The pile-on from the non-Mormon press over Mitt's monied manhandling of Mormon law has now hit the "Washington Post":
"'Did Mitt Romney’s $10,000 Bet Violate Mormon Church Teaching?'"
"By Elizabeth Tenety
"Texas Gov. Rick Perry (L) and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney during the ABC News GOP Presidential debate in Iowa on Saturday. . . . Mitt Romney offered a $10,000 bet to Rick Perry over health care during Saturday night’s Republican presidential debate, a move that many analysts say shows he’s out of touch with the economic hardships facing the American public, and perhaps with the teachings of his own Mormon Church.
"When questioned by Perry about whether or not the former governor proscribed his Massachusetts health care plan for the rest of the country, Romney, a former bishop and active Mormon, said: 'I’ll tell you what, 10,000 bucks? Ten-thousand-dollar bet?'
“'I’m not in the betting business,' Perry replied.
"Romney’s bet kicked off a Twitter meme and questions about why he would publicly violate a known tenet of his faith. The LDS.org Web site says:
“'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is opposed to gambling, including lotteries sponsored by governments. Church leaders have encouraged Church members to join with others in opposing the legalization and government sponsorship of any form of gambling.'
"The site also provides a series of links and articles on the teaching as well as resources for Mormons who are facing gambling addictions. The Church has a long history of opposing various types of gambling: The church traces its stance back to Brigham Young in 1845 who discouraged Mormon women from raffling quilts. There is no state lottery in Utah, and the church and its members have long lobbied to prevent gambling’s many forms.
"But what does it mean when a Mormon candidate publicly violates a teaching of his church? At a time when concerns about Romney’s Mormonism make front page news, could it even help him to distance himself from church teaching in his political life?
"Questions about how the church teachings shape the political life of a president have been a part of American political life from its founding. Thomas Jefferson, America’s third president, was criticized and called a Deist by Federalist opponents during his presidential campaign and was said by his adversaries to have beliefs that disqualified him from office. In more recent history, during the campaign of John F. Kennedy, the man who would become our first Catholic president was pressured to give a speech declaring that he would not bow to the Vatican during his presidency.
“'I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me,' Kennedy famously declared. “Whatever issue may come before me as president — on birth control, divorce, censorship, gambling or any other subject--I will make my decision in accordance with these views, in accordance with what my conscience tells me to be the national interest, and without regard to outside religious pressures or dictates. And no power or threat of punishment could cause me to decide otherwise.'
"In 2007, Romney made a similarly-themed speech about his Mormon faith, saying that as governor, 'I did not confuse the particular teachings of my church with the obligations of the office and of the Constitution--and of course, I would not do so as president. I will put no doctrine of any church above the plain duties of the office and the sovereign authority of the law.'
"So far, no final word on where gambling fits in for Romney in the plain duties of his potential office."
("Did Mitt Romney’s $10,000 Bet Violate Mormon Church Teaching?," by Elizabeth Tenety. under "On Faith: A Conversation on Religion and Politics," in "Washington Post." 11 December 2011, at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/under-god/post/did-mitt-romneys-10000-bet-violate-mormon-church-teaching/2011/12/11/gIQAzG3EnO_blog.html)
_____
The firestorm in the mainstream media kicked off over Mitt's anti-Mormon embrace of gambling around the time MSNBC quoted from the Mormon Church's own website against the sin of gambling. In the process, Mitt's worthiness as a temple Mormon was also brought into question.
For starters, MSNBC put up on the screen a portion of the official LDS Church's website, under "Gospel Topics," which denounces gambling.
Why?
Because Brother Romney had recently, publicly and on national TV offered a $10,000 cash bet to one of his opponents. As noted above, Romney made his gambling offer this way:
". . . I’ll tell you what, 10,000 bucks? $10,000 bet?"
The person to whom Mitt made his gambling offer (an evangelical Christian named Rick Perry) declined, saying he wasn't into betting.
MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, on his cable television show, reminded Rommey (as well as O'Donnell's coast-to-coast viewers) that Mitt's bet was contrary to the official doctrines of Mitt's Mormon faith, which Mitt purports to devoutly follow.
Below is a portion of the transcript from O'Donnell's "The Last Word" program, where he makes the point about Mitt the Mormon Gamblin' Man (and where, in doing so, O'Donnell raises Mitt's questionable Mormon temple worthiness):
"O`DONNELL: Do you know who else is not supposed to be in the betting business? Devout Mormon Mitt Romney. In the gospel topics section of the official Web site of the Mormon Church, the faithful are taught about gambling.
"'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is opposed to gambling, including lotteries sponsored by governments. Gambling is motivated by a desire to get something for nothing. This desire is spiritually destructive. It leads participants away from the Savior`s teachings of love and service and toward the selfishness of the adversary.'
"In other words, the Devil wants to you gamble. God doesn`t.
"The Mormon position against gambling is not a central tenet of the religion. It is a matter of policy rather than doctrine. There isn`t an emphatic prohibition on gambling the way there is on drinking alcohol or caffeine or smoking.
"In their oral testimonies of their fidelity to the teachings of the Church that Mormons must give to gain access to Mormon temples, gambling isn`t even on the Church`s check list for entrance to the temples. But Mormons have been told not to gamble repeatedly by the Church`s elders, and the current president of the Mormon Church. And so, good Mormons don`t gamble. And Mitt Romney is a very good Mormon.
"And so, in Utah, where there is still no state lottery, thanks to Mormon influence, ears popped on Saturday night when they heard Mitt Romney propose a bet on the Republican debate stage.
"(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: I`ll tell you what, 10,000 bucks, $10,000 bet?
"PERRY: I`m not in the betting business.
"(END VIDEO CLIP)
"O`DONNELL: Rick Perry, a formidably religious Republican in his own right got that one debate answer right, both religiously and politically. That moment, though, left Mormons hoping that Romney was joking."
("The Last Word for December 12, 2011," transcript on LexisNexis News)
Here's a fuller version o the LDS Church's official website denunciation of gambling, from which MSNBC partially quoted:
"Gambling
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is opposed to gambling, including lotteries sponsored by governments. Church leaders have encouraged Church members to join with others in opposing the legalization and government sponsorship of any form of gambling.
"Gambling is motivated by a desire to get something for nothing. This desire is spiritually destructive. It leads participants away from the Savior's teachings of love and service and toward the selfishness of the adversary. It undermines the virtues of work and thrift and the desire to give honest effort in all we do.
"Those who participate in gambling soon discover the deception in the idea that they can give little or nothing and receive something of value in return. They find that they give up large amounts of money, their own honor, and the respect of family members and friends. Deceived and addicted, they often gamble with funds they should use for other purposes, such as meeting the basic needs of their families. Gamblers sometimes become so enslaved and so desperate to pay gambling debts that they turn to stealing, giving up their own good name."
http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&sourceId=c9bb2f2324d98010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=bbd508f54922d010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD_____
Romney has complained in the past that his faith shouldn't be an issue.
Yet, Romney has now made it a national topic of conversation by openly violating the tenets of his religious faith in his bid to advance himself at any cost (so to speak).
As commentator Ann Althouse observes:
"When I heard Romney's 'Rick, I’ll tell you what, 10,000 bucks?' my instant reaction was that it's gambling. Are Mormons allowed to gamble? And many voters frown on gambling or regard it as a sin. Is a bet like that, especially when made for rhetorical purposes, considered gambling by people who are opposed to bad gambling? Will this make people think Romney really isn't very religious, and, if so, will that help him in some quarters?"
(Ann Althouse, at "Althouse," 22 December 2011)
Heh. Now even the "Gentiles" are taking notice.
Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2011 05:44PM by steve benson.