Sometimes the Elephant IS the Room
I’ve been thinking about this for some time. There are still a lot of unanswered questions in my mind about the current GOP candidate for the Presidency of This Great Nation.
Yes; he’s been hounded to show more than two of his Federal tax returns, and has held fast to not doing that. We’ve given up on that. (Shame on us.) He’s been asked about what exactly he did at Bain Capital; not much information there, either. Did Bain “create” jobs, or destroy them, under his leadership? Or both? Was he still involved with Bain while he headed the Olympics in Salt Lake City? Not really clear. Maybe yes; maybe no. Did he vote in Massachusetts when he was actually a California resident? Could be; could not be. Maybe he really did live in one of his son’s basements for a while… We seem to have given up on knowing quite a lot about this person who promises so much, so glibly, and so vaguely.
It has long seemed to me that this is a man who would really rather be doing almost anything other than going out there, sometimes even amongst the forty-seven percent of us who are, in his opinion, indolent slackers, shaking hands and holding up the babies of people he doesn’t even know, for heaven’s sake. Why is he doing it? What’s in it for him? There must be something.
Here are a couple of thoughts… He’s doing this because he’s had a lifetime of success ferreting out businesses that can be stripped down, made to look financially promising, and then selling them at a great profit for himself and his partners. If that’s what he does, and does well, then the many States of this country must look like the greatest plum of all. Just ready for the taking, and the stripping, and the selling, one by one, to whomever makes the best offer.
Or, he’s doing it for his faith – to legitimize his historically-persecuted Church in the eyes of the nation, and the world, at long last. This is, in my opinion, the Something That Dares Not Speak Its Name – the elephant that may be the actual room. I believe that his faith is very important to him. But he won’t speak about that, either. If his faith is driving him, we deserve to know that. It matters. It would impact his governing, if he’s serious, and all of us would be the subjects of that governing. The beliefs of his faith would be legislated to rule the lives of all of us – maybe slowly, but inevitably.
When I am presented with someone who will not, or cannot, speak about what matters most to him, about what he holds closest to his heart and soul, I find myself facing a cipher, an unknown quantity. And this is not a person I would choose to lead my country, or myself. Anywhere. Ever.
Carol
Party and Soul 
Linda Hayward
/ October 18, 2012Yay, you. This does sound brave…starting a blog, that is, not questioning the GOP candidate. I love your premise ( let’s see what happens) and I always love hearing your take on things. Count me as a regular reader.
Linda
Linder
/ October 18, 2012Hey Carol! What Great idea to start a blog! You always have such a unique slant on things. I look forward to following your thoughts, ideas, comments, and hopefully your great sense of humor on this blog! Love, Linder
dcg
/ October 18, 2012Well, a slant for sure. Don’t know how unique it is. Can we expect a similar inspection of Mr. Obama, his religion, his background, what we don’t know about him, and more in your next post? You’re just a little off the wall, be we look forward to seeing you here over Homecoming.
dcg
delurkergurl
/ October 18, 2012Best wishes on your new blog!
gatodicima
/ October 18, 2012Thanks, Lurker! It’s a wild ride so far…!
Carol/Gato
gatodicima
/ October 18, 2012Hey, dcg – Actually, I think we had a pretty similar inspection of President Obama, in all those categories, about four years ago, including quite a few tv spots featuring Jeremiah Wright spouting away, and the still-ongoing (in some circles) birth certificate “issue.” And those may come up, yet again, in the next few weeks (god help us all endure them). We already have the faux documentary, “‘2016” out there, don’t forget.
There are enough rustlings about the political activities of the Mormon Church (ask Californians, for example) to make me wish the candidate would be – how shall I say it? – a little more “candid” about the role his personal faith might play were he President. Biden and Ryan were asked that question in the VP debate, and each answered fairly clearly. I don’t recall Romney making any similar responses, and – unless someone wants to point out to me something I’ve missed, which is quite possible – think he continues to maintain that his faith, like his finances, is “private”, and not something about which the average citizen needs to know. And plenty of voters seem to think he’s right on about that.
I respectfully disagree. That’s all I’m sayin’. People were all exercised when the first Catholic ran for President, and equally so when the first Jew (our own Joe Lieberman) ran for VP. Why should the same sort of questioning be off-limits for Romney…?
How much do you know about the Mormon Church, BTW? They’re a pretty interesting bunch. My family had a series of LDS missionaries living in a small apartment behind our house in Columbus, Ohio, and my former sister-in-law lived in Salt Lake City for several years, where I visited her. So I’ve got at least a bit of “up front and personal” experience there…
ANYWAY, you are always one of my very favorite “good friends across the aisle,” and we look forward to seeing both of you – and the rest of the Sixties – next weekend. B’s Texas Libertarian/Tea Party brother is coming up tomorrow for a few days, so I’m sure I’ll get a workout there. And I’m absolutely thrilled that you’re reading my posts… Thanks!
(Actually, I was planning to avoid politics, in general, here, but I was pressed… And I just couldn’t resist. I’ll try to do better!)
Best,
Carol
Erica
/ October 19, 2012Hi Carol, if you’re on Facebook, you might be interested in a post written a few days ago by a former Mormon, with his take on Mitt Romney and the Mormon interests his campaign represents. It’s publicly-viewable, so you should be able to see it even if you don’t have a Facebook account.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/dennis-n-clegg/mitt-romneythe-fulfillment-of-the-mormon-agenda/3909995663667
gatodicima
/ October 19, 2012Hi, Erica – To be quite honest, this is the kind of thing I hate to think might be real… But my former sister-in-law worked, in Massachusetts, with the LDS family of a child who was having serious trouble in school. They were all, according to my sister-in-law, quite wonderful people. One day, FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, the mother asked my sis-in-law, “Have you ever heard of Mitt Romney?” When she said she hadn’t, the woman said, “Well, you should, because he’s going to be President some day.” Hearing that gave me a cold chill…
Carol/Gato
sidney18511
/ October 19, 2012Carol, your on to something regarding Romneys religion. Please google “WHITE HORSE PROPHECY”. Read about it, and when your done I will meet you for a big drink, because your gonna need it.
gatodicima
/ October 19, 2012Hi, Sidney – I was somewhat aware of that “prophecy”, and just took another look, as you suggested. It’s scary. That’s not to say that all LDS members go for it, but some may. Almost every faith has some out there stuff, written – I have to assume – in fits of passion, induced by whatever: the appearance of an angel over one’s bed, the grape, some other opiate, or the sudden infusion of great amounts of cash.
The main point, IMHO, is that Romney still hasn’t publicly addressed his commitment to his faith in any major way, far as I can tell. (Compare this to President Obama’s great speech some time ago on race…)
I was also interested – more honestly, shocked – to learn that Glenn Beck is also a Mormon. Evidently joined the Church in 1999… Not sure what, if anything, that means. But it probably means something.
My only question now is… “Stirred or shaken?”
C/Gato
sidney18511
/ October 19, 2012Carol, please take the time and check out the Facebook link that Erica posted here. Romneys Mormonism comes first, second and third.
sidney18511
/ October 19, 2012Carol, regarding Glenn Beck….when he met the woman who is now his wife she refused to sleep with him until they joined a church and were married. Sooooo…they checked out some religions threw a dart at the dartboard and it landed at Mormonism. That is why he joined that faith. When he had his show on fox news he used mormon code words in every show, the main one being “the constitution is hanging by a thread” which is part of the white horse prophecy.
Linda Hayward
/ October 20, 2012Ok, I read the White Horse Prophecy, and I am not SCARED. It is as SACRED as the text of the Jihadists, who also plan to destroy the U.S. and impose their laws on us. How about moving that vowel again? Would SCREAD (screed) apply to these rants?
gatodicima
/ October 20, 2012Oh, boy, Linda, You haven’t lost your editorial and critical touch – not one bit!
In this case, yes, removing that one A, and replacing it with an E, would be exactly the right thing to do. Bless ya, honey; you rock. (And I do miss our diner lunches, on Route 22, working through books, even after all these years!) You helped me do what I’m doing now, by being relentless in your quest for precision and accuracy, and infusing me with your great love of language. I’ve never known an Editor better than you. Ever. Great to be back in touch.
C/Gato…
pelican
/ October 20, 2012Wow, Carol. Someone just had to pick me up off the floor. Here I was, worried about my reply about the WHP, so much wanting to join the party, but sidetracked by my love of anagrams. Thanks for rescuing me from Poster’s Remorse!
I too miss our diner lunches. What the heck, I’ll order fries too.
Love, L/pelican
Daniel Levine
/ October 31, 2012Couldn’t agree more!!!! Frankly, I’m frightened.