Last week in Salt Lake there was a luncheon held by the alumni association of the University of Utah. The speaker was Montana's Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer. I've read a couple of reviews of the event, one on SLCSPIN, a local politics blog. Ethan Millard, of SLCSPIN, wrote the following after attending the event.
"In a way, the Governor was wasted on a room full of Democrats. Governor Schweitzer's message is extremely powerful and compelling to western Americans. The Governor's vision of the mountain west rising to become America's primary defenders should ring true to Utahns who enthusiastically embrace the independence, freedom, optimism, and opportunity of the west. (then confusingly elect an east coast carpetbagger who actively tries to hobble the freedom and independence technology gives us)
I wish Utah's voters could have Governor Schweitzer's image in their heads as they hit the polls this year. What impressed me was Schweitzer's clear vision of a future void of America's dependence on foreign oil. Governor Schweitzer says there is a solution that can be up and running in five years. What he has in mind is using a process that will turn coal into a synthetic liquid fuel or synfuel.
The governor explained that there is enough coal in the U.S. to meet our fuel needs for the next 250 years, more than enough time to develop even better fuel sources. He also explained that the process that converts the pressurized coal into fuel (the Fischer-Tropsch process) is both clean and environmentally safe.
The most important statement I took from Schweitzer's speech was one that the governor asked everybody to write down. He simply said,
"Issues divide people, and values unite people."
Governor Brian Schweiter embodies the spirit of optimism; a spirit our country so desperately needs to embrace once again. Why would we want to continue a path of fear and divisiveness when we could be going to Mars.
Overall I agree with Ethan, it is an optimistic future we should be voting for this November. A future that is focused on solutions. Schweitzer is the first Democratic Governor to be elected in Montana since 1988. He also has one of the highest approval ratings for a governor in the country at 69%.
If he runs for president I might just grab the next bus to Montana.
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It is not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it, and - -Fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.
Aung San Suu Kyi
Nobel Peace Prizewinner
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Mr. Hatch, please sit down.
1 comment:
ethan, I hope I gave you enough credit for this writing... all, most of this post was originally written by Ethan on SLCSPIN, a blog I make a point to visit daily for local political news and commentary. I originally found it as I was looking up information on Pete Ashdown, a candidate for the Senate Seat filled by "long-term East Coast carpetbagger Orin Hatch."
I recommend SLCSPIN to those who want a fresh look at our sometimes drab and mindlessly conformist political atmoshpere here.
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