Tag: 2008

If McCain Were President

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photo credit: Wigwam Jones

After another year of domestic turmoil and political shenanigans, a year of watching President Obama in office rather than out on the campaign trail, I find myself frequently having the thought “if only McCain had been elected President instead.”

The thought came again today but unlike previous times I feel like sharing what would likely have happened in a McCain administration to this point.

If McCain had been president he would not have received the Nobel Peace Prize and Justice Souter would not have retired so he would not likely have named any justices to the Supreme Court by this point in his presidency. As far as issues that he would have dealt with that Obama has been dealing with I would like to address health care legislation, auto bailouts, stimulus, and Iran.

Tags 2008, Elevated, McCain, Obama, president

National State

Post-Election Subjects

There must be something about the conclusion of an election that brings up the subject of term limits. I wrote about it a couple of times a year ago and have said nothing about it since then. Now the Standard Examiner has an article saying that It’s time to reignite the debate over term limits. The article talks about previous efforts to enact term limits in the late 90’s. In the comments section for the article Tired Old Argument says:

Term limits basically says, we don’t trust the voters to make a good, informed decision.

What Tired Old Argument forgets is that in a republic, such as the one we live in, the very structure of government says that we should not trust the voters to be able to be adequately informed for most major decisions – that’s why they are supposed to delegate the task to their best and brightest (which is who they would elect in theory). It turns out that our history suggests that knowing when to replace their elected representatives is among the things that voters are not very adept at doing.

This years numbers are instructive on this point. Congress has been mired with approval ratings hovering near 10% for most of the last year. Logically this would suggest that we would have a high rate of turnover when elections come amidst such an approval rating. In fact, approximately 90% of our elected officials are returning to Washington (this is not counting those who are returning as lobbyists or in appointed positions). What is even more telling is that of the 6 of the 10% who are not returning to elected office retired voluntarily. When 90% disapproval results in 95% retention that suggests that the voters are not very adept at replacing their elected officials.

As Reach Upward so astutely articulated in last year’s discussion:

. . . it may be good to toss even great statesmen because the office is more important than any person that may hold it.

(I will be quick to point out that Reach had no committed position on the issue of term limits at that time.) I would love to hear from anyone on where they stand on the issue after our elections this year.

Tags 2008, government, term limits

Local State

A Step Backwards in Utah

Some people might think that Tuesday was a step backwards because Obama won. Others might consider it a step backwards because Chris Buttars won again. The real step backwards was that 59,000 fewer people voted in Utah this year than in 2004. That is not just lower percentage turnout, that’s lower numbers.

Mark Thomas with the Lieutenant Governor’s Office says . . . the ballot generally lacked hotly contested local races.

“There are people who feel that this is a Republican state and my vote won’t make a difference,” Thomas says. “But I think that’s not a very good attitude in the sense that there are a lot of other races that do affect you, and perhaps even more so in your day to day life, on a local level.”

We need hotly contested local races on a consistent basis to bring people out to the polls. Too many of our elected officials are chosen at the state and county Republican Party conventions where only the elected delegates get to vote. It cannot be considered anything like a democracy when our officials are chosen by the votes of less than 1% of the population (the delegates) who were given the chance to vote based on the support of the 2% of our population who attended their neighborhood caucus meetings.

I’m almost tempted to suggest that the Republicans be allowed (required?) to place two candidates for every office in Davis and Utah counties just so that the general election will have some real meaning. Perhaps better would be a general rule that in a county where more than 70% of the elected officials come from a single party that party be required to field two candidates in the general election. After all, the first Tuesday in November was supposed to be a choice, not a ratification.

Tags 2008, civic participation, Davis County, elections, Utah, Utah County

Local National State

Supporting Our Leaders

As I read so many posts today celebrating the victory of Barack Obama in the presidential race I worried that I might appear to be a disheartened McCain supporter because of my lack of enthusiasm for the outcome of the race. First of all, I am neither disheartened nor a McCain supporter. Secondly, my lack of enthusiasm stems from the fact that I fully expected the results of the presidential race to look much like they did yesterday. On the other hand, I consider today to be a very good day to talk about our political process and specifically our role as citizens now that the voting is over.

Yesterday, before any results were in, DownsizeDC.org declared a state of permanent preparedness for impeachment. They argued that we should be ever watchful of our leaders and be prepared to impeach them as soon as they give grounds for impeachment. (To be fair, they indicated that neither candidate had yet given such grounds.) They stated that they considered it a mistake that they had not previsouly supported impeachment for our current president. Overcoming my initial rejection of this stance I realized that there was some logic behind their position – especially regarding elected officials at the federal level. I would like to approach the issue from the opposite direction. Now that the votes have been cast and our representatives chosen, it is the duty and responsibility of every citizen to support their elected officials and encourage them to live up to the best of their potential. Slate illustrates that idea with Six Ways Obama Can Show He’ll Be a Different Kind of President.

We need to start with the hope that our leaders live up to the best vision of themselves that they presented – that would mean hoping that Obama lives up to his lofty rhetoric concerning bipartisanship and transparency. Perhaps more importantly we should be supporting our local representatives. Now is not the time for all of us who have been talking about candidates and issues through the election to sit back and leave those who have been elected alone to do their jobs. We need to reach out to them, whether we supported or opposed them, and offer our support. We must be willing to meet with them, share our ideas, and encourage them in the difficult tasks that they will face.

We must start with the assumption that each of them is a patriot who wants what’s best for their fellow citizens – even if we don’t see eye to eye on what the best looks like.

Tags 2008, Anything but Neutral, civic participation, elections

life Local

Go Vote Now

I went to my polling place this morning and the lines were so long (at 7:00 am) that I decided to go to work first. My first thought was that maybe I didn’t need to remind anyone to vote today but then I thought better of it. Everyone go vote as early as you can (especially in the Bountiful 18th Precinct) so the lines won’t be so long at 6:00 pm when I will go try again. Due to sickness and the subsequent catching up I was unable to participate in early voting last week so now I will be trying to go after work. I will be waiting in line if necessary.

I talked to Scott, one of my coworkers who voted this morning, and he noticed that one of the things that made the lines go slower was having people standing at the voting booths reading about the issues (such as the Constitutional Amendments). Having done his research in advance, he was able to cast all his votes and leave while the people at the other booths before him were still making their choices. Based on that, perhaps the Lieutenant Governor might provide a one page summary of those types of issues that will be on the ballot so that people can read while they stand in line rather than holding up the line by reading at the booth.

While you are waiting to vote, go have a look at Jordy’s list of potential ways to choose who you vote for.

Tags 2008, amendments, ballot initiatives, civic participation, connections, elections, voting

Local

Polly Tribe for Davis School Board

Post author By David
Post date October 31, 2008
No Comments on Polly Tribe for Davis School Board

I have not really paid much attention to the race for Davis County School board but I was reviewing my ballot to make sure I had looked into each race I will be voting on and realized that I had missed this one. I have not actively endorsed someone in each race I will vote in, but I was very impressed by two aspects of Polly Tribes campaign for the school board. After going to her site I soon clicked on the link to view her blog. I was immediately impressed with the way she had used her blog to answer questions that people had submitted to her. As I read through her answers I saw that I like the answers that she gave to those questions.

I am fully supporting Ms. Tribe for the school board (although I don’t expect this too have much impact this close to Tuesday) and hope that after she wins she will continue the tradition of open communications with two minor adjustments – I would hope that she would no longer use a campaign website after the voting is done, and I hope that she would open up comments ont he blog so that people can give feedback on her responses.

Tags 2008, Davis County, Education, elections, endorsements, School Board

Local State

District 20 Candidate Responses

Post author By David
Post date October 28, 2008
4 Comments on District 20 Candidate Responses

In response to the questions that I sent to the candidates for House District 20 I received a written response from Kyle Roberts, an invitation to call Becky Edwards, and no response from Robert Moultrie despite multiple requests. I will post the answers I received below with the caveat that the responses from Becky are the best notes I could take from our conversation and not necessarily the verbatim responses she gave.

1. In your opinion, what is the most important job of a state legislator?

Kyle: The most important job of a state legislator is to make sure that my constituents know how each law will effect them. Communication needs to be more important than what it has been in the past. I hope to accomplish this via my website and blog to which people can subscribe to receive updates.
Becky: To advocate for the people in their district.

2. What is the most important challenge or issue for the state of Utah?

Kyle: Tackling the budget. Surprisingly, it was only a couple of years ago that we had a surplus. And now we are facing a deficit. We need to trim off the excess and make sure our fundamental programs are properly funded: public education, some type of health care reform, and transportation are my top three.
Becky: The economy, job growth, and the cost of health care (all relate to each other).

3. What is the most important challenge or issue for House District 20?

Kyle: Public education is extremely important – especially when our district is growing so fast. We need to make sure that we have good schools, teachers, and administrators to be able to meet this new demand. But we also need to make sure that we have legislators who understand our community’s dynamics to fight for our right on the hill.
Becky: Not many challenges unique to our district apart from the state: public education, economic growth, and health care costs.

4. Based on the best information you have, what ideas do you have to tackle the important issue(s) you identified in questions 2 and 3?

Kyle: As I walked throughout the communities this month, I have been talking mainly about balance. I think that if we have more balance in the government, we would not have only two people creating the budget every year. But rather we would have the entire legislature define what money goes where. More discussion, more debate. The people who lose when that does not happen are the citizens of Utah. We need to have that. For public education, we need to just put that as a priority. Public education does not necessarily need more money. Public education needs to be run better. The legislature needs to keep out of micromanaging public education. We have qualified school board members across the state to do that job. We need to give more power to the school boards to make decisions that are best for them.
Becky:
- Education: depoliticize public education, build excellence by offering choice and accountability (e.g charter schools), and cut waste.
- Health care: cut waste – health care it is not a right but it is a part of social and economic infrastructure (like roads) – it is most appropriately addressed at the federal level.
- Economic growth: mostly a county issue but state tax structure can assist in encouraging growth.

5. What is the most important political task for voters to undertake?

Kyle: To be informed. Take the time to understand all of the issues. Vote on each candidate who represents your values, principles, and ideals. Be responsible in your vote.
Becky: Stay involved. Becky indicated that she would like to hold town meetings within the district (at various locations) to discuss and brainstorm regarding the issues that the district and the legislature are dealing with. She does not claim to have all the answers but she is willing to work hard and tap the resources of the district to be an informed representative. She would also like to reach out to voters similar to the way that Rep. Neuenschwander did with his email list.

I would like to thank both Becky and Kyle for their candor and for taking the time to respond.

Tags 2008, Anything but Neutral, candidates, House 20, Utah

Local State

Ask the Candidates (and Share Their Answers)

Post author By David
Post date October 23, 2008
No Comments on Ask the Candidates (and Share Their Answers)

In an effort to not lose all inertia, I am publicly inviting anyone who has any interest in Anything But Neutral to choose a political race in Utah and ask the candidates of that race a few questions of their own choosing. When you get responses (or by Friday, October 31st even if not all the candidates have responded) post the responses you receive somewhere that people can read the responses – preferable somewhere that people are free to share their own thoughts after reading the answers. I have asked the following questions from the candidates in House District 20:

In your opinion, what is the most important job of a state legislator?
What is the most important challenge or issue for the state of Utah?
What is the most important challenge or issue for House District 20?
Based on the best information you have, what ideas do you have to tackle the important issue(s) you identified in questions 2 and 3?
What is the most important political task for voters to undertake?

Most of the people who have expressed interest have their own blogs where they could post such answers. Some examples of others who have done this include Utah Rattler (House 20) and Thad Van Ry (Senate 23). If you prefer not to post the answers on your own site I would be willing to post answers for other races.

Tags 2008, Anything but Neutral, civic participation, elections, House 20, voting

State

Reason To Be Anti-Incumbent

Post author By David
Post date October 16, 2008
4 Comments on Reason To Be Anti-Incumbent

I found this little exchange to be insightful from Congressman Bishop:

. . . the two 1st District candidates snapped at each other, with Bowen accusing Bishop of taking $26,000 in the past four months from the radioactive-waste-storage company.

"I did not take $26,000, I took $28,000," Bishop fired back. "And that’s not company money, I can’t take that. It’s from individuals who work for EnergySolutions. And it’s not my biggest source of revenue."

Only someone who is comfortable in Washington D.C. could swallow the idea that dozens of individuals from EnergySolutions contributing $28,000 to the campaign is not a significant endorsement from the company as a whole or that they would do so without believing that the Congressman was working in the interests of the company that pays them.

I wondered who the biggest source of revenue was for Rep. Bishop and I found this list at OpenSecrets. It has Energy Solutions as the top source of revenue although it lists under $17,000 so it must not be current.

I wish I had all the facts, but I have enough to choose. If Rep. Bishop believes what he said then he’s not the kind of man I want representing me. If he does not believe what he said, then the fact that he said it means he is not the kind of man I want representing me.

I am definitely voting for Morgan Bowen – worst case scenario is that I’ll want to replace him in 2010. I’d say there’s more than a 50% chance that I’ll still want him in 2010.

Tags 2008, change congress, Morgan Bowen, public service, Rob Bishop, Salt Lake Tribune

State

Rejecting Amendment E

While amendment D looks to close a loophole in the Constitution, Constitutional Amendment E appears to be opening a loophole. I admit that there is potential to increase the funds available for public education if we allow some of those funds to be invested in private company stocks or bonds. The problem is that this amendment provides no guidelines or safeguards to such a practice and therefore the only guarantee that we have from this amendment is that we increase the risk attached to the funds available for public education.

If the legislature wants to take public money and make use of stocks and bonds to increase the value of our tax revenues I could be pursuaded to accept that, but they had better put some safeguards on the ways our public funds are invested in the Constitution, rather than relying on future statutes to define any protective measures – the original prohibition serves to safeguard public money, when making such a large exception we should be sure that there are some limitations in place.

Tags 2008, amendments, ballot initiatives, elections, State Constitution, Utah