🗽 LDS Democracy Newsletter - 11/18/2023

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📆 Programming note: we’re offline next week as well but we’ll be back December 2nd!

Of good report: Remembering President Ballard

On Sunday, November 16th, President M. Russel Ballard passed away in his home at the age of 95. The Desert News has a detailed write-up on his life and legacy. It includes a trip to Ethiopia during his early ministry and how witnessing human suffering during the 1985 drought shaped the way he tried to lead for the rest of his ministry. President Ballard reflected, “I learned, I think, about compassion, love and gentleness, and appreciating anguish, anxiety and suffering on that experience, which I believe has blessed me the rest of the time that I’ve tried to serve the Lord as a general authority.”

Catholic Bishop John Wester recalls President Ballard’s commitment to serving the poor, his sincerity, and his dedication to interfaith work.

Our thoughts and prayers are with President Ballard’s family.

Context matters: Updates on Maine, Manchin, and Congressional ethics

A ballot measure to take control of the electrical grid from private companies in Maine was defeated. Nearly 70% of voters voted no on the creation of Pine Tree Power. We wrote about the initiative and history of public utilities here.

Joe Manchin announced he is not running for reelection as a US Senator from West Virginia. Instead, he will “see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle” and perhaps run for president. E.J. Dionne reflects on where to find this middle to mobilize:

We discussed the role and potential benefits of political parties here.

George Santos announced he will not seek reelection in 2024 amid growing allegations of ethics violations. Many of the allegations deal with campaign finances and how they were misused to pay for luxury goods, travel, and food. It also appears that Santos was not forthcoming about his wealth, income, or real estate holdings. The House will vote after Thanksgiving on a new resolution to expel him.

Out of the best books: Romney, A Reckoning

The Gilded Age humorist Finley Peter Dunne quipped “politics ain’t beanbag.” Rob has followed Senator Romney’s career since he was Governor of Massachusetts and found himself gripped by McKay Coppins’ portrait (publisher link). The “reckoning” in the title happens on several levels:

• Romney reckoning with what has become of the Republican Party, almost sixty years after his father stood for its embrace of democracy and civil rights.

• Romney reckoning with the decisions he made in his own career, including his time at Bain Capital and the moves he made in Massachusetts, his presidential campaign, and in the Senate.

• Romney reckoning with what he thought his relationship with President Biden would be, and figuring out how to build that relationship.

• Republican Senators reckoning in private with Trump’s extremism but always hesitant to speak out lest they lose their next primary.

The book is worth reading in full, especially for those who are interested in Senator Romney, the contemporary GOP, or living in the public eye. Rob noted how often it was Ann who steered Mitt toward political courage, especially on the first impeachment vote, and how many of the Republican Senators who hemmed and hawed about Trump are no longer in the Senate.

The ward newsletter: Steve Young on love

Elder Holland is now President Holland. He was officially set apart as acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve by President Nelson on Wednesday.

NFL Hall-of-Famer Steve Young sat down with the Salt Lake Tribune’s “Mormon Land” podcast to talk about loving all people, no matter where they are in their personal journeys. Listen here.

Jordan Morales, profiled by us here, has won his election to the Boise City Council. Congratulations to Councilman-Elect Morales!

Do you know of any Latter-day Saints running for office in 2024 on a pro-democracy platform? Send us a reply!

Of our own free will: Beyond a politics of hate

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear won re-election earlier this month by six points—remarkable because Donald Trump won Kentucky by twenty points three years ago.

Governor Beshear’s campaign manager Eric Hyers had an interesting observation when Politico asked him about the victory:

Note: the Beshear campaign did not refrain from “negative” campaigning. They highlighted their opponent Daniel Cameron’s extreme views on abortion, timing the ad to start showing at the start of Labor Day weekend so the Cameron campaign would have trouble responding immediately. But they also:

• Ran ads touting Governor Beshear’s record and plans for Kentucky, explaining his “why” to the people of the state.

• Picked-and-chose when to engage with far-right attacks against the Governor’s record, focusing on the “real-life” scenarios facing everyday Kentuckians.

When Rob was attending the a Faith & Values panel at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, one of the most electrifying moments came when a panelist read 2 Timothy 1:17:

We’re gearing up for another presidential election cycle. Well-organized groups are going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to try to get us to fear our neighbors, our loved ones, and the future. The Trump campaign’s plans, from mass deportations to using the federal government to punish critics, can be frightening.

But we’ve been in tough spots before and we should recognize that it was our work, our love, and our committment to a better country that made the difference.

So let’s reject a politics of hate and fear and instead lead forward with hope and dedication. And if you want to learn more about how these ideas have informed Eric Hyers’ work as a campaign manager, listen here.

One more praiseworthy thing: a better children’s book for Thanksgiving

Tisquantum, a member of the Patuxet nation, survived being kidnapped by English explorers who sold him into slavery in Europe. Ransomed by Spanish monks, he made it back to the site of his peoples’ summer town, only to discover they had recently died of disease. When the Pilgrims arrived the next year, he worked hard to establish peace between them and the local Wampanoag town while also teaching the Pilgrims about growing Native American crops.

Joseph Bruchac’s Squanto’s Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving (publisher link) is a beautifully illustrated children’s book that tells Tisquantum’s story in a way that is rooted in the Native experience and is suitable for young children but doesn’t talk down to them.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!