Mormon Democrats: An Oxymoron or Future Voting Bloc?

[phk]

Mormon Democrats: An Oxymoron or Future Voting Bloc?

By Lucy Burningham, 7-13-05

How will the Democrats ever manage to lure a sizable amount of Western voters into its fold? The puzzling question was being posed by higher ups in the party long before the 2004 presidential election. But as Democrats take a deep breath, reevaluate and try to gain power on local and national levels, the Western vote looks more tantalizing than ever before. And for the first time, many Democrats are publicly discussing pursuing the LDS, or Mormon, vote as a way to win the West.

An article in The Economist printed just before the 2002 Olympic Games, says that within the next 40 years, one in 20 Americans will be a Mormon. While the number doesn’t reflect a geographical concentration, there’s a good chance that many of the faithful will live in the West, with Salt Lake City as the church's headquarters.

While the 2004 Bush reelection machine organized and mobilized voters on the ground using evangelical churches across the country, Democrats chose not to incorporate religion into their campaigning. Now, many Democrats are speaking out against the strategy by recommending the acknowlegement of faith, such as Utah’s new Democratic Chairman Wayne Holland. In his acceptance speech this past May, Holland is quoted as saying:

“Understanding the LDS and making a serious appeal to them based on their values will help a lot, too. Think: independence, honesty, responsibility, education and a sense of community and fair play. If Romney gets the GOP nomination, there is no way Utah votes Democratic. But what if the religious right savages Romney and Harry Reid or someone like him (think: Jim Matheson or Tom Udall) was on the Democratic ticket? This would open up a lot of possibilities.�?

Holland refers to the individuals who make up the growing number of prominent Mormon politicians. This past January, Sen. Democratic Leader Harry Reid, the highest-ranking LDS member of Congress, announced the first ever Mormon Congressional Caucus, which includes Congressman Tom Udall (D-NM), Jim Matheson (D-UT) and Eni Faleomavega from America Samoa.

In a press release at the time, Reid explained the reasoning behind the caucus, which has been meeting informally since its formation. “I believe strongly that Democrats have many of the same issues at heart as do members of the Church. For example, as a party, we believe it is our moral responsibility to care for the less fortunate and for one another.�?

But Mormon Democrats remain a cultural oxymoron in Utah and in other Western states. Despite the church’s refusal to endorse political candidates, members of the LDS faith overwhelmingly vote Republican, an alliance that may be largely influenced by moral issues. (In 2004, Utah was the “reddest�? state in the nation, with nearly 72 percent of voters casting ballots for Bush.) Wayne Holland explains which issues help sway the vote.

“Thinking out of the box can help win elections. A leftist Utah is a fantasy, but a moderate Utah is doable. To the extent that the Democratic Party defines itself as or let’s itself be defined as the party of abortion and gay marriage, it will be futile to try to carry Utah and the Mormon vote. Once you get beyond those issues, then the prospects for carrying Utah and the LDS in general are much better.�?

Ben McAdams, a corporate security lawyer who lives in New York City, proudly identifies himself as both a Mormon and a Democrat. He points out that the Democratic party ruled Utah in the late 1800s, so Mormon leaders began a campaign to encourage Utah’s faithful to vote Republican. “They saw a need for a two party system,�? McAdams says. “I’ve seen the church taking similar steps today.�? He explains how a high-level church leader made sure a photo of him standing with Sen. Reid was widely published to demonstrate that “you can be a good Mormon and a Democrat.�?

McAdams says that in order to recruit Mormon voters, the Democratic Party needs to convince voters that individual candidates do not represent the standard black and white platform issues. “One of the challenges is to convince people that you can vote based on a candidate, and core set of issues,�? he says. “Just because you vote for a Democrat, doesn’t mean you have to support everything every Democrat ever said.�?

You can bet that when DNC chair Howard Dean visits Salt Lake City this weekend, he’ll suggest better articulating the black, white and gray Democratic stances for all the residents of the West. And if the Democratic Party gets its wish, many Republican-voting Mormons will be listening.

[Smid]

Interesting article. Source?

Presently, the main battlelines between the Democrats and the Republicans are based on social issues - the conservative wing of the Republican party and the liberal wing of the Democrats have dominance. While moderate Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats exist, they don't control the debate within their respective parties.

I think most Mormons are socially conservative and presently the party that best suits their ideals is the Republican Party.

If the main point of difference between Democrats and Republicans shifted from social issues to economic issues, there may be some changes to mormon voting patterns.

While it's possible to dominate various demographic groups, it is not possible for a single party to embrace all ideological groups. I think it's unlikely the Democrats could embrace both New England liberals and Utah mormons.

[ottermax]

From what I know Mormans aren't all extremely right-wing on social issues, but enough to sway their vote. Most of my Morman friends are pretty split, some Obama and some McCain. I think the next generation will be more moderate on social issues, but a lot of Mormans also are rather conservative on economic issues too.

[pragmatic liberal]

Mormons strike me as a group that tends to be conservative, but not rabidly right-wing, compared to many Baptist and evangelical denominations.

Mormons are actually more moderate on many social issues than other churches. Mormons, for example, permit birth control and stem cell research. And in my experience, the Mormons I know, though conservative, are much more independent-minded than the evangelicals I know. They also are a lot more open-minded to the rest of the world and more educated.

Think about many prominent Mormon politicians -- most are Republicans, but even the ones that are tend to be fairly pragmatic. Think Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett. They're solid conservatives, but they're generally bipartisan in their dealings and they aren't anti-government or rabid right-wing nutcases.

[MormonDem]

If you are interested in some discussion among Mormons with a more liberal perspective, you might check out www.mormondemocrats.com.  While we are certainly in the minority in our church, I don't see any reason you can't be a good, faithful Mormon and a solid Democrat. I would like to think that any thoughtful person would find differences between their own views and any party's platform as a whole.

www.mormondemocrats.com

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

If Evengelicals are smart they will quit attacking Mormons and work to create a more permenent alliance to help fight for common issues.

There was talk among some of my fellow Romney supporters, who were mormons, during the priamary of preventing Mike Huckabee from becoming President(if he got nominated) by sending Utah to the Democrats and thus proving to the GOP there importance. At the time I just ignored it as idle Talk but I do agree Mormons are open to voting for Democrats.

[bgwah]

The Democrats need to start making inroads with Mormons and start now.

If Evengelicals are smart they will quit attacking Mormons and work to create a more permenent alliance to help fight for common issues.

There was talk among some of my fellow Romney supporters, who were mormons, during the priamary of preventing Mike Huckabee from becoming President(if he got nominated) by sending Utah to the Democrats and thus proving to the GOP there importance. At the time I just ignored it as idle Talk but I do agree Mormons are open to voting for Democrats.

Interesting. I actually wondered if that could turn some Mormons away should he become the nominee. For example, what if the GOP primary ended up like the Democratic one, with Huckabee and Romney fighting it out for months with Huckabee barely winning in the end? Assuming Huckabee's comments about Mormons that were somewhat offensive continued during the process, and if Obama nominated a Mormon running mate (Yeah, I know there weren't any possibilities this year though there should be in the future), how would Mormons vote?

Anyway, they're already a crucial voting bloc for the GOP out west. The Democrats making inroads with them could be a death sentence for the GOP in states like Colorado and Nevada.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

The Democrats need to start making inroads with Mormons and start now.

If Evengelicals are smart they will quit attacking Mormons and work to create a more permenent alliance to help fight for common issues.

There was talk among some of my fellow Romney supporters, who were mormons, during the priamary of preventing Mike Huckabee from becoming President(if he got nominated) by sending Utah to the Democrats and thus proving to the GOP there importance. At the time I just ignored it as idle Talk but I do agree Mormons are open to voting for Democrats.

Interesting. I actually wondered if that could turn some Mormons away should he become the nominee. For example, what if the GOP primary ended up like the Democratic one, with Huckabee and Romney fighting it out for months with Huckabee barely winning in the end? Assuming Huckabee's comments about Mormons that were somewhat offensive continued during the process, and if Obama nominated a Mormon running mate (Yeah, I know there weren't any possibilities this year though there should be in the future), how would Mormons vote?

Anyway, they're already a crucial voting bloc for the GOP out west. The Democrats making inroads with them could be a death sentence for the GOP in states like Colorado and Nevada.

Don't pull a J. J. dude. There only swing state where Mormons matter a lot is Nevada. Colorado is about 2% Mormon, it has more blacks than Mormons.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The Democrats need to start making inroads with Mormons and start now.

If Evengelicals are smart they will quit attacking Mormons and work to create a more permenent alliance to help fight for common issues.

There was talk among some of my fellow Romney supporters, who were mormons, during the priamary of preventing Mike Huckabee from becoming President(if he got nominated) by sending Utah to the Democrats and thus proving to the GOP there importance. At the time I just ignored it as idle Talk but I do agree Mormons are open to voting for Democrats.

Interesting. I actually wondered if that could turn some Mormons away should he become the nominee. For example, what if the GOP primary ended up like the Democratic one, with Huckabee and Romney fighting it out for months with Huckabee barely winning in the end? Assuming Huckabee's comments about Mormons that were somewhat offensive continued during the process, and if Obama nominated a Mormon running mate (Yeah, I know there weren't any possibilities this year though there should be in the future), how would Mormons vote?

Anyway, they're already a crucial voting bloc for the GOP out west. The Democrats making inroads with them could be a death sentence for the GOP in states like Colorado and Nevada.

Don't pull a J. J. dude. There only swing state where Mormons matter a lot is Nevada. Colorado is about 2% Mormon, it has more blacks than Mormons.

In a state like Colorado where elections are getting closer and closer 2% can make the difference.

[phk]

The Democrats need to start making inroads with Mormons and start now.

If Evengelicals are smart they will quit attacking Mormons and work to create a more permenent alliance to help fight for common issues.

There was talk among some of my fellow Romney supporters, who were mormons, during the priamary of preventing Mike Huckabee from becoming President(if he got nominated) by sending Utah to the Democrats and thus proving to the GOP there importance. At the time I just ignored it as idle Talk but I do agree Mormons are open to voting for Democrats.

Interesting. I actually wondered if that could turn some Mormons away should he become the nominee. For example, what if the GOP primary ended up like the Democratic one, with Huckabee and Romney fighting it out for months with Huckabee barely winning in the end? Assuming Huckabee's comments about Mormons that were somewhat offensive continued during the process, and if Obama nominated a Mormon running mate (Yeah, I know there weren't any possibilities this year though there should be in the future), how would Mormons vote?

Anyway, they're already a crucial voting bloc for the GOP out west. The Democrats making inroads with them could be a death sentence for the GOP in states like Colorado and Nevada.

Don't pull a J. J. dude. There only swing state where Mormons matter a lot is Nevada. Colorado is about 2% Mormon, it has more blacks than Mormons.

What about Arizona?

I have a feeling that ex-OC and ex-SD people will be turning Republican anyway.

[pbrower2a]

If Evengelicals are smart they will quit attacking Mormons and work to create a more permenent alliance to help fight for common issues.

That is a huge assumption -- an assumption that the Evangelical Right won't make the same mistake that they made with Mormons that they did with Catholics in believing that they would develop solidarity on one issue (abortion). 

Should Mormons become 5% of the US population, then anyone who wins the majority of their votes might conceivably win a close election. That of course assumes that the political polarization that so marked the 2008 election (only 154 electoral votes decided by a margin less than 10%, Obama winning winning two states by 30% margins and losing some by 30% margins) will abate. That polarization likely reflects the manipulative techniques of the Lee Atwater-Karl Rove era of GOP politics in which the GOP tried to win by getting just enough votes in the "right" places while treating the rest of America badly -- and unwittingly creating a zone of States that haven't voted for the Republican nominee for President since 1988 at the earliest, all of which voted for Obama by double-digit margins in 2008.  Those techniques are likely kaputt.

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Evangelicals are incompetent at political bridge-building unless (like Clinton and for a while Carter) they tone down the theology and avoid right-wing ideology. That's not to say that a Catholic politician could get away with a campaign whose platform includes "winning America for the Virgin Mary" and "banning abortion under all circumstances"; one offends the sensibilities of large sectors of the American public only if one is either incompetent or is more interested in making a point than winning an election.  Heck, I think that someone who expresses hatred for cats on the campaign trail would lose.

No ethnic or religious group is so tied to any one Party that that group cannot change at least one vote to turn against a candidate who offends it. Jews would vote for a Republican against a Democrat who expresses contempt for Jews. At least as late as 1968, African-Americans voted decisively for Winthrop Rockefeller for Governor of Arkansas as a Republican because of Rockefeller's opposition to racial segregation. Clearly, Mormons would vote against an anti-Mormon Republican or some Republican who can be linked to anti-Mormon statements by at least splitting a ticket.