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Hillary Clinton’s Mormon Strategy: Dust Off ‘It Takes a Village’

Posted on
October 11, 2016
by Agree Staff
Donald Trump’s hard-charging style has not gone over well with Mormon voters, as evidenced by his considerably weak polling in Utah. While the Beehive State may still be a stretch for Hillary Clinton to win, Mormons also make up a significant population in Nevada and Arizona. A few extra votes could make the difference.

So Clinton is reaching out to the Mormon community. And she's doing it by dusting off her 1996 book "It Takes a Village." The 90-second online ad "We are Mormons for Hillary" shows different Mormons reading passages from her 20-year old treatise on how government can support families and children.

Utah Republicans Featured in Clinton's Mormon Ad

But these aren't random Mormons. They include, according to the Deseret News, former Utah Republican State Rep. Sheryl Allen and former Utah GOP State Rep. General David Irvine, as well as a Democratic candidate for Utah State Senate named Celina Milner.

The readers look contemplative, while piano notes plink in the background, as if they are reconsidering their past negative perceptions of Clinton. The passages they read appear to connect with Mormon culture's strong emphasis on community, with subtle references to religion.

"I'm often asked what I would like to see happen above all else in our country and in our world ... so many things to pray for, so many things to work for," the Mormons read aloud, as images of children playing and picturesque western landscape float by. "But certainly my answer would be a world in which all children are loved and cared for — first by the families into which they are born, and then by all of us who are linked to them and to one another." The mention of being "linked" to family members is a subtle message to Mormons who believe entire families are linked together in the afterlife.

Clinton Sells Active Government To Conservative Mormon

The ad also includes a strikingly liberal message about government for the generally conservative Mormon population, plucking this passage from the book: "When we're reminded of the bounty and protection we enjoy, most of us are grateful. Our gratitude has its roots in a view of government that dates back to the Pilgrims, and to the successive waves of immigrants who came to this country seeking religious and political freedom and better economic opportunity. In this view, government is an instrument both to promote the common good and to protect individuals' rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The reference to "immigrants" is notable, as Mormons are far more likely to support immigration reform than other Christian conservatives.

The ad concludes with the campaign's "H" logo, scrawled by children with chalk on a playground blacktop.

We can't say this ad means Clinton can flip Utah and Arizona from red-to-blue. One ad is rarely sufficient to win over a resistant demographic. But at minimum, the Mormon outreach shows the Clinton campaign is hustling for every possible vote.
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