Anyone else notice this trend, behind every man-made disaster in the last ten years, whether Bush or Obama was in charge, there has been some long-time government employee asleep on the job?
I do not know how, but we need to find a way to make sure that it is a challenging to keep a public sector job as it is a private sector job.
Does this SNL skit ring a bell?
***
I want to urge 2nd district republicans not to cross-over in the primary to ensure an easier road for Morgan Philpot. There is a difference between the two senate candidates, and I think most cross-overs will regret the decision to do so, no matter who wins.
***
Happy Memorial Day. My heart goes out to all those who have lost a child, parent or sibling in the recent wars. Our prayers are with you.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
In Defense of Utah's Caucus and Convention System.
Myths about what a direct primary will do for Utah. This is based upon my experience in being involved in Nebraska, Washington and Texas which all have direct primaries.
1. It will save money. No, it is the opposite. The political parties still need to have a caucus and convention to elect party officers and to direct policies and platforms. The direct primary simply means that the party convention will not take on the business of choosing candidates. One thing that the convention system does for the system is filter out candidates that are not too appealing or are not really serious about running. Most of the time, our convention system prevents the waste of time and money on a primary by making it not needed. If you have not been involved in a convention before, you may be surprised at how really poor some of the candidates are.
2. A direct primary will prevent extremist from controlling the party. This is also not true. In fact, without elected positions in the balance, only those who are really motivated get involved. Guess who those people are?
3. A direct primary is better because more people can be involved in the election of officials. While I agree, in part with this, there is a difference between can and will. More people can be involved because of early voting and the fact that the polls will be open all day. But WILL they? Often, the turnout in a direct primary is very low. One of the reasons, here in Clearfield, to justify an ousted mayor's write-in campaign was the low turnout at the primary. Let's say Senator Bennett had been ousted in a primary and the turnout had been around 10 to 15 percent, there would still be people upset at his defeat. There would be excuses, like the time of year of the primary. The lack of publicity. There would be all sorts of people making excuses for those who do not show up.
Let me also say, that the Tea Party was not the only group against Bob Bennett in the convention. There were at least four others. There was the 9/12 project, the Club for Growth, the Patrick Henry Caucus and two others that made such an impression on me, that I can not remember their names. In Davis County, they united. They chose precinct captains and trained participants to ensure that delegates were elected that would dump Bob Bennett. But even in these meetings, at least in the two that I attended, there were people that attended that were in support of Bob Bennett. These people were not chased away. Most people who fit in these groups want to end excessive government spending and the takeover of private industry. They are not looking at cutting school spending, except for some administrator pay.
I spoke briefly with a very high official in the Republican Party, I will not say who, but a top-3 official. That person hopes that the type of energy that we experienced in 2010 will continue. There was a record turnout at this year's caucuses...and estimated 75,000 on the republican side. That would also be a good turnout for a primary.
1. It will save money. No, it is the opposite. The political parties still need to have a caucus and convention to elect party officers and to direct policies and platforms. The direct primary simply means that the party convention will not take on the business of choosing candidates. One thing that the convention system does for the system is filter out candidates that are not too appealing or are not really serious about running. Most of the time, our convention system prevents the waste of time and money on a primary by making it not needed. If you have not been involved in a convention before, you may be surprised at how really poor some of the candidates are.
2. A direct primary will prevent extremist from controlling the party. This is also not true. In fact, without elected positions in the balance, only those who are really motivated get involved. Guess who those people are?
3. A direct primary is better because more people can be involved in the election of officials. While I agree, in part with this, there is a difference between can and will. More people can be involved because of early voting and the fact that the polls will be open all day. But WILL they? Often, the turnout in a direct primary is very low. One of the reasons, here in Clearfield, to justify an ousted mayor's write-in campaign was the low turnout at the primary. Let's say Senator Bennett had been ousted in a primary and the turnout had been around 10 to 15 percent, there would still be people upset at his defeat. There would be excuses, like the time of year of the primary. The lack of publicity. There would be all sorts of people making excuses for those who do not show up.
Let me also say, that the Tea Party was not the only group against Bob Bennett in the convention. There were at least four others. There was the 9/12 project, the Club for Growth, the Patrick Henry Caucus and two others that made such an impression on me, that I can not remember their names. In Davis County, they united. They chose precinct captains and trained participants to ensure that delegates were elected that would dump Bob Bennett. But even in these meetings, at least in the two that I attended, there were people that attended that were in support of Bob Bennett. These people were not chased away. Most people who fit in these groups want to end excessive government spending and the takeover of private industry. They are not looking at cutting school spending, except for some administrator pay.
I spoke briefly with a very high official in the Republican Party, I will not say who, but a top-3 official. That person hopes that the type of energy that we experienced in 2010 will continue. There was a record turnout at this year's caucuses...and estimated 75,000 on the republican side. That would also be a good turnout for a primary.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Alternative to a term limits ammendment
So I changed my mind about term limits. I finally thought of a good alternative. What do you think?
Congressional Salary Cap, Recall of Members of Congress and Filling Vacancies in Congress.
Article 1.
The compensation for a member of the Senate of the United States or a member of the House of Representatives will not increase once that person's total time of service in congress has reached 18 years; except if a period of hyper-inflation has occurred.
Article 2.
A member of either house of Congress may be removed from office by a 2/3 majority vote of the state legislature of the member's home state for treason or other high crimes and misdemeanors as defined by the laws of the state or federal government.
Article 3.
Should there be a vacancy in the house of representatives or the senate, that vacancy will be filled by special election or general election within 45 days. If the vacancy occurs after the general election and if that member of congress was replaced as a result of the said election, the person elected to replace that member of congress shall immediately fill the vacant seat.
Congressional Salary Cap, Recall of Members of Congress and Filling Vacancies in Congress.
Article 1.
The compensation for a member of the Senate of the United States or a member of the House of Representatives will not increase once that person's total time of service in congress has reached 18 years; except if a period of hyper-inflation has occurred.
Article 2.
A member of either house of Congress may be removed from office by a 2/3 majority vote of the state legislature of the member's home state for treason or other high crimes and misdemeanors as defined by the laws of the state or federal government.
Article 3.
Should there be a vacancy in the house of representatives or the senate, that vacancy will be filled by special election or general election within 45 days. If the vacancy occurs after the general election and if that member of congress was replaced as a result of the said election, the person elected to replace that member of congress shall immediately fill the vacant seat.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
My thoughts on the State GOP Convention
First of all, let me tell everyone that I personally thanked State GOP vice-chair Kitty Dunn for putting on such a well organized convention. The entire agenda was completed before 5:00. This is my third term as a state delegate and this was the first time we made it through the entire agenda. Of course some of the more uncomfortable items such as automatic delegates were tabled until the organizing convention next year.
Getting There
I knew that both conventions were in the same location and that the Race for the Cure was also in the same general area, so I took UTA. Front running was not running early enough. I did not wake up early enough to get the bus I had planned, so I woke up my 16-year old son and met the bus in Centerville.
I met as many candidates people as I could before finding a seat for the convention. I did have a run in some one of Mike Lee's supporters before the convention. I told him that I was voting for Cherilyn and then he asked me who my second choice is. I told him I was leaning toward Bridgewater. We then got into a debate about corporate business incentives. The person cut of the conversation when I told him that Ogden may have to pony up to keep my job in the city. The best way to cut off a libertarian is to explain the long-term consequences of their views.
Beginning of the Convetnion
Kudos to the VFW for the flag ceremony. It was well done. They should have Veterans groups perform more public flag ceremonies. I believe that there are few that understand the sacrifice that people make for our freedoms like war veterans. They are our ultimate survivors.
The Senate Race...
The senate race was very interesting. Tim Bridgewater was the first candidate to speak. He brought energy into the room that none of the other candidates were able to match. As articulate as Bennett, Lee and Eagar were, they just could not come close. That is why he nearly came out of the convention as the party's nominee. He was able to win over the majority of delegates who earlier voted for Eagar and Bennett in the earlier rounds...which included me. He won my support for the primary.
Back to Bridgewater and Lee, here are the results from round 2:
Mike Lee is the other finalist. Has anyone else noticed that Mike Lee talks about how much he loves the constitution, but has at least four amendments in his platform? He supports the Balanced Budget Amendment, Term Limits, the repeal of the 17th amendment (Direct Election of Senators) and an amendment ending birthright citizenship. Only Mike Lee's supporters, the ones that were trained by Club For Growth at their thinly vieled meetings were enthused by Lee's speech. He does not quite have the right demeanor. I predict that Bridgewater will be the one to replace Bennett in DC.
The Other Races.
I voted for Van Oaks for governor, because he spoke about going beyond being the best managed state in the US. Herbert seems to be content with the status quo. Van Oaks got 25% of the vote.
My congressman, Rob Bishop was being challenged by GOP malcontent Mike Ridgeway, who most delegates are not taking seriously any longer.
The second district race was fun. Morgan Philpot avoided a primary against Neil Walter. But the young Mr Walter impressed me. You are going to see him again in Utah Politics. His people impressed me, too. He is well spoken and optimistic.
Resolutions
I will only comment about the immigration plank in the platform. I simply do not like the term "amnesty." It means different things to different people. I like the idea of requiring the federal government to protect our borders and I like the support of the rule of law. Let's say that you find an undocumented immigrant who is is law abiding, and offer a path to citizenship which requires the person to pay a large fine, back income taxes with interest, report to his nearest consulate, pay all of his back taxes to his home country, learn English and then wait ten years to become a citizen some would call that amnesty. Others would call this justice. And someone else may call it harsh. Amnesty is a word designed to invoke an anger emotion in some people. It should be taken out of the plank.
The platform plank as adopted...
We oppose illegal immigration and all forms of amnesty, or legal status, to illegal immigrants. Etc.
It is strong enough just to say...
We oppose illegal immigration and any law seeking to provide legal status to those who entered our country illegally or who have abused their visa privileges.
I would also remove the opposition to a guest worker program because people usually stop reading at that point.
Getting There
I knew that both conventions were in the same location and that the Race for the Cure was also in the same general area, so I took UTA. Front running was not running early enough. I did not wake up early enough to get the bus I had planned, so I woke up my 16-year old son and met the bus in Centerville.
I met as many candidates people as I could before finding a seat for the convention. I did have a run in some one of Mike Lee's supporters before the convention. I told him that I was voting for Cherilyn and then he asked me who my second choice is. I told him I was leaning toward Bridgewater. We then got into a debate about corporate business incentives. The person cut of the conversation when I told him that Ogden may have to pony up to keep my job in the city. The best way to cut off a libertarian is to explain the long-term consequences of their views.
Beginning of the Convetnion
Kudos to the VFW for the flag ceremony. It was well done. They should have Veterans groups perform more public flag ceremonies. I believe that there are few that understand the sacrifice that people make for our freedoms like war veterans. They are our ultimate survivors.
The Senate Race...
The senate race was very interesting. Tim Bridgewater was the first candidate to speak. He brought energy into the room that none of the other candidates were able to match. As articulate as Bennett, Lee and Eagar were, they just could not come close. That is why he nearly came out of the convention as the party's nominee. He was able to win over the majority of delegates who earlier voted for Eagar and Bennett in the earlier rounds...which included me. He won my support for the primary.
Back to Bridgewater and Lee, here are the results from round 2:
- Businessman Tim Bridgewater -- 37%
- Attorney Mike Lee -- 36%
- Sen. Robert Bennett -- 27%
Mike Lee is the other finalist. Has anyone else noticed that Mike Lee talks about how much he loves the constitution, but has at least four amendments in his platform? He supports the Balanced Budget Amendment, Term Limits, the repeal of the 17th amendment (Direct Election of Senators) and an amendment ending birthright citizenship. Only Mike Lee's supporters, the ones that were trained by Club For Growth at their thinly vieled meetings were enthused by Lee's speech. He does not quite have the right demeanor. I predict that Bridgewater will be the one to replace Bennett in DC.
The Other Races.
I voted for Van Oaks for governor, because he spoke about going beyond being the best managed state in the US. Herbert seems to be content with the status quo. Van Oaks got 25% of the vote.
My congressman, Rob Bishop was being challenged by GOP malcontent Mike Ridgeway, who most delegates are not taking seriously any longer.
The second district race was fun. Morgan Philpot avoided a primary against Neil Walter. But the young Mr Walter impressed me. You are going to see him again in Utah Politics. His people impressed me, too. He is well spoken and optimistic.
Resolutions
I will only comment about the immigration plank in the platform. I simply do not like the term "amnesty." It means different things to different people. I like the idea of requiring the federal government to protect our borders and I like the support of the rule of law. Let's say that you find an undocumented immigrant who is is law abiding, and offer a path to citizenship which requires the person to pay a large fine, back income taxes with interest, report to his nearest consulate, pay all of his back taxes to his home country, learn English and then wait ten years to become a citizen some would call that amnesty. Others would call this justice. And someone else may call it harsh. Amnesty is a word designed to invoke an anger emotion in some people. It should be taken out of the plank.
The platform plank as adopted...
We oppose illegal immigration and all forms of amnesty, or legal status, to illegal immigrants. Etc.
It is strong enough just to say...
We oppose illegal immigration and any law seeking to provide legal status to those who entered our country illegally or who have abused their visa privileges.
I would also remove the opposition to a guest worker program because people usually stop reading at that point.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
As the convention looms.
Once again I approach the convention sure that there will be some surprises, as usual. The convention next Saturday will have the eyes of the nation upon it, as one of the more interesting inter-party battles looms. Bob Bennett is in the political battle of his life. I It is a battle that I believe he will loose. I intend to hold him accountable, not for TARP, but for the inaction that made it necessary. We must remember that it was the GOP that help both houses of congress from 1994 to 2006 and the white house from 2001 to 2009. It may be true that the table was set for TARP long before this, but the GOP controlled congress neglected to act when storm clouds were on the horizon.
I will also not be voting for Mike Lee. I find his philosophy too close to Ron Paul. These two men belong on the Libertarian Party, not the GOP. Ditto for Merrill Cook.
Cherilyn Eagar will be my first choice and Tim Bridgewater will be my second. Eagar talks a lot like a talk-show conservative, but will gain a lot of attention the first time she walks on the Senate floor. She is like Palin with a brain.
Tim Bridgewater is more of a good 'ol Utah County GOP guy. Which means that some of his attitudes and policies won't fly north of Sandy. That is why his is my second choice and not my first. Which brings me to my next topic, and the main thing that I disagree with Bridgewater about...
When it comes to immigration, let me put it like this. When Jennifer and I moved to Alaska, we did not yet have any children. So we drove. As I-15 became Canada-2, something happened when I crossed the border. In Sweetgrass, Montana we were Citizens with all of the rights and protections that the US Government could grant us. I was also, at the time, a US Air Force Enlistee, and had to be on extra good behavior over the next three days because something happened when I crossed the border. I was not longer a Citizen, I became a guest of the Dominion of Canada and the British Crown. I surrendered the protection of the US government, as was at the Mercy of the Canadian Government as long as I was on Canada's soil. If I broke the law while in Canada, I was subject to Canadian laws. I had to behave like a good guest, because that is what I was, a guest. When I crossed the border into Alaska, all of the protections of being a US Citizen were returned to me.
People who are not citizens, whether or not they have the proper documentation, are guests of the US Government. If they behave like good guests, we will not ask for papers. That is the way that it should be. Until Congress, and it is the responsibility of Congress to secure our borders, undocumented aliens will be among us. I think that we should be good neighbors to them.
I will also not be voting for Mike Lee. I find his philosophy too close to Ron Paul. These two men belong on the Libertarian Party, not the GOP. Ditto for Merrill Cook.
Cherilyn Eagar will be my first choice and Tim Bridgewater will be my second. Eagar talks a lot like a talk-show conservative, but will gain a lot of attention the first time she walks on the Senate floor. She is like Palin with a brain.
Tim Bridgewater is more of a good 'ol Utah County GOP guy. Which means that some of his attitudes and policies won't fly north of Sandy. That is why his is my second choice and not my first. Which brings me to my next topic, and the main thing that I disagree with Bridgewater about...
When it comes to immigration, let me put it like this. When Jennifer and I moved to Alaska, we did not yet have any children. So we drove. As I-15 became Canada-2, something happened when I crossed the border. In Sweetgrass, Montana we were Citizens with all of the rights and protections that the US Government could grant us. I was also, at the time, a US Air Force Enlistee, and had to be on extra good behavior over the next three days because something happened when I crossed the border. I was not longer a Citizen, I became a guest of the Dominion of Canada and the British Crown. I surrendered the protection of the US government, as was at the Mercy of the Canadian Government as long as I was on Canada's soil. If I broke the law while in Canada, I was subject to Canadian laws. I had to behave like a good guest, because that is what I was, a guest. When I crossed the border into Alaska, all of the protections of being a US Citizen were returned to me.
People who are not citizens, whether or not they have the proper documentation, are guests of the US Government. If they behave like good guests, we will not ask for papers. That is the way that it should be. Until Congress, and it is the responsibility of Congress to secure our borders, undocumented aliens will be among us. I think that we should be good neighbors to them.
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