quote:
I can only assume that since the overwhelming majority of the people are Mormons, then their representatives in the capitol are as well.
Good assumption, but not the case. The percentage of Utah Mormon politicians (the governor, lt. governor on down, all U.S. Congressmen, 90% of state legislators, etc.) are practicing Mormons. That doesn't come close to matching the demographics of the state, especially when you take into account the number of people who don't consider themselves Mormons anymore, but the Mormon church still does since they count anyone who was ever baptized.
But the state politicians are elected because they get the money--the same reason any candidate is elected and the same reason Romney is the top money getter with a large percentage of his money coming from Mormons. Practicing, temple-endowed Mormons, believe that contributing to Mormon candidates is a fulfillment of their sacred oaths. Trust me, I believed the same thing. The church leaders love to claim they don't get involved in politics or encourage their members to vote one way or the other. They don't have to. They have the assurance of knowing the members understand what is expected of them and the members never let them down.
Again, not necessarily a bad thing. There are a lot of good Mormon people and good politicians who are Mormon. There are many many Mormons in the FBI, CIA and other government positions. If your main issue is passing an amendment banning gay marriage--Mormons are who you want in government. I would vote for Romney over Thompson in a heartbeat.
My only "beef" here is that I'm tired of seeing all the misinformation in the press. I wish they would put the truth about the Mormon Church (good and bad) out there and then let people make informed decisions about the candidates. I usually see all good or all bad articles, but all of them are usually missing the facts that people might want to know before they make a decision.