Orrin Hatch destroys Dan

[nightmare3983]

Washington also wasn't a big fan of political parties, which are worse now than in Washington's time. Does that make any politician bad for being part of a political party?

Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel.

That was how gentlemen settled their differences at the time.

 

[Gameface]

So the ****ing answer is yes then? This is a really entertaining game.

 

[PearlWatson]

That was how gentlemen settled their differences at the time.

They just happened to be "gentlemen" from different parties.

 

[Jazz Spazz]

OK, let's play elementary school.

Do you think there are powerful people inside the LDS church who have influence over local politics? Yes or no.

And in the interest of full disclosure and intellectual honesty I am resentful of the control I perceive the LDS church has over local politics. I'm not a fan of the LDS church or it's doctrine.

So quit trying to score points proving things I'm not denying.

I asked if there are people who have influence. You don't have to answer.

I will chime in here.

No, I don't think there are powerful people inside the LDS church who have influence over local politics.
Every statement I have heard from church leadership in regards to politics is to get people to be involved however they feel they should be, and encourage people to vote. The only time I have personally heard the church leadership encourage people to vote a certain way was on the same sex marriage issue. Let's not go there for now, that is a can of worms and dead horse all in one.

 

[Gameface]

I will chime in here.

No, I don't think there are powerful people inside the LDS church who have influence over local politics.
Every statement I have heard from church leadership in regards to politics is to get people to be involved however they feel they should be, and encourage people to vote. The only time I have personally heard the church leadership encourage people to vote a certain way was on the same sex marriage issue. Let's not go there for now, that is a can of worms and dead horse all in one.

Okay, my perception may be wrong. Thanks for simply addressing the questions I asked and giving me an answer. Even in disagreement it is easy to respect you fro the way you handle yourself.

 

[bigb]

I will chime in here.

No, I don't think there are powerful people inside the LDS church who have influence over local politics.
Every statement I have heard from church leadership in regards to politics is to get people to be involved however they feel they should be, and encourage people to vote. The only time I have personally heard the church leadership encourage people to vote a certain way was on the same sex marriage issue. Let's not go there for now, that is a can of worms and dead horse all in one.

Even though it doesn't come from the leadership directly (except for prop 8) that doesn't mean there aren't powerful people in the Church influencing politics. I think there are a lot of people who vote for someone just because their Bishop (or whoever) votes for that person.

 

[PearlWatson]

So the ****ing answer is yes then? This is a really entertaining game.

Dude, you probably shouldn't say we are going to play elementary school if you want a serious answer. Just saying.

 

[Stoked]

Dude, you probably shouldn't say we are going to play elementary school if you want a serious answer. Just saying.

You would not provide a serious answer regardless of what he said you were going to play.

If he says doctor just say no.

 

[nightmare3983]

Even though it doesn't come from the leadership directly (except for prop 8) that doesn't mean there aren't powerful people in the Church influencing politics. I think there are a lot of people who vote for someone just because their Bishop (or whoever) votes for that person.

There could be. I personally have never even known which candidate(s) my bishops have supported. It just hasn't come up. Obviously this could be different for some people. Ultimately, I wouldn't consider bishops to be that "powerful" in the political scene.

 

[One Brow]

The behind-the-scenes power is politics doesn't come from telling people how to vote. It's getting introduced to the right campaign donors, getting a list of volunteers from previous campaigns, easy access to signatures to get on the ballot and advice on other ballot issues, hiring the right advisors, etc. None of this is remotely illegal, but it has serious influence on campaigns, and even more so when the campaign is local.

 

[nightmare3983]

The behind-the-scenes power is politics doesn't come from telling people how to vote. It's getting introduced to the right campaign donors, getting a list of volunteers from previous campaigns, easy access to signatures to get on the ballot and advice on other ballot issues, hiring the right advisors, etc. None of this is remotely illegal, but it has serious influence on campaigns, and even more so when the campaign is local.

I'm not involved in politics other than voting, but I think One Brow's got it right.

 

[Gameface]

The behind-the-scenes power is politics doesn't come from telling people how to vote. It's getting introduced to the right campaign donors, getting a list of volunteers from previous campaigns, easy access to signatures to get on the ballot and advice on other ballot issues, hiring the right advisors, etc. None of this is remotely illegal, but it has serious influence on campaigns, and even more so when the campaign is local.

Well, I'm sure I've made a pretty nice *** out of myself in this thread (by falling into Thriller's genius trap), but yeah, that's what I was driving at.

The idea that there are no highly influential people inside the LDS church is new to me. I'm trying to digest it. The church might want to do some local PR on this since I'm pretty sure there is a strong sentiment in the local non-LDS population that the church is running the show around here. I'm guilty of buying into that sentiment.