John Oliver Takes On Utah GOP Chairman's Industry

Utah Republican Party Chairman James Evans owns Checkline, a payday lending company.  Keep that in mind when you watch this segment from John Oliver's Last Week Tonight:

Republicans Led By Loan Shark, I hope he makes winning every race "Number 1" Priority

Sltrib.com, today:

Former Salt Lake County Republican Party Chairman James Evans won a convincing victory Saturday as the new Utah Republican Party Chairman, capturing nearly 60 percent of the vote in the three-way race. 

Evans becomes the first African-American chairman of the state party. 

Evans owns Checkline, a chain of payday lending stores.

He served as Salt Lake County Chairman from 2005 to 2009, and touted that experience and record as grounds for electing him.

All I can say is "Yay!"  Not only will it bring the payday loan industry back into the limelight (watch for some pro-payday loan stories in the upcoming session, I guarantee it), but there is another reason.  In 2007, as he won reelection as Chair, Mr Evans said that his "Number 1" priority was to defeat Peter Corroon in 2008.  Corroon went on to recieve over 65% of the vote.  In 2006, Chairman Evans said his top priority was defeating County Clerk Sherrie Swenson.  Swenson won 57% of the vote.  He also personally help the Republican incumbent Sheriff (Presumably more than a chairman usually personally helps a candidate) in 2006.  Challenger Jim Winder walked away with only 63.75% of the vote.

If this is the record he ran on, I'm beginning to wonder if Democrats hacked the GOP voting system today.

Because really, in politics, it's all about winning.  And Democrats need all the help they can get.  And James Evans is a gift from the heavens.

-Bob

Republicans Scared of New Sheriff in Town

Last Week, I was talking to a new friend. He had run for office as an independent candidate. While he doesn't like the two-party system (which is something he &I agree on), he also recognizes that it's hard to fight the system from within.

That being said, he was asked at a Meet the Candidates Night why he was running as an Independent. His reply boiled down to the fact that the Utah Democratic Party wasn't so much an opposition party as it was a bunch of wimps.

I told him to give the Democrats another chance, because there's a new sheriff in town.

New Democratic Party chairman Jim Dabakis, fresh off a Democratic Party Bus tour down to the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, has embarked on a 1,147 mile tour of Southern Utah to talk about redistricting, among other things.

And this has the Utah Republican Party all up in arms.

Utah Senate President Michael Waddoups said he has no problem with Dabakis crossing the state to talk about redistricting — as long as that’s the only subject on the agenda.

“I hope he is going after it as a redistricting meeting,” the Taylorsville Republican said, “rather than Republicans versus Democrats.”

After all, you can talk about anything you want to, as long as you only talk about one thing, because heaven forbid any other issue comes up.

And, I really hate to point this out, but the Utah Legislature has 80 Republicans to 24 Democrats. It's hard for a Democrat to talk about the Legislature without it being a Republic vs Democrat thing.

Besides, it's been Republicans vs the People of Utah for a long time. It's nice to see the Democrats standing up to the Republican bully.

And, in a separate article, we learn that the Republicans have hired someone to follow Dabakis on his tour of Southern Utah with a video camera.

GOP Chairman Thomas Wright accused Dabakis of being “on the offensive playing ‘gotcha’ politics and taking personal comments out of context.” How dare Democrats play Offense! Don't they know that the best offense is a good defense? It's worked so well for the over the past decade! (OK, what the Democrats have been playing is more like special teams, but I digress.)

Wright also accuses Dabakis of trying to split the GOP in two. In reality, the GOP has been splitting itself in two for a long time. One only needs read the Utah Republican Party - Official Group on Facebook for proof.

Dabakis is simply pointing out that the "fringe elements" of the party are now part of Elected Leadership.

But, of course, Wright isn't trying to catch Dabakis saying something stupid. "We are just trying to hear what he is saying. We refuse to give him a pass, or simply accept what the media reports or what is posted on Twitter or Facebook."

I hope they are nice enough to post it on YouTube for other Republicans to see. And, well everyone else.

Now, Dabakis is more than willing to allow the camera, because he is not afraid of what he is saying, unlike Mike Lee last year.

“He’s a very genial and nice chap, and he has been at every public appearance,” Dabakis said. “I couldn’t be more thrilled that Republicans think that it’s worth videotaping everything I say.”

Awesome.

Mitt Romney, Peter Corroon, and Utah's lack of civic participation

At Last Night's Town Hall debate, KSL's Bruce Lindsay pointed out in a question that Utah ranks 48th out of the 50 states in voter turnout (based on percent of citizens over 18 who turn out to vote). Acting Governor Herbert said that the solution to the problem was ethics reform. I missed Mayor Corroon's answer.

However, I think that Mitt Romney hit the nail on the head. From a post on this blog in 2007:

"I just came back from living in a state that was overwhelmingly Republican," Romney told the [Commonwealth] magazine [in July 2002]. "And a single-party system generates problems, in my view. In that state, the more extreme wing of the dominant party begins to have more and more political sway, and that de-energizes the great mainstream of citizens. They get turned off by politics and offended by the politicians and become less engaged in the political process."

Of course, in 2002, Romney was running to be the Republican Governor of an overwhelmingly Democratic state.

Hmmm, sounds familiar.

-Bob

My Personal Response to GOP Chair Dave Hansen's Comments on Helen Thomas

Helen Thomas:



OK, that was bad. But, was it bad enough to generate these comments from Utah Republican Party Chairman Dave Hansen (via today's Political Cornflakes)?

"Helen Thomas has clearly lost any semblence of rational thinking and has let her bigoted views of Israel and Jews take over. Yes Helen, its time for you to retire. You might be more comfortable living out your remaining years in a white supremacist enclave in northern Idaho."

Maybe Ms Thomas can take a few of Mr Hansen's party members with her. Namely Senator Buttars, Representatives Wimmer and Sanstrom, and Mike Lee and Tim Bridgewater, too. Their comments have been just as bad, if not worse, than those of Ms Thomas.

I'm sure they'll all love it up there with those folks.

-Bob

(P.S. - I know that Senator Buttars is in the hospital with health issues. I hope he gets better soon.)

Where did the Utah Republicans go?

I read the following commentary in the Deseret News, and I thought that Rep Mascaro hit it on the head. Except the fact that the Utah Republicans got hijacked years ago.

I'm wondering if you can help me find something. I have used it for more than 40 years, and you have probably used it, too. It's the Utah Republican Party. We seemed to have lost it. It was last borrowed by the tea party and Patrick Henry guys — as well as others — who have put a few nicks and dents in it. It doesn't purr quite like it used to do. It seems to screech and holler and boo and scream more than before. I think maybe they broke it. I'm not sure, because I just can't find it. And there are a whole lot of us looking for it.

Maybe we will just have to go out and get a new Utah Republican Party that respects people's differences, that understands what being kind to one another and respecting differing views really means; a party that likes to work together to solve problems — you know, the party of the big tent that President Ronald Reagan talked about. Yes, that party — the one that President Abraham Lincoln helped bring together, the one made up of Independent Northern Democrats, the Fusion Party, the Know Nothing Party, Sympathetic Whigs, Anti-Slavery Democrats, the Radical Republicans and the Conservative Republicans who came together to make our old Utah Republican Party.

Well, I think you know what I mean.

If any of you happen to run across the old, "real" Utah Republican Party and think it might still be salvageable, could you let us know where to find it?

We really miss it.

We hope to find it before it's too late.

Both Conventions At Salt Palace all Democrats' Fault, According to GOP Chair

Out of Context's Political Cornflakes:

[Utah GOP Chairman Dave] Hansen, meanwhile, explained on Facebook why the state’s two major parties are holding their convention at the same place on the same day at the same time: “There is plenty of room. The Dems are in a completely different section of the Salt Palace. They made their reservation there months after we had made ours. A previously booked event pulled out and the Dems decided to schedule there. Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do about it. Hopefully, we won't see them and they won't see us next Saturday.”

Which I would accept, except that every Democratic State Convention held during even-numbered years has been on the south end of the Salt Palace since at least 2004.

And I don't remember the last time the GOP held their state convention at the Salt Palace.

Personally, I think that we should have a dance-off in the middle of the Salt Palace. That would be fun.

-Bob

GOP Chair Says They Will Re-Run Same Theme Vs Matheson

KSL:

The top man for the Republican party is already setting his sights on next year's election. Michael Steele, chair of the national Republican Party, spoke to Utahns Friday and said they should target Congressman Jim Matheson, in particular.

Matheson's seat in Congress has long been a thorn in the side of Utah Republicans and is symbolic of frustration among the party faithful right now. But some of that frustration is with the GOP itself--what Steele calls "a work in progress."

At a town hall meeting, Steele went to the heart of the matter when it comes to Matheson. The campaign theme expected next year, he said, is: A vote to re-elect Matheson is like a vote for liberal Nancy Pelosi.

Funny, seems like they ran that same pitch from the GOP in 2006 and 2008. Remind me again how that worked for ya?

-Bob

Open Letter to GOP Chair Dave Hansen

Dear Mr Hansen-

I read in the papers that you oppose the two initiatives making the rounds for 2010.

And I just wanted to say thank you.

Thanks you for continuing to prove that Utah Republicans move contrary to the will of the citizens of Utah.

Thank you for thinking that these maps are logical.

Because, really, the more I talk to my Republican friends, the more they are telling me they are fed up with you.

And, not only are they willing to not blindly vote for local Republicans, some of them are pondering runs for the Legislature.

As Democrats.

Because they are ready for a change in our state. They have looked past the slick advertising and realized that the problems this state has are not the fault of Democrats, because we have been in the minority for so long.

Yes, you'll pull out the twin pillars that Republicans always pull out when they are about to lose somebody: gay marriage and abortion.

However, more and more people are realizing that unless there are major shifts, these are really non-issues in their lives, because nothing will change in our laws.

They are only major issues because You and Paul Mero tell them it is.

So, go ahead. Oppose the will of the people. Eventually, the people will wake up.

-Bob Aagard
Former Republican
Holladay

Utah Republicans are to blame for your property tax increase

Remember those Utah RepublICAN billboards last year?

Especially the one that said "I Can pay fewer taxes?"

Yeah, about that:

Taxes will be the topic Tuesday night at a "truth in taxation" hearing in Riverton. Many are expected to voice concerns about a new law requiring taxpayers throughout Salt Lake County to pay $10 million for the split of the Jordan School District.

Lawmakers in the GOP-controlled Utah Legislature first passed the law allowing the split, then passed the law that puts the cost of the split on the shoulders of taxpayers all over the county. In Salt Lake City, for instance, that hike will cost $57 for every $100,000 in home value.

Many taxpayers who don't live in the Jordan District are expressing surprise this week as they're opening up their tax notices and find their school taxes are up.

"We're the ones who stood up on the Senate floor, who stood up on the House floor, and said, 'This will raise your taxes,'" said Senate Minority Leader Pat Jones.

KSL 5 News looked at the vote on the school funding equalization bill in 2008 and found a nearly party-line divide: 68 Republican lawmakers, all but a few, voted 'yes;' nearly all Democrats voted 'no.'

Darn that liberal (Church-owned) media!

-Bob

RupublICAN -- Chris Buttars

(stolen from Facebook.)

Utah Republicans Ignore the Rules, Views of 90% of Republican Voters

So, the Utah Republican Party made it official:

Just because it's in the party bylaws, doesn't mean it's really how we're really going to do things.

As I reported a few weeks ago, the bylaws of the Utah Republican Party clearly state:

B. Allocation and Binding of National Delegation. All National Convention delegates and alternates shall be allocated to the candidate receiving the most votes of the statewide vote in the Republican Presidential Primary. On the first ballot, the national delegation shall be bound to vote for the candidate who has received the most votes in the Republican Presidential Primary, but the delegation shall not be bound on any subsequent ballots.

Sounds pretty clear, doesn't it? Romney won the Utah Primary by a HUGE margin, and the delegates are bound to him.

Romney can't change it, nor can anyone else.

I forgot. This is the Utah Republican Party. They can do anything they want.

Utah Republicans staged a grown-up version of Red Rover on Saturday, successfully paving the way for delegates previously committed to Mitt Romney to come over to presumptive candidate John McCain's side of the playing field.

The switch was made possible by a Republican Central Committee proposal, approved by committee members Saturday, that clarified what committee leaders described as an "ambiguity" in language that previously bound national delegates to the top vote getter in the state's primary election. Romney's decision to pull out of the campaign two days after Utah's participation in the Feb. 5 primary juggernaut left the 36 state Republican delegates committed to a candidate suddenly out of the race but without a contingency plan.

Bluffdale City Councilwoman and RNC National Committeewoman is going to think about going with the will of the voters, and not the will of Stan Lockhart:

"I think it's dishonest and disingenuous," Lord said. "They can sit there and pontificate about how this is the appropriate way to handle it, but I'm not buying it."

Lord said she believes she is beholden to the voters she represents and that the vast majority of those voters, 90 percent, cast votes for Romney.

"They can say we're bound to McCain," Lord said. "But I choose to honor the vote of the people and the will of the state. I had my mandate when people voted so overwhelmingly for Romney."

Lord said she needed some time to get over what happened at Saturday's meeting and would "have to think about" what she will do at the national convention.

-Bob

Utah GOP ChairLobbyist Apparently Can't Read

DeseretNews.com:

Late last week, Stan Lockhart, Utah GOP chairman, sent out an e-mail to the 180 central committee members (the basic governing body of the state party) saying that he had thoroughly researched the state GOP constitution, the party bylaws, had spoken with Republican National Committee officials and studied Roberts Rules of Order.

And it is his decision that he can release the Romney delegates himself, as Romney desires and has asked him to do.

[...]

In his e-mail, Lockhart said Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, in a written request recently received, asked that Utah GOP national delegates be released to vote for McCain. With that new request in hand, Lockhart decided to review whether he had the authority to release delegates as Romney asks.

"I have had many discussions with the Romney campaign on this issue," Lockhart wrote. "They are firm in their desire for their delegates to be released."

After reviewing all party "governing documents," Lockhart then writes, "I have concluded that our national delegates can be released. ... I am asking for your support of my finding to allow Utah's national delegates to be released from voting for Mitt Romney."

Utah GOP bylaws, section 7.0, paragraph B (page 5):

Allocation and Binding of National Delegation. All National Convention delegates and
alternates shall be allocated to the candidate receiving the most votes of the statewide vote in the
Republican Presidential Primary. On the first ballot, the national delegation shall be bound to
vote for the candidate who has received the most votes in the Republican Presidential Primary,
but the delegation shall not be bound on any subsequent ballots.

Maybe Stan is bad at math....

Bob's take on the GOP Manifesto

Obi wan over at The Utah Hornet's Nest pointed out that the Utah Republican Party has posted a new manifest on it's website.

And, like most things that come out of their offices on South Temple, this one is all talk.

And, like I always do, I will take the opportunity to give my take on the manifesto. Everything that follows not in brackets [] and italics is taken straight from utgop.com:

We are Republicans Because...

The Declaration of Independence says, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal [except blacks, Democrats, and Mexicans], that they are endowed, by their CREATOR[that's right! bold and CAPS!], with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.—“[Well, OK, we only agree with one. Liberty is a commie term, and happiness is a sin.]

These God given rights are sacred and precious to Republicans. The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights give us further direction with words of wisdom like, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion [unless it's the one true religion], or prohibiting the free exercise thereof [unless that free exercise conflicts with our own views]” and “the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed”. Government must protect the rights articulated in these texts [except freedom of speech, the press, assembly....oh, and the 4th amendment, just to point out a few exceptions to the rule.].

The platform of the Republican Party helps us understand our mission to protect these timeless, traditional values for our families, our children and our posterity.

Life

We value the infinite worth of a human being [with the exception of the time period between 1 hour and vegetable].

We fight for the life of the unborn and oppose abortion except to preserve the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest [unless the A word comes up during the 45 days the legislature is in session. Then we oppose all abortion, until the Church reminds us otherwise].

We recognize the traditional family as the fundamental unit of society [as long as your idea of traditional family doesn't include our state's history pre-1890] and that parents have the responsibility to direct the upbringing of their children.

We believe in God and that government must be based on a moral foundation with honesty, integrity, morality and accountability [psyche!].


Liberty

We are a law abiding Party and support the rule of law [Well, except election laws....].

We unabashedly support our military, honor their sacrifice unless they need services from Veteran's Affairs.... and commit ourselves to do our part to protect the freedoms they protect [except those outlined above].

We affirm the right to individual religious expression, including prayer, in public and in private [again, unless it's a prayer to someone other than the approved Father In Heaven].



Pursuing Happiness

We encourage free enterprise, private initiative and volunteerism.

We support the right of individuals to own and use property [Unless they want to use said property for purposes we disagree with, or we want to build a soccer stadium].

We encourage individuals, families and charitable organizations to help the needy, but support a government safety net if all else fails.

We want welfare recipients to work towards self-sufficiency. [We encourage this by taking away welfare.]

We are committed to all children having access to quality education.

We support parents’ rights to choose public, private or home education [and for the state to pay for that choice].

We support incentives to promote competitive excellence in education.

We accept the need for limited taxation in order for government to perform and administer essential public services, but advocate simplification of our tax code, Elimination of the estate tax and broad based tax rate reduction where possible [because we have not been able to pull this off in our 25+ years in power].

We have seen that government regulations can be a major impediment to productivity and competition and encourage reliance more on market forces and less on government. Our environment, air, water and land are at the heart of our existence and must be protected through balanced management [which is why we don't have things going crazy in the private sector right now....].



Join with the Republican Party as we promote and defend these principles and values.

On Democrats, Republicans, and Satan's Plan

Paul Mero has a post at the Utah Amicus regarding a qote frome former LDS Prophet Ezra Taft Benson (before he was the Prophet. The quote:

In the war in heaven the devil advocated absolute eternal security at the sacrifice of our freedom. Although there is nothing more desirable to a Latter-day Saint than eternal security in God's presence, and although God knew, as did we, that some of us would not achieve this security if we were allowed our freedom—yet the very God of heaven, who has more mercy than us all, still decreed no guaranteed security except by a man's own freedom of choice and individual initiative.

Today the devil as a wolf in a supposedly new suit of sheep's clothing is enticing some men, both in and out of the Church, to parrot his line by advocating planned government guaranteed security programs at the expense of our liberties. Latter-day Saints should be reminded how and why they voted as they did in heaven. If some have decided to change their vote they should repent—throw their support on the side of freedom—and cease promoting this subversion...

...No true Latter-day Saint and no true American can be a socialist or a communist or support programs leading in that direction. These evil philosophies are incompatible with Mormonism, the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

However, I see much more of Satan's plan in the modern Utah Republican party than anywhere. Their repeated attempts to ban everything that is a sin is the antithesis to the gospel of freedom.

-Bob

Utah Democrats wanting a coverup of Republican sex scandal?

I was shocked to see the official blog of the Utah State Democratic Party blasting the local papers for printing a story on a potential Republican sexual harassment scandal.

Instead, the papers should be praised.

Yes, the timing of the story is suspect. The Republican in question is one that has brought Representative Walker before the Ethics Committee. However, that doesn't mean the media should sit on the story.

And, if the USDP took this story seriously, they would see that it shows multiple things about their counterparts:

*It's a REPUBLICAN sex scandal. You know, the party of "Utah values?"
*The fact that party leadership knew about this months ago but quietly shows how willing they are to protect their own, at least until their own stands up to them.

So, I ask my friends at 455 S 300 E: Why not get this out in the open? Why try to defend Rep Mascaro? I know he is on our side on occasion, but it's our job to work for guys with a D behind their name, not the guys with the R.

-Bob

Republ-I-CAN be investigated for ethics violations

Stolen from the AMICUS:

A bi-partisan group of Republicans and Democrats have filed an ethics complaint today against Rep. Mark Walker (R – Sandy), asking the House Ethics Committee to investigate allegations respecting violations of House ethics rules arising out of Walker’s alleged improper use of his House position in connection with his campaign to be elected as state treasurer. Under the House Rules, the Ethics Committee, jointly chaired by a Republican and a Democrat, must determine whether an investigation is warranted, and may appoint a special prosecutor to pursue the four charges outlined in the complaint against Walker. If he is determined to have violated the House Rules on ethics, he could be disciplined or even expelled from the House. If exonerated of these charges, the complaint would be dismissed.

The complaint against Representative Walker asks for an investigation into four issues: (1) abuse of official position and whether Walker offered a job and a substantial salary increase to Richard Ellis if Ellis would withdraw from the treasurer’s race; (2) potential criminal violations of the election laws and whether another unnamed legislator colluded with Walker to offer assurances that the money to fund the Ellis salary increase would be provided by the legislature; (3) abuse of the constitutional rules on legislator behavior and whether the unusual salary increase received by the treasurer in a bill Walker voted for makes him guilty of an impermissible conflict of interest (and incidentally would have rendered him constitutionally ineligible to be elected as treasurer); and (4) whether these allegations, if accurate and taken together, violate the constitutional limitations on legislative compensation.

The House members who filed the complaint are Representatives Rosalind McGee, Phil Riesen, Neil Hansen, Steve Mascaro, and Sheryl Allen. They delayed filing the complaint until today because they did not wish to have the complaint taken as an effort to influence the election outcome. The group stated in the complaint that all proceedings should be open to the public, in the interest of transparency, and they asked that any member on the Ethics Committee who for any reason may doubt his or her ability to act in a disinterested fashion in considering the complaint “should declare that fact and step down as a judge in this matter.”

If the investigation finds the probability of criminal conduct, the complainants ask that the matters be referred to “authorities with jurisdiction to take whatever future action they may deem appropriate.”

The complaint cites a statement by Justice Cardozo, “Many forms of conduct permissible in a workaday world for those acting at arms’ length, are forbidden to those bound by fiduciary ties. A trustee is held to something stricter than the morals of the market place. Not honesty alone, but the punctilio of an honor the most sensitive, is then the standard of behavior.” The complainants ask, “Should the bar be any lower for legislators who are servants of the public trust? Should we tolerate conduct from a member of our body which treats a public office as an object of barter?”

The complaint concludes, “Unless our political culture is founded upon principles of stewardship, integrity, and fidelity, we will suffer a loss of public confidence in government policies and those who are its stewards that may be irreparable."

Asked if a House ethics investigation was necessary in light of Lt. Gov. Herbert’s last-minute decision to call for an investigation by the Attorney General, Rep. Phil Riesen said, “It’s encouraging that Mr. Herbert has finally referred this complaint to the Attorney Generally for further investigation. However, these are two separate matters. Irrespective of what the Attorney General – who endorsed Walker -- may conclude, the Constitution makes the House of Representatives the judge of who shall sit as a member, and after all that has gone on in this race and elsewhere, it is time that we take appropriate action to begin to set the People’s House in order. The Ethics Committee has subpoena power, and it is time we use it to get to the truth of what has happened – not behind closed doors, but out in the sunshine.”

Asked if Walker could avoid the ethics inquiry by resigning, Rep. Neil Hansen said, “This is bigger than just Rep. Walker, and it’s important that the inquiry pursue all allegations to determine whether, as has been alleged, other legislators inappropriately and unethically colluded with Walker by giving him assurances that the state budget would be adjusted to provide the $56,000 salary increase which appears to have been the consideration for Ellis dropping out of the treasurer’s race.”

Some may see this as a moot point since Mark Walker is out of office in six months anyway. However, violating the rules is violating the rules. And you must send a message to the future that we will not tolerate this type of crap.

And, just because Mark Walker is unemployed in six months does not mean that we have seen the last of him. Look at LaVarr Christenson. And, Walker has his degree in PoliSci. He's a career politician through ad through.

-Bob

How this Democrat managed to vote in theRepublican Primary

Someone posted a comment to an earlier post that needs an answer.

As a registered Democrat, how do you plan on voting for Ellis in the Republican primary? Aren't their primaries closed?

OK, I'll tell you how in several easy steps. However, I do need to put a bit of an advisory in here. Since I will be in Provo on Election Day, I had to go to the COunty Clerk's to vote. Therefore, everything is in the past tense.

1) I am not a registered Democrat, have never been a registered Democrat, and won't be any time soon. I consider myself a Democrat, but keep my registration as unaffiliated for this very reason.

2) As a registered unaffiliated, I have the option of changing my registration at the polls to "Republican" for the purposes. I usually already have a voter registration form filled out to change back to unaffiliated that I drop into the mailbox the same day.

3) This didn't work for me in 2006, and so I was a registered Republican from June '06 until November 2007, when I changed back to unaffiliated to vote in the Democratic Presidential Primary.

4) No, this is not voter fraud, as I was accused of in 2006 after this post. They said in an email that they were going to report me to the AG's office. I'm sure I'll be hearing back from them on the complaint in 2010.

-Bob

The Utah GOP "I Can" Campaign

I had to laugh when I read about the Utah GOP's "I can" campaign. I mean, you know the Republican Party is in serious trouble when they have to rebrand itself in UTAH.

Not to mention the fact that one of the statements is so stupid it bears repeating.

"I CAN pay lower taxes." Because the Republican (super) majority in the sate legislature hasn't been able to do a thing about taxes in the billion years they have been in existence.

That being said, here are some other suggestions I have for their campaign.

I can be a lobbyist and a legislator, because I am a RepublICAN.

I can ignore my constituents, because I am a RepublICAN.

I can breathe in an inversion, because I am a RepublICAN.

I can have more classmates, because I am a RepublICAN.

I can ignore campaign laws and not get investigated, because I am a RepublICAN.

I can practice unrighteous dominion, because I am a RepublICAN.

I'm sure I'll think of some more.....

-Bob

The one R rating Conservatives support

I'm a week late in posting this, but thee was an excellent commentary last Monday written by the Deseret News's Doug Robinson.

Republicans aren't listening.

Why should they?

They can do anything they want in office because they know they'll always get re-elected.

Democrats not named after a father who was once a popular governor have little chance. The score is Republicans 76, Democrats 28 for both houses of the state Legislature (and only five of those 28 Democrats are outside of metro Salt Lake City).

All you have to do is slap "Republican" next to someone's name on the ballot, and they're in. Democrats have about as much chance as the Clippers in Boston.

John Kerry could win if he put an "R" after his name. All Utahns do at the ballot box is look for the magic letter. This is one R rating they support.

While he didn't say anything new, it's definitely worth reading. Click here to read the whole thing.

-Bob