"Those conservatives who sincerely believe that government needs to spend less—a small but important Republican constituency—are furious at Bush right now because he's increasing domestic discretionary spending more rapidly than Bill Clinton did. During his two terms in office, Clinton increased domestic discretionary spending by 10 percent. Bush, in not quite one full presidential term, has already increased domestic discretionary spending by 25 percent. This according to the White House's own budget charts! (The numbers are adjusted for inflation.)"
So back to the social issues... I had a great discussion with a socially conservative Mormon who says he will ALWAYS vote Republican mainly on the basis of appointing conservative appointees to the Supreme Court. I have also had crap discussions with socially conservative Mormons that went something like this, "Gay people marrying... gross". I am not here to argue on either side of this argument but I am here to argue that voting Republican or Democrat based on these issues is absolutely, wholly, and completely irrational.
First: I have incredible difficulty recapitulating any memory of a Republican majority or President proposing any kind of legislation to BAN Gay marriage nationwide, OR to actually challenge Roe v. Wade. I am not saying that this hasn't happened. I also have a difficult time recalling any federal proposition from Democrats to make abortion easier, or force states to recognize Gay marriage. SURE I have heard the scare factor from my fellow Mormons "If Hillary was president she would make it so children could sue their parents over domestic matters." But I am here to say to my fellow, and sorely beloved fellow Mormons. Ditch the Republican Party and vote Democrat.
Let the social issues take a back seat, and think about what you would do to make our country better. If you think we should throw money in the pockets of rich CEOs because eventually it will trickle down to the middle class: by all means vote Republican. And what about the Marriot School of Business Libertarians and Constitutionalists: if you believe our government should run like a business, and that we are misinterpreting our constitution; by all means vote for them. However, I just want to remind people, life in the Wild West was crap. And I love cowboys! It's a romantic idea of America living on the frontier, fencing off our land, and relying on our own two hands. But break your hand, and life sucks. Ya, we can accept it as a trial and humble ourselves. But for some reason, and maybe it is due to my weird Mormon beliefs, that I would not mind having government programs in hand to educate, heal, and protect all citizens despite their economic situation.
So leave your circle of ignorance and realize the limits of a desperately free market AND of single issue voting (social conservatism). And another thing... WAKE UP! The Republican Party HATES Mormons. They hate us. The Religious Right hates Mormons. They hated Romney, and they hate us. On the other hand, Obama loves Mormons. And Apostles love Obama.
