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.
The Church has an influence on people, and people have an influence on politics.
It is not a direct tie, though the influence can be felt. If there are powerful people in the Church that influence politics directly, then it is the people that are influencing the politics and not the Church. Sometimes it may seem to be a blurry line, but if you think of the Church as an entity you will be able to tell the difference. A CEO of a company in the business world should still be able to pursue personal things on their own time when not acting in the name of the company. Church leaders are also people who are fully capable of doing things and supporting things on their own time while not being a voice for the Church. I'm sure the Church leaders voted on their own time and support plenty of causes not in the name of the Church.
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 think this has an affect on things, but again I don't think it is the Church that is helping out with these things. It may be members of the Church with connections that do so, but not Church Leadership.
There's no doubt about that. I've personally always thought that the Church has political power in that in this state most of the elected officials are members and thus likely follow the same ideals as the Church, regardless of there being no official statements from the Church.
There is a difference between indirect influence and political power. All sorts of groups and organizations influence things, but only so many have actual power.
pow·er
[pou-er]
noun
4.
the possession of control or command over others; authority; ascendancy: power over men's minds.
in·flu·ence/ˈinflo͝oəns/
Noun:
The capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself.
There is a difference between the two, where in one there is direct authority over, and in the other there is influence but a lack of authority, control, or command.
This is naive beyond belief. I would tell you why, but OneBlow sums it up pretty well:
You don't think that a generous donation from Jon Huntsman or any of the other prominent LDS leaders (as in, leaders of the community, including the businessmen who are in the upper echelon of the LDS church's leadership) would help defeat the guy who only raised 500 bucks from friends and family?
OneBrow had a good point about what does have a large affect on what happens in local politics, or politics in general. What you seem to be reading into, and which I deny happens is that is is the Church leadership that gives information of that sort to the candidates they want to win. I could see some members of the Church doing so to help candidates they like, but they are doing it on their own with no backing from Church leadership. Your term for me is that you think I am naive..... nice spin from our local politician. I will spin your attitude as cynical, skeptical, and pessimistic. There, we just played the word game. Triple Word Score FTW.
I think Trout was quoting you in a response to JazzSpazz.
Having worked for LDS Church-owned media, my impression is that there is a lot of indirect -- yet understood -- pressure to support certain candidates. Hatch and Bennett have a lot more friends amongst the ranks than their opponents did, and there is a bit of trickle-down effect. However, it's also important to note that they also had the most funds, and spent the most on advertising. KSL/Desnews was quick to offer favors to the hand that was feeding them. In 2010, articles favorable to Bennett outpaced articles favorable to Lee by approximately 4 to 1.
Interesting take. Can you give more details to flesh out why it came across this way? Was this because the managers and decision makers were pushing things on their own, or because a Church leader came by to visit and tell them to help someone out? Also those with the most funds have a distinct advantage. Is there any way to tell if was the Church backing those candidates or choices from individual decision makers in the company. As to the articles in favor of Bennett, do you know if the same thing happens to other candidates around here? Do other papers around here favor certain candidates.... or do they split all articles 50/50? I'm more curious than anything, not saying your impression is right or wrong.
