David Harmer is a Mormon and is running a carpetbagger campaign in the CD 11 Republican primary. This would normally be no surprise nor problem. But the Harmer campaign has decided to make it an issue. There is nothing like victim status to help one get ahead in today’s politics.
Elizabeth Emken, also a candidate in the CD 11 Republican primary, sent out a campaign mailer that, I’m shocked to tell you, pictured a story about Harmer in the Mormon Times!! How despicable, to point up a Harmer article appearing in a Deseret News publication. Mrs. Harmer promptly fired off an indignant letter to everyone on Harmer’s contact list, reporting
But then she takes a gratuitous swipe at our faith … even putting “Mormon” in boldface.
It’s a none-too-subtle appeal to religious prejudice, and I find it repugnant.
Please, Elayne, methinks thou protesteth too much.
There is no gratuitous swipe at Mormonism (go here for that). No, the article in the Mormon Times is an important insight into Harmer as a possible Congressman. Harmer is quoted as saying that he “considers himself a Christian first, an American second, a conservative third and finally, a Republican.” Voters should know the candidate before casting a ballot.
The indignity over “even putting ‘Mormon’ in boldface” is simply silly. Here is the Mormon Times banner-
Mormon kind of jumps out at you, doesn’t it?
The allegation of religious prejudice is just a campaign tactic to energize more Mormons to donate to their co-religionist and claim victim status. This is not the first time Harmer has shamelessly used his family members as a campaign tactic.
The following is kind of long, but if you really want to know what kind of person David Harmer is, read away. Oh, and be sure to have a barf bag next to you just in case:
April 7, 2010. Harmer For Congress
Benjamin, my robust eight-year-old, attacks life with such gusto that he’s become a frequent patron of Kaiser’s minor injury clinic and emergency room. In fact, he’s on a first-name basis with several of the doctors, nurses, and support staff there. To his history of burns, broken bones, and stitches, he recently added a new injury: a stab wound. To the thigh. With a pocketknife. Through his jeans. Self-inflicted.
Home when it happened, I heard him shriek and came running.
"Benjamin," I said, a bit crossly, dressing the wound, "what were you doing playing with a knife? And why on earth did you stab yourself?"
"I was trying to get the quarters out," he answered, and he pointed toward one of his most prized possessions: his Statehood Quarters Collector’s Album. It lay open on the floor, with about half the quarters missing. Next to each empty slot on the 50-state map was a small gouge mark, about the size and shape that a boy trying to pry out a quarter with a pocketknife might leave.
"The quarters aren’t supposed to come out," I said. "Collecting means you save them."
"But I wanted to give them to your campaign," he explained.
Oh.
"Ben, you don’t have to do that."
"But I want to, Dad."
I gave him a hug, carried him to the Suburban, and watched as Elayne drove off, heading for the hospital.
Returning to Ben’s room, I found, next to the Statehood Quarters Collector’s Album, a response card for one of our fundraising events. (I had sent an invitation to each of the kids, wanting them to feel included and important.) Ben had carefully completed the card, writing his name and address, and even filling in the blank for the amount of his contribution: $12.50. With no money in his piggy bank, he had decided to give the only cash he had: his quarter collection.
Now, Ben’s is the only injury I know of that resulted from our fundraising drive. But his willingness to sacrifice for the cause of freedom exemplifies the spirit of this campaign. I have been humbled and inspired by the generosity of our supporters, over 1200 of whom rose to the challenge and assured that we attained our first-quarter goals. I’ll provide a full report next week, but for now, please know that with your help, the campaign is off to a remarkably strong start.
David Harmer is raw ambition personified. He will go anywhere, say anything, use anybody to realize his lifelong ambition to become a Congressman. I think we’d all be more comfortable if he went back to the district in which he lives, and ran for something he might be qualified for, say District Attorney?
FOLLOW UP: See Halfway to Concord’s discussion of the CD 11 races.
