Before it became a state in 1896, Utah had two political parties--the Peoples Party for the Mormons and the Liberal Party for those they called Gentiles. And over the past few decades, the state has pretty much restored that old political order, with the Saints gathered unto the GOP and Democratic Party largely confined to the, uh, Gentiles.
Given the preponderance of Mormons in Utah, it will thus not surprise you to learn that 57 percent of registered voters call themselves Republicans and just seven percent Democrats. And until recently, the Democrats seemed to be happy to think of themselves as the anti-Mormon party.
But under the chairmanship of BYU graduate Jim Debakis the Utah Democratic Party has undertaken to reach out to the Mormon community, and in less than a year, LDSDems has become the party's largest caucus. At the Sunstone Symposium, a couple of its leaders told how they go about their business.
A lot of it boils down to approaching the task the way Mormon missionaries do their thing. Rather than tried to persuade proselytes, you give testimony "why the Democratic Party is true." You see yourself as about the business of "proclaiming the [party] Gospel and "perfecting the Saints." And you find ways to indicate how Utah Democratic beliefs are consistent with LDS doctrine.
For example, Doctrine and Covenants 101:80 reads:
And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose.
As for LDSDems, its mission statement includes this testimony: "We recognize the hand of Divinity in the US Constitution and we seek to ensure that the rights and freedoms it provides are available to everyone."
Raymond Takashi Swenson | Jul 27, 2012 | 7:24pm
Mark, you left out a lot of history in the middle. When Congress was finally willing to grant Utah statehood in 1896, the leaders of the LDS Church recognized the political advantage they would have if they could persuade BOTH national political parties that they had a shot to get the votes of Mormons. This is apparently something that has not occurred to most black, Hispanic and Jewish leaders. Anyway, because it was the Republican Party that had led the charge against the Mormon Church over polygamy, the tendency of Mormons was to register as Democrats. The story was told to me by Oscar McConkie, Jr. (brother of then LDS apostle Bruce McConkie, former Utah chairman of the Kennedy presidential campaign, and former Democratic Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, whose father had also held that position) that, during a visit to southern Utah, the visiting apostle announced before the lunch break that there would be tables with matertials so people could register for either political party. After lunch, he learned that very few people had registered as Republicans. He got up during the afternoon session and said “Brothers and sisters, I want you to know, the Lord wants some Republicans, too!” McConkie related that his father would conclude this story by saying “And ever since, then, the Republicans have thought they were God’s chosen people!”
For most of the 29th Century, the two major parties competed pretty evenly in Utah. However, when the radical left wingers who protested at the 1968 Chicago convention ended up taking over the Democratic Party in 1972, the national Demoicrats became more and more radicalized, announcing support for abortion, and criticizing the US military. By doing so, it alienated many Mormons. As the Democrats have continued along that line, endorsing same sex marriage, their unpopularity with Mormons has grown until it is overwhelming.
If the Democrats were still the party of LBJ and Scoop Jackson, there is every reason to think they would get half the vote in Utah on a regular basis, as they used to.
Raymond Takashi Swenson | Jul 27, 2012 | 7:34pm
Back sixty years ago, it was not unusual for one of the senior leaders of the LDS Church to openly endorse a particular political party. BH Roberts ran for Congress, Senator Reed Smoot was an Apostle, Apostle Ezra Taft Benson served 8 years as Eisenhower’s Secretary of Agriculture.
Newly called Larry Echo Hawk was elected Idaho Attorney General as a Democrat and ran for governor. He had been serving in the Obama Administration as director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. However, he will now be expected to not make political pronouncements.
Mark Silk | Jul 28, 2012 | 8:49am
Raymond, I’m well aware that Mormons divided pretty evenly between Republicans and Democrats after statehood brought an end to the earlier parties. Where I differ with you is in the explanation for the shift. Ezra Taft Benson, W. Cleon Skousen, and other stridently anti-communist right-wingers did a lot through their pronouncements and writings to persuade Mormons that their religious values obliged them to vote Republican. The party of Scoop Jackson and Lyndon Johnson would be regarded today as dangerously socialistic by Utah Republicans.
E B | Jul 28, 2012 | 2:47pm
Nationally, Mormon Democrats comprise 17% of Mormon Americans. The Pew Foundation completed a detailed study published in January of this year breaking down political affliations among other things. Mitt Romney, in January, could boast 86% of Mormon American support, gathering over half of the Mormon Democrats’ votes.
This doesn’t really matter to the LDS Church. They maintain strict political neutrality, while encouraging their members to research the issues and vote their consciences. One thing I might say for a ‘gospel’ of the Democrat Party, is that it won’t take long for Republicans to return in kind and point out media bias among other things. Truly, for someone to make a well-informed opinion, they must research both sides of an issue, rather than relying on sources biased only in one direction (like news media).
http://www.conservativemormonmom.blogspot.com