Recently, Representative Craig Frank, Republican of Pleasant Grove, wrote on his blog that the sponsors of the ethics reform initiative were hypocritical because they did nothing about ethics reform while they served in the state legislature. Frank wrote that former legislators David Irvine, Kim Burningham, Jordan Tanner, and Karl Snow "had ample opportunity and motivation to enact meaningful legislation while they took contributions without limits..." He also pointed out that Carole Peterson, who also is a sponsor of the ethics initiative, served as chief clerk of the House of Representatives and as a member of the staff for the legislature and "in her position of influence ... did nothing."
For the record, Jordan Tanner was known as "Mr. Ethics" while he was in the state legislature. He repeatedly introduced ethics legislation that went nowhere thanks to a Republican party leadership who blocked bill after bill. Representative Frank should know that, even if he wasn't a state legislator in the 1990s.
Also, a legislative staff member, even a chief clerk, doesn't have the power to push any legislation through the state legislature. In fact, that isn't the job of staff and Representative Frank knows it.
The Utah County Democratic Party is seeking to hire a paid part-time executive director to assist the County Party’s Executive Committee. The executive director would be responsible for assisting with the Party organization, supervising volunteers, administering the Party office, and generally aiding the Party leadership with other duties. The job would require 20 hours per week, with additional hours negotiable.
Preference will be given to an individual with previous campaign experience, who can work cooperatively with the Party's executive committee. Interested persons should send a cover letter and resumé to Deon Turley at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
no later than December 23, 2009.
Several of our Utah County GOP legislators claim to be supporters of a totally unregulated free market with only the barest minimal government. This stand is usually labeled libertarianism. Much of the intellectual base of this ideology comes from the writings of Ayn Rand, whom the Provo Daily Herald editors recently praised, saying that they are useful for "understanding the underlying political tectonics of 2009."
Actually, Ayn Rand's ideas are as dangerous as those on which Communism is based, but Rand's ideology of no-holds-barred capitalism and minimal government has attracted many American followers, including former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. Since the recession of 2007, however, Greenspan has admitted that the market was much less able do the right thing than Rand had predicted, and his confidence in the Mother of Libertarianism has been badly shaken. But many others still remain true and parrot the "less government, more market" slogans as though they were a panacea for our time.
Ayn Rand's popularity in church-going America and Mormon Utah is odd. Like her philosophical rival Karl Marx, Rand hated and ridiculed religion. She taught a fiercely anti-Christian philosophy of "Rational Egoism" and wrote a book entitled The Virtue of Selfishness.
Don't let Republican legislators gut ethics reform
Written by Richard Davis
Monday, 30 November 2009
Utah's Republican legislators have finally seen the light, at least that's what they want us to believe. Now they're talking about how important ethics reform is. They're even working on legislation to create an ethics commission. They say they really do support ethics reform. They just don't like the ethics initiative. So they're writing their own legislation that will fix the state's ethics problems.
Excuse me for not being convinced. These are the same people who have blocked ethics reform legislation repeatedly. The proposals they're now considering have been in bills they rejected year after year after year. The legislature never voted on them because the Republican leadership never let them come to a vote.
Now they want us to believe they're converted to the idea of ethics reform. Don't buy it. They don't mean it. And they're going to do their best to block serious ethics reform measures.
The fact is they're trying to pass a bill that will keep serious ethics reform at bay. They have no intention of enacting ethics reform that will limit their behavior. Instead, they want to pass a bill that they can gut once the heat is off.
Since this week is Thanksgiving, most Americans will be gathered together with family to share the holiday together. It is a time to give thanks to God for the blessings we enjoy as a nation, as a people, and as individuals. Here are some of the things I'm thankful for:
1. Family The core of a society is the strength of the family. But perhaps more importantly, the well being of the individual is determined to a large extent by the love and compassion offered by family. My family has been my strength and I appreciate their willingness to tolerate my weaknesses and extend to me the love that all of us need to feel throughout our lives.
2. Freedom What a blessing it is to live in a country where we have the freedom to worship, express our opinions, protest government policies we disapprove of, and live and work largely as we wish. Since I study politics for a living, I am well aware of other systems around the world where such freedoms are not available. Moreover, in our nation we have not always been willing to uphold such freedoms. Thankfully, we live in a time and in a place where such freedoms are cherished.
Recently, something happened that reminded me of my parents.
My father, a Salt Lake businessman who was a devout Mormon, was a Democrat. My mother, also a devout Mormon and daughter of a bishop, was also a Democrat. They were people of integrity. I remember my father voting in favor of pro-tenant legislation that would remove rights he had as a landlord, simply because he believed it was the right thing to do. I remember my mother fussing over the fact that taxpayers were partially funding the oxygen she used when her cancer took her breath away. She did not think this was fiscally responsible when she had the means to pay for it herself.
My parents and their many Utah friends were proud of their Democratic affiliation. I remember visiting my parents on Election Day where, on repeated occasions, I observed them faithfully staffing the voting booths and enjoying association with other faithful Democrats. I also enjoyed observing healthy sparring between my parents and their Republican friends. In those days, no stigma attached to being a Democrat, even in Utah. Growing up in our family, we had animated discussions about politics, ethics and morality. We were taught that we should take our rights as citizens seriously. We were taught to vote our conscience.
I was reminded of this aspect of my life by a recent event in which I was deprived of my right to vote. My state representative was chosen behind closed Republican doors, absent the healthy discussion, pro and con that took place in my childhood home and that should take place in a democracy, as part of the electoral process. I realized that this could only happen because here in Utah County, for all practical purposes, we have been reduced to only one functioning party.
Recently, Representative Craig Frank, Republican of Pleasant Grove, wrote on his blog that the sponsors of the ethics reform initiative were hypocritical because they did nothing about ethics reform while they served in the state legislature. Frank wrote that former legislators David Irvine, Kim Burningham, Jordan Tanner, and Karl Snow "had ample opportunity and motivation to enact meaningful legislation while they took contributions without limits..." He also pointed out that Carole Peterson, who also is a sponsor of the ethics initiative, served as chief clerk of the House of Representatives and as a member of the staff for the legislature and "in her position of influence ... did nothing."
Several of our Utah County GOP legislators claim to be supporters of a totally unregulated free market with only the barest minimal government. This stand is usually labeled libertarianism. Much of the intellectual base of this ideology comes from the writings of Ayn Rand, whom the Provo Daily Herald editors recently praised, saying that they are useful for "understanding the underlying political tectonics of 2009."
Recently, something happened that reminded me of my parents.
