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News & ArtsThursday, February 23, 2012
2012 / Religion Marco Rubio Was a Mormon
Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, Feb 23, 2012 at 10:55 AM
Well, this could affect Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick:
In the compelling personal narrative that has helped propel Florida Senator Marco Rubio to national political stardom, one chapter has gone completely untold: Rubio spent his childhood as a faithful Mormon.
Rubio was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with his family at around the age of eight, and remained active in the faith for a number of years during his early youth, family members told BuzzFeed.
Rubio spokesman Alex Conant confirmed the story to BuzzFeed, and said Rubio returned to the Catholic church a few years later with his family, receiving his first communion on Christmas day in 1984 at the age of 13.
There's much more, including the Rubio family's love of the Osmonds, in the Buzzfeed story. I just can't see super-cautious Romney going for a vice presidential candidate who has even a relatively harmless tie to the Mormon church, even though Rubio is the party's favorite son right now.
2
After prop 8 that cult scares me more than most of the others. Evangelical xtians are still the scariest of the religion cults though, ask gay Africans.
4
#3
Confirmation is recommended before marriage...but not absolutely required.
http://www.marriagepreparation.com/Confi…
Also, it's kind of cool that a Morman can go Catholic.
5
"...Romney going for a vice presidential candidate who has even a relatively harmless tie to the Mormon church..."
That's not the problem. The Rubio family apparently turned their back on the LDS church. That's a huge problem for active mormons. Romney can't get too close to someone like that: he has an afterlife to think about.
That's not the problem. The Rubio family apparently turned their back on the LDS church. That's a huge problem for active mormons. Romney can't get too close to someone like that: he has an afterlife to think about.
6
Well, if Obama can be a secret Kenyan Muslim, I see no reason why Rubio can't be a stealth Mormon.
THEY"RE COMING FOR YOUR COFFEE!
THEY"RE COMING FOR YOUR COFFEE!
8
Mario Rubio is a joke of a candidate. He's a pretty boy with a completely empty head. He reminds me of Enrique Peña Nieto, the vacuous, wholeheartedly corrupt PRI governor of Mexico State who is probably going to be the next president of Mexico.
Except that Mexicans hate Cubans. If the GOP thinks Rubio is going to help them with Latinos, they're even stupider than they looked last night.
Except that Mexicans hate Cubans. If the GOP thinks Rubio is going to help them with Latinos, they're even stupider than they looked last night.
10
No worries.. After Rubio lives a long life and passes, he will once again be returned to the Mormon faith!
11
Rubio would help Romney win Florida but would that mathmatically be enough with the Electoral College? I don't think Rubio really helps in other (Mexican) Latino swing states like NM, Nevada, and Colorado.
12
@11 The most frustrating thing about Rubio VP speculation is that people continue to treat the Latinos as a solid voting bloc. As Fnarf mentioned, there is a world of difference between Cuban immigrants of FL and Mexicans in the other states you mentioned.
This also includes the speculation that the GOP will be able to win Latinos through social issues- which makes sense only if you gloss over the fact that Catholics as a whole aren't reliable GOP voters*.
Let it never be said that internecine intolerance is without its uses.
*Though they have been courted, cf. 'Reagan Democrats'
This also includes the speculation that the GOP will be able to win Latinos through social issues- which makes sense only if you gloss over the fact that Catholics as a whole aren't reliable GOP voters*.
Let it never be said that internecine intolerance is without its uses.
*Though they have been courted, cf. 'Reagan Democrats'
13
If Marco Rubio is smart -- still up for debate -- he will stay away from this train wreck of a 2012 GOP campaign and save his political power for 2016. Of course, he will likely fall out of favor with the Tea Party by then, but maybe the Tea Party will finally be out of favor with the GOP at that point.
14
I think Rubio will be safe since he never got to the secret temple rite phase of Mormonism. He doesn't know the secret handshakes or throat slitting signs that Romney does.
15
The religion of a candiadte should not be a matter of concern to anyone, that is bigoty. what a person does and says is what should be the issue. Change Mormon to Jewish, see?
16
@15 What I said was what Santorum said about President Obama's faith. I should have been more clear.
17
@15 Okay, if a Jewish candidate expressed a preference for prohibiting the sale, transportation, and consumption of pork because they believed the United States should be in line with Kashrut, I would vote against them too. With glee aforethought.
Stop being dense.
Stop being dense.
18
This is a non-story. Rubio's 41. His family turned Mormon for only 5 years of his life. He was age 8 then; he was 13 when they returned to the Catholic Church. He didn't exactly research religions as an adult and decide himself to convert to the LDS Church.
19
@ Vince I wasn't pointing the finger at you, specifically, I've noticed atrend of people using faith names as perjoratives.. @17 I am not being dense, there is a lot of Mormon bashing going on and to me it is beginning to smack of bigotry. I am pro-first amendment but that doesn't mean that free speech can't be prejudiced. Sure some Mormons are assholes, so are some atheists and some Babtists and etc.
21
@19.. you must be new around these parts. slog has a long proud history of taking religionists to task. mormons are the latest flavor because.. well.. lessee the whole time period between their highly moneyed opposition to cali's prop 8 and ..well... now. you'll hafta get a much thicker skin if you think all this talk is rooted in bigotry.
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