Buzzfeed Writer Hits Romney for Tithing to Mormon Church, Which Opposes Gay Marriage
You have to give McKay Coppins credit. The Buzzfeed writer today managed to work in hints of anti-Mormon skepticism and the complaints of the gay rights lobby into his January 24 story -- "What's With Mitt's Mormon Money?" -- on Romney's tax records.
It's a liberal bias trifecta!
Mitt Romney's tax records show he gave, [gasp] "$4.1 million in tithes to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints between 2010 and 2011," the "lifelong Mormon" Coppins noted complaining that, "the candidate's controversially low effective tax rate of just 13.9 percent was made possible, in part, by the hefty deductions he got for his charitable contributions to the church."
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Oh sure, "A large chunk of tithing money funds the church's expansive missionary program," the former Newsweek staffer noted, but the LDS church is "not disposed to transparency when it comes to its money" and what's more, some of its finances went to helping defend traditional marriage in Calfornia:
But while Romney's tithing undoubtedly went toward a lot of traditional charity work, the issue is complicated by the fact that the LDS Church controversially engaged in one high-profile political battle in recent years: California's 2008 referendum on same-sex marriage.
Since Mormon leaders called on members in California and elsewhere to help pass a ballot initiative constitutionally banning same-sex marriage, the church has come under fire for providing "in-kind donations" to a political cause--by paying for the travel of church leaders organizing its efforts, and the like. Mormon leaders argue that, for them, Prop. 8 was a moral issue, not a political one. And the total amount spent on the ballot initiative came to $190,000--a small fragment of even Romney's tithing, let alone the church's total expenditures.
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Comments
Duh. And here I thought most of Mitt's LDS contributions went to
Submitted by SickofLibs on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 5:36pm.
purchase salt-harvesting equipment.
Those Mormons are just plain salt-crazy, you know.
Anyway, thanks for the expose, Mr. Coppins - I surely will not be voting for Mitt in light of this.
Harry Reid, a MORMON...
Submitted by USMC8411 on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 6:45pm.
has never been challenged by Mr. Coppins on this issue! How much has ol' Dingy Harry donated to those hateful MORMONS?
Talk about salt-crazy SoL!
Selective outrage...
Submitted by Pilgrim1949 on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 5:54pm.
Countdown to the companion and moral-equivalent political drawing and quartering of Rep. Keith Ellison for the multitude of social/religious stances of his "faith choice" to begin in....
3.......2.......1.........
*cricket chirps*
Yeah, we thought so.
"Ye canne change the laws of physics....." but some politicians believe that with the right legislation you can pretend they don't really apply to your own pet projects...
Romney tithing to Morman church that .. well that's nothing. .
Submitted by Gary Hall on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 6:03pm.
President Obama is negotiating with the Taliban, and they oppose abortion, women's rights, gay marriage, drinking, popular music, allowing girls to attend school. Heck, they even oppose the United States and Obama's "Christian" faith.
Bet you anything, he ends up giving them money.
(;~> gary
Yes, exactly, the homosexual
Submitted by Liberallies on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 6:22pm.
Yes, exactly, the homosexual issue, the abortion issue and many other issues are MORAL issues, not political issues.
But the Liberals, the Left is attempting to silence religions by claiming that they are meddling in politics and the Liberal almighty, not found in the Constitution, Sepereation of Church and State, must be followed.
Avoiding the real blame on Prop 8
Submitted by Galvanic on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 6:25pm.
COPPINS: "But while Romney's tithing undoubtedly went toward a lot of traditional charity work, the issue is complicated by the fact that the LDS Church controversially engaged in one high-profile political battle in recent years: California's 2008 referendum on same-sex marriage."
Here it comes . . .
COPPINS: " . . . Since Mormon leaders called on members in California and elsewhere to help pass a ballot initiative constitutionally banning same-sex marriage, the church has come under fire for providing "in-kind donations" to a political cause--by paying for the travel of church leaders organizing its efforts, and the like. Mormon leaders argue that, for them, Prop. 8 was a moral issue, not a political one."
There are not enough LDS members in California to stop Prop 8. That referendum was defeated by African- and Hispanic-Americans, the majority of whom voted against gay-marriage.
But the MSM downplayed the results for obvious reasons and focused instead on LDS because it was a church, and the only church that meet the MSM standard for churches are those that permit gay marriage..
Tithing
Submitted by ferv888 on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 6:23pm.
First of all, Coppins has put a first class pants on fire lie together. The LDS churches involvement was investigated with Prop 8, and nothing was found in terms of breaking the law. Second, if you did a little work, you find that African Americans voted overwhelmingly for Jerry Brown and turned around and supported traditional marriage. Their vote is much larger in numbers then LDS members. Where were liberals to protest the African American vote, nowhere, ya gotta keep control of that vote, so not a peep from libs. Lord knows they need to keep them without picking at their vote, but those Mormons, phew, look out for them
And, being against homosexual "marriage"...
Submitted by USMC8411 on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 6:33pm.
is a crime where?
"Congress shall make NO LAW respecting an establishment of religion, or PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF;"
Mr. Coppins, please separate your governmental bias from the free exercise of RELIGION, and the tenets that those religions follow!
And while we are discussing this, why has the Catholic faith abandoned adoptive procedures? Because of anti-religion demagogues like you!
If he gave money to an atheist or agnostic group, you would still complain!
How much money has Harry Reid given to his anti-homosexual marriage religion of LDS? LET'S SEE THE TAXES!!!! Que the crickets....
how about this...
Submitted by MidAmerica on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 6:45pm.
The Gay marriage thing is just a sham issue to beat ordinary people over the head with and to rally the sexually confused. So we should go ahead and give them what they want, legal marriage.
BUT..... at the same time, considering that ANYONE can claim to be Gay, then only those persons who legally marry another person of the same sex can claim any legal status as being Gay.
Mormons and Homosexuality
Submitted by Steve Cakouros on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 6:49pm.
I have studied Mormonism for 20 years and while I admit that the Mormon Church is heterodox that does not mean that Mormons are wrong about everything.
The Mormons want us to think of them as traditional Christians. Knowing that no church can support Homosexual “marriage” and still remain a church [see Romans 1:26-32] Mormons have refused to give in to the homosexual lobby. Bravo!
Their stand on traditional marriage is admirable.
Homosexual marriage is by far and away the sickest thing to ever come down the pike.
Church Tithing
Submitted by BeanMan on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 8:36am.
Just FYI, the tithing money donated by members to the LDS Church is considered sacred. No one in the Church, from the President on down, considers it their money to do with as they wish.
Tithing funds would never be used for political causes. In fact tithing funds are not even used to pay full-time Church authorities stipends. Tithing funds are used for construction and support of Church facilities, materials for teaching, educational opportunities (three major universities, seminary facilities), facilities to help the needy, and other various activities through out the world related to the worldwide spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ..
Missionary work, specifically the full time support of those young Mormon Elders on their bicycles for two years, is supplied by their families or their local wards. Although some tithing money is used to support the Mission facilities etc.
Money to pay the stipends for the President and other General Authorities as well as money to pay other full time Church employees is not taken from tithing funds. The Church owns many actual businesses (e.g. Bonneville Satelite Corp etc) that are managed like regular businesses with for-profit activities. They are regular tax paying entities subject to the norms of business practices etc. Some of their profits are taken by the company owners (the LDS Church) to pay the stipends, salaries, benefits and etc for the Authorities and other full time employees.
It is most likely that the funds provided for support of the CA proposition were provided by these profits, not tithing money.
Since government is coercion, politics is largely the exercise of deception regarding the intended use of coercion - George Orwell
If Romney
Submitted by misterbee241 on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 11:12am.
gave only one dollar to his church, that's one dollar more that Obama gave to his, whatever church that might be.