As we get closer to the 2012 Presidential election, people are going to start looking really closely at each of the candidates. How well does that candidate’s views match your own? This year, there has been some focus on the family tree of Mitt Romney. Does his family history matter, politically speaking?
It is common for politicians to spend time emphasizing that they represent “family values”. This is not new. Both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama released videos that show, and tell, stories about what their life was like in their family when their children were young. Romney’s video is narrated by his wife, Ann, and shows photos of their children. Obama’s video shows him speaking behind a podium about how his wife had to work and raise the children at the same time while he was away working.
Clearly, someone in each of these candidate’s camps believes that it is important to show information about the candidate’s family life to voters. But, how far back into a candidate’s family tree should you go? How much does that really matter?
Mitt Romney has a rather unique situation in his family tree. His father, George Romney, was not born in the United States. He was born to American parents who were living in Mexico.
The reason that George’s parents, (Mitt’s grandparents), were in Mexico was because they were living on a Mormon colony where at least some of the people were practicing polygamy. It has been said that Mitt’s grandparents were not polygamists. In any case, what happened was that George moved to the United States when he was five years old. When he grew up, he married Lenore LeFount, who was born in Logan, Utah. They are Mitt’s parents.
This is where things get a little weird, politically speaking. On on hand, it has been said that there is potential for Mitt Romney to try and attract hispanic voters by pointing out that his own father came to America from Mexico. Recently, I’ve been reading news articles that suggest that it is a good idea for the candidates who are running for President to try and influence hispanic voters to vote for them.
On the other hand, it has also been said that there are potential problems with Mitt Romney bringing up that his father came from Mexico. He cannot do it without it being made clear that his father was born on a Mormon colony where some people were practicing polygamy. According to Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, 86% of American women are “not great fans of polygamy”. This is definitely an election year where women voters will make a big impact.
Image by Gage Skidmore on Flickr