Buzzfeed: Romney Doesn't Live His Religion

Buzzfeed insinuates that Mitt Romney has distanced himself from his faith to the point of not practicing his religion, in the name of politics, and therefore has no character. All evidence suggests otherwise, unless you consider standard media talking points against Romney as evidence.

Opening paragraph in Supporters Adopt Mormon Slogan to Campaign for Romney by McKay Coppins:

Mitt Romney has done everything short of chug vodka on the stump to make clear that his Mormon faith has no connection to his presidential candidacy, but some of his most ardent supporters in Utah haven’t quite followed his lead.

What is Buzzfeed referring to here? Last I checked, Romney has never been caught cheating on his wife, murdering, or stealing. Nor do Mormons drink coffee or alcohol, smoke or do drugs. If he had done any of these things, the left certainly would have publicized it by now. The left calls Romney a liar, but their “fact checkers” are notoriously biased.

Buzzfeed claims Romney’s Mormon faith has been disconnected from his candidacy, but in actuality religion doesn’t really have much to do with running for office or acting as president outside of the kind of person or character formed. No doubt liberals want Romney to stop talking about the dismal economy we suffer in, and no doubt they want people to question Romney’s character just the way they do. Buzzfeed seems to equate Romney sidelining his religion during his campaign to not living or valuing his religion. Actual evidence (rather than partisan rhetoric) suggests otherwise.

There is plenty of media evidence that Democrats want to capitalize on the misunderstandings and misrepresentations of Mormonism in their relentless anti-Romney campaign. The very questions raised about Romney or about how he represents his religion are designed to plant seeds of doubt concerning Romney as a Mormon president. Buzzfeed adds to that theme obliquely.

The main point in Buzzfeed about the LDS slogan to “Choose the Right” – the equivalent and Mormon addition to “What Would Jesus Do?” – isn’t the issue here. Choose the Right as a slogan for Mormon supporters is a fun pun for conservatives. Of course, as Buzzfeed points out, there is no moral obligation to vote any particular way or for a particular person in the LDS Church. I doubt the slogan is meant to reflect a moral obligation as Buzzfeed implies. The Church is politically neutral, as is made abundantly clear in the ongoing Reid-Romney saga.

The misleading part of the Buzzfeed story is the suggestion that Romney is who the liberal media says he is: a liar and a disconnected rich white man who doesn’t live his religion when it doesn’t suit him.

We know Romney attends local LDS Church services even on the campaign trail. We know he donates large chunks of money to charity including the LDS Church. Some (less liberal) accounts of Romney’s service in LDS Church leadership show him to be compassionate and certainly not disconnected. He may be rich, but that doesn’t mean he can’t or doesn’t relate.

“Mitt sent me. I was it. He sent a video of himself. The IOC was stunned,” Eynon said, since organizing committees usually sent an entourage. Romney also chose to participate in a number of IOC meetings via video conference, rather than travel to various far-flung corners of the world.

Eynon said that frugality — which extended to Romney’s habit of skipping what he saw as costly cab rides on some of the trips he did make as the Olympics boss — helped free up money for real needs, such as providing Games-time volunteers with better uniforms and hot meals, rather than the T-shirts and sack lunches initially budgeted.

“If he ever got in the White House, that would absolutely mirror what he did in the Games,” Eynon said. “When Mitt says he would cut nonessential things … I would take him at his word.”

Not only is he budget-conscious, Romney doesn’t make a habit of saying one thing and doing another. Again, how refreshing. Character reports from those who know Romney well, validate the opinion given by Eynon. Reading the full Olympic story shows even more of who Romney is, including how he acted in the aftermath of 9/11. According to all these accounts I’ve read over the past year, Romney is a bit shy, very responsible financially, as good as his word, caring, funny, and humble. One might do worse than have a president with these qualities.

Buzzfeed and the rest of liberal media can believe themselves when they accuse Romney of being a liar and disconnected and all the rest, but I recommend taking anything they spout against Romney with a grain of salt. They’re hardly a disinterested source of information and the evidence they include to make their conclusions is questionable.