Time Blog: Romney Comfortably Lies About Obama Due to 'His Mormon Faith'
Time magazine is shooting straight at Mitt Romney’s religion. On the Time Ideas blog, the conservative-bashing psychoanalyst Dr. Justin Frank has an article titled “The Root of Mitt Romney’s Comfort With Lying.” That root, he says, is Mormonism.
Dr. Frank is agitated that Romney would “lie” about Obama’s economic record: "But this pattern of lying and not acknowledging it, even when confronted directly, has persisted and led me to look for other sources of Romney’s behavior and of his clear comfort with continuing it. I think much of this comfort stems from his Mormon faith."
I’ll get to Romney’s treatment of Obama’s record shortly. But let’s unravel all the Mormon-bashing first:
I found myself discussing this situation with several colleagues, and we agreed that Romney doesn’t lie. Let me repeat: Mitt Romney doesn’t lie. He is telling the truth as he sees it — and truth it is, the facts notwithstanding. This is not simply a case of Hamlet arguing about point of view, saying, "For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." This is about a conflict between evidence and faith. There is a long tradition in the Mormon belief system in which evidence takes second place to faith. Examples abound, as when two Mormon elders who were questioned about the inconsistency in passages from the Book of Mormon said, "We know the Book of Mormon is true and that it contains the Word of God even in the face of evidence that appears contradictory," according to The Mormon Missionaries by former Mormon Janice Hutchison. Thus there are no lies, only faith-based certainty that translates as truth for which no apology is needed, since what was said was not a lie.
In almost every religion, faith requires a reliance on more than evidence. So if Obama is a Christian (more than a golfer), he could also be vulnerable to this kind of secular attack. He believes in a virgin birth? Then clearly he's comfortable with lies. Dr. Frank asserted you don't have to be Mormon to lie, but you do have to lie to be a Mormon:
One doesn’t have to be a Mormon to lie — just look at John Edwards or former Nevada Senator John Ensign. But in the Mormon Church, there was a decision to accept authority as true — whether or not evidence supported it. Hence Joseph Smith, the founder of the faith in 1820, claimed he was illiterate and received the Book of Mormon directly from God. But he could read, and read very well.
This unwavering faith is central to Romney’s comfort in deflecting any examples that the press might bring up of his lying. Further, it allows him to repeat lies again and again — both personally and in political advertising — because to him they are not lies at all. I’m reminded of that old epigram from the 1960s: "My mind is made up; don’t confuse me with the facts." That may be all good and well in many offices, but it’s not so good in the Oval Office.
Romney's offense, according to Dr. Frank, was claiming that President Obama knowingly hampered the economic recovery to pass ObamaCare. Obama adviser Larry Summers said he always admired that Obama had the vision to know that "50 years from now, people would remember that all Americans have health care...even if pursuing health care affected the pace of the recovery, which was unlikely in my view, people wouldn’t remember how fast the recovery from this recession was.”
The author he cited, Noam Scheiber, felt Romney was misleading, but acknowledged a kernel of truth in it:
I can't give Romney the full “you know nothing of my work” treatment. While he’s definitely misrepresenting Summers and the administration, there’s a kernel of truth to his interpretation of my book. I argue that Obama really was more focused on long-term, historically significant accomplishments than marginal, near-term differences in the pace of the recovery. On some level, Obama was prepared to accept (and I’m making up these numbers for argument’s sake) three years of painfully high unemployment with health care reform rather than 30 months of painfully high unemployment without it. And the reason is the one Summers alluded to (before disputing): Health care was simply more historically important than avoiding those extra six months of pain.
Now, I happen to think this was a reasonable tradeoff—the logic being along the lines Summers lays out—even if I might have made a different call. But it was a trade-off nonetheless (even if the White House rejects this). And for the average voter who’s upset that unemployment has been so high for so long, it’s something they need to consider when evaluating Obama’s record.
Justin Frank is the same "doctor" who diagnosed all the Republican candidates a few months ago with "a childish need to explain mystery — especially to blame someone else for any personal discomfort or stress. With his exotic “other”-ness, and his mysterious capacity to tolerate mystery, Obama is an appealing recipient of that blame."
[HT: orbitaldecay]
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Comments
Wow. I'm not even Mormon and
Submitted by Newsbusterbrown on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 6:39am.
Wow. I'm not even Mormon and I'm offended.
“There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” - Ronald Reagan (1964 Republican Convention)
Black Liberation Theology gives Barack Milhous Obama
Submitted by frank14 on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 11:22am.
comfort when he lies to us daily. Her knows the white devil must be destroyed to create heaven on earth.
This is why it doesn't matter
Submitted by motherbelt on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 6:50am.
This is why it doesn't matter if Romney raises more money than Obama.
His minions in the media work for him for free.
Very True!
Submitted by amlaml on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 12:43pm.
I just wonder how much all the free advertising Democrats get in the media would be worth if we converted all of it into campaign contributions... "in-kind" donations if you will
However....
Submitted by James3 on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 3:03pm.
That's based on the assumption that all the free publicity he gets is helpful. I'm not convinced that it is. These left-wing loons are really ramping up the obscene statements and accusations, and throwing piles and piles of horse-dung on Romney and his family, and Romney just keeps on being the bigger person and staying focused on the issues that matter. I think most people are fed up with this sh*t.
Point taken
Submitted by amlaml on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 6:45pm.
And I absolutely agree. Sometimes the well-meaning sycophants in the media hurt him.
Alinsky playbook
Submitted by oldfart on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 6:53am.
Blame the other guy for what you are doing.
You want to see what the Pretender-In-Cheif is doing - read Alinsky's book.
Excuse Me!!
Submitted by LaVallette on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 7:04am.
"As Senate Majority Leader and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Harry Reid has achieved a more senior elected position in the United States government than any Mormon in history"
.Oh. That explains it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Dr. Justin Frank.
Reid
Submitted by misterbee241 on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 9:25am.
doesnt count. He's a liberal democrat Mormon and thus gets a free pass.
Now there's a source
Submitted by journoprof on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 7:08am.
What perfect logic...for an unbiased comment about Romney's religion who does Frank turn to but a former Mormon. Now there's a source you can count on for.unadulterated facts and an unbiased opinion!
And they always go to
Submitted by motherbelt on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 7:16am.
And they always go to dissident Catholics for their comments on the Catholic Church.
A second look
Submitted by oldfart on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 7:25am.
It Islam is it OK to lie to a non-muslim. Perhaps this person assumed that because Mormon and Muslim begin with the same letter they have the same beliefs. Typical liberal.
Others can play that game.
Submitted by motherbelt on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 8:41am.
Right after reading this, I went to townhall.com and came upon this column by Mike Adams:
Women and Children First
In no other situation in this country is a liberal as comfortable with lies as in the religion of Abortion-on-demand.
I wonder if Dr. Frank has a problem with that.
Hack Alert!!!!!
Submitted by adamsmith on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 7:36am.
Someone better check this guy's credentials. I think he may be an escaped mental patient. Liberalism really is a mental disorder....
Liar
Submitted by allouchsit on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 7:45am.
Dr Frank is a liar. That is why he thinks he knows so much about lying; he engages in it every day.
democrats, the party of societies dregs
Submitted by MidAmerica on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 7:57am.
It wouldn't matter what obama's opponents religion was it would be used against them.
Since obama's base is people who are government dependants, socialists, anarchists, whacko environmentalists, illegal’s, deviants, and union goons the democrats have no fear of offending them by attacking religion.
Time?
Submitted by evilcontractor on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 8:01am.
Are they still publishing that rag. I thought it went broke years ago.
Just like that
Submitted by P. Aaron on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 8:46am.
Just like that evil-dumb-hick-cowboy-chimp Bush is really an evil genius 'cause 'Bamster can't get past him, Romney's such a good liar the media has been hoodwinked...with the exception of this shrewd columnist.
At least TIME magazine is here to rescue America.
Man, I hate these people!
Harry Reid
Submitted by jpalm32 on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 8:47am.
Does Mormon Harry Reid lie???
Try this one
Submitted by jon_torlin on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 9:05am.
Does Catholic John Kerry lie?
Does Catholic Nancy Pelosi lie?
Does Muslim Keith Ellison lie?
Just to name a few examples.
What do they all have in common? They're democrats.
-Jon
try this one
Submitted by journoprof on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 10:10am.
Do Hardy Reid, Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, Keith Ellison lie? Hmmm...are their lips moving? There's your answer.
He's the liar
Submitted by jon_torlin on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 9:04am.
Hey Frank, you sorry asshole, you got your religions(Islam is not a religion, but just to point it out anyway) backwards, Obeyme's the one that comfortably lies to EVERYONE every single day when he gets in front of the camera.
And that's part of something called tagiya(taqiya, whatever, the thing that says it's permitted to lie to infidels).
Just based on what I read, you're one of the worst kinds of doctors and I hope the suicide rate of your patients aren't too high.
I'd sooner trust a mormon than trust a muslim, the former doesn't want to kill me, the latter does.
-Jon
I am completely offended and angry.
Submitted by c5then on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 9:19am.
It seems that the left has declared a war on religion and they are not being their usual sneaky selves. This is blatant and offensive.
It is Obama and his Keynesian advisors that are the liars. When they are called on their lies, they double down and call the opposition liars. I do not believe that Obama knew that his Obamacare bill would have a negative affect on the recovery. I do not believe that he has the least bit of inkling about how an economy actually works. But his advisors clearly did and didn't care because it was important to the progressive/socialist agenda. Just as I fully believe that Obama, having studied the constitution, knew that at the very least the individual mandate in the law was unconstitutional. But he didn't care because it's passage was so very important to the progressive/socialist agenda.
Frank and the left are trying to spin up their over-estimated secular/atheist base by attacking religion. They attacked the Catholic church for daring to have a concience and let their religious teachings actually influence their actions. Now they are attacking Mormons for, it seems , daring to exist.
Madison and Jefferson and Franklin built a Republic - Roberts killed it!
Lyndon LaRouche people love Juston Banks
Submitted by celator on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 9:24am.
This Justin Banks character has published a number of books using what he calls "applied psychoanalysis", a specious form of analysis at best (I suspect Dr. Sam would agree). He focuses on Republicans--one of his books is called 'Bush On The Couch". Banks was hysterically goofy about Bush 2, in particular.He's also written "Obama On The Couch", so there's that, as well. Bank's mind seems to wander down some very dark tunnels where only he and the goblins who live there seem at home.
Here's the kicker, The Lyndon Larouche people love the the guy. They interview him about his books, and let him spew his nonsense to their fans. That's all you have to know about this guy.
Here's LaRouche interviews with Banks to give you a flavor:
http://www.larouchepub.com/other/interviews/2004/3133dr_justin_frank.html
http://www.larouchepub.com/eiw/public/2006/2006_10-19/2006_10-19/2006-14...
Mormonism
Submitted by ladeflippinda on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 9:33am.
The doctor may have a point. It has been proven Joseph Smith created a mythology on he came to be in possession of the golden plates and his whole "history" of the lost tribes of Israel is fake.
Archaeology can't back up any claims by Smith of a vast civiliation in North America populated by Semitic people.
DNA doesn't support his claims either. So to be a Mormon appears that one has to believe a lie.
Whether that makes one a liar, that's up for debate.
Mormonism
Submitted by ladeflippinda on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 9:33am.
The doctor may have a point. It has been proven Joseph Smith created a mythology on he came to be in possession of the golden plates and his whole "history" of the lost tribes of Israel is fake.
Archaeology can't back up any claims by Smith of a vast civiliation in North America populated by Semitic people.
DNA doesn't support his claims either. So to be a Mormon appears that one has to believe a lie.
Whether that makes one a liar, that's up for debate.
Mormonism
Submitted by ladeflippinda on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 9:33am.
The doctor may have a point. It has been proven Joseph Smith created a mythology on he came to be in possession of the golden plates and his whole "history" of the lost tribes of Israel is fake.
Archaeology can't back up any claims by Smith of a vast civiliation in North America populated by Semitic people.
DNA doesn't support his claims either. So to be a Mormon appears that one has to believe a lie.
Whether that makes one a liar, that's up for debate.
Third time wasn't the charm
Submitted by jon_torlin on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 9:49am.
You didn't get your information about Smith from South Park, did you, that sounded almost word for word of that one episode.
-Jon
Well....
Submitted by Dave the mailman on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 9:53am.
I'd rather vote for a MORMON than a MORON.
Since you have such a hard
Submitted by LAM SON 719 on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 9:57am.
Since you have such a hard time with a simple reply button I must assume that assistance from one or more of your liberal friends is required to help you wipe. Don't forget to wash your hands.
My biggest problem
Submitted by Scott @ Engage ... on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 10:52am.
I think my biggest problem with Dr. Frank's article is his citing of Noam Scheiber who said, "Obama was prepared to accept (and I’m making up these numbers for argument’s sake) three years of painfully high unemployment with health care reform rather than 30 months of painfully high unemployment without it."
Does anyone really believe that our economy is recovering strong or that the painfully high unemployment is over after three years?
"I’m reminded of that old
Submitted by Kubrickfilmfan73 on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 11:27am.
"I’m reminded of that old epigram from the 1960s: 'My mind is made up; don’t confuse me with the facts.' That may be all good and well in many offices, but it’s not so good in the Oval Office."
No. No indeed, it's not. It's been a disaster for three and a half years.
I never cease to be amazed at how liberals eventually admit the truth in spite of themselves. I also never cease to be amazed at how, for a group of people who take pride in how much they talk, liberals never seem to listen to a word they're saying.
Oh, by the way, doc, don't
Submitted by Kubrickfilmfan73 on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 11:29am.
Oh, by the way, doc, don't shave that moustache. It looks great on you. I'm not lying.
Joseph Smith never claimed to be "illiterate"
Submitted by toenail on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 12:37pm.
That in and of itself is a bold-faced lie. Joseph Smith did claim to be "unlearned" as to the ways of the world, especially at 14 when his search for truth was going on in earnest. Who wouldn't agree that a 14 year old farm boy, even though he could read the Bible well enough, was still self-admittedly "unlearned" in a worldly sense?
Lies are more palatable with a kernel of truth
Submitted by Glynne on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 2:50pm.
WOW! This was not the subject I wanted my first post to be on. Oh well. I've seen much blind defense of Romney's religion here without the facts. Kool-aid drinkers are not just limited to Democrats, I'm afraid. At best, they are just more frequent in the D party.
Anyway, however you want to vote do it with correct information and wisdom, please. Some places of interest on the subject of Mormonism.
I have no association on these. Just an interested party.
http://amormonpresident.com/
and an interview with the film maker.
http://www.whitehorseinn.org/blog/2012/01/03/whi-1082-a-mormon-president/
Well, Glynne ---
Submitted by matthewdean on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 11:47pm.
as "cleave" means both 'to adhere to', and 'to separate', I guess I'm not clever enough to figure out what type of cleaver you want placed in your tag line. :o)
MD
MD, Maybe he can Hack his way out of that one...
Submitted by upcountrywater on Tue, 06/26/2012 - 12:42am.
Bet ya he's rootin for a polygamist round up,Texas style.
You Didn't Build That.
Obama lies intentionally
Submitted by belief101 on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 8:21pm.
"Hence Joseph Smith, the founder of the faith in 1820, claimed he was illiterate and received the Book of Mormon directly from God. But he could read, and read very well."
Joseph Smith had what today would be about a 3rd grade education. If you read any of his writings or his papers, you will see not only was he quite illiterate but he truly reflected someone without alot of education at the time. As I have read and studied Josephs handwritten papers I have wondered how anyone with his education (or lack of it) could have possibly written such a complicated, profound book as the Book of Mormon and received and wrote hundreds of revelations contained in the Doctrine and Covenants as he was able too. As a challenge - go to Doctrine and Covenants sec. 88 and read it. Could someone who "lies" like Joseph is accused of by Dr. Frank, ever been able to pen such a masterpiece? The answer is no. And not only no, but not without direct revelation I believe, from God. http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/88?lang=eng
Yes Dr Frank, There was an Adam and Eve, Cain slew Abel, moses parted the red sea and Christ walked on water. No lie!
Analogy Question
Submitted by Wags on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 10:08pm.
1. Dr. Frank is to Psychoanalysis as
a) Paul Krugman is to Economics
b) B. Obama is to Constitutional Government
c) Andrea Mitchell is to Journalism
d) all of the above