Ron Paul: Good for the Constitution, Good for the Mormons

U.S. News and World Report on how the Baptist Ron Paul (only old-style Protestant in the GOP race, for those studying shifts in what's considered "normal" religiosity in American power centers) is reaching out to the Mormons:

He's the only Mormon in the presidential race, but that doesn't mean Mitt Romney is the only candidate Mormons support. Another favorite White House hopeful? Ron Paul, whose demand that Washington strictly adhere to the Constitution has some members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints singing his praise.

"You cannot grow up in the church and not hear of and be taught that the Constitution is an inspired document," says Connor Boyack, a Mormon who heads the Utah Tenth Amendment Center. "And when it comes to who best supports and defends the Constitution, Ron Paul is that guy."

In Paul's hunt for convention delegates, the Mormon vote will be key in early caucus states such as Nevada, where 25 percent of GOP caucus-goers in 2008 were LDS members. Exit polls from 2008 show nine of 10 Mormon voters cast ballots for Romney, but the Texas congressman is seeing a surge in support there and elsewhere.

While the Salt Lake City-based church does not officially endorse any candidate for president, members like Boyack have been preaching the gospel of Ron Paul. Boyack explains that Romney might be a brother in faith, but Paul's commitment to upholding the tenets of the Constitution make him a more ideological choice for Mormons…..

Paul's team has been quick to highlight the Mormon support,setting up a special "Latter Day Saints for Ron Paul" Facebook page ("liked" by over 1,300 fans). It's one of a number dedicated to pro-Paul coalitions, including evangelicals, Protestants, and Catholics, as well as truckers, gamers, and accountants. The candidate is also featured in a five-minute Web ad, recycled from the 2008 campaign, titled, "Ron Paul preserves, protects, defends LDS Constitution view."

Paul spokesman Gary Howard says, "Members of the LDSchurch make up one of those important coalitions, all of which are great assets in this campaign. Dr. Paul's message resonates with everyone who believes in the principles he espouses: limited government, personal and economic liberty."

Sweet Paul nostalgia: how Paul supporters led the Nevada GOP to shut down its own convention back in 2008. More on that and other things in my forthcoming book, Ron Paul's Revolution.

Comments

[?]

All right, now I believe he's racist.

[cathrine]

Bi-sexual information?Seeking for the people have the same sexual orientation. please consult the site ---datebi*cO'm---, you will find the like-minded people!

[shrike]

The Constitution is an "inspired (from Gawd) document"?

I volunteer to vomit on behalf of Madison, Jefferson, Paine, and Franklin.

[wareagle]

except that no one but you said it was a God-inspired document; the guy quoted simply said inspired. The fact that Madison, Jefferson, et al believed in a Creator bothers you?

[shrike]

Don't be falsely naive. Every conservative like yourself says the Constitution is based on "Judeo-Christian ideology" which is a fucking lie. There is NO J-C ideology in the Constitution - it is fully a secular document.

I understand why conservatives want to undermine the Constitution - they hate the goddamned thing like Bush said you did.

[wareagle]

actually, I have never said that and the fact that you can accuse others of undermining the Constitution while simultaneously supporting Obama speaks to weapons-grade lunacy. The Constitution says govt should be "hands off" religion, meaning it does not stop folks from practicing it any more than it mandates that they do so in the prescribed manner.

Someone else here was right - discussion with liberals is impossible; you can only laugh at them.

[shrike]

I believe in a creation by the way - physics and the Big Bang.

[Adam P]

Just for your FYI as a point of clarification, when we Mormon's say that the Constitution was "inspired" this does not necessarily mean we are saying that there is Judeo-Christian ideology in the document per se.

Rather it's more like good men were inspired by God to do a good thing and the resulting outcome is more or less consistent with our religious beliefs. It doesn't mean that they got the document 100% correct or that the document is the embodiment of our faith. At least that's the way I see it

[shrike]

OK, you guys are always so nice. I worked on a project in Provo once and I have immense respect.

(yes, it is me).

[03215]

You seem to have immense respect for someone when they are in the room, and immense disrespect when they walk out.

People who mock LDS beliefs but "respect" Mormons seem to miss the notion that the people are a product of their belief structure. If it's crazy, but it works, is it still wacky?

[Norminha]

As in stage in life, he/she must obey Divine Law and of the land. It is false pride that blinds certain people leading them to absolute ignorance.

[Mr. FIFY]

We *get* it, shrike... you hate religion, and yet you love Obama, which is kinda *like* a religion.

[cynical]

Sure. If a person believes that the better side of human nature comes from God (presumably a lot of theists do), and the ideals of the Constitution reflect the better side of human nature (presumably a lot of Constitutionalists do), then it was inspired by God, indirectly.

[Max]

The War on Religion

by Rep. Ron Paul, MD

As we celebrate another Yuletide season, it's hard not to notice that Christmas in America simply doesn't feel the same anymore. Although an overwhelming majority of Americans celebrate Christmas, and those who don't celebrate it overwhelmingly accept and respect our nation's Christmas traditions, a certain shared public sentiment slowly has disappeared. The Christmas spirit, marked by a wonderful feeling of goodwill among men, is in danger of being lost in the ongoing war against religion.

Through perverse court decisions and years of cultural indoctrination, the elitist, secular Left has managed to convince many in our nation that religion must be driven from public view. The justification is always that someone, somewhere, might possibly be offended or feel uncomfortable living in the midst of a largely Christian society, so all must yield to the fragile sensibilities of the few. The ultimate goal of the anti-religious elites is to transform America into a completely secular nation, a nation that is legally and culturally biased against Christianity.

This growing bias explains why many of our wonderful Christmas traditions have been lost. Christmas pageants and plays, including Handel's Messiah, have been banned from schools and community halls. Nativity scenes have been ordered removed from town squares, and even criticized as offensive when placed on private church lawns. Office Christmas parties have become taboo, replaced by colorless seasonal parties to ensure no employees feel threatened by a "hostile environment." Even wholly non-religious decorations featuring Santa Claus, snowmen, and the like have been called into question as Christmas symbols that might cause discomfort. Earlier this month, firemen near Chicago reluctantly removed Christmas decorations from their firehouse after a complaint by some embittered busybody. Most noticeably, however, the once commonplace refrain of "Merry Christmas" has been replaced by the vague, ubiquitous "Happy Holidays." But what holiday? Is Christmas some kind of secret, a word that cannot be uttered in public? Why have we allowed the secularists to intimidate us into downplaying our most cherished and meaningful Christian celebration?

The notion of a rigid separation between church and state has no basis in either the text of the Constitution or the writings of our Founding Fathers. On the contrary, our Founders' political views were strongly informed by their religious beliefs. Certainly the drafters of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, both replete with references to God, would be aghast at the federal government's hostility to religion. The establishment clause of the First Amendment was simply intended to forbid the creation of an official state church like the Church of England, not to drive religion out of public life.

The Founding Fathers envisioned a robustly Christian yet religiously tolerant America, with churches serving as vital institutions that would eclipse the state in importance. Throughout our nation's history, churches have done what no government can ever do, namely teach morality and civility. Moral and civil individuals are largely governed by their own sense of right and wrong, and hence have little need for external government. This is the real reason the collectivist Left hates religion: Churches as institutions compete with the state for the people's allegiance, and many devout people put their faith in God before their faith in the state. Knowing this, the secularists wage an ongoing war against religion, chipping away bit by bit at our nation's Christian heritage. Christmas itself may soon be a casualty of that war.

December 30, 2003

Dr. Ron Paul is a Republican member of Congress from Texas.

[Max]

The Ron Paul challenge: Find a reference to God in the Constitution.

[shrike]

LDS theocrats for Ron Paul!

[R C Dean]

The Max challenge:

Find a link in a Max post.

[Max]

http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul148.html

[shrike]

That is twice by my count RC. You lost.

[Gary Harrison]

Maybe us Mormons do believe in crazy stories that make absolutely no sense, and maybe Joseph Smith did make it all up. But I have a great life and a great family, and I have the Book of Mormon to thank for that. The truth is, I don't care if Joseph Smith made it all up, because what the Church teaches now is loving your family, being nice and helping people. And even though people in this town might think that's stupid, I still choose to believe in it. All I ever did was try to be your friend, but you're so high and mighty you couldn't look past my religion and just be my friend back. You've got a lot of growing up to do, buddy. Suck my balls.

[wareagle]

the challenge to Max: find the part about separation. The document is pretty clear - religion is not the govt's business. It cannot tell you how to worship, whom to worship, or even IF you should worship. In other words, it recognizes theist and atheist alike. The Declaration mentions a Creator, pretty explicitly.

The absence of the words from the Constitution does not imply that the Framers were not spiritual or that they disliked religion. They just did not want govt involved. Seeing as how many saw the Church of England in action, one might understand why state-sanctioned religion of any type was seem unfavorably.

[Max]

Yes, you fucking moron, but Ron Paul claims the Constitution is "replete with references to God." You fucking Paultard worshipers just can't see the shit for the garbage, can you? Idiot.

[wareagle]

lots of f-words; how impressive. Nothing makes a cogent argument quite like sounding like a 16-year old. We know the Constitution is not replete with god references; we also know that bursting a blood vessel because someone said "merry christmas" is beyond stupid. I guess it's too bad some of us can't recognize Obama for the true Messiah that he is, but we're the idiots and morons.

[Max]

"We know the Constitution is not replete with god references..."

Apparently Ron Paul doesn't.

[shrike]

What could be more separate than "No Law" regarding establishment?

I take Free Speech as an absolute, Right to bear arms is absolute, and so is NO ESTABLISHMENT.

I want "god" restricted to the "quiet rooms" as Romney said about tax policy.

[A Serious Man]

Establishing a religion is compelling people to engage in state-sanctioned religious activity. As far as I know, Ron Paul doesn't believe in that.

Instead, he, like a majority of Americans, just thinks it's pretty retarded to freak out over a Nativity scene or a cross being put up somewhere since neither of those things establish or compel religious worship.

[wareagle]

no law cuts both ways - it means the govt will neither dictate that you follow a particular faith nor prohibit you from following the one you choose. That, too, is part of the 1st Am. You can 'want' god restricted all you want; you just can't marshall the force of govt to help you get there.

[MJ]

The second part of that sentence is "or restricting the free exercise thereof". So what you want "god" restricted todoes not matter.

[A Serious Man]

I would think Nevadans would be more inclined to support a candidate that's okay with legalized gambling, marijuana, and prostitution and won't use the Federal government to wage war on those things.

But this strategy will certainly help him in Colorado and Idaho, which have large Mormon populations.

[R C Dean]

Smart Nevadans understand that their state's only real economic resource lies in the fact that gambling and prostitution are illegal just about everywhere except Nevada, and would like to keep it that way.

[R C Dean]

Smart Nevadans understand that their state's only real economic resource lies in the fact that gambling and prostitution are illegal just about everywhere except Nevada, and would like to keep it that way.

[H man]

Nevada does have a lot of military. That may help Paul. OTOH, what area 51? Nothing to see here, move along.

[wareagle]

the strategy helps Paul because the other candidates, and the Repub establishment, and the conservative commentariat are anti-Mormon. The Catholic Channel has supported every bible-thumper who has gained support, right before losing support.

[RedDragon6009]

Admit it; Mormons only like RP because they think he's their only chance of getting polygamy legalized.

[Pro Libertate]

They won that battle when gay marriage started getting legalized. In that sense, the opponents were right--there's no longer a legal basis for treating polygamy differently.

All it's going to take is one federal or high-level state court recognizing that fact.

[progressive sloganeer]

Nah. It's hard to explain, but I'll give it a shot. Might as well, since I'll probably have to put something together soon for the parrots to memorize if this turns into an issue.

See, gay marriage is good because gays want it, and gays are victims, and victims are good. Polygamy is bad because people with weird religious beliefs want it, and religious people are evil and responsible for all the wars in the world.

Hmmm... "Support equality, not patriarchy!" Sort of gets the gist of it across, I guess.

[Jonathan Goff]

I dunno, most Mormon guys I know (myself included) think that it's a blessing that we don't have polygamy anymore. Remember, Mormon polygamy wasn't about sleeping around with as many women as you wanted to--it was being married to more than one...

My wife's an angel, but I'm still glad that polygamy is a thing of the distant past for the church.

~Jon

[?]

Sweet Paul nostalgia: how Paul supporters led the Nevada GOP to shut down its own convention back in 2008.

That is why Ron Paul is wise to say he has no plans on running third party but not rule it out entirely.

[Raston Bot]

Marxist economics professor at Wellesley College on RP (from earlier AlJ link):

"I don't think it would be good for the economy, both because the programmes he wants to cut are needed, and secondly because of the Keynesian effects, which he denies. He and Austrians deny the fact that if you leave an economy alone, you can have crises of underspending.

"If you cut spending drastically like that, you're going to worsen the crisis. If you spend appropriately and you really create jobs that are productive, then you have more income for the government [from tax revenue].

"Not only for issues of macroeconomics should we not cut government spending drastically, but also in terms of justice and equity. There's all these unemployed people; it's not their fault that they're unemployed. They've been affected by the behaviour of the very rich and the banks. And they're paying - terribly.

"If you read his [Paul's] writings, he wants to restrict any support to people who are poor or unemployed. Then you really have incredible poverty and incredible injustice."

Parents pay her to teach their kids all that bullshit.

[Jonathan Goff]

I know that data isn't the plural of anecdote, but count me as a Mormon who'd vote for Ron Paul if I had figured out soon enough how the caucus thing works in Colorado... I moved to CO since the last election, and only found out in early January you have to register for "the party that will let you vote for Ron Paul in the caucuses" by mid December...

[Jumbie]

Any chance you could vote for him the Dem caucus.

Paul did get second in the NH Dem primary after all thru write ins.

[James]

If you listen to Ron Pauls message he should appeal to any and all religious groups. If you are not religious he should appeal to you as well.

Vote for Ron Paul or kiss your rights goodbye.

[Dcornett]

I'm not Mormon,nor do I really know what it is to be a Mormon or care. what does matter is the constitution is for all people religious or not. Pot smoker or not. Poor or wealthy,smart or just plan dumb.Either way it gives us the right to choose for our selves.This is what makes Dr. Ron Paul's message ring home so true.Government has no business telling anyone when where why or who they can worship. Religion is not the only Freedom you have that he is trying to save.Although for some it is the only one that matters. Any law that represses you as individual ether it be a bank,police,fed,or military.is BAD wake up and smell the end of this great county as it could and should be. Dr. Ron Paul 2012