Liberal Anti-Mormonism on the Rise

[Dusty]

lol Talk about grasping at straws. So typically liberal.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins...sm-on-the-rise

Americans' aversion to voting for Mormons has spiked since Mitt Romney's first presidential bid in 2007 — and that the people most wary of Mormon candidates are not Evangelicals, but rather political liberals and non-religious voters, according to new research from a leading scholar of anti-Mormon attitudes.

The overall increase in anti-Mormon attitudes among liberals may be an unanticipated consequence of the "the continuing candidacy of Mitt Romney and Mormon activism against same-sex marriage," the study suggests. And its findings may be alarming to the Romney campaign because among the study's other findings is that voters' perceptions of Mormonism are closely tied to whether they'll vote for him.

According to American National Election Studies, nearly 35 percent of national respondents said in February they were "less likely" to vote for a Mormon. That's up nine points from 2007, when Pew found 26 percent of voters expressing concern about pulling the lever for a Latter-day Saint.

The uptick in anti-Mormon voter attitudes may come as a surprise to those who predicted Romney's candidacy would have a mainstreaming effect on his faith. But as University of Sydney scholar David Smith, the paper's author, writes, just as President Obama's successful candidacy didn't put an end to tense race relations in America, Romney's political assent hasn't cured the country of anti-Mormonism. In fact, as the data shows, Romney's rise may have lead to increased anxiety about his religion among his natural political opponents.

According to the paper, concern about Mormonism has remained relatively stable among Evangelicals, with 36 percent expressing aversion to an LDS candidate in 2007 and 33 percent doing so in 2012. But among non-religious voters, that number shot up 20 points in the past five years, from 21 percent in 2007 to 41 percent in February. There were also substantial increases in Mormon-averse voters among liberals — 28 percent in 2007 and 43 percent in 2012 — as well as moderates, who went from 22 percent in 2007 to 32 percent this year.

"Aversion to Mormons is still an important foce in American public opinion, and one that seriously affects Romney's chances even if he ultimately overcomes it," Smith writes in his paper, available online here.

Smith is the author of a detailed analysis on anti-Mormonism in the 2008 election, which suggested that the belief that Mormons aren't Christian was tightly linked to opposition to Romney among Christian conservatives.

The new study argues that the single most accurate predictor of how a voter views Romney is how he views Mormons — whether or not they are Christian, patriotic, hard-working, and friendly. Strikingly, the correlation between attitudes about Mormonism and support for Romney is even stronger than political ideology or party identification.

Perhaps most potentially distressing to Romney's campaign is the study's finding that conservatives who said they were less likely to vote for a Mormon were much more likely to say they were undecided or would not vote at all in a contest between Obama and Romney. Pundits have been predicting for months that anti-Mormon Republicans would stay home in November; this study reaffirms that idea.

The paper comes with an important caveat: the survey data was collected in late February and early March — in the heat of the Republican primaries. At that point, Romney was the clear frontrunner, but far from the presumed nominee. Since his opponents dropped out, Romney has earned plaudits from Republican operatives and activists for uniting the right behind him with his combative campaign style.

The two questions that remain are whether Romney can overcome Christian conservatives' deep-seated theological differences by taking the fight to Obama; and whether he can have to win over swing voters and moderates, whose perceptions of Mormonism have worsened over the past five years.

Snip

[cjwils3]

There is no doubt in my mind that Axelrod and other members of the Obama campaign will go after Mitt Romney's religion. First it was Bain Capital, then his record in Massachusetts, and soon we could be hearing an ad that goes something like this:

President Obama is a committed "Christian" who happens to be open to people of all faiths or none. Mitt Romney and his ancestors, meanwhile, come from an evil cult of polygamists. Do we really want a President who will institute polygamy as a nationwide law, in addition to taking this country back to eight years of failed economic policies?......I'm Barack Obama and I approve this message.

I have had a considerable amount of Mormon friends in my life, and every one of them have been hard-working, intelligent, and caring individuals who were committed to their beliefs. While I don't happen to agree with certain tenets of their religion, I have the utmost respect for them and would not hesitate one bit to vote for a Mormon to be President.

[Dusty]

Originally Posted by cjwils3

While I don't happen to agree with certain tenets of their religion, I have the utmost respect for them and would not hesitate one bit to vote for a Mormon to be President.

Especially versus a socialist.

[Pete]

So Boil it Down.

Libs hate Mormons, Libs hate Christians, born again folks, county folks, gun folks, pro family groups...............

They were not going to vote for him anyway - and too much attacking may cause a backlash from "Will they go after my religion next" folks.

[Badger52]

Originally Posted by Dusty

lol Talk about grasping at straws. So typically liberal. The paper comes with an important caveat: the survey data was collected in late February and early March — in the heat of the Republican primaries.

The survey company couched the 1/2 dozen or so political questions smack into the middle of a very long, drawn out survey about preferences in plumbing fixtures (Pfister, Delta, Moen, etc.).

Made the mistake of answering my phone waiting for laptop to finish configuring some stuff & decided to do my bi-annual "I'll play" routine. After that told the guy he had 30 sec to make his f'n point. <click> They had a couple of favorable/unfavorables they were checking on about FLOTUS too.

I could care less as long as they don't want to convert-or-kill like the religion of peace.

[Dozer523]

Originally Posted by Dusty

Especially versus a socialist.

Originally Posted by Dusty

So, does "uncool" mean white?

http://campaign2012.washingtonexamin...-racist/592346

Angela Rye, Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus . . .

"This is probably the toughest presidential term in my lifetime," Rye said during CSPAN's Q&A yesterday. "I think that a lot of what the president has experienced is because he's black. You know, whether it's questioning his intellect or whether or not he's Ivy League. It's always either he's not educated enough or he's too educated; or he's too black or he's not black enough; he's too Christian or not Christian enough. There are all these things where he has to walk this very fine line to even be successful."

Wow! Whoda-thot! There's a Congressional Mormon Caucus?

[Geenie]

How does one become a "leading scholar of anti-Mormon attitudes"? Didn't realize that was a research field

[Dusty]

Originally Posted by Dozer523

Wow! Whoda-thot! There's a Congressional Mormon Caucus?

[cbtengr]

1960 we elected a Catholic, 2008 an African American, 2012 why not a Mormon? I too have several very good Mormon friends good hardworking decent people. They raise kids that would be the envy of any parents. Visit the University of Wisconsin at Madison sometime or maybe even the U of Iowa in Iowa City then go out to Provo and visit BYU, you tell me where you would want your child to go to college. I got on a kick to learn all about Mormons a couple of years ago, I could never be one. I do not possess the kind of faith that they have but I really admire their faith. I think we all know who the real bigots are regarding this Mormon issue.

[Paslode]

Romney would fair better if he were a Muslim.

[aegisnavy]

FWIW, I'm Mormon. I'm not the greatest fan of Romney, but then again, I'm not much of a fan of any politician. It may be the best political system in the world, but it doesn't mean the status quo makes me happy with how the whole machine operates. I do believe he would be a much better POTUS than our current model.

IMHO the attack on Romney's religion, if it happens, will be more subtle, as I think the majority of Americans would bristle at a blatantly direct attack.

Inside the membership of the LDS Church right now, their is a rift that is forming around the issue of gay marriage. The official position of the church is pretty clear, but that doesn't mean the entire membership doesn't have a broad spectrum of views about the issue. Although I firmly stand in the against camp, I think the range of views is as important as the different capabilities of the members of an A team in SF. I feel comfortable enough in my views that i can handle a debate from an opposing one.

I think there are much more important issues. I maintain hope that rest of America thinks the same way. I think another four years of BHO will be an era of unabated socialist engineering that will make the last four years look like a holiday.

My 2 cents.

[Paslode]

Originally Posted by aegisnavy

FWIW, I'm Mormon. I'm not the greatest fan of Romney, but then again, I'm not much of a fan of any politician. It may be the best political system in the world, but it doesn't mean the status quo makes me happy with how the whole machine operates. I do believe he would be a much better POTUS than our current model.

IMHO the attack on Romney's religion, if it happens, will be more subtle, as I think the majority of Americans would bristle at a blatantly direct attack.

Inside the membership of the LDS Church right now, their is a rift that is forming around the issue of gay marriage. The official position of the church is pretty clear, but that doesn't mean the entire membership doesn't have a broad spectrum of views about the issue. Although I firmly stand in the against camp, I think the range of views is as important as the different capabilities of the members of an A team in SF. I feel comfortable enough in my views that i can handle a debate from an opposing one.

I think there are much more important issues. I maintain hope that rest of America thinks the same way. I think another four years of BHO will be an era of unabated socialist engineering that will make the last four years look like a holiday.

My 2 cents.

Well said.

***APPLAUSE***

[Peregrino]

So we're racists and they're bigots. Typical political poll; ask the question of a sector of the population most likely to give the desired answer and publish it as an unbiased analysis of the "electorate". Bottom line - Neither one of us is voting for the other one's preferred "great leader". (Looks like I'm going to run out of popcorn before November. )

[ddoering]

Originally Posted by Pete

So Boil it Down.

Libs hate Mormons, Libs hate Christians, born again folks, county folks, gun folks, pro family groups...............

They were not going to vote for him anyway - and too much attacking may cause a backlash from "Will they go after my religion next" folks.

You forgot to add,"but they love Muslims."