From the Center-Left Jon Chait asserts:
The entry of Jon Huntsman into the Republican primary field has created strong competition for what has to be a tiny number of Republican voters who want a nominee who’s both sane and Mormon….
One could observe that culturally Mormons descend from New England Yankees, and so do not tend to have the same affect as Southern or Southern inflected politicians. On the other hand, Ezra Taft Benson was a member of the John Birch Society, so it isn’t as if Mormon conservatism has necessarily been milquetoast.
As an ex-Mormon let me chime in. The church teaches that the constitution is an inspired document. In theory it’s revered nearly as much as scripture. In practice it doesn’t get read a lot, although Benson was famous for always carrying a copy with him.
So, in theory, Mormons should be reliable constitutionalists. In practice, you get Harry Reid and Orrin Hatch. In fairness, you also get some tea party types.
Socially they should be reliably conservative, as in pro-life and pro-marriage. Kind of funny that the church that radically rejected its own polygamy a century ago is now at the forefront of preserving monogamous, heterosexual marriage.
They are supposed to value honesty and square dealing. Among the questions the faithful have to answer in an annual interview with their Bishop (assuming they want to be “temple worthy”) is “Are you honest in your dealings with your fellow man?” I often wonder if Reid is able to answer that one with a straight face. I’d love to have someone ask it at a televised press conference.
I will give them points for a solid work ethic. And if there’s a natural disaster in your neighborhood you’ll be glad if you’re surrounded by them.
Bottom line is that I no longer think being a Mormon is a reliable predictor of what someone will do as a representative. Nor is it a disqualifier. It does radically decrease the odds of a Kennedy-esque drinking problem, at least.
His Mormonic-ism notwithstanding, Senator Reid’s political career has been quite impressive–superior to that of a Romneyoid, or teabaggers. He understands the Constitution, more than most urban demos do, or ….biblethumping repugs of whatever type (to a teabagger, the US-con means…2nd Amendment. They generally haven’t read the rest of it, like…the parts dealing with Due Process). Now, Sharie Angle–that’s even scarier than most LDS-bots.