Time to play the Mormon card?

[Zioneer]

Can we ban this moron yet?

If we haven't banned the rest, then I don't think he'll be banned.

As for the actual topic of the thread, no, the Obama campaign won't do that, because it's a stupid strategy. It'll hurt them more than it hurts the Romney campaign, because even if voters are wary of Romney, nobody likes religious bigotry.

And though I'm a Mormon leftist myself, even I know that the Romney campaign will play it as it really is; an attack on Mormonism by the secular left. In my opinion, the religious right will still be the greater threat to my faith, but "playing the Mormon card" will rightfully be seen as a direct attack by the secular left.

Besides, you can more easily attack Romney on his defiance of leftist economic teachings in the Book of Mormon; there are at least 10 verses which specifically mention rich people who ignore the plight of the poor and how they're sinners for not helping the poor. There's even a positive example of higher taxation helping the poor in the BoM. So you can just use the LDS scriptures itself to attack Romney, rather than attacking his religion to attack him.

[Zioneer]

Time to play the Mormon card?

Definitely.  

And it's Romney who should be playing it.  Not without cause, but let someone mention that he's a Mormon and then let him say, "Yes, I'm a Mormon."  Get it out in the open, then dare the opponent to be a bigot about it.  Just like he did, successfully, in the primaries.

Remember at the Values Voters Summit, when the pastor who introduced Rick Perry to the assembly told reporters that “born-again followers of Christ should always prefer a competent Christian” for the presidency and dismissed Mormonism as a pseudo-Christian cult, the fallout was rougher for him than for Romney.  It turned out to be a blessing for Romney because it gave him a a chance to cry “bigotry” and it prompted many denunciations from prominent conservative politicians and activists.  It forced Perry’s campaign on the defensive, didn't it.

Also, it's good for the country to help us get over our prejudices.  At one time, folks were reluctant to elect women, Catholics, Jews, and black people.  For the most part, we're past that sort of prejudice, but for whatever reason, about 20% of voters have consistently over the past 40 years have a bias against voting for Mormons.  It's time to get over that, and Romney could prove helpful in that regard, even if he loses.
 

I agree; I'd love a Democratic Mormon president, and though that's unlikely, Romney's one good point in this election for me is that he could potentially pave the way for a future leftist Mormon president, ala some kind of Mo Udall type.

[Zioneer]

I am disappointed that some one as reasonable as you could support attacking a man over his faith... I bet you would've been outraged has McCain gone after Rev Wright

It's not that I personally support going after random religions, but rather I am addressing it from a strategic point of campaigning. If they were going to do such a thing, then it should have been done in primary season so as to avoid as much potential backlash as possible.

I do, however, think that if a church or religious group engages in overt and official political action, funneling their money and manpower into campaigns in order to affect the result (most notably, Proposition 8 in California), then that group could hypothetically be viewed as more of a political entity than a religious one. It is at that point - and particularly when you consider that the religious/moral elements are being woven into the political dialogue - that criticism of the values and actions of the Mormon Church can be legitimately discussed in political terms.

Even though the Mormons aren't on your side at the moment, they may not be so antithetical to progressives in the long run. After all their church does believe in a constant revelation such that their beliefs could change dramatically at some point in the future with very little ramifications. It's much easier for Mormonism to adapt than most Christian sects with a less fluid concept of morality.

Would that really affect their voting behaviors, though?  I don't think a change in position on a social issue or two (assuming you were referring to that) would necessarily sway Mormons to the left politically in any significant way.

Well, more and more Mormons are lower-class minorities instead of middle-class suburban white people (The rise of the population of Latinos and native Africans in the church attests to that), and from what I understand, even minorities who are Mormon vote Democratic, so the LDS Church could possibly change to be somewhat progressive.

In fact, the Church has already gone specifically moderate on quite a few issues; in Utah they intervened to show their support for the moderate immigration proposal called the Utah Compact, and in Arizona, there's rumors that they quietly supported anti-immigrant Mormon Republican Russell Pearce's recall opponent (also a Mormon). They also supported an anti-discrimination law in Salt Lake City. Additionally, Orrin Hatch's political survival may be in part due to the LDS Church's specific admonition over the pulpit that Mormons should go out to vote (which also repeatedly pointed out that "there is truth in all political parties and the Church does not endorse any of them"). More moderate delegates turned out at the Utah GOP convention in 2012 than in 2010. Conversely, the LDS Dems went from being formed in mid-2011 to having over 2,000 members in 2012.

Heck, though they haven't said anything, the LDS Church's move to have more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly buildings is an obvious move towards moderate environmentalism.

The LDS Church will become more politically moderate, just give it time.

[Zioneer]

Won't work, the race card trumps the Morman card profoundly.

Just get yourself banned already, opebo.