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A headline that perhaps would only excite a politics geek. However, it is another sign that Mormons are making progress as a serious political entity. And while I doubt this is another sign that Democrats may be able to win over the LDS voting bloc, it’s a good move for the Democrats.
Senator Reid from Nevada met with Representatives Matheson (Utah) and Udall (New Mexico) last week to discuss how to dispel notions that a Mormon Democrat is not an oxymoron. The fourth member of the caucus, Rep. Eni Faleomavaega, (a nonvoting Representative from American Samoa) couldn’t make it.
As Democracy for Utah notes, the talking points from Reid and Matheson themes to appeal to LDS voters: families, community, caring for the less fortunate, and fiscal responsibility.
I imagine the Church is happy with this news as it repeatedly insists on its political neutrality each election year and President Hinckley himself has said it’s fine to be a Democrat and Mormon.
Faleomavaega, who campaigns for re-election partly in Utah because of the large number of American Samoan expatriates living there, is thrilled that a member of the LDS Church is leading Senate Democrats and that maybe he can change the perception that church members are inherently thought of as Republicans.
“Like Senator Reid, I believe the LDS Church needs representation in both the Democratic and Republican parties,” he said. “For too long there has been a misconception that LDS Democrats and Republicans do not share the same values. But this is not true. Our values are the same, but our political philosophies are different.”
Members of the caucus said political differences should not fall along religious lines. Democrats, they said, support working people and have a difference of opinion from Republicans on health care, education, environment, taxes and international relations.
“However, at the end of the day, whether Democrat or Republican, our LDS values remain the same and this is why the LDS Church, as a matter of official policy, does not support one political party over the other,” Faleomavaega said.
(Rather than just trying to convince voters that the party already shares LDS values, I would suggest that more fundamental changes are necessary to at least publicly consider religious and conservative moral issues more seriously. Obviously, many will rightly suggest that these values are not the only considerations. But as Senator Clinton is shrewdly tacking right on faith-based initiatives and abortion, she seems to be the only high-profile Democrat who understands how to appeal to conservatives (or at least wants to)).
Whether the caucus can convince LDS voters that the party as whole can represent their values is another thing. I’m very skeptical but it will be fun to watch which direction the Democratic party takes over the next few years.
See:
Deseret Morning News: Mormon Democrats link up in Congress: Caucus aims to show that LDS, Demos a good mix
The Salt Lake Tribune: Mormon Democrats caucus in Congress, reassert values: A minority of four: “Democrats have many of the same issues at heart as do members of the [LDS] church,” declares Reid
