Romney family tree has polygamy branch

[rodeodance]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070224/ap_on_el_pr/romney_polygamy;_ylt=AqznjDeEsvH.w_izFncsNsTMWM0F

Romney family tree has polygamy branch

By JENNIFER DOBNER and GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writers 6 minutes ago

SALT LAKE CITY - While Mitt Romney condemns polygamy and its prior practice by his Mormon church, the Republican presidential candidate's great-grandfather had five wives and at least one of his great-great grandfathers had 12.


Polygamy was not just a historical footnote, but a prominent element in the family tree of the former Massachusetts governor now seeking to become the first Mormon president.

Romney's great-grandfather, Miles Park Romney, married his fifth wife in 1897. That was more than six years after Mormon leaders banned polygamy and more than three decades after a federal law barred the practice.

Romney's great-grandmother, Hannah Hood Hill, was the daughter of polygamists. She wrote vividly in her autobiography about how she "used to walk the floor and shed tears of sorrow" over her own husband's multiple marriages.

[napi21]

1. I don't trust Mittanddon't want him to be Prez, but I also don't believe

you can fault any candidate for what his relatives have done!

[WindRavenX]

7. or his religion

Because I'll be the first to say Mormons are nice people, a little kooky for my taste, but it's just not right to judge a canidate on his personal faith--only what he'll do as President.

[fishwax]

19. I think it's legitimate to judge them where action and religion intersect

I don't have a problem with raising the fact that, while many of his contemporaries were marching in the streets for civil rights, Romney was serving a mission for a church that refused full membership to African Americans (and would continue to do so until 1978).

I think bringing up the oddities of great-great grandparents is pointless and irrelevant, and whatever else his faith is doesn't bother me. Generally I agree with your take on it. I know the church quite well and know many members of the church, numbering many among my family and friends.

[WindRavenX]

24. I agree

And I do think Mittens is bad news because of his close ties to the church. But I've seen some amazingly hateful things towards him based *only* on the fact he's mormon. It goes beyond that. He was at one point for gay rights, remember.

It's the same bs towards JFK in the 60s.

[harpboy_ak]

20. Nice? What's Nice about pouring millions into state consitution "Marriage Amendments"

The Mormon church poured MILLIONS into states including Alaska to pass "marriage amendments" to state constitutions outlawing gay marriage. How is that "nice"? How is it "nice" that black folks still have a lot of trouble getting a hotel room in Salt Lake City?

[WindRavenX]

23. look, it's the same deal with the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church as an entity is entirely wrong, just as the LDS church is. I judge people individually--do you feel the same about Reid or Kerry? Both come from religious backgrounds that horribly repress women, gays, and minorities.

Judge the individual. Mittens is bad news, but I'm not going to say everyone of his faith is. Otherwise, I'd have no Catholic, Jewish, or Mormon friends.

[rodeodance]

2. his wife has a good dig at Rudy and John

.....This month, Ann Romney tried a different tack, taking a lighthearted jab at her husband's main Republican competitors, Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, as she introduced Romney at a Missouri GOP dinner.

The biggest difference between her husband and the other candidates, Ann Romney said, is that "he's had only one wife."

McCain has been married twice; Giuliani three times.

[npincus]

4. good one.

when Guiliani's personal life gets worked over in the MSM, his halo will be splattered with sh*t.

[npincus]

3. good ammo for his enemies

to exploit the "discomfort" some have with having a Mormon president. I hope the assault comes from the OTHER side and not ours.

[Ian David]

5. See also: Polygamy and Mexican Immigrants prominent feature in Der Mittenfuhrer's family tree

Polygamy and Mexican Immigrants prominent feature in Der Mittenfuhrer's family tree
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3131752&mesg_id=3131752

[WindRavenX]

6. I hope he wins the nomination

He's an amazingly weak canidate, and no matter who we throw out there, the GOP won't be able to complain about a lack of foreign policy experience.

[XemaSab]

8. Oh, come ON!

My great grandparents, great great grandparents, and great great great grandparents were all wastrels, alcoholics, and psychos.

Even if his DAD was a polygamist, does that mean anything?

How many people here have parents who believe gays are going to hell, or blacks and Mexicans are all criminals? :shrug:

[hedgehog]

9. Check out Martha Beck's " Leaving the Saints"

Admittedly it's biased to the extent that she has left the Mormon Church, but it does illustrate the problems and questions that some of us have on this subject. As a Catholic, I know that most active Catholics ignore the bishops when we disagree with them. For example, anything they have to say about birth control is considered foolish at best. Therefore, I'm not really concerned about how the Catholic bishops would effect the thinking of a Catholic politician. On the other hand, I have no means to judge how closely a Mormon would hew to the commands of the Mormon hierarchy. By reputation, the Mormons are more apt to listen to their elders than us Catholics are. Toss into the mix that some Mormon families are really entwined with the Church hierarchy and there is room for caution.


The Mormons I know are good people. I'm not certain I could vote for a Mormon for an important national office, though.

[XemaSab]

17. There are a LOT of jack Mormons out there

My best friend is a lapsed Mormon.

I would have to know more about the extent and depth of his Mormon beliefs before making a judgement on whether Mormonism alone is a deal breaker (as opposed to, I dunno... politics?). I would imagine it would be MUCH more of a deal breaker to the fundies, and that's why he'll never be the nominee.

If being Muslim isn't a deal breaker, and being Baptist isn't a deal breaker, and being Catholic isn't a deal breaker, and being Jewish isn't a deal breaker, then why is Mormonism that different? :shrug:

'Cause I gotta say the freaky wings of all of the above groups are just as scary as the freaky wing of the Mormon church. :scared:

[hedgehog]

22. As you said, the question isn't about the fact that he is a Mormon,

the question is, what kind of Mormon is he? As a Catholic, I would never vote for a member of Opus Dei because it is a secretive organization that appears to have an agenda different from what it what it professes in public.

[kestrel91316]

25. If Mitt were a party-going lapsed JACK Mormon I would be able to consider

voting for him, but he would have to be a card-carrying liberal Dem, too!!!!

[Gormy Cuss]

11. If his father had been a polygamist, Mitt would never have entered politics.

Somehow I think the residents of Michigan would have had an issue with a polygamist governor in the 1960s. Frankly, I'm surprised they overlooked the fact that George was born in Mexico and a Mormon.

(I do agree that digging into the long dead family to find a reason to vote against a candidate is a bit silly and unfair. Anyone dead before the candidate got to know him or her is utterly irrelevant.)

[CatholicEdHead]

12. Agreed

He should not be held accountable for what his great-grandfather did. While you can dig up other dirt, this dirt is a bit over the top.

[grytpype]

10. heh heh

This is great!

[fujiyama]

13. Amusing but not really relevant

Many Mormon beliefs are twisted IMO, but there are some decent Mormons out there like Harry Reid. I wouldn't vote for or against someone based on those beliefs, but Romney seems to be trying to pander to RW extremists...Considering the way he was probably raised, he's going back to the roots.

[Placebo]

14. That means Romney is dark sided & evil.

Not because of the polygamy of course. But because he's a damn Republican flip-flopper.

[deadparrot]

15. While interesting, I don't think we can hold Romney responsible

for what his ancestors did. Don't get me wrong, I think he's a horrible politician and I disagree with most, if not all, of his major positions (such as they are, since he keeps flip-flopping), but I'd prefer to oppose him based on his own policies, words, and actions, and not on biological chance. :shrug:

[Mz Pip]

16. Give this to Fartwell

and then run and :hide:

Let the RW wackos take on this. Liberals shouldn't even go there.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[WorldResident]

18. Who cares?

Aside from rankling the Southern Baptists, which I have done on this point in regards to Romney's faith and the multiple divorces and instances of adultery among McCain, Giuliani, and Gingrich, I think the issue is fundamentally irrelevant.

[ensho]

21. I don't want a prez that wears religious underwear

however many wives his male relatives had, I just don't trust anyone who believes in religious underwear. (Mormons wear a certain kind of underwear)

the religiously insane are dangerous




(ensho formally donsu)

[kestrel91316]

26. Yeah. The holy long johns are a bit much for me.............they supposedly can't

even remove them to bathe. They have to keep some part of their body covered by them at all times.

Guess that makes showers pretty much impossible, lol.

[WindRavenX]

29. actually they DO remove them to bathe

But other than that, yeah, 24/7...

[Momgonepostal]

30. Or unless you're swimming, working out, having a baby...

having a physical, playing tennis, etc, etc...

[SoCalDem]

27. EVERY family tree has some rickety branches

and various insect infestations..

Don't be shaking that tree too hard.. :)

That said, he's a slimy, smarmy guy, and I don't think anyone's fooled :)

[Nimrod2005]

28. Leave the guy alone...That was so long ago.

How is any of this relevant?