*(Warning: Some swearage, but appropriately edited for small children who may be present).
Arizona’s newly-elected senator, Kyrsten Sinema, is a BYU grad and a former Mormon. She's also the first Arizona Democrat in 30 years to to win a U.S. Senate race in Arizona.
This is what the ruby red-Republican Arizona state flag used to look like:
https://www.theflagshop.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/thumbnail/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/a/r/arizona-flag-std.jpgBut, with Sinema’s Democrat-dipped-blue-dyed election to the U.S. Senate, this is what it looks like now:
https://www.creators.com/read/steve-benson/11/18/241301Personally, I think Arizona voters made a Dem good choice. But, for the radical religious record, my John Birch-lovin’ grandpa, Ezra Taft Benson, declared in no uncertain terms that you can’t be liberal Democrat and a good Mormon at the same time.
In another thread, RfM poster "apfvrt" made a request of verification of that fact:
"Folks, I recently attended a cousin's reunion. All were TBMs except me. In the discussion about Utah's redness, I mentioned that ETB' comment that one couldn't be a good Mormon and be a Liberal.
"I was asked for the source and so I Googled it and couldn't find it. They made me very uncomfortable. So, I was asked for the source and so I Googled it and couldn't find it. They made me very uncomfortable. So, can one assist me in finding that source? Thanks."
("ETB Quote," by poster "apfvrf," on "Recovery from Mormonism" discussion board,' 11 November 2014, at:
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1428699,1428699#msg-1428699)
Below is the trail to the ETB statement in question:
“In February 1974, Apostle Ezra Taft Benson was asked during an interview if a good Mormon could also be a liberal Democrat. Benson pessimistically replied:
‘'I think it would be very hard if he was living the gospel and understood it.’
"To this extreme position Ralph Harding, a two-term Idaho Democratic congressman and a Mormon, retorted:
"'In fact, it is much easier to be a faithful Latter-day Saint and a liberal Democrat than it is to be a faithful Church member and a member of the John Birch Society. Compassion and tolerance are attributes that are found in faithful Church members and liberal Democrats but seldom in John Birchers and other extreme right wingers.'"
("Mormons? 'Many Liberals,'" in "Salt Lake Tribune," 26 February 1974, p. 24, cited in John Heinerman and Anson Shupe, "The Mormon Corporate Empire," Chapter 4, "Political and Military Power of the Latter-day Saints"[Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press, 1985], p. 142)
What my grandfather publicly said as a Mormon Church apostle against the notion of being, at the same time, a good Mormon and a Democrat he confirmed in his private Benson family conversations.
To his dismay, there were certain Mormon Church leaders who thought they could be both. As a youth, I overheard him express concern to my father about the appointment of eventual LDS apostle, Neal Maxwell, as Church commissioner of education. He complained that Maxwell was a "liberal." Ever loyal to the prophet then-LDS Church president David O. McKay), however, ETB resigned himself to accepting on faith the prophet's decision.
First Presidency counselor in the McKay regime, Hugh B. Brown, was another burr under my grandfather's saddle (or, as my mother once angrily told me, "a thorn in the side of your grandfather"). Brown strongly opposed ETB's far-right John Bircher views and his attempts to officially align them with Mormon Church doctrine. Nevertheless, as Brown became increasingly enfeebled with age, my grandfather expressed to me his love and concern for his fellow apostle, and never told me about the earlier political feuding with his colleague.
Nonetheless, as Heinerman and Shupe note, the fact remains that "LDS leadership attitudes [affect] . . . Mormonism's grass roots level . . . [a] lot [according to] state Democratic leaders . . . . The image of Republicans is perceived by many faithful Saints as more closely aligned with Mormon values than that of Democratism.
"Dale Lambert, an active Mormon and former Democratic party state chairman, has seen many well-known Mormons who declared themselves Democrats when they run for office and subsequently lost. He said in an interview:"
"'Our efforts to run a middle course and be true to Democratic constituencies while still appealing to the majority haven't worked. We hear some brave talk, but the party is very discouraged. "
"There is a joke in Salt Lake City expressing a feeling that Mormon Democrats say the know well:
"'I thought I saw Brother Williams in the Temple last week. Why that is impossible. He's a Democratic, you know.'
"To Utah Democrats, however, it's no joke. Though many Mormons may not go as far as Ezra Taft Benson in equating membership in the Democratic party with apostasy, Republican philosophy seems to have an edge at election time.
"Ed Firmage, a [now-retired] University of Utah law professor, liberal [but now completely LDS-inactive] Mormon Democrat and former congressional candidate, thinks the LDS Church should take responsibility for perpetuating the idea that good Mormons have to be Republicans and for dismantling the stereotype in the future. Said Firmage:
"'My main concern isn't as a Democrat, but as a Mormon. We need to look at the universality of the gospel message. The basic Church principles are not liberal or conservative or Republican or Democratic.
"Otherwise, Mormon Democrats warn that Republican and Democratic parties would essentially turn into Mormon and Gentile parties, threatening a return to the political polarization of the 1870s in Utah when the Liberal party [founded to represent Utah Gentiles who felt out of power engaged in nasty mud-slinging campaigns against the LDS People's party. . . .
"Mormons are part of a larger hierarchical network, Even if their partisan sympathies are [arguably] moderate and split between the two major political parties, they are still subject to pressures for political action that appeal to the Mormon brand of morality rather than a political [party] ideology."
(Heinemann and Shupe, pp. 142-44; for related RfM thread, see:
https://www.exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1428713,1428713#msg-1428713)
*****
Now, back to Kyrsten Sinema (that’s “Sinema,” Grandpa, not “Sinfulma”).
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--Get this, Grandpa: Kyrsten was once a Mormon and, for the record, she happens to be bisexual, unapologetically embraces that reality and is a hard worker thanks to her Mormon upbringing that taught her to put her shoulder to the wheel, push along.
Some Basic Background on Her Roots, Including Her Earlier Life as a Latter-day Saint (Which She Doesn't Hold Against You).
“[Kyrsten Sinema] . . . grew up homeless for a time. And [she's] the first openly bisexual member of Congress. . . .
“Sinema grew up in a Mormon family. Although she's no longer affiliated with any religion, she says her family's conservative roots helped launch her career. [She] grew up in a Mormon family. Although she's no longer affiliated with any religion, she says her family's conservative roots helped launch her career. Amid recession in the 1980s, her parents divorced. . . .
"’I kind of grew up with a mix of two things,’ she says. ‘One was kind of this individual work ethic that my father and my stepfather and my mother all taught me, which was never depend on anyone else to do things for you and work really hard on your own.’
“And Sinema did work hard. She graduated from college [BYU] at 18. She got a job as a social worker, then got a law degree. In 2004, she ran for the state Legislature and won. [In 2013], she threw in a doctorate for good measure.
"’At the same time, I benefited from the help of church and family and government my whole life,’ she says.
“Democratic Sen. David Lujan, a [former] colleague of Sinema's in the [Arizona] state Legislature, says he had ‘no doubt she would be in Congress someday.’ Lujan says she was the smartest person in the state Capito--and the hardest-working. ‘There were a lot of people that were jealous of her,’ he says. ‘And I saw that on both sides of the aisle.’
“Early on, Sinema formed a reputation as an outspoken advocate for women's rights and same-sex marriage. [A former Democratic colleague of hers, she also learned to moderate her tone and found Republicans to co-sponsor her bills. Even critics say they respect Sinema's charm and political skill. . .. [a]nd perhaps [have regarded her as] shrewd. Her district is made up of almost equal parts Republicans, Democrats and independents. GOP political analyst Kris Mayes says to win, Sinema had to seek the middle. ‘It is representative of a changing Arizona — such that you are going to see a much more diverse cast of characters go to Congress from Arizona than ever before,’ Mayes says. . . .
“When asked why the public seems to be fascinated with her, Sinema says: ‘I speak my mind. I'm not really afraid of things. I actually don't think that's that unusual. And I think it's not a surprise here in Arizona."
(“Sinema, First Openly Bisexual Member Of Congress, Represents 'Changing Arizona,'” by Peter O’Dowd, “All Things Considered,” KJZZ, Phoenix, Arizona, broadcast 1 January 2013,
http://kjzz.org/?utm_source=npr.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=click%2Bstation&utm_term=local-story)
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--Yes, Grandpa, Kyrsten is one of those L-word types--a liberal, plus, dear gawd, a feminist woman liberal, plus she’s a feminist woman liberal who is both bisexual and a supporter of abortion rights.
Don’t Roll Over in Your Grave. Just Roll with It.
Throughout her campaign for the Senate, Krysten was portrayed by her critics as being“ too liberal for Arizona voters,” many of whom happen to be Mormon.
But that’s water under the bridge. She just got elected to the U.S. Senate. In Arizona. Among all those Mormons.
“As an openly bisexual woman, Sinema [ended up] making history . . . by becoming the first openly bisexual senator in U.S. history. [With her election, more history was also] made: Arizona [has] its first female U.S. senator.”
Not only is she bisexual, she was the first openly bisexual person elected to Congress.
“Sinema made national headlines in November 2012 when she was elected the congressional representative for Arizona’s then-newly formed 9th Congressional District . . . . [She] was only 36 years old when she took her [that] seat in January 2013. She was also the first openly bisexual person elected to Congress (though when she took her seat in 2013, there were already six openly gay or lesbian Congresspeople as well). GOP political analyst Kris Mayes had described Arizona’s 9th district as ‘representative of a changing Arizona,’ and the district’s choice of Sinema as their first representative seemed to further cement that reputation.”
Claims have been made that she never has been was married (although some sources say she was at one time wed to a Mormon guy from the Y; see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrsten_Sinema).
She certainly has been derided by conservatives as being no fan of stay-at-home moms, citing the following statement from Sinema as proof:
“These women who act like staying at home, leeching off their husbands or boyfriends, and just cashing the checks is some sort of feminism because they're choosing to live that life. That's b***s***. I mean, what the f[***] are we really talking about here?”
Her critics report that “[t]he quote got Sinema in hot water at the time, even though she quickly walked back on them, claiming that the interview was meant to be an over-the-top Daily Show-type spoof, and that she really did value moms of all stripes.“
But wait, she still supports abortion rights, leading her enemies to attack her as “a female who . . . is unmoved by the humanity of a pain-capable unborn life [that] says much about how little [she] values the natural, God-given abilities that women possess” to be give birth.
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--Relax, Grandpa, Kyrsten knows the importance of families.
In Childhood, She Spent Time in Poverty, Experienced Homelessness and Lived with the Realities of a Broken Home.
“The ‘Washington Post,’ . . . in a January 2013 lifestyle piece, summarize[ed] Sinema’s career as ‘[a] success story like nobody else’s’: 'Sinema was born in Tucson and moved to Florida with her mother after her parents went through what Sinema called ‘a tough divorce.’ In Florida, Sinema’s mother married the vice-principal of her daughter’s elementary school. But he eventually lost his job and the family ran out of money, so when Sinema was in third grade, the family started squatting in an abandoned gas station on the outskirts of a Florida Panhandle town of Defuniak Springs. The family took showers in the trailer of an uncle ‘down the road,’ and young Kyrsten’s clothes were hand-me-downs from a girl who attended the same Mormon Church as her family. Within a couple of years, the family’s fortunes improved enough to leave the gas station and move into a small house."
_____
--Lighten up, Grandpa. Kyrsten actually attended, and graduated from, the Lord’s University,
Yes, Despite Her Hardships, She Got Her Degree from BYU, the Same Place Where I Graduated From, Too. Libs of a Feather Flock Together.
“In school, Sinema worked hard enough to get her high school diploma at age 16, and a B.A. from Brigham Young University (which she attended on full scholarship) at 18.”
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--Yo, Grandpa, although Kyrsten ended working as a social worker, that’s not akin to being a socialist worker, although she is regarded in some circles as quite the lefty liberal.
Prior to Entering the World of Politics, She was Devoted to Compassionate Service (Her Version, of Service, not the Correlated Mormon Relief Society Version).
“Upon graduating from [BYU], Sinema started working as a social worker, a job she held from 1995 through 2002. (She also picked up a Masters of Social Work degree in 1999). The poverty she experienced as a child and the poverty she saw in her social-work clients both strongly influence[d] her work . . . .”
_____
--Don’t worry, Grandpa, Kyrsten doesn’t hate Mormonism for being vehemently anti-gay).
Cinema Says That Being Bisexual--or Even Being Mormon --Didn't Determine Her Personal World Perspective
“[I]n 2013, she told the ‘Washington Post’ that poverty has a more of a driving influence on her than any other aspects of her character or experience. ‘I don’t think religion or my [sexual] orientation shaped my world view,’ she said. ‘They’re parts of who I am, but they’re not driving the force.’ Her official biography on the congressional website describes her social work as follows: 'Sinema became a social worker helping struggling families. She soon realized that the problems they came to her with--poverty, homelessness, job loss, abuse--were common to so many families, and that solving these problems meant thinking bigger than one family at a time. It required fighting for real change to rebuild an America that works for ALL Americans.” [original emphasis].
“A May 2013 profile in ‘Elle’ magazine goes into more detail; as a social worker, Sinema was assigned to a low-income elementary school in Phoenix, where she converted a former locker room into a ‘family resource center,’ complete with a clothing bank set up in the showers. In 2000, Arizona state lawmakers threatened to gut the school district’s budget, so Sinema’s fellow social workers voted to send her to the state capitol to fight the budget cuts.”
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--Grandpa, it’s OK to be educated. In fact, sone of the best liberals are the educated ones.
Sinema Knew She Had the Smarts to Serve in Public Office.
“When she first entered the [Arizona] capitol building, Sinema said, ‘I was scared I wasn’t knowledgeable enough.’ That fear vanished as soon as she started talking to actual lawmakers: ‘I realized I was way overeducated. I had the skill level. And I realized there weren’t people like me inside the building. At that moment, I decided to run for office.’”
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--Fair Warning on the Gay Thing, Grandpa.
Kyrsten Has Been A Fierce Defender of the Constitutional Rights of for Same-Sex Partners and Same-Sex Marriage. Cherish the Thought.
“For all its emphasis on poverty and its problems, Sinema’s career includes a consistent focus on same-sex rights, too. In 2006, she led a successful state-level voter effort to defeat Arizona’s 1996-era ban on gay marriage. 'OnTheIssues' maintains a page focused on Sinema’s civil rights record; in 2006 she voted to include sexual orientation and gender identity in Arizona’s anti-discrimination laws. In 2012, three years before the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision made gay marriage legal throughout the country, she expressed support for same-sex marriage, and in 2013, after going to Congress, she co-sponsored the Student Non-Discrimination Act with would enforce against anti-gay discrimination in public schools.
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--OK, I’ll admit to you, Grandpa, that Kyrsten has confessed): she once Self-Identified as a “Prada Socialist” and has even Acknowledged that She Worked with Democrats,
But She Says She’s Moved Beyond That
(Besides, Grandpa, you once told me that that there was no better organization in the whole world in fighting Commies than the Mormon Church--except for the John Birch Society, You gotta admit, that’s just plain kooky).
“Observers say Sinema today is much more of a moderate centrist than she was earlier in her political career. In November 2012, after Arizona’s 9th District congressional election but before the disputed vote count confirmed Cinema did indeed win, the ‘Arizona Capitol Times’ published an analysis headlined ‘Sinema evolves from firebrand to pragmatist,’ which started out like this:
“’For years, the consensus around the [Arizona] Capitol was that Kyrsten Sinema couldn’t win a congressional race. She’d made too many inflammatory statements and was viewed as too much of a left-winger. Even when she entered the race for Arizona’s 9th Congressional District, many believed her past would come back to haunt her if she made it to the general election. . . . Sinema entered Arizona politics as a radical. She worked on Ralph Nader’s 2000 presidential campaign, protested against the invasion of Afghanistan and ran unsuccessfully for the Legislature as an independent in 2002, when the Arizona Democratic Party dubbed her ‘too extreme’ for central Phoenix. In 2004, she was elected as a Democrat, and quickly earned a reputation as a standard-bearer for the party’s progressive wing in the Legislature.
“But when Sinema toned things down and started reaching across the aisle, things started to change. She began working with Republicans on bipartisan legislation. . . . ‘
“During a magazine interview in 2006, Sinema jokingly referred to herself as a ‘Prada socialist’ (when the ‘Washington Post’ mentioned this is 2013, it included the detail that Sinema owned more than 100 pairs of shoes). Her political opponents still bring up her relatively radical past. . . . [W]hen Sinema formally announced her Senate run, [a] Phoenix [TV] station . . . reported the news and noted that . . . the verified Twitter account for [Mormon Church member] Jeff Flake’s then-active Senate re-election campaign responded with several tweets critical of Sinema, including one since-deleted tweet saying [she was] a radical progressive who is out-of-touch with Arizona . . . .
_____‘
--Yup, Grandpa, Kyrsten was raised a Mormon but eventually quit the Mormon Church and says she doesn't hold grudges.
Earth to Wherever You Are—I Did the Same Thing. (Speaking of Grudges, You Never Call, You Never Write).
“Sinema was raised in the Mormon Church. During those bleak childhood years when she lived in an abandoned gas station, her family did get occasional help from other members of their congregation (including the clothes Sinema wore), plus frequent visits to a Mormon food pantry. She later attended Brigham Young University on a full scholarship.
“When looking back on her record of personal and political success stories, Sinema later said ‘I benefited from the help of [Mormon] Church and family and government my whole life.’
“Her parents still follow the Church’s teachings (in 2013, when the ‘Washington Post’ ran its lifestyle story about Arizona’s then-new Congresswoman, Sinema’s parents were on a Mormon missionary trip in the Philippines), but Sinema’s religious views changed after she left college and entered young adulthood. As she said to the ‘Washington Post,’ ‘I have great respect for the LDS Church--their commitment to family and taking care of each other . . . . I just don’t believe the tenets of the faith that they believe.’
“While she has never criticized the religious traditions of her childhood, she is opposed to faith groups’ intervention in politics; during a gay-marriage battle in 2008, Cinema said ‘I don’t think Arizonans are interested in having the Mormon religion dictate public policy to them.’”
(“Kyrsten Cinema: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know,” by Caroline Burke, at “Heavy,”
https://heavy.com/news/2018/11/kyrsten-sinema/; and “Arizona Democrat Kyrsten Sinema is No Fan of Stay-at-Home Moms,” by Kimberly Ross, “Washington Examiner,” 22 October 2018,
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/arizona-democrat-kyrsten-sinema-is-no-fan-of-stay-at-home-moms)
*****
So, I admit. Kyrsten doesn’t criticize the Mormon Church like I have—and continue to do. That’s at least one good reason for cutting her a break.
C’mon, Grandpa, it’s the Kyrstian thing to do. :)
Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2018 12:12AM by steve benson.