The measure of a presidential candidate

A far-too-common flaw in those who seek political office is that they spend too much time talking and not enough time listening. I expect that of a liberal, since they rarely are interested in facts and other forms of truth. But this failure to listen also afflicts those who pretend to be conservatives (ie Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, John McCain, etc.). These "conservatives" typically show up at a TEA Party rally or an NRA Annual Meeting just in time for their turn to speak, then vanish. They never stick around long enough to hear what other speakers are saying, let alone what the audience has to say. Consequently, all they know about issues is what their handlers feed them. Romney is probably the most guilty of this behavior of any politician I've personally listened to. And it shows.

In predicting a general apostasy from the Church, the Apostle Paul wrote

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. — 2 Timothy 4:3-4

It seems to me that Romney and most other politicians expect the masses to have "itching ears" when it comes to politics just as they do with the Gospel. It appears that Romney, like Obama, finds plenty of "itching ears" in his audiences.

Some friends and relatives are annoyed by the fact that I do not support Mitt Romney for president. These sheeple support him for one reason: they are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) as is Romney and as am I. I, on the other hand, find that a candidate's status as a member of any church is immaterial for political office.

...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. — US Constitution, Article VI

I cannot support or vote for a former LDS bishop and stake president (LDS lay positions in which Romney once served) whose record on moral issues (marriage, abortion, homosexuality, etc) is inconsistent with the standards of his church, the will of God, the will of the majority of the People, and even the values expressed his party's platform.

Mormons who support Mitt Romney for president need to stop and consider the adverse attention his political baggage imposes on the Church. I don't think the Evangelical concerns about Romney are as much about the Mormon faith itself as it is about his personal betrayal of essential Christian moral principles. One must wonder how much that betrayal harms the image of the Church.

Perhaps key to his chances of winning the Whitehouse, Romney's history on moral and big-government issues so closely parallels Obama's, most voters may see no reason not to vote for the incumbent! In fact, I believe that had Romney won the 2008 election, we'd still have ObamaCare, but with a different name. (I assume Romney might have been a bit better for the economy, though, and we might not have new Supreme Court Justices quite as radical as Sotomayor and Kagan.)

Romney's stated (but not demonstrated) stand on some of the more controversial issues (abortion, gun control, homosexual marriage) has shifted in his effort to pander to conservative Republicans. Nevertheless, he continues espouse big-government, anti-liberty, anti-self-reliance ideas such as carbon taxes, government-mandated health care, gun-control, government subsidies, and man-made global warming. His willingness to fall for (or endorse) the global-warming scam is troubling.

About a year ago, Connor Boyack wrote:

The label of “flip-flopper” may very well be appropriate, but an analysis of Romney’s positions across the board and over time lend more support to the critique that he is rather like a political chameleon, changing himself to blend in with whatever environment he happens to be in. Indeed, to determine Romney’s political affiliation at any given moment, one need only determine to which audience he is addressing himself in hopes of winning a popular vote. Thus, his foundation-less platform has morphed as he courted voters first in Massachusetts, then later across the nation.

I will not vote for or support a candidate based on his religious affiliation (especially if his actions are grossly incompatible with the moral stands taught by his religion) any more than I will for the color of his skin or his political party affiliation. These three criteria are invalid measures of a candidate. Any voter who thinks they are valid measures is part of the problem and should be ashamed.

Instead, I vote based on principles found in the word of God as revealed though His prophets and in the nation's founding documents. I expect political leaders to be similarly guided by principles -- not by "itching ears."

Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual - or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country. — Samuel Adams (Boston Gazette, 1781)

The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all. — John F. Kennedy

If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. — Thomas Jefferson

Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost. — John Quincy Adams

Americanism is a question of principles, of idealism, of character: it is not a matter of birthplace or creed or line of descent. — Theodore Roosevelt

Mitt Romney is the worst kind of politician. He has absolutely no foundation based on principle. This chameleon tailors his message based on what is politically expedient. Some argue that he is the only person who can beat Obama. Pundits claim that independent voters will only respond to a pandering "moderate" like Mitt Romney. They said the same thing about their favorite "conservative" John McCain. How did that work out? Independent voters, like Conservatives, don't want a weak-kneed panderer, they want someone who is guided by principle even if they don't always agree with them (ie Ronald Reagan)!

Although he can speak coherently without a teleprompter, Mitt Romney does not measure up.

Everyone wants to vote for the best and most qualified man, but he never runs for office. — Will Rogers

Hell, I never vote for anybody, I always vote against. — WC Fields