The Republican inquisition into Barack Obama's family roots is in total contrast to the avoidance of Mitt Romney's Mexican Mormon past. As recently as 2009, 72-year-old Meredith Romney, a relative of the Republican nominee, was kidnapped by Mexican gunmen in a strange vendetta involving drug cartels, land disputes and private militias.
Some Romney relatives, like Meredith, still reside today in a 1,600-member community where they "live in a level of luxury in stark contrast to the farmers and laborers around them," according to an investigation by the crime reporter Jerry Langton. (Langton, Jerry. Gangland. Wiley, 2012, pp. 152-155)
Romney's great-grandfather, Miles Park Romney, established a polygamous enclave in Mexico in 1885 to escape federal prosecutors in Utah who were denying polygamists the rights to vote, sit on juries, or run for office. According to Andrea Mitchell, "The Romneys that came back from Mexico to the United States... crossed the border illegally." (January 22, 2012)
Though polygamy in Mexico was illegal as well, according to a 1902 Mormon history by William Alexander Linn, the Romney enclave at Colonia LeBaron, in the Sierra Madre foothills, survived and prospered down to present times. Mitt's father, former Michigan governor George Romney, was born in Chihuahua in 1907.
In 1974, one of the leaders of the colonia, Ervil LeBaron, was accused of ordering several murders, including that of his own brother, which were considered revenge-related. Ervil was extradited to a Utah prison for one of the murders, where he died in the 1980s. While this involved the colonia that the Romney patriarch had founded, the homicides and trials were not directly connected to the Romney family.
In 2009, Meredith Romney was one of two colonia leaders who was kidnapped and held in a cave for ransom, which was paid for his release. The other kidnapping victim, Eric LeBaron, a grandson of Joel LeBaron, was held for a $1 million ransom. Eric's brother was the founder of a militia known as SOS (Sociedad Organizada Segura), an independent armed neighborhood watch group. When Eric was kidnapped, the locals sprang into action and lobbied successfully for the Mexican army to intervene, which they did, resulting in Eric's release.
Then on July 7, masked men broke into the home of Eric's brother, Benji LeBaron, the founder of the militia, dragging away Benji and a brother-in-law. Their bodies were found the next day; they had been shot to death. The Juarez cartel draped a banner accusing Benji of being an informant who earlier caused the arrest of 25 cartel members in Madera. Interestingly, the banner blamed Benji for being a gangster, and said in Spanish, "Ask yourself, where did all his properties come from?" referring to the landholdings. Mexican prosecutors blamed everything on La Linea, a secret enforcement unit of ex-police officers trained by the U.S.-supported Drug War bureaucracy.
In conclusion: A Romney relative, the head of the Mormon temple in Chihuahua, was kidnapped along with another Mormon in probable retaliation for 1970s murders carried out by a son of the founder of Colonia LeBaron, the polygamous enclave that gave rise to George, and now Mitt, Romney.
More investigation is needed. Who knows, the Romney campaign might spin all this, if forced, as a heroic tale of immigrant pioneers fighting off the bad guys. But it is easy to understand why the Romney team wants to divert attention from such a tangled story. It is about polygamy, running from the law, illegal immigration (twice) and present-day involvement by Romney relatives in an armed voluntary militia.
By comparison, investigative reporters and opposition researchers have scoured the earth for evidence of President Obama's birth, life abroad and possible involvement with Muslims, communists, terrorists, or relatives or associations with any of these disqualifying categories of people, past or present. So far they have airbrushed Romney's colorful Mormon past and present, which resembles the life of the character Roman Grant played by Harry Dean Stanton in the HBO series Big Love.
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Carl Pope: Fathers and Sons (and a Mother, Too)
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 |
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| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Electoral Votes (270 to win) |
332 | 206 |
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 65,899,660 | 60,932,152 |
| Percent | 51.1% | 47.2% |
| Democrats* | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Current Senate | 53 | 47 |
| Seats gained or lost | +2 | -2 |
| New Total | 55 | 45 |
| Democrats | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Seats won | 201 | 234 |
WOW THIS IS SHOCKING.
Story title: Romney's Uncovered Mormon Roots. News flash in order to “uncover” something it has to be first covered.
Interestingly, the Romneys who returned to Colonia Juarez, Mexico after the Revolution have had very little subsequent contact with George Romney and his family.
Colonia Juarez stands out as a prosperous anomaly in Northern Mexico. It's hardworking ranchers and orchard farmers have provided jobs, schools, and opportunity for the local labor. Sadly, the Mormon colonies have not eradicated poverty that one can see everywhere in Mexico, but they have provided a better way of life for thousands of Mexicans who have come to the colonies for work. Many have become Mormons.
One statement near the end of the article is accurate, "More investigation is needed." Without it, future articles are likely to repeat this article's confusion of so many well known facts regarding Colonia Juarez, Colonia LeBaron, the LeBarons and the Romneys.
and the point of all this IS President Barack Obama IS a citizen born to and American citizen ON American soil (Hawaii). However even IF the birth had occurred in another country... his mother was an American citizen.
Yes it is necessary to understand where each of the candidates will lead, BUT IF the republicans persist in the trash talk and wallowing in the lies... it can be played against them as well. I say call off you ignorants... shut them up and stop their lies. Enough already.
Some basics: Miles Romney migrated to Colonia Juarez several years after its founding in 1885. The Mormon colonies in Mexico were established to provide a safe haven from persecution and prosecution in the U.S. The practice of polygamous marriages ended among Mormons in Mexico soon after it ended in Utah in the 1890s.
Colonia LeBaron was settled in the 1940s by the LeBaron family who left Colonia Juarez in order to practice polygamy which was prohibited in Colonia Juarez. The Romneys had no involvement with Colonia LeBaron.
The kidnappings of Romneys and LeBarons were separate, non-related events.
Please see the next comment.
Romney is a Mormon, and 120 years ago his ancestors practiced polygamy.
His father's family lived in Mexico before returning to the USA
Mexico is a dangerous place with drug cartels, kidnappings and murders.
You draw a few incorrect conclusions.
Romney's family were all US citizens, so returning to the US was not illegal.
Not everyone in Mexico is poor, and hard work can produce the same prosperity as in the USA. You don't have to be a drug dealer to be successful.
Mexican criminals are not known for their benevolence, and becoming their victim is not proof you are a gangster.
Is it possible that your article is motivated by a political bias, and you are hoping to stir up controversy?