Quote:
Originally Posted by EE-BO
Hi KSig,
I am actually in the brokerage business. We don't deal in commodities, but I have some insight there. The kind of money Hillary made is small potatoes in that high stakes game. That story has been in press a lot, but the sole focus has been on the profit she earned based on a cash investment (which is also meaningless since in commodities a cash investment is most often used to secure or margin a far larger actual investment), and never has there been any substantive proof of wrongdoing. So I don't let that enter my mind.
Every candidate will have something that "looks" funny in their life if it is portrayed in a certain way- same would apply to any person on the planet.
And every candidate will at times "speak to the base" and get a little aggressive and superfluous with their language.
But Hillary has been noticeable restrained and intelligent when it comes to talking about Iraq and the Middle East. She understands that there are not easy solutions to this, and I think she has a great respect for the fact that she cannot make fast and easy promises with American lives, Israel's security, the flow of world oil supplies to us and our Allies and the long term future of a key region at stake. This is why she impresses me. She talks the rhetoric and does her thing, but she stops short of making irresponsible statements. PLUS she has a ready defense when she changes positions on something. This is key. "Flip-flopping" is not always a bad thing. She has been able to articulate a change in position on key issues based on the evolution of related events- and she is not afraid to do so. It is truly exciting to see someone that courageous.
As for the Mormon issue- Romney cannot win because he is a Mormon and deeply involved in the church.
The Mormon faith is a scary thing- and I am one of the majority of Christian believers who do not accept the Mormon Church as a legitimate denomination of the Christian Faith.
The Jeffords case is a key example. It took the Federal Government to track him down and arrest him, but never has much issue been made of the fact Jeffords got away with all he did with the blessing and participation of local police and court officials.
The Mormons own and control Utah- and like no other religion since the Catholics in the 1200s-1700s, the Mormons abuse the powers of State and local economic opportunity in order to shield and protect the most fanatical members among them. The Feds got Jeffords, but that town and many others have yet to be cleansed of goverment officials who support and participate in the statutory rape and molestation of underage women, and the abuse and abandonment of young men who pose a threat to town leaders marrying multiple women.
I would hire a Mormon to work at my company tomorrow and not think twice about it. I would shop at a Mormon store. I would visit Utah.
But a devout temple-worthy (aka temple-recommended) Mormon in charge of the most free and diverse nation in the world? Never.
There is a good reason why Romney does not utter the word Mormon and why he has done a lot of press conferences about "faith" and whether America can handle a President who is strong on "faith".
There is also a good reason why Pat Robertson- total nutjob that he is- endorsed pro-choice Giuliani over Romney.
In a recent poll, just over 50% of Americans said they would never vote a Mormon into office. I think the actual number is much higher because poll questions like that are somewhat intimidating to people who want to be fair despite their nagging concerns. This poll alone proves Romney could never win. There have been tons of Hillary polls asking if people would never vote for her under any circumstances- and she has never pulled the thumbs down like Romney does.
He has no chance and he never should. The Mormon Church is the only major faith in modern America that actively uses it influence to abuse the powers of State to protect religious practices that a free and intelligent society finds abhorrent. A man who is a follower of that faith has no business even thinking he is prepared to lead this country.
I challenge any Republican who wanted to impeach Clinton over an extra-marital affair to explain to me why a key national player in a religion that has actively abused the powers of State to protect child molesters should ever set foot in the Oval Office.
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Good post, EE-BO - you're probably the best poster on this site, post more homey.
I don't disagree with your views on Mormonism - in fact, I'm probably much more anti-Mormon, and my problems are based on their history of institutional racism, sexism and child abuse, but at the end of the day we reach the same conclusion: as a collective, they're nuts.
Interestingly, I could never vote for Romney for totally different reasons than his faith - mostly his abortion stance, which is laughable if you look at his record as a whole. I agree with your comment that flip-flopping is appropriate given an articulated reason, which is why Romney's moves on this stance just blow me away.
Also, I appreciate the insight from the finance world - honestly, my level of expertise is essentially "have dollars, call i-banking buddies, get the lay of the land, trust them for better or worse" . . . still, though, the grand jury portion of the situation blows me away, especially since it seems comparable to, say, Giuliani's marital issues, in that both were likely somewhat wrong and somewhat common for better or worse. I hope that makes sense.