either.

60

!!! News to me! What about the Promise Keepers?