September 06, 2005
UtahPolitics: A New Look
Regular visitors will notice a new look to UtahPolitics.org this morning. You’ll also notice that I’ve moved the Planet Utah aggregation to the front page. I’m not sure I’ll keep that. It’s just an experiment for now. I may awap it and Page 2, which is where I’ve put the normal UtahPolitics.org articles. Let me know what you think.
Beyond that, there’s still plenty to do to make the new site function. There’s a few templates to update and links that are undoutedly broken.
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September 01, 2005
Can Hatch Redeem Himself?
Manuel Miranda (former legal counsel to Sen. Bill Frist) has an editorial at the Wall Street Journal’s OpinionJournal site entitled “Road to Redemption” saying that for Biden and Hatch, the Robert’s hearings are a chance at redemption for past mistakes. What Hatch mistake is Miranda talking about? foo
To the consternation of conservatives, Mr. Hatch claims credit not only for the pacific confirmations of liberals Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer but for recommending their selection as well. (According to George Stephanopoulos’s book, it is a credit Clinton insiders deny Mr. Hatch.)From OpinionJournal - The Next Justice
Referenced Thu Sep 01 2005 11:14:39 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Miranda see the stakes for Hatch as being nothing less than his re-election and a chance to become President Pro-Tem:
For Mr. Hatch the stakes are no longer presidential, but they are high. But the office he now covets he may well attain if he can win a sixth term in 2006—president pro tem of the Senate, three breaths from the presidency. (By tradition the president pro tem is the most senior member of the majority party; currently, three Republicans are ahead of Mr. Hatch.)
For a Mormon of his generation, this would be a high honor. But re-election in 2006 is no longer certain. Last month Steve Urquhart, a serious Utah political leader with deep roots in statewide politics, announced that he would challenge Mr. Hatch at the Utah Republican convention, a hurdle that Hatch almost did not clear in 2000. Mr. Urquhart’s challenge was well met by Utah newspapers and leaders. Three weeks ago, technology billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, announced that he would throw muscle into defeating Mr. Hatch.
Mr. Cuban is not alone in throwing seed money at Mr. Urquhart. Conservatives from all over the country are flocking to him for several reasons, ranging from Mr. Hatch’s broken 2000 campaign promise on embryonic stem-cell research (he now favors it) to his divisive roles on pro-life and family issues for the past three decades. Last year, after Mr. Hatch’s surrender in “Memogate,” the Federalist Society had to pull a fund-raising letter with Hatch’s once-coveted signature. They reasoned it would not get them the result they wanted. Next week, Hatch will be well staffed and on his best behavior.
For these two very different men, Joe Biden and Orrin Hatch, the Roberts hearings offer an opportunity to start over in the eyes of constituents and a political base that questions their judgment, as they question the nominee.From OpinionJournal - The Next Justice
Referenced Thu Sep 01 2005 11:15:49 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Utahns would do well to watch Hatch’s performance here as well. Interesting to me that outsiders see Urquhart as a “serious Utah political leader with deep roots in statewide politics” whereas many in Utah tend to discount is experience. Keep in mind that Orrin had far less experience when he was first elected.
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August 29, 2005
Hatch "Almost" Got Legacy Highway Built
By Anonymous
This past Saturday I listened to Orrin Hatch speak at the Utah Republican Party Convention. Frankly, I was rather disappointed with what I heard. I was appalled when Hatch gave Congressman Matheson a ringing endorsement after the Republican Party leadership had just discussed at length how to replace him. (At first he couldn’t recall the names of any of Utah’s Congressmen. One of his staff members had to whisper the names in his ear after a long pause.)
But perhaps the biggest disappointment was Hatch’s discussion of Legacy Highway. In refuting claims that he has lost his effectiveness—due to his failure to include language in the transportation bill to allow Legacy Highway to be built—he assured us all he “tried.” In fact, in the words of Hatch, he “almost got it passed.”
Hatch is always quick to point out that his 30 years in the Senate carries with it seniority and experience, and that is why we need to re-elect him. Problem is you don’t need seniority or experience to “almost” get things done.
I think it is time we send a message to Hatch that “almost” isn’t good enough; its time to “almost” re-elect him.
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August 26, 2005
Orrin's a Blogger Now
A week or so ago, Steve Urquhart asked “what things could Orrin do that would show my campaign has him worried?” The obvious answer was “start to blog.” Well, Orrin’s started his blog. There’s one post so far, and it’s pretty much just cut and pasted from a letter he sent convention delegates last week. There’s no permalinks, no RSS feed, and no comments (only a box to send feedback to Orrin). I’ll be interested to watch it over the coming weeks and months to see if there’s anything like a real voice in the posts that shows Orrin’s actually writing it.
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Republican Convention
If you’re a Republican delegate, don’t forget that tomorrow is the State Organizing Convention. It starts at 10am. You won’t be able to register (and hence vote) if you show up after 10:30am. The convention is at the SLCC Activities Center.
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Rocky Hatch and Orrin Anderson?
SLC Spin says that Senator Hatch and Mayor Anderson are the same guy. Gave me a chuckle.
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Finally, a Sane Voice
In his monthly news conference, Gov. Huntsman declared that science classes ought to teach science and “intelligent design” has no place in them. Finally a sane voice! (see DNews and Tribune stories)
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August 24, 2005
Utah Legislature Wins Online Democracy Award
The Utah Legislature won the Online Democracy award for it’s Web site. That’s cool. It really is a very good site and they’ve done a lot to add RSS, audio files of committee meetings, and other features that make it more usable. Congratulations!
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State IT Workers: Join the Discussion
State IT workers have a bulletin board set up to discuss the conversion to the new department. Go check it out.
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Utah's Strategy in Defending the Porn-Law
Utah’s new anti-pornography law is different than other laws that states and the Federal government have passed. The most significant difference is that it’s based on tagging and filtering. Instead of requiring that the content provider determine who can and can’t see the material, this law, just asks that content providers rate their material.
The ACLU, which has challenged these kinds of laws every time they come up, always trots out the same list of plaintiffs. See, their problem is that they don’t want to look like their defending sleaze bags pornographers, so they have a librarian, a book store owner, etc. The problem is that that strategy probably won’t work this time.
Yesterday, the AG asked the judge in the case to throw out 11 of the 15 plaintiffs because they had no “standing.” In other words, the law wouldn’t affect them, or at least wouldn’t change what they’re already doing and so they can’t claim that it harms them. The fact is, most of these people are already rating (tagging) their material in the offline world, so why is doing so in the online world any different?
The AG’s smart to pursue this strategy. If he can whittle the plaintiff list down to the real scum, then it will be a lot harder for the ACLU to convince a judge that what they’re doing requires protection. Tagging content has been found to be constitutional in lots of other places (movie theaters, for example) so why not the Internet?
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August 23, 2005
Lasting Effect of Rocky?
A question posed by Bryan Catherman for a UtahPolitics.org discussion.President Bush addressed the VFW in Salt Lake City on Monday. Rocky sent a call to protesters to turn out and do their thing. Bush spoke; protesters did too. So what will be the lasting effects of Rocky’s actions for the city? Did it make a difference? If so, what?
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August 19, 2005
Arnold Jones for President
by Matt Jones
There is an individual who I find quite interesting and has a true desire for helping people and this country as a whole.
This individuals name is Arnold M. Jones. Mr. Jones is running for a local office in utah and will also be running for president of the United States of America. Here is his website so you can look at it.
I am definately going to be voting for him. I think he has great values and understands the general people of this country.
I have spoken with him and would like to help get his message out to others across the United States so the y can be aware of who he is and what he represents. He is a Democrat with independent values. I think he is a independent at heart though.
Check out his site and message.
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Debating Tancredo
by Steven Lawrence
I have given this much thought and if I was Congressman Cannon, I would respond to the invitation to debate Mr. Tancredo like this…
Thank you for informing me of Mr. Tancredo’s visit to Utah. If the Bomber of Mecca (BM) really is a Republican he would have told me himself. But of course he didn’t tell Jon Porter (R-NV) that he was visiting his district last week or David Dreier (R-CA) when he did a rally against him in his district before the last election. Then again, he didn’t tell Messrs. Kolbe and Flake (R-AZ.) that he was going to direct hundreds of thousands of dollars from negative population growth groups into the campaigns against them. Yet again, if he really is a Republican he wouldn’t have given substance to the scurrilous Democratic attacks by suggesting that Tom Delay (R-UT) step down pending an investigation that would never end. Nor would he have suggested that the President was endangering American lives with his border policy.
You may be aware that, given his activities in opposition to prominent mainstream republicans, I have invited Mr. Tancredo to leave the Republican Party like his Team America friends Bay and Pat Buchanan have done. I think that people need to know where his ideological roots are before we can have a profitable debate.
Normally I would look to what a person has said to get a fix on his positions, but Mr. T has proposed no program. He says now that he is not for deporting all illegal aliens. That is after a study says it can’t be done and it would cost $250 Billion to try. Duh!
He has also proposed many amendments to our appropriation bills that would penalize cities and states for allowing what he calls “Sanctuary Cities.” If you will allow me a small point, I’m deeply offended by the perversion of such an important Judeo-Christian concept.
I have a long record of voting for and working on border security and internal enforcement. I have also introduced a bill that had almost 2/3ds of the Senate cosponsoring it and twice that number of House Members.
But what does Mr. T want, other than personal attention, even if only as adulation from the disenfranchised? The Kyl-Cornyn bill? You don’t need a debate on that issue. Just watch the lack of co-sponsors to see that is a nonstarter.
And what about employers? America is virtually at full employment again. To grow we need labor. My dairy farmers pay more then $12.00 per hour to start and figure that it costs them $10,000 to train a worker. Eliminating these workers would mean higher cost milk if we can get it.
Those who fund the opposition to immigration are people who want America to have a much smaller population and don’t want other countries to have the access to resources that we have as Americans. These are issues appropriate for debate, but not with a stealth candidate who pretends to party membership but is no more than a minor demagogue.
You and I have talked before. For a long time! As I recall our conversation, you agreed to support me, yet at the convention you supported my opponent. He had been consistently unclear about how to resolve our problems with illegal immigrants while being eminently clear about this perceived threat. I have been consistent in my positions and votes. While not alarmist, I have worked hard and creatively to solve these very difficult problems.
In the meantime I remain open to any productive suggestions you or Mr. Bomb Mecca have to offer…
Mr. Cannon declined rather admirably and with tact. Nonetheless, I think that people need to know where Mr. Tancredo’s ideological roots are before we can have a profitable debate on the issues.
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August 18, 2005
IT Workers Told to Fight
Part of the plan to consolidate the IT workforce in the State calls for employees of the new Department of Technology Services (DTS) to give up merit status (a classic example of new-speak since it has nothing to do with merit) in certain cases. Yesterday, at a lunchtime meeting, the UPEA’s attorney told employees “not to give up their civil service protection until state managers force them to.”
I think this single point is one where the entire consolidation plan rises or falls. If workers remain mostly merit, the new department will be unwieldy and difficult to manage. What’s more, there will be no cost savings to the tax payer and service will be poor. Why? Very simple: the merit system makes it difficult to shape and manage a workforce.
The merit system is an industrial era style of employment that is out of step with how the world, certainly the world of IT, works now. The merit system is at the root of every joke you’ve ever heard about a public employee because it creates a system of entitlement and victimization. Rather than relying on their skills, expertise, and value to the State to maintain their status, merit workers rely on “property rights” and collective bargaining through the UPEA.
UPEA Director Audry Wood said the union plans to meet with state bosses to discuss the workers’ concerns. In the meantime, she urged workers to get political. “The day you hire on as a state employee is the day you become political,” she said. “Legislators determine your benefits and your job description. And this is the most public employee-unfriendly Legislature that I’ve seen.”From Salt Lake Tribune - Utah
Referenced Thu Aug 18 2005 07:06:14 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Ask yourself how you feel about that statement as a taxpayer. There’s no doubt it works. In my experience, most legislators were somewhat afraid of the power of State employees. Still, do you really think that the citizens of the State are best served by State employees exerting political pressure to save their jobs? Is that the way you’d manage your business? I think it’s a poor way to manage and getting rid of the merit system is the way to put an end to it.
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The Flag Question
Yesterday as I was driving to Salt Lake for a meeting, I tuned into Radio West on KUER. The program was on the controversy surrounding defacing the flag. The show grew out of the case of Kris Winsness, who burned a smiley face on an American flag and hung it up in front of his garage in Salt Lake County. He’s been prosecuted under a state law and now the case is in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Senator Orrin Hatch was on the program along with other guests and they brought out all the usual arguments for and against such laws. As I listened, I found myself wondering why people spend so much energy on this. I love and respect the flag, but I think we’re wasting a lot of time and energy trying to force others to not “disrespect” it. Will this nation really be better off if no one ever defaces a flag again? I can’t see how it will make any difference at all.
This reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend in May before the Supreme Court ruling on the display of the Ten Commandments on public property. He was ready to protest and fight to ensure that the Ten Commandments could be displayed. He was aghast that I didn’t feel the same way. Similar to my feelings about the flag, I don’t really care whether or not the Ten Commandments is displayed at my local town hall. This seems more an issue of convention to me than one of real consequence.
These issues seem to be particular points of concern among conservatives and they are one of the places I find myself out of step with my fellow conservatives. So, help me see the light. What is it about amendments to protect the flag and strong feelings about the Ten Commandments that are in keeping with conservative ideology?
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August 11, 2005
Bush to Speak at the VFW Convention?
By Veteran Bryan CathermanKUTV is reporting that President Bush is on his way to Utah for the first time since the 2002 Winter Olympics. Could it be for the National VFW convention? It’s likely. Salt Lake City is the host city to the National VFW Convention this year, starting on the 20th of this month and running through the 25th.