Third Party Watch

This time, the article here was written by me….

A well known website known as ‘The American View’ has become pretty popular with detractors and former members of the Constitution Party. And apparently has become host of some quite irrational and illogical accusations. For example on the Mitt Romney candidacy, Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) that are members of the CP seem to get woven in with Romney:

“And since he can easily be painted as a believer in the doctrine of the Constitution as a divinely inspired document, he’ll draw Mormons looking for the “White Horse Prophecy” candidate. Evangelicals, who know next to nothing about LDS prophecies, theology, christology, ecclesiology, etc. would be completely ignorant of this “prophecy,” will be impressed, or better yet, mesmerized by the CP’s “more pro-life than the rest” rhetoric and has the added bonus of his being a celebrity candidate, something Howard Phillips simply loves! He’s perfect! And hey! He’ll bring big campaign money into the empty coffers of the CP. Now if they can just convince him to make the switch.
Let’s examine why this fantasy scenario could happen in the “new and improved” CP.

*Since the keystone plank in the platform, the life plank, has been “contextualized” (read- “thrown under the train”) this leaves all other planks subject to the same “contextualization”

*Romney has “contextualized” (read-”expediently flip-flopped”) on many “core conservative” issues

*Gun control

*Abortion…”

Such a laughably false and untrue accusation. Mitt Romney, a candidate for the Constitution Party?

“...He is pro-abort and pro-homosexual. He is a member of the NWO as far as I can see. He cannot save liberty, he does not know liberty. He has not kept his oath of office. He is a threat, not an ally…”

Such a put-down as this actually comes from a LDS Constitutionalist!

It seems that TAV and even some aspects of the public automatically assume that if a person who is of your faith is running for public office, that means the whole church, or domination, will back that candidate, irregardless of that candidate’s stance of the issues.
After all, he’s one of us right?

Wrong.

In a religion like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, you actually have political diversity that perhaps matches the Catholic Church, however.

No Latter-Day Saint thinks alike, Democrats are a growing percentage in the Church. LDS membership in the Constitution Party is no different, especially from Republican defection.
Yet again the rhetoric goes on.

“If and when Mitt Romney is made the GOP nominee for the 08 election, would anyone like to guess how fast the Mormon continegent that is in dejure control of the Constitution Party will bolt to support him?”

Which the next TAV blogger gleefully replies as a happy weatherman:

“As the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the departure of the Mormons from the CP for the GOP be.

The resulting vacuum created by the rapidly departing spiritual heirs of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young will finally create Ross Perot’s “giant sucking sound” that so many in the Reform party are hunkered down in their bunkers waiting for.”

Wow. Such intelligence, such comprehension. Even Marvin “Pro-Life” Richardson’s fable about Joseph Smith and the current President of the LDS Church as being seen as infallible by the flock seems more believable.

LDS in the CP, are not amused my Mitt, however, especially by his changing stances on social issues and his GOP neocon ideology.

“I, as an individual and as the Chairman of the Independent American Party of Nevada which is a Constitution party affiliate will not support Mitt Romney for any elected position from dog catcher to President. Mitt Romney has and continues to violate the teachings of the Founding Fathers of this country and/or of the later-day Prophets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He treats the Constitution of the United States like a non-binding resolution.”

...It seems that Christopher Hansen does not fit the role of The American View’s ‘Constitutionalist Mormon’.

“...Some people believe that just because a man claims to be of your faith (like Bush and Clinton claim to be a Christians) that members should support them. But we are warned against wolves in sheep’s clothing…

Because John Kerry is a Catholic, did American Catholics overwhelmingly back Kerry? Because our current President is a Methodist, did the Methodists back Bush entirely? Better yet, did the Baptists back Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton in the previous elections? And in office, do these men uphold their faith?
Is Romney going to be any different even?
It’s unfortunate how some third-parties, especially the ones that try to focus on a single issue, or ethnic group, or even a single religious preference fail to win on such a strategy. Indeed some in the Constitution Party are still wondering why there is a lack of support and votes from the Religious Right.

The average American voter doesn’t really care about voting for a party or candidate that appeals to only a miniature segment of his/her life or a single petty issue, rather he/she votes for a party or candidate that would either improve the voter’s condition or maintain anything that the voter sees as virtuous or being content with.
And the same could be said about the average LDS principled conservative, who principally votes for the candidate that LDS sees as fit for preserving, or restoring, the Constitution or undoing the bureaucracy that clogs the arteries of the American Government and still maintain the moral values that serves as the fabric of American Society.

Mitt Romney is anything but constitutionalist material. And LDS Constitutionalists have the decency and integrity to not vote for what the media portrays as “The Mormon Candidate”. They are not desperate to elect their own kind to office, especially when Mitt favors curtailing Second Amendment rights.

In my humble opinion Romney has
vacillated
back and forth between the issues so much that he has next to no
credibility
left, but again that is his problem and not mine.

As beauty being only skin deep, and the deception of outward appearances; Latter-Day Saints exercise their conscience wisely in constitutionalist politics, and don’t let their personal prejudices get the better of their character, nor vote for the top-gun candidate at the nearest chance. Perhaps the members of The American View should think and study before they judge.

This entry was posted by Cody Quirk on Thursday, March 1st, 2007 at 9:20 am and is filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.