"Willard" Mitt Romney...origin of the name and the Marriot family

First off it occurs to me as I type that there seems to be utter silence from the "Barry" Obama crowd on the fact that Mitt has multiple monickers.

That aside...I have wondered, what's up with "Willard" and where the name originated. Why he chooses to go by his middle name "Mitt" is still unanswered, but with a name like "Willard" maybe he just chose his middle name out of preference.

Willard

Family Ties To Marriott Heirs Pay Off For Romney

Mitt Romney has been far and away the best-funded of the Republicans running for president. In addition to his own campaign chest, he has the wealthiest superPAC backing him, Restore Our Future.

Among the donors to Restore Our Future, are hotel tycoons J.W. and Richard Marriott. Each gave $750,000 so far this campaign cycle.

..............

Both are listed on Forbes magazine's annual ranking of the 400 wealthiest Americans, each with a net worth of more than a billion dollars.

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The Marriott brothers have spent a bit of that fortune on politics. Not only did they donate $1.5 million to Restore Our Future, they've also given to congressional campaigns.

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Shared Faith — And Deep Pockets

But there are deeper ties between the Marriotts and the Romneys.

The candidate's father, George, and J. Williard Marriott were good friends — so much so that Mitt Romney's given name is Willard. Romney served twice on the Marriott board. And there is their shared Mormon faith.

"The growth of Republican support among Mormons really took off in the late '70s thru the '80s when the Republican Party adopted its social conservative positions on abortion and gay marriage and women's rights and that's where you really saw the cementing of this relationship among Mormons and Republicans," says David Campbell, who teaches religion and politics at the University of Notre Dame.

www.npr.org...

Romney was named after J. Willard Marriott, the Mormon hotel Tycoon and founder of Marriott Hotels, now his two sons are backing Romney to the tune of 1.5 Million thus far and several congressional campaigns

How is Morman support playing in this election and how will it play in the comming months?

Some things to keep in mind...

Worldwide, there are over 13 million Mormons, nearly the same as the number of Jews.

In the United States the LDS Church is the 4th largest individual denomination with over 6 Million members nationwide.

Politically we might just think of Glenn beck or "Willard" Mitt Romney, but who knew about the Marriotts? Prominent Mormons also include the Billionaire father of Jon Hunstman, the CEO of Jet-blue, the CEO of Eastman Kodak and the CEO of Black and Decker amongst several others.

Now I want to be clear, I am not knocking the Morman religion in this thread, but I am observing that there appear to be wealth and power behind Romney originating from Morman backers that the average American might not be aware of and the media is not commenting on.

So the Marriott sons both gave a cool $750,000 a piece to Romney, how much other money if flowing from wealthy Mormons?

Mitt Romney would be the countries first Morman president as John F. Kennedy was the countries first Catholic.

The Irish Catholic vote played a role in bringing Kennedy to office. The Morman community are traditionally reclusive, but is it possible there is a wave of support out there both in numbers and dollars that the Media has not noticed?

It cuts both ways. I feel just as many people WON'T vote from someone of a certain religion/ethnicity/background as WILL vote for that person.

Just watch...The mormons have had a plan and considering they were founded by a treasure seeking Mason it sounds like a plan long in action.

Now I am not a bible thumper but I do believe there has been a plan in place to bring about Revelations and a "Mormon" leader will play a big part in this.

J. Smith's so called "White Horse" Prophesy
en.wikipedia.org...

Smith is recorded as saying that the Mormons "will go to the Rocky Mountains and will be a great and mighty people established there, which I will call the White Horse of peace and safety...

Hmmm...seeking shelter in the Rocky Mountains? "Denver Airport" conspiracy anyone?
io9.com...

But if you actually know Revelations...then you know the "white horse" not a sign of peace but is a sign of terrible things to come...

en.wikipedia.org...
"I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come and see!" I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest."


Of course it makes sense that good old "Mitt's" real name is Willard after hanging out with all those washington Rats...

reply to post by jjkenobi


Yes, I would agree that in past elections faith "cut both ways", BUT...I would observe in this election Romney is not talking publicly about his faith and is keeping relatively quite on the matter, while the DNC opponents are largely doing the same for fear of being percieved as Xenophobes (which might be a warranted label if they focused on his faith)

So I would say it doesn't cut both ways this time.

We know that if the parties were reversed the GOP would not blink an eye going after an unusual religion. They called the President a Muslim largely just because he "looks" like one.

But, regardless, just because the GOP is comfortable swimming in the "divide by faith" pool, doesn't mean the Democrats would be any better if they did the same.

What that leaves us with is a media and election cyclke that is unusually silent on Romney's, dare I say, "Cult" like faith? and what influence financially or otherwise it will have.

And all the while money and influence flowing centered on that Morman faith.

reply to post by Indigo5


I wonder what the percentage of "Mormon" money is compared to the total Romney contributions ?

I wonder how much "Mormon" money is going to Obama ?

Might be hard to find.

We would have to certify a company or individual as being "Mormon".

Goldman Sacks is contributing to both Romney and Obama I think.

How many Mormon employees do they have ?

Hard to pinpoint.

Same would be for trying to find the exact number of Jewish employees at GS.

Originally posted by xuenchen
reply to post by Indigo5

 

I wonder what the percentage of "Mormon" money is compared to the total Romney contributions ?

I wonder how much "Mormon" money is going to Obama ?

Might be hard to find.

Two other mysterious corporations have invested $1 million in Restore Our Future’s success: F8 LLC and Eli Publishing, which share an address in Provo, Utah. They are connected to prominent Mormon businessman Steve Lund, the vice chairman of the board of nutrition and cosmetics company Nu Skin, and former Nu Skin lawyer (and Lund son-in-law) Jeremy Blickenstaff.

Another Mormon business executive, Frank VanderSloot, has used a network of corporate accounts connected to his cleaning products, cosmetics and vitamins company, Melaleuca Inc. -- which has been accused by some of being a pyramid scheme -- to give $1 million to Restore Our Future.

www.iwatchnews.org...

Also see here...Heavy on the Morman businesses.

www.opensecrets.org...

reply to post by abeverage


I joined just now to clarify on the mormon/mason connection I see people making all the time.

Yes the 1st few prophets where masons, and yes the temple dialog/ceremonys are similar and borowed from masonry.

But after the move to Utah Brigham Young denouced and forbid members to become masons.

freemasonry.bcy.ca...

I just joined so I hope the link works lol.

Anyway the LDS faith is all about free agency, they will never force their way down your throat because that would be the antithesis of their belief system.

I am not a member either, thought I would clear that up. Most of my family is tho including my father who is one of the best most intelligent people I have met in my 31 years here. He has alot of "faith" something that is impossible for me seeing as I need tangible evidence.

Anyway quit it with the LDS are mason BS, nothing could be further from the truth.

reply to post by PassiveObserver


Hi Passive Observer. thanks for your input on the Mason thing.

On a different note...Seeing as you seem to sit in the heart of Morman country...do you see any level of excitment for Mitt Romney? More so than past candidates? What is the Morman community's take on his candidacy?

reply to post by Indigo5


Oddly enough anyone I talk to about it seems to have the "Whatever happens happens." Mentality. Which genuinely drives me bonkers.

I think it has to do with that faith thing.

Originally posted by PassiveObserver
reply to post by Indigo5

 

Oddly enough anyone I talk to about it seems to have the "Whatever happens happens." Mentality. Which genuinely drives me bonkers.

I think it has to do with that faith thing.

It is not neccessarily a "Faith" thing. The Evangelical Christians have become a very vocal and outspoken political force in recent years.

My curiousity was if the Mormans were feeling unusually invested in Mitt Romney because of his faith, perhaps more energized or mobilized to vote. But perhaps Mormans are not as concerned with politics as the Evangelical Church. Maybe it is something to do with thier cultural roots/history of sequestering themselves from broader America and that might differentiate them from the other side of the spectrum...Evangelicals.

Sorry took me a bit to respond, but I called my old man up and asked him if he in anyway would feel obligated to vote for Mitt based on religion. I also emailed my sisters (I have 3 all members) and called my brother.

My Dad said he votes based on what will impact him, and his business. My sisters don't vote because they don't follow politics, and my brother tends to think Obama and Romney are both in on the Healthcare thing. Kind of like the 2000 (Gore/Bush) and 2004 (Carey/Bush) election where he feels it didn't matter who won we would have still have had the Iraq war, and the conflict in the middle-east.

I personally have never registered to vote, because I have always kind of felt my vote would be pointless with the silly delegate system.

But my father thinks that yes there are members that would vote based on their religion. Which is disheartening, but understandable. For some reason people tend to want everyone else to see reality they way they do (IMPOSSIBRU). Some kind of security blanket.

Great post, and very informative. Keep up the great work, OP!