Mitt Romney: It's Not Religion, its His Politics

By Gary Wood
© October 15, 2007

Living in the Salt Lake Valley I have had the opportunity to discuss the upcoming primary election with many people. Literally dozens have chided me for not supporting Mitt Romney for President in 2008. Some have actually accused me of being prejudiced against him due to his religion. Only two have been able to discuss, at any length or depth, the political history and platform of Mitt Romney. Most simply expect me to support him due to his active membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It has reached a point I feel it necessary to declare that I have no problem with Romney’s religion, it is his politics I cannot, and will not, support.

If he had the same love of the Constitutional form of government this country was founded on, as the late Ezra Taft Benson held, he would no doubt have earned my vote. Remember these words of wisdom, “The sole function of government is to protect life, liberty, and property and anything more than this is usurpation and oppression.”(Ezra Taft Benson, An Enemy Hath Done This, 1969) Think of that, anything more is usurpation and oppression.

What about Benson’s inspiring words, “There is one and only one legitimate goal of United States foreign policy. It is a narrow goal, a nationalistic goal: the preservation of our national independence. Nothing in the Constitution grants that the president shall have the privilege of offering himself as a world leader. He is our executive; he is on our payroll; he is supposed to put our best interests in front of those of other nations. Nothing in the Constitution nor in logic grants to the president of the United States or to Congress the power to influence the political life of other countries, to ‘uplift' their cultures, to bolster their economies, to feed their people, or even to defend them against their enemies."(The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 614; see also p. 682 & 704)

This man, Ezra Taft Benson, would have earned, truly been given freely, my vote for President of the United States. He understood the Constitution and the role of the President of the United States and of the Congress! He is not the only LDS leader that has; there have been many who share his inspired views. Mitt Romney simply is not one of them and does not deserve, nor earn, my vote and it is not his religion, and it is his politics! One only has to listen to his answers in the debates or study his record as Governor of Massachusetts to realize he is in lock step thinking with many of the Bush Administration and major Republican Party leadership positions which are not in step with the Constitution for the United States of America.

There is little research that really needs to be done by anyone within the LDS Church or outside the church to see Romney is not a firm believer in the Constitution. Simply, if you have watched or looked up the transcripts from the latest Republican debates you’ll begin to understand. Do you remember the one key question that Chris Matthews asked of Mitt Romney about the need to go to Congress for military action? If not, let me remind you now, from the transcripts of the debate Matthews’ asked the following, “Governor Romney, that raises the question, if you were president of the United States, would you need to go to Congress to get authorization to take military action against Iran's nuclear facilities?”
The answer by Romney reaffirmed all my beliefs but still sent a shockwave through me as this man may well be the next President. “You sit down with your attorneys and tell you want you have to do, but obviously the president of the United States has to do what's in the best interest of the United States to protect us against a potential threat. The president did that as he was planning on moving into Iraq and received the authorization of Congress...” The Constitution requires the Congress to declare war. What Congress gave to Bush was totally against the supreme law of the land and totally betrayed their obligations by passing to the Executive Branch a power it never, I repeat, never should have!

I agree 100% with the reply of Congressman Ron Paul when he answered the following question by Matthews. He was asked, “Congressman Paul, do you believe the president needs authorization of Congress to attack strategic targets in Iran, nuclear facilities?” His reply, “Absolutely. This idea of going and talking to attorneys totally baffles me. Why don't we just open up the Constitution and read it? You're not allowed to go to war without a declaration of war.” Romney does not either get it or does not agree with the Constitution on it, only Congress can declare war! It is a part of the careful check and balance system those 55 enlightened men debated over some 220 years past and the Bush Administration’s undeclared war on Iraq is proof the founders were right and Romney is wrong.

That is simply a scratch on the surface of the many political stances Mitt Romney has taken over his career to prove he simply doesn’t share the wisdom of Ezra Taft Benson. He wants to continue the same failed, preemptive interventionist foreign policy that has created the disasters we face in the world today. He will not learn from the past nine decades of history showing it is a failed policy that needs to be changed. He wants to continue the IRS and the income tax system started with the 16th Amendment and radicalized by FDR and wants to continue to use it to offer ‘incentives’ to the people for controlling the way we live our lives. His health care plan he signed into law in Massachusetts is very familiar, it is as if Hillary Clinton took his law and fashioned her Health Care Choice proposal after it.

My fellow Utahans, and all others blindly preparing to cast a vote for Romney because of his religion please take pause! Study this man’s politics, not his religion. It is OK to respect the way he has chosen to live his life religiously. It is fine to have a great deal of appreciation of the business sense he exhibited while saving the 2002 Olympics, we know what a great thing he did in that capacity. But, in the primaries we are not voting for his religion, nor are we voting for his business savvy, we are voting for the next President of the United States. Let me simply remind everyone reading this of the oath the person elected to President will take in January 2009.

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” The best of his ability does not give us any political expectation that he fully understands the Constitution let alone does it lead us to believe he will defend it. Do not study or vote his religion. Study and vote based on his politics and the next time you see me you will no doubt be supporting a different candidate during the Utah Republican primaries or the primaries of the state in which you reside.