So Reasonable... And Yet So Wrong

"Incidentally, while I'm well aware that in practice, polygamy generally entails horrific abuse of women and children, I can't see what shape a principled objection to a consensual polyamorous marriage as such might take"

 what about socialists' argument that women should be redistributed equally amongst men. 

I think a candidate's religion may be relevant concerning his character and competence.  This must be understood within a certain range.

There is a clear double standard--the secular left will vote easily for a Catholic like John Kerry because it is evident he is not really a sincere Catholic.  If a Catholic such as Antonin Scalia was running, the secular left would bring up his faith early and often since it is evident that Scalia actually believes it.

With Romney, in my book he is not the kind of Mormon that justifiably brings serious questions about his character and competence. It is evident he is a Mormon primarily because his father was a Mormon and while Jewish practice requires so much each Jew must be sold on its fundamentals--this is not apparent about Romney's Mormonism.  Ask a Jew like me about questions and I will easily make reference to Judaism, Jewish law, etc.  Romney goes out of his way to appeal to traditonal American values and while he is not running from his Mormonism, he also does not carry it on his every breadth.

I  believe to impeach Romney with his Mormonism would require some bizarre practices on Romney's part and some statements that demonstrate he will go to the mat for whatever questionable quote Mormonism's critics have in mind.

It seems unfair to blame Romney for the questionable theories of the Mormon church and it is also clear that non-Mormons do not fully understand them anyway.

Polygamy is clearly the kind of issue people have in mind when they look at the Mormon church.  Obviously, if Romney had a couple or three wives--he would have no political future so it is pretty funny  that Daniel has said what he said.

I prefer not to judge people based on their group affiliation. They are individuals, after all, and any analysis of a person should be based on their own words and deeds. Bad ideas, on the other hand, I'm pretty ruthless toward.

Mormonism is a death cult. The penalty for apostasy (defection), is death. This involves either slitting the throat or disembowelment. If you have a hard time believing this, google the terms mormon+deception, and you'll find the testimony of daring individuals who developed the courage to stand up to this corrosive doctrine.

Fresh recruits, new converts, are brought into the temple and systematically monitored and subjected to the ritualistic initiation that is an emotional maelstrom for them, as they had no idea what they were walking into. They are hovered over if they show the slightest doubt in their body language, and corrected. In time, they are taught secret handshakes and given the threat of death for either apostasy or sharing the secret handshakes with outsiders. They finally emerge with a lifestyle difficult to escape from.

Biblical imperatives for love and mercy are twisted, as the church convinces itself and its converts that killing would-be apostates is an act of love and mercy.

Don't take my word for it, look it up for yourself. What you will find about Mormonism is very disturbing. Don't be afraid to share, because it's important to know how to protect our children from this threat. Mormonism is Christianity with an Islamic twist.

What David N. Friedman said, pretty much. Romney is not a Mormon, he's an ordinary sleazy politician who happened to be born and grown up in a Mormon family. His only problem is that he has to appear to be a religious nut to do well in the Republican primaries. That's specific to the Republican primaries only. Hey, remember - the guy was elected governor of Massachusetts - nobody cared.