WASHINGTON -- Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid says he agrees with a fellow Mormon who wrote recently that Mitt Romney has "sullied" the LDS faith and that the GOP presidential candidate is "not the face of Mormonism."
Reid, a Mormon from Nevada, blasted Romney in a conference call to reporters over a litany of things the Republican nominee has said recently. And Reid added that Latter-day Saints aren't buying Romney's rhetoric.
"He's coming to a state where there are a lot of members of the LDS Church," Reid said in advance of Romney's Friday visit to Nevada. "They understand that he is not the face of Mormonism."
In contrast, other prominent Mormons have thanked Romney for presenting a positive image of the church.
J.W. Marriott, head of the Marriott hotel chain and a family friend of the candidate, told Romney's church congregation in Wolfeboro, N.H., that Romney's presidential run has been good for the Utah-based faith.
"There has never been as much positive attention to the church, thanks to the wonderful campaign of Mitt Romney and his family," Marriott said, according to news reports.
Reid, the highest-ranking Mormon in elected office in America, noted on Friday a recent opinion piece published in the Huffington Post by Gregory A. Prince, co-author of "David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism."
Prince, who said he backed Romney in his Massachusetts gubernatorial bid and in his 2008 run for president, railed against the GOP nominee after a surreptitiously recorded video emerged in which the candidate said 47 percent of Americans play the victim card and believe they are entitled to government handouts.
"Judge Mitt Romney as you will, and vote for or against him as you will; but do not judge Mormonism on the basis of the Mitt Romney that was unveiled to the public this week," Prince wrote. "He is not the face of Mormonism."
Reid, on the conference call, said, "I agree with him."
"He said that Romney has sullied the religion that he, Prince and Romney share," Reid said. "And he's so disappointed that in his words, 'It's a good religion and he's hiding from it.' "
Reid took to the Senate floor last week to castigate Romney for his "47 percent" remarks and has frequently criticized the Republican for not releasing more than two years of tax returns, claiming at one point that Romney had not paid taxes in some years.
Romney's campaign says the candidate has not paid less than an effective tax rate of 13 percent in the past decade.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican who is also Mormon, said Reid knows well that the LDS Church preaches for members of all political stripes to be engaged in the public square but that he shouldn't be trying to use Romney's faith against him.
"Shame on them," Chaffetz said, referring to Reid and Prince. "Harry Reid seems to be making this way too personal and consequently throwing the religion under the bus for his own personal gain. That's not where anyone should be going with this. He's taking this two steps too far."
Contact Thomas Burr at tburr@sltrib.com
Bodacious posted at 5:46 pm on Tue, Sep 25, 2012.
Harry Reid is a lieing pile of dung. And that's the nicest thing I can say about about him...It goes way down hill from there.
chatmandu002 posted at 6:26 pm on Tue, Sep 25, 2012.
Bodacious,
That was a bodacious statement to make about Harry Reid but also very true. LOL
tededitedit posted at 8:53 pm on Tue, Sep 25, 2012.
This Mormon religious organization uses Christ's name just to gain stature, so mere men using religion for political gain seems like no big deal. The face of Mormonism I've seen recently is ugly! This face coerces young, vulnerable people just to "enroll" them. The enemies they make in the next six weeks will be enough to cost them this close election. I hope they announce a policy to change their ways.
Bot posted at 9:22 pm on Tue, Sep 25, 2012.
Volunteer campaign worker for his dad's gubernatorial campaign 1 year.
Unpaid intern in Governor's office 8 years.
Mormon missionary in Paris 2 years.
Unpaid bishop and stake president for his church 10 years.
Took no salary as president of the Salt Lake Olympics 3 years.
No salary as MA governor 4 years.
Gave his ENTIRE INHERITANCE to charity.
That's a grand total of 28 years of unpaid service to his country, his community and his church. Why? Because that's the kind of man Mitt Romney is.
And he'll show you his:
1) Un-doctored Birth Certificate!
2) College transcripts! Mitt did not use his father’s Mexican citizenship to seek preferential treatment.
3) Law degree!
4) Un-doctored Draft notice!
5) And un-doctored Social Security card, and what state it's registered in!
When was the last time we elected a politician of this character, intellect, experience and integrity?
Bot posted at 9:26 pm on Tue, Sep 25, 2012.
The average Mormon spends seven times as much time in volunteer work as does the average American, according to a 2012 University of Pennsylvania study. I'm sure Mitt Romney spends twice or three times as much as the average Mormon.
Harry Reid, on the other hand, according to a "confidential anonymous source" spends less than the U.S. average. By the way, Harry, when will you release your income tax forms, and your tax and charitable giving for the past 22 years?
JMJ posted at 10:33 pm on Tue, Sep 25, 2012.
Don't mind me. Ringside seat, popcorn and a Dr. Pepper, watching all you good people out-Mormon each other. Bring it.
AZgirl55 posted at 6:19 am on Wed, Sep 26, 2012.
Romney is running for the office of President of the United States. Not President of the Mormon church. The quality of his "Mormonness" should be irrelevant. BTW, Reid is a pig.
wdgnas posted at 7:44 am on Wed, Sep 26, 2012.
jmj: like the popcorn and dr. pepper idea. i asked the romney campaign to show more videos of the dancing horse.
REG in AZ posted at 10:37 am on Wed, Sep 26, 2012.
The constant Republican misdirection of attention to serve their purposes is disgusting but more importantly it is scary, if with their mega-millions they should be successful in conning the people. Reality:
Bush-Cheney spent eight years catering to "the money" and proved beyond any doubt that the "trickle down" theory is a complete fraud only making the wealthy wealthier and soliciting political support. Now the Republicans are blaming Obama for everything and saying the problems are "big government", government spending and the deficit and they are pushing for more considerations for the 1%, even with increased costs to the 99%. Romney has said he actually wants to cut taxes further and to aggressively cut regulations and Ryan's budget recommends giving more considerations to the very wealthy and raising costs to the 99%.
Now how does that thinking match up against reality? While reducing the size of government, government spending and the deficit are all good goals they neither will solve the problems nor even address what caused the problems, actually they are a distraction from focusing on what did cause our problems. None of our problems were caused by government spending and some responsible government spending will actually help revive the economy (as some already has). What caused our problems in every case was exploitation by the few, with excessive deregulation, lax oversight and weak enforcement encouraging run-away greed, gross dishonesty and self-indulgence resulting in repeated crisis in savings-and-loans, banks, dot.coms, the mortgage, financial and investment industries, also with corporate corruption (like Enron) and costly industrywide failures - always with the few walking away with substantial gains and the country, the majority left with the significant costs.
Those circumstances were set-up by permissive politicians catering to "the money" and calling it "conservative", with the resulting problems growing as the politicians were busy looking to the 1% for their support, including to finance and help con the people and manipulate public opinion. What Romney, Ryan and the Republican / Tea Party are now recommending is a return to that style of government, with the few once again having Carte Blanche to aggressively exploit the economy for their large gains. Nothing they seek even directly addresses the need for increased revenue as they just rationalize the economy will provide that, even as they cut taxes more. That mentality is what pushes this country further into being a two-class society with the 1% feeding their insatiable "more" (never enough) appetite and competing in having it all, while the 99% continually looses more. If the voters buy into that deception and support a return to "more of the same", Bush-Cheney style, the result can only be "more of the same" and again the people will pay the price.
Mij14I posted at 5:13 pm on Wed, Sep 26, 2012.
I find Reid's comment a bit perplexing. I also find it interesting how some of those commenting here have a handle on beliefs and practices of the LDS faithful and make personal attacks on Harry Reid. I have a co-worker who is LDS. I asked him today what he felt about Harry Reid's appraisal of Mitt Romney. His response;
"Harry Reid is LDS yet a ranking democrat. Mitt Romney is Republican and LDS. The teachings and practices of the LDS Church are such that a good Mormon would be republican rather than democrat. Given how Harry Reid has now and times past stood on his Mormon background to advance his political life will be a problem for him at the time he stands in front of God."
The statement re-inforced what I thought while reading this story this morning, but didn't have time to type out and post my comment. I first became acquainted with Harry Reid in 1981. Reid was chairman of the Nevada Gaming Board. A resort on the Las Vegas strip, The Alladin, had been found to have owners deemed "undesirable" by the Gaming Board and under order to sell or lose their gaming license. My employer represented two interested buyers. Other potential buyers included Johnny Carson and Wayne Newton. Wayne Newton was ultimately the successful bidder. My impression of Harry Reid at the time was that he was never really his own man. Whether it be the Alladin or other matters dealing with the state's prime attraction he was nauseatingly patronizing to some and underhanded with others. Harry Reid always seemed to be afraid of making the wrong decision or saying the wrong thing. Reid is not his own man and doesn't act on his own. What is influencing Harry Reid is most likely very dark and sinister.
So given my first impression of Harry Reid from 1981. Given he has acted in such a way as to never really overcome that first impression. And, the comment concerning Harry Reid by my co-worker along with the comments here, especially the first one, Mitt Romney will do well in chuckle at Reid's personal evaluation, Reid's on the losing side.
loose stool posted at 3:21 am on Fri, Sep 28, 2012.
Who cares what Reid thinks, he's a liarer just like the rest of his party. The democrats are desperate and will say and do anything.