[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSLQSDFVK-8&w=560&h=315]

KSL News in Utah did an interview with BYU students Hannah Wheelwright and Ben Ader - once again making the point that many Mormons will vote for Obama in November.  And of course, Hannah is sporting some really nice bumper stickers on her computer.  This kind of publicity and dedication is encouraging and energizing - especially to find this reporting on a Utah news station that is operated by Bonneville Communications.  So let's make one final push for November!  See the article here on KSL.Com, and watch Hannah's interview at that link as well.  Additionally, refer to Hannah's article, "Anxiously Engaged" to learn how you can get involved!

This picture appeared on an Italian language news site!  Kelly, one of our own, was at a rally in Virginia representing Mormons for Obama!  She is proudly wearing her "Mormons for Obama" t-shirt.  This shirt, by the way, is available on CafePress.com.

And Kelly wasn't even aware she had ended up on a news site - she just knew that a lot of people wanted to take her picture (considering her awesome shirt she wore for the rally!)  So, it wasn't until she saw the link posted on our Facebook page that she learned that she was famous.   Congratulations Kelly!  Great job representing Mormons and representing Obama supporters!

[brightcove vid=1823261844001&exp3=961751338001&surl=http://c.brightcove.com/services&pubid=961753523001&pk=AQ~~,AAAA3-z6Izk~,70dt0G6K4XP9jJGaqwc9VohXisAPIx8D&w=480&h=270]

This video and the following post are from Odyssey Networks:

Mormon Democrats are a rarity in Utah. They represent just 7 percent of Mormons in the state, but came out full force Tuesday evening at an LDS Democrats event held in Charlotte, N.C. in and around the Democratic National Convention.  LDS Democrats, many of whom were formerly Republican, say the Democratic party now best represents their core values, including caring for the most vulnerable in society. They are not monolithic in their beliefs however, as LDS Democrats range from feminists to anti-abortion.

Thank you to Odyessy Networks for this great video!

One of the most exciting events of the day was the gathering of Democratic Saints in Charlotte NC to usher in the DNC and recognize the many of us that support President Obama.  Those of us who were not there are jealous of course, but we celebrate the unity of Democratic Mormons across our great nation.  The media lit up with many articles about this event, and we have posted many of these links at the bottom of this page.

MormonsforObama.org will have more coverage of this event in the next several days - so stay tuned.

Michelle Obama took the stage tonight, and she proved her amazing ability to connect with America.  But we wish to post a speech tonight that may have been buried in all the other convention coverage.  This address by Iraq war veteran and US House candidate Tammy Duckworth shed light on what this election is all about:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcFD0DvJbx4?rel=0]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/mormons-for-obama-launch-their-own-missionary-eff

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765601654/LDS-Democrats-gather-in-Charlotte-to-unite-LDS-values-Democratic-policies-at-DNC.html?pg=1

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/20/mormon-democrats-to-gather-at-charlotte-convention/

http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/04/13664528-mormon-democrats-gather-for-first-ever-national-meeting-in-charlotte-during-dnc

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/04/mormons-for-obama-lds-democrats-caucus-convenes-convention-event.html

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/09/these-mormons-arent-voting-for-romney.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-mormon-democrat-20120904,0,6787149.story

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/54826919-90/utah-democrats-reid-lds.html.csp?page=1

Mormons for Obama Launch their own 'Missionary Effort' on Buzzfeed's website http://www.buzzfeed.com/

We are excited about the article and the way it represents the work that many of us LDS Dems have been doing!

A little about us:  we are not affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints nor the 2012 Obama Presidential Campaign.  However, we are Mormons and we are for President Barack Obama.  We created this website in order to represent the unique perspective of Mormons who are voting for Obama.  We are all active and believing Latter-day Saints in various cities around the country.  We are not necessarily Republicans or Democrats, and we are not anti-Mitt Romney, but we are united behind President Obama as he seeks his second term.  For more information on the idea behind this site, read our first post here. Please find the link to our Facebook group on the sidebar!

Rob T. was interviewed about "Mormons for Obama" for this article in the National Post, a Canadian news outlet, but I guess we didn't make the cut! Interesting take on the risk of Romney's Mormonism, even as many interpret the polls as showing that religion doesn't really matter to voters. 

[caption id="attachment_1948" align="alignright" width="371"] Craig Warga/ NY Daily News[/caption]

So as McKay Coppins pointed out on BuzzFeed, "Within minutes of Mitt Romney officially winning the Republican nomination, the Facebook page for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints posted a blunt reminder that it is “politically diverse.”  And so I will attempt to express that political diversity with my own comments about the first day of the Republican National Convention.  See below for the LDS Church's new video.

In case you didn't happen to watch the RNC's first day, (yesterday having been scrapped for fears that Hurricane Isaac would wipe out Tampa Bay like what Vesuvius did for Pompeii,) then you didn't miss nothing but a lot of hot air blowing around.  A bunch of people spoke including John Boehner who proved that the swirling special effects behind his head can be more interesting than all his "a guy walked into a bar" jokes that never got to the punchline. And then the pink governors on parade began: the Governors of Ohio, Nevada, Oklahoma, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Virginia all got up there as if to remind their constituents, "You voted Republican once, why not again?" Also we heard from Santorum, and he was only interesting because everyone knew he'd say something crazy. They also showcased the engaging Mia Love - (have you heard of her yet?) But then there was turncoat Arthur Davis.  He is an anomaly to me.  But considering how he flipped from being an Obama supporter to stumping for Romney in just four years, maybe he is the perfect speaker at a convention to nominate the biggest flip-flopper of them all.

Well, if you wanted to hear what Ann Romney had to say, it started like this,  "This is gonna be so exciting!" And I wondered... what? the convention? a Romney presidency? or her talk?  (She is Mormon, so it was most definitely a talk.) But let me get all my snark out of the way: I couldn't decide if Ann Romney sounded more like Sarah Palin (I LOOOOVE YOU WOMEEN!) or a second counselor in a bygone-era RS Presidency.  (Have you noticed that some of the women speakers in General Conference smile all through their talks? Ann Romney sure has.)  But her smiling laughter and awkward guffaws aside, I am bothered that she spent so much time talking about the poor and the downtrodden of America, when her husband's plan to help these people is to raise taxes on the poor and middle class and slash taxes for the rich, with some expectation that these wealthy Americans will hopefully create more jobs (or give to more charities) and trickle that wealth on down like rain water through a sewage ditch.  (Click here to see my last trickle-down economics metaphor.)

However, Ann Romney appeared to be genuine in her praise for her husband.  Of course, she has an incredible amount of love and respect for him.  She has seen his hard work and dedication as a leader in church and as governor of Massachusetts.  At one point, she said of Romney, "No one will work harder, no one will care more, and no one will move heaven and earth like Mitt Romney to make this country a better place to live."  She also spoke of Mitt's passion for serving, and how he doesn't brag about it: "Mitt doesn't like to talk about how he's helped others, because he sees it as a privilege, not a political talking point."

Clearly, Ann Romney was on the stage to humanize her husband and to show America the side of him that only she might see.  Well, I guess I wasn't expecting her to seem so awkward herself.  I guess that both Mitt and Ann are a little on the socially inept end of the spectrum, (hence, their "real marriage").  I will be interested to see how "America" (whoever that is) views her address.

The night closed with Governor Christie, who proved he isn't as likable as he you'd imagine him to be, and who also proved that he was running for the President of New Jersey (or of the USA 2016).  But I'm not complaining; his speech spurred the instant-classic moment of the evening: a guy in the convention hall gets projected onto the screen behind Christie while yelling, "YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN!" Wrong convention, wrong candidate.  (Watch for him at 17:17.)

And Condoleezza Rice looked so tired.  Did somebody force her to be there?  By the way, if you check back tomorrow, you may or may not find a review of day 2. We may want to go to bed early, and unlike Condi, nobody is forcing us to show up.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSxbEbxeQVo?rel=0]

Note from Joseph M - This link was sent to me by a friend - what a refreshing and interesting look at our self-important, self-indulgent elections. Gina, this is amazing.

If you are a member of our Mormons for Obama Facebook group, you know this already: Mormon Democrats are gathering for an event coinciding with the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Harry Reid is to be their keynote speaker.  (He promises to speculate on Romney's taxes only twice in his address!)  The Salt Lake Tribune and The New York Times both reported on the upcoming September 4th event.  This promises to be a great opportunity to show support for President Obama, especially at a time when our unique Mormon voice been misrepresented by the other party and its presumptive nominee.

As Craig Janis of South Jordan points out in the SL Tribune article, "It’s pretty important that the image our state and our church projects is not just the conservative Mitt Romney image. I would love for our image as LDS people and as Utahns more generally to be such that there is no political association with it."

I would add that some members of our faith go along with the Republican Mormon majority because it seems the "thing to do," or because they have strong influences in their families or congregations; however, a simple conversation about the platform of the Democratic Party and how it fits with Mormon ideals and faith can sometimes break through many of the assumptions about what it means to be a Mormon Democrat.  Hopefully, the media attention to events like these can further break the stereotype that all (good) Mormons vote Republican.

So if you are in the area, (or if you can get a plane ticket there,) get your tickets by going to http://ldsdems.eventbrite.com/

Also, visit the Utah Democratic Party website for more information!