This post received a moderate amount of media coverage, and we are
happy to see so many new faces commenting here. It is unfortunate
that many of the comments in this thread degenerated into scurrilous
and ad hominem attacks. Such comments violate the Times and Seasons
comment policy (http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/comment-policies/).
We appreciate the efforts of many commenters to keep the discussion
on topic.

We also appreciate the reminders by many commenters that Democrats can
certainly be Mormons. Examples like James E. Faust and Marlin K.
Jensen make this clear. Of course, this does not mean that Reid or
any other politician is immune from criticism. Many of the T&S
permabloggers disagree strongly with Reid’s politics. T&S does not
endorse any particular political party. (Remember, last year’s Mormon
of the Year was Mitt Romney). However, we do believe that, this year,
Harry Reid was the best choice for Mormon of the Year.

All good things must come to an end. We often close comments when a
thread goes over 100 comments, and this one is no exception. However,
we hope that this doesn’t chase you off. Please stick around, and
browse through features like our interviews with prominent church
members (http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/category/features/12-questions/)
or our Mormon Images series
(http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/category/features/mormon-images/),
or the posts in general. If you really feel a need to weigh in about
the Mormon of the Year, you can e-mail us at timesandseasonsblog (at)
gmail (dot) com . We may post particularly relevant or original
feedback. Or, if you’d like to comment on a related topic, you should
visit our sidekick blog By Common Consent, which is currently hosting
a thread on Gentile of the Year.
(http://bycommonconsent.com/2010/01/11/boggs-doniphan-award-2009-winner/)

Come back in a few days after the nuts have left, and you’ll find it a much more civilized place.

Are you serious? It is a blog. You all take yourselves (and apparently everything else) way too seriously.

Opening up these comments, there was bound to be disagreement and controversy. But the level of vitriol and outright hysteria displayed in these comments is shameful. I agree with #114, it is amusing to watch people make themselves out to be fools. Sadly, those who are in need of the lesson fail to see it, and therefore a learning moment is lost.

True conservatism has been hijacked by the lunatic fringe, and our country is suffering because of it.

John C 1/12/2010 at 11:34 am
I’m truly amazed at how callously the LDS can say things like “he should be excommunicated” or “I would not sustain him for Sunday School teacher if I was in his ward.”

“Honest in all your business dealings” and it is quite obivious that H. Reid is not due to the press many of his business deals have gathered. I wouldn’t suggest excomunication, but a lack of sustainment I feel is justified.

This kind of discussion wouldn’t be happening if T&S had picked someone worthy of such an honor, and not a politician.

I posted a comment about my great Aunt who was the last dedicated Mormon in our family and who happened to be a Democrat. I hope those that are angry and hateful who are posting on this blog will only consider there are always two sides to an opinion. Life is not black and white but can also be gray and those who are politically different than yourselves should not be relegated to the ash heap.

The article only points out that he “shepherd[ed] Democratic legislative proposals through the U.S. Senate after the party’s victories in the 2008 elections, including a landmark health care bill that represents one of the more controversial pieces of legislation to pass through the Senate in recent memory.”

Is that it? That’s enough to get you Mormon of the Year. Wow.

My only guess is that T&S is trying to be contrary or different. That’s the only way their editors can prove they are so much more enlightened than their readers.

As one of the ways we deal with this problem is the “pulpit test.” If the First Presidency directs something to be said over the pulpit, that’s a pretty good sign we can rely on it as doctrine.

In the context of politics and the gospel, the Lord’s prophet sends out a letter every year with his signature on it, and this letter says that the gospel does not strictly correlate to a particular political ideology. And not only does the prophet send it out with his signature attached, but he sends it to our bishops and asks that they read it to us over the pulpit in our sacrament meetings. As far as doctrine goes, this is as close to scripture as we get.

But in spite of that clear message–and really, how could it be any clearer?–people like Tim B. and Mindi and C. Daniels still feel free to lecture us about the REAL relationship between the gospel, free agency, and political decisions made by governments. According to them, governmental involvement in our lives is actually an abrogation of free agency, and thus sinful.

Well guess what, guys? The Democratic Party specifically disagrees, instead arguing that government can do good things for us. And most importantly for us latter-day saints, the Lord’s prophet has specifically told us that the Democratic Party is ok from a gospel standpoint. So unless my math is fuzzy, that means that governmental action is ok from a gospel standpoint too.

So really, Harry Reid is not the one in need of repentance; rather, if repentance is an issue here, it should an issue for all the self-appointed theocrats who keep demanding that the rest of us listen to their version of the gospel, and not that which is actually taught to us over LDS pulpits by the living prophet.