Spending the last couple of weeks digesting the happenings on the nation-stage, as well as the local, I've noted (with a fair amount of disgust) that Utah has succeeded in further insulating itself from "mattering" again, and will probably remain so for a long time to come.While the Grand Old Party got a national ass-kicking this week, we saw several Utah Republicans proclaiming it was "good to be a Republican in Utah today..."
Ummm, what planet are you people from, anyway???
While the GOP was given an eviction notice nationally, we sent the same crew back for another round. We sent a congressman, widely reported to be the third most corrupt politician in DC, back for another round of currying favor with friends, relatives, and general ne'r do wells. We endorsed (even to the endorser's chagrin) a Senator to go back to DC, ostensibly to take the Chairmanship of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, so he could "bring home the bacon for Utah." (which he now will not be doing, inspite of winning 2-1 over the challenger.)
More broadly, while the national spotlight fell on some who don't mind mixing Church and State, we swallowed it all as laise faire politics, and were happy to do it.
The vast majority of people in this state went to the polls and cast their votes and blindly signed up for more of the same. Without paying attention to the whole, their votes were even more useless than in the past, because they have now sent a bunch of cronies back there, but now in the minority seats. The only pork they'll pull from there is... well, ... (insert your own off-color punch line here).At this point, Hatch's sole useful purpose is now as the GOP's ATM cash machine.
The only bright spot for Utah: the confirmed election (I don't say "re-election" here, because he was appointed) of State Senator Scott McCoy to the Utah house. That's a great show that even though somebody might not live their life the way some of the rest of us do, they still have a voice, and are fully capable of being the advocate for the entire group of people he represents. We have three openly "alternate lifestyle" state legislators. What a great realization that is. Too bad McCoy wasn't running head to head with that uber-bigot Sock Puppet Buttars.
And speaking of the state race issues, lest you think this state ISN'T run by big money Real Estate development, I draw your attention to the election of Lohra Miller over Sim Gill. Her comments on Channel 2 the other night were downright disengenuous and moreover, LIES. I said it here first: this is not going to go well.
And because I have neither the time nor the skill to do it myself, I draw your attention to the comments made by U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK), released yesterday and published over on Instapundit. This is how it should go, and if any republicans who DID manage to get their butts relected are paying attention, they will fall in line with this exact sentiment:
“Some have said that Republicans and Democrats now need to govern from the middle. I disagree. We do not need to govern from the center as much as we need to govern from conscience. When politicians have the courage to argue their convictions and lose their political lives in an honest battle of ideas the best policies will prevail."
You should go and read the entire statement. It is insightful, generally non-partisan, and shows a solid roadmap back to effective government and competent leadership.
3 comments:
Thanks for the Coburn link. He makes a very good point, but it took a major shellacking for such contrition to be expressed. You will note that didn't hear any of this honor and forthright debate stuff from the GOP following the past few elections. It's a bit late, but Coburn is correct. Americans want honest debate with all parties expressing their consciences and working toward compromises that will make for good government.
When you talk about Utah becoming irrelevant, it reminded me of something I heard Glen Beck say. He mentioned that since the African American community is so strongly in the Democratic corner, the Dems take them for granted and only give their issues lip service. The GOP only makes token efforts to attract their votes because it seems hopeless. Beck said that Christian conservatives are to the GOP what blacks are to the Democrats. The more strongly a given demographic group is in a given camp, the more irrelevant and less potent the group becomes politically.
interesting perspective there... which reminds ME of something I've heard in the last couple of days: If the Republican party continues its vitriol, they will become the "Marginalized Party of the Southern Extremist Christians - MPSEC".
and yes, it's interesting how a good drubbing trots out the nonpartisan "we should govern with our consciences" talk. Like you said, where was that in the last 3 or 4 years, or longer.
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