Personally, I don't care if a politician personally believes that the way I live is forbidden by their god, or that I'm going to burn in hell--I only care of s/he wants to turn those beliefs into law and policy. If a candidate could convince me (much as JFK did, way back when, with voters in his day) that s/he could keep religion and public policy separate, and not impose those religious teachings on everybody, then I could conceivably vote for a Mormon (not Mitt Romney, of course--I wouldn't vote for him because he's a reactionary Republican asshole, quite apart from his being Mormon). Now, whether any Mormon I could ever vote for would still be embraced and supported by his/her own church is quite another question.

So yeah, I'd say that a blanket, end-of-discussion pronouncement that you would never vote for a Mormon, any Mormon, anytime, could get you looked at like a prejudiced dick by people who take a more nuanced approach. The real question is, if those are your deeply-felt convictions, do really you care?

Thought experiment:

Would you vote for a Mormon who held liberal political views and said they strayed from their church in terms of marriage equality, women's rights etc?

If so, then it isn't the religion you have problems with, it's the politics.

I know that's a rare bird, but they're out there.

Ordinarily, I don't give a hoot about someone's religious beliefs if he/she keeps them to him/herself. I don't want anyone making a decision - a decision that effects everyone - governed and vetted by religious dogma. If you are a Mormon and you support things that don't follow the Mormon line, then you are excommunicated.

Therefore, I think it's a reasonable, logical conclusion that I cannot vote for a Mormon. Ever. Because if I vote for a Mormon, then I am voting for the Mormon Church (all this aside from the fact that I can't believe they believe what they believe - same with Scientologists).

Yes, you can say "I won't vote for a Mormon. After Prop. 8"

No, you shouldn't say "all their batshit crazy hater juice, I'm not drinking their kool aid"

You can express you feelings without degrading people. Remember, the liberals are polite and care about peoples feelings. That is why we don't start wars.

That is what "prejudice" means.

Don't move to Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, or Eastern Washington or Oregon. Even a straight D ticket will include Mormons. Anywhere else you'd be pretty safe.

Had you lived in Nevada in 2010 would you have voted for Sharron Angle or not voted(still giving her an advantage)? (Purely hypothetical why would anyone live in Nevada? for some reason they do.)

soundslikepuget, you start some interesting conversations on QL. I like that about you.

There have been a lot of good points, but I would like to add that discrimination and prejudice are not always negative - they can be very useful survival skills. I think your discrimination against voting for Romney because he's a Mormon is perfectly legit based on what we know about LDS and Prop 8. Voting is itself an act of discrimination, and can be one of self-preservation as well when we're faced with people who want to deny us our rights.

What would be bad is if you were in charge of hiring for a job or renting a house, etc., and you didn't hire or rent to someone because they were Mormon - that's a pretty clearly defined violation of a person's right to practice (or not) whatever religion they want to.

I'm not sure if there is a positive aspect to bigotry, but I don't think you are being a bigot in this case. You wouldn't have asked this question if you were a bigot because you wouldn't care what other people think.

As far as whether it's ok to be open about this in Seattle, of course it is. To not be open about it would just perpetuate the cultural superiority complex of our liberal little bubble here in Seattle. Everyone is so concerned with being right and correct that a lot of times shit doesn't get done or activist groups fall apart, and I'm kind of tired of it.

Could you vote for Harry Reid? Harry Reid is a Mormom. Of course, he's not running for President.

They say you should avoid talking about politics and religion. I guess, though, if you are talking about politics, you can also talk about religion. Personally, I usually try to avoid confrontational statements, since it discourages discussion (at best).

May I suggest that you try something like, "I have reservations about voting for a Mormon", in order to foster further discussion? It's not a lie, and who knows, you might change your mind.

That said, there is no circumstance under which I would vote for a guy who straps his dog to the top of his station wagon, American-made or not.

Yes, that would make you a prejudiced dick. The LDS church has a lot of members with a lot of different viewpoints.
Every religion has just as many reasons not to vote for someone affiliated with it. You saying you won't vote for someone that is Mormon is just like the wacko's that said they wouldn't vote for Obama because of his church affiliation in Chicago.

It makes me kind of uneasy, mostly because it's VERY reminiscent of people saying they wouldn't vote for JFK because he'd "be taking his orders from Rome." Now, in point of fact, most American Catholics pretty much ignore the Catholic Church's dogma, but technically, a Catholic is just as liable to be excommunicated for rocking the boat as a Mormon would be.

You're hardly alone, according to today's article-

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/06/08/115445/poll-romney-leads-but-mormon-religion.html

""The fact that less than half of voters have a favorable view of the religion is likely to be a political issue that Governor Mitt Romney, and should his campaign catch on, Governor Jon Huntsman, will have to deal with as they pursue the White House," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute."

Isn't Romney a Scientologist?

Your real question would seem to be, "Can I freely discuss my bigoted views about Mormons and Romney in Seattle without fear of judgement or scorn."

The answer is yes and no. I am sure there are people in Seattle that share your prejudice but I know there are those that do not and will call you out.

I for one call you out. I would never vote for Romney because of his political views, which might be informed by his religion but are not his religion. Making blanket statements about not voting for a Morman is no different than saying you wouldn't vote for an Asian person and both are equally distasteful.

You are being foolish and lazy. Do you really think every mormon in the world voted for prop 8? The president is a human being. Vote for the person you think would best lead the nation and pray that they are not mormon!