Fantastic article from this morning's Voice of Deseret blog. Blogmeister Desert Dawg picks up on Senator Mike Waddoups shrill recent public political posturing and masterfully rips the poor inbred backwoods bumpkin to shreds:
• Utah Restaurant Association Claims Senator Mike Waddoups' Anti-Alcohol Retrofitting Proposal Could Cost Each Restaurant Up To $100,000Read up, gentle readers.
And yes... this will be on the test.
17 comments:
Yikes! This is what passes for legislative leadership in Zion? With all the problems in society today this is all our new senate leader can come up with? This guy is a joke who seems to be trying to out Butter Butters for the top spot on Utah's biggest fool list.
The real tragedy for Utah is that a disingenuous joke like Waddoups has so much power and an honorable public servant like Neil Hansen has very little.
Hey, Oz... Waddups was, remember, the reform Republican candidate for president of the Senate, one of the "new breed" who would control the Wing Nuttery of the Utah Senate. He represents what passes for progress [they told us last election] on the right in Zion.
I recall some in these parts claiming, last election, that "party doesn't matter" as they explained why they were going to vote to shift a D seat in the house the R column.
It matters.
Curm,
Party doesn't matter as long as everyone has an R next to their name.
I have a modest proposal for a new restaurant which is NOT a bar.
The restaurant will have plates of plastic food, like the kind used to demonstrate refrigerators in an appliance store or in the window of a Chinese restaurant.
You sit down, order a nice alcoholic beverage and one of the many dinners on the menu for only $1.
We bring out your food, you say, "this c**p is inedible," and we apologize and give you a refund.
I think this would be in compliance with Utah's silly liquor "laws". After all, you intended to order food with your drink. It's not the customer's fault that the food is inedible.
"But what really jacks Waddoups' jaws is the possibility that a minor could approach the counter, and if no one else is watching, reach over an 18-inch wooden barrier and snatch an alcoholic beverage "
Does anyone have a documented case of this ever happening? How bout in the beer aisle at Albertson's? Isn't Waddoups a member of that party that's against government regulations? But it's OK to force restaurants to spend up to $100,000 each to guard against something that doesn't happen!!!!
Curm: I ain't gonna defend Waddoups. But your logic escapes me. You are apparently proposing the following line of reasoning:
1. Waddoups is a Republican.
2. Waddoups is bad.
3. Therefore all Republicans are bad, i.e., "party matters" for all other legislative seats.
I'm sure you can see the absurdity of this (try replacing Waddoups with Blagojevich).
I suppose you could try to fix up the logic by inserting the following between numbers 2 and 3:
2.5. All other Republicans vote along party lines.
But is this statement really true? I kinda doubt it.
Dan:
In re: your little list: Nonsense. I've argued nothing of the kind. At no time have I ever argued that all Republicans are evil and all Democrats are saints. [I have a long list of Democrats I'd like to see horsewhipped -- or jailed -- and removed from office.]
But it matters, Dan, that we are discussing legislative politics in Utah. Not in Illinois or New York or Maine. Utah. And in Utah, a huge R majority rules both houses, and in Utah, the Republican party is dominated by extreme right wing elements. [Buttars, Bramble, the Eagle Fruit Loop Forum et al.] Those elements write the party's platforms and determine its legislative policy to an extent that would not be probable, I think, if there were a more even distribution of party seats in the two houses of the Utah legislature. Given that, I argued... and argue still... party matters in Utah legislative elections. Party determines committee composition, for example, and dozens of other legislative organizing matters that end up determining legislative policy. And the two parties in this state stand for very very different legislative agendas [which would not be true in a state like, say, NY].
And so, Dan, no, it was not wise to permit Lou's legislative seat to fall to the R side of the column. Mr. Waddoups' latest wingnut tirade and the fact that he was elected President of the Senate by the Republican caucus merely provided, I thought and think, more evidence of what I argued during the campaign: in this state, now, party matters. A lot. And, as already noted, the R we replaced Lew with chose to begin dissembling in his very first [party] sponsored communication to his constituents. [Feeling a little buyer's remorse, are you, Dan?]
We can disagree about the extent to which party matters in legislative elections here --- clearly we do --- and discuss it, but the discussion is not advanced, I think, when you reduce arguments to a superficial and silly syllogism. As, this time, I think you did.
Curm: No, I'm not feeling a bit of buyer's remorse over my endorsement of Republican Brent Wallis. I remain especially convinced that Waddoups will be a more effective advocate for higher education than his opponent would have been. And in these times of tight budgets, we need such an advocate.
Thank you, though, for clarifying your logic. Let's see if I can get it right this time:
1. Waddoups is bad.
2. Waddoups was elected President of the Utah Senate by his Republican Senate Colleagues.
3. Therefore we should have elected a Democrat to the Utah House District 10 seat.
Again I'm having trouble getting from 2 to 3. Could you please fill in the gap for me?
Dan:
Be pleased to help you out in your confusion. [I live but to serve!]
Party matters when we elect representatives to either house of the Utah legislature. The election of Waddoups as Senate President is a good indication that the Fruit Loops are still solidly in control of the Utah Republican Party. And so swelling the Republican majority in the House or the Senate in Utah makes wing-nut legislation more, not less, likely to pass, and so does not serve the best interests of the people of this state, or its schools. Or its universities.
Got it now?
Curm, you're getting carried away on a hypothetical. We all expected the GOP to put a nut job like Waddups in this capacity, he's grandstanding for his whacked out base and so far nothing other than that has transpired. If his obviously stupid proposal ever got to the floor, that would be the time to watch Wallis.
Wallis winning over addled eddy has not or wouldn't have changed a thing as far as Waddups. You have to admit that. So far your only issue seems to be some wording on a flier, that Neil has confirmed to be marginally technically correct.
Lets give Wallis at least one chance to actually participate in the legislative proccess before we brand him a disaster and mistake.
Oh, and is it Lou, or Lew? You used them both, this shows you're a little too emotional right now.
I have the flyer in question and would be happy to scan it in if Rudi wants to post up the image.
It says, at the bottom, in plain English:
"Paid For By [sic] Utah Republican Party / www.utgop.org"
I personally think Curm is over-reacting to a piece of standard Republican Party boilerplate. It's not a real-life survey, but a sort of "look how great we are" document, akin to a push poll but not (quite) as repugnant.
My assumption is that Rep. Wallis mailed this to his constituents as part of being a good party member, not because he really cares what his constituents think. His responsiveness will soon be put to the test when the legislative session begins. We'll know by March what he's made of.
Curm, you like to remind us that respect must be given to the duly elected representatives of the people. I'd ask you to apply the same standard to your own views, and move your attitude meter from "hostile to all Republicans" over to "wait and see". Keep an open mind. Neither of us will be surprised if Rep. Wallis turns out to be a Party Tool, but I'm willing to accept a very real possibility that he's not.
Mr. Mono
You wrote:
"My assumption is that Rep. Wallis mailed this to his constituents as part of being a good party member, not because he really cares what his constituents think"
Another yes man to the party hierarchy - just what we don't need if there is every going to be ethics reform in the Republican party or state legislature. It seems to me that what we really need are representatives that do care what their constituents think as opposed to those that knuckle under to so called party leadership. I think this gets right to the heart of Mr. Curmudgeon's argument vis-a-vis the Wallis -vs- Allen race and the importance of party affiliation in Utah politics.
Oops, I meant that WALLIS will be a more effective advocate fur higher ed--now Waddoups. Sorry 'bout that.
Anyhow, Curm, you "logic" amounts to little more than guilt by association--a game we saw Republicans playing a lot of in the recent election. I didn't fall for it then and I ain't gonna fall for it now.
(Sorry about all the typos. This iPhone is handy but no substitute for a real keyboard.)
There was a TV commercial for TGIF's and they had 2 beers on the table. Won't this suggest to all the teens to run out and get a brew?
When will these sub-moral police in our legislature let adults act like adults that can make thier own decisions.
I saw a piece on TeeVee yesterday about a very small town up around Deer Creek Damn that was wrestling with whether or not to give a beer license to the only small little convenience store for many miles around. They of course denied it.
One of the city councilman spoke out against it. He said something to the effect of: "with all my investigations of beer sales around the world I have never found where beer has helped any community in any way. In fact just the opposite is true - where ever you have beer sales you have a break down in society and a complete degradation of the communities that allow it!"
Ah Utah politicians, Ya just gotta love em with their pointy little empty heads just brimming over with arrogance and idiocy!
I almost fell over today when I saw a cook on KBYU this morning cooking with rum this morning. Then, he sat down to eat the food he prepared and had a glass of wine on the table! How did that get out to the masses??!?!??
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