Mormon Political Figures: A Concise Primer

This is a post for my non-Mormon readers and friends. Most of my friends and acquaintances know I am an active member of the LDS Church and know that I follow a pretty conservative political philosophy. I have been asked by several people and even some here about which kind of "Political Mormon" I am. Let me start by saying that there are very, very liberal Mormons and similarly there are very, very conservative Mormons. I would say that most Mormons tend to be pretty conservative. The tenants of the church lend to conservative ideas socially, economically and that ultimately means politically as well.

I will present my analysis on the four main Mormon political figures as I see it. There are many, many members of congress, the senate and many more still in state government and federal government. I do not speak for the church, these political figures or anyone but myself and these are my opinions. Feel free to agree or disagree.

1. Harry Reid - Harry is a Democrat Senator from the state of Nevada. he is hyper liberal by Mormon standards and is seen by some in the faith as a "Jack Mormon". That is a person who is a member oft he faith in name only. Harry and his sons have run a law firm in Clark county with shady origins and odd ties to the mob and organized labor. It seems clear that Harry's support among active members of teh LDS faith has declined pretty dramatically recently. Harry is about as liberal as you can get socially, economically and emotionally. He is a far-left liberal democrat. Surprisingly, there are some active LDS Church members who subscribe to Harry's belief system.

2. John Huntsman Jr. - Smilin John is the son of a church leader and former republican Governor of Utah. Junior tends to be pretty wishy-washy and tough to pin down depending on who he is around and who he is trying to influence. His global-warming pact with the governor of California and his brown-nosing of the Obama in addition to his "soft-denial" of his LDS Church membership has made him pretty unpopular in Utah and with most active members of the LDS Church. His Barbie-esque wife and his penchant for aggrandizing has made him the "Rameumptom" of Mormon political figures. He leans pretty left politically but will at times try and morph into a conservative when he thinks it will help him. He likely has fewer Mormon supporters than harry Reid at this point in his wishy-washy political career.

3. Mitt Romney - Mitt is the former Republican Governor of Massachusetts and leader of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. Mitt has had his share of flip-flops on different social issues. Gay marriage, Socialized medicine and gun control to name a few. Mitt has a squeaky clean family man image and has been a local church leader as well. Mitt's biggest struggle is his sometimes disingenuous and robotic appearance. Mitt is a pretty moderate guy politically but has tried to lean right in recent years. His new found desire to join the NRA in 2006 signals his desire to shift right. Mitt was a very successful businessman and son of the Governor of Michigan. Mitt, like Huntsman comes from a family of privilege. A great deal of active LDS Church members support Romney. It would be my guess that most Church members identify with Romney and his philosophies [even though they likely do not deeply understand them].

4. Glenn Beck - Talk-show host, convert Mormon, author and now famous Libertarian. Glenn Beck is probably the farthest right-wing prominent member of the LDS Church. Glenn has become the poster-child for some elements of the conservative Tea-party and it's affiliates. Glenn is a recovering alcoholic and famous on-air crier. Glenn is active in the church and has supported and championed many conservative causes. He has reached the big-time with his shows on CNN and Fox news. Glenn in recent times has alienated himself from the traditional main-stream republican party because of their lack of action on illegal immigration and fiscal spending. Glenn commands a great deal of support from within the LDS Church membership, probably second only to Mitt.


Well, who do you align with most tent Trash? I would say that I am probably closest to Glenn Beck but without the deep Libertarian leanings. I share some moderate views that would be close to Romney. I am going to say that I fall in between Beck and Romney, probably closer to Beck. Breckney?