Standard-Examiner: Our View: Alternative Health Care Plan Is No Plan

Yes. These part-time legislative Republicans have their own plush, taxpayer funded health insurance. Why should they give a damn about the health care needs of the rest of us, we ask? 

Humdinger of an editorial from the Standard-Examiner this morning, concerning the 2015 Utah Legislature's ongoing Medicaid expansion fiasco. Here's the lede, folks:

It wouldn’t be the Utah Legislature if we didn’t head into the final week of the legislative session without a big ol’ mess on our hands.
That is exactly what we have with the governor’s “Healthy Utah” plan versus the alternative “Utah Cares” plan.
Last week House lawmakers rejected Gov. Gary Herbert’s Medicaid expansion plan in order for GOP lawmakers to push their own proposal to help the state’s poor get health insurance. Friday the House voted 56 to 18 to send the alternative plan to the Senate for consideration. Earlier in the week the business and labor committee voted s 4-9 against the governor’s plan and 9-4 in favor of the alternative plan. We were disappointed Ogden Rep. Dixon Pitcher, who serves on the panel, was absent from that vote. We learned later, though, he was out of town attending his daughter’ wedding, so we’ll give him a pass. We were pleased that Huntsville Rep. Gage Froerer voted in favor of the Healthy Utah plan. Both representatives have told us and constituents they favored the governor’s plan.
The alternative plan actually covers fewer needy people and costs more over a two-year period than the governor’s Healthy Utah plan. The fact the House is even considering such an option makes no sense.

Read the full editorial, peeps:

• Our View: Alternative health care plan is no plan

Added bonus from yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune. Compare the features of the State Legislature's own "Cadillac" health care coverage, to the bare bones coverage to the stripped down "Utah Cares,"  which Republican Utah House legislators favor for the most economically disadvantaged Utah Lumpenfolke:

• Utah lawmakers get premium state health care while debating what to give the poor

Here's the "money quote":

The health care coverage that many low-income Utahns would get under the plan advanced by the House on Friday may be the insurance equivalent of a Yugo, sponsor Majority Leader Jim Dunnigan acknowledged. "But it still drives," the Taylorsville Republican said (with a completely sraight face), arguing for his HB446, Utah Cares, before a House committee.

Yes. Our part-time legislative Republicans have their own plush, taxpayer funded health insurance. Why should they give a damn about the health care needs of the rest of us, we ask?

Salt Lake Tribune: Dems Force Healthy Utah Vote in House, igniting Fight with GOP

Read the House vote tally "scoreboard," and weep, O Gentle Ones!

Following up on our recent stories concerning Governor Herbert's Healthy Utah Medicaid expansion plan, which is still suffering stubborn leadership opposition in the Utah House of Representatives, we'll shine the spotlight on yesterday's "gutsy" Democratic Party members'  parliamentary procedural maneuver, which forced a "mini" House show of hands, concerning the question of bringing Healthy Utah up for a full House floor debate and vote.

Here's the lede, peeps:

House Democrats made a bold but unsuccessful move Thursday night to revive Gov. Gary Herbert's "Healthy Utah" plan to expand Medicaid for the poor — and ignited a small war with infuriated House Republicans.
While the attempt failed, Democrats did manage to get a recorded vote that put all House members on the record as essentially a friend or foe of Healthy Utah. The attempt died 16-56.

Read the full story, folks:

• Dems force Healthy Utah vote in House, igniting fight with GOP

Sadly, yesterday's vote tally does not yet appear on the Utah Legislative website.  Thanks to Utah House Representative Mark Wheatley, however, we've grabbed from his twitter feed a photo of yesterday's House vote tally "scoreboard," which clearly shows (for the record)  how each individual Utah House Rep voted, on the narrow question of whether the Governor's Healthy Utah Plan should be brought to the House floor, for discussion, at least:

While House Speaker Hughes has been fighting like a badger, to prevent individual House members from "going on the record" regarding SB164, Senator Shiozawa's Healthy Utah bill, we invite all interested WCF readers to examine this photo, and determine your own House Representative's "true colors," with respect to this bill, which is arguably the most important legislation which has arisen in the Utah Legislature in years.

Read 'em and weep, Healthy Utah proponents. And be sure to write it down so you don't forget it WCF political wonks, inasmuch as reliable sources inform us that we have a new  Utah general election coming up in November 2016.

Added Bonus:  Via the Trib's Pat Bagley:

Don't let the cat get your tongues...

Panel Rejects Healthy Utah; Opts for Chintzy House Alternative, "Utah Cares" - Updated

"This issue is not over," SB 164 sponsor Sen. Brian Shiozawa, R-Cottonwood Heights, told reporters

There's bad news for advocates of Governor Herbert's Healthy Utah Medicaid expansion plan, as Northern Utah media outlets report that "a Utah House committee killed Healthy Utah while approving the more [chintzy] Medicaid plan dubbed Utah Cares":

• Panel rejects Healthy Utah; opts for House alternative, Utah Cares - Tribune
• Gov. Gary Herbert's Healthy Utah plan fails in House committee - Deseret News
• Healthy Utah Falls in House Committee -Utah Policy
• House Rejects Healthy Utah in Favor of Scaled Back House Plan - Utah Political capitol

Here's the list of House committee members, folks, along with the tally of their votes:

House Business and Labor Committee
3/4/2015 6:00:00 PM - 30 House Building
House Comm - Motion to Recommend Failed
SB0164S01 - Access to Health Care Amendments
Yeas - 4
Duckworth, S.
Froerer, G.
King, Brad
Webb, R. C.
Nays - 9
Anderegg, J.
Cox, J.
Dunnigan, J.
Knotwell, J.
Peterson, V.
Roberts, M.
Schultz, M.
Stanard, J.
Wilson, B.
Absent - 1
Pitcher, D.. 

A Weber County Tip of the Hat to Weber County. Leg 8 House Rep. Gage Froerer, for bucking House leadership pressure, and voting to do the right thing. A pox on Weber County Leg. 10 House Rep. Dixon Pitcher, who'd assured his constituents he'd support Healthy Utah, and then ducked out of the committee vote.

"This issue is not over," bill sponsor Sen. Brian Shiozawa, R-Cottonwood Heights, told reporters after the House Business and Labor Committee voted down by a 4-9 margin an attempt to send SB164, which has already passed the Senate, to the full House.

Time's runnin' short, O Gentle Ones. To Senator Shiozawa, we say "Godspeed." If there's any single bill that deserves a full House floor debate and vote... this is it, folks.

Update 3/5/15 10:55 a.m.:  For those citizen-activists among us here's an event which you might wanna attend:

Here are the full details, folks:

• LEAGUE MEMBERS ACTION ALERT!

Can't hurt; might help...

Breaking: Utah House Agrees To Hear Governor's Medicaid Plan

Time to put the fire to the these cold-hearted Republicans' feet

Hot off the press from the Standard-Examiner:

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s Republican controlled-House of Representatives has reversed course and decided to consider Gov. Gary Herbert’s Medicaid plan, despite comments from the Republican House speaker that the measure had no support and would not be heard.
A panel that assigns bills to House committees sent Herbert’s Medicaid proposal and a House alternative forward on Tuesday, setting up both proposals for a hearing this week.

Read up. Peeps:

• Utah House agrees to hear governor's Medicaid plan

Join the Rally to Support the Healthy Utah Plan, which would provide affordable health insurance to 126,000 Utahns. Contact your crackpot Rupublican House Legislators, folks:

• Utah House of Representatives contact links

Time to put the fire to the these cold-hearted Republicans' feet, wethinks.

Breaking: Medicaid Expansion Compromise Would Unite Healthy Utah With GOP Proposal - Updated

Sure! Let's do it! What could possibly go wrong with a compromise involving Republican lawmakers?" said everyone from Count My Vote

Lawmakers are floating a possible solution to Medicaid expansion that combines Healthy Utah and "frail Utah":

An idea is being floated that could resolve a tense standoff between Gov. Gary Herbert and Republican House leaders over how — or whether — to expand Medicaid, with the idea of uniting Herbert's Healthy Utah plan and another being crafted by Rep. Jim Dunnigan.
In concept, the state would adopt Herbert's Healthy Utah plan for two years, at which point it would sunset, unless legislators decide to extend the program.
If it is not extended, the fallback would be a proposal Dunnigan is finalizing that would tap new Medicaid money and an existing state program to give the very poorest Utahns some access to health care.

Read up, folks:

• Medicaid expansion compromise would unite Healthy Utah with GOP proposal - Tribune
• House leaders counter Healthy Utah, question need for 'ceremonial' hearing on Guv's plan - Deseret News.

Witty retort from Gentle Reader Digital Bath: "Sure! Let's do it! What could possibly go wrong with a compromise involving Republican lawmakers?" said everyone from Count My Vote."

Update 3/3/15 11:30 p.m.: Humdinger of a morning Utah Medicaid expansion-topical column from Standard-Examiner journeyman editorialist Don Porter, who says, "What would Jesus do? My guess: Help the poor":

• Utah House now run by zoo monkeys

Mr. Porter has a way with words, don'tcha think?

Breaking: Medicaid Expansion May Be Dead This Session - Updated

Tyannical House leader on Medicaid expansion: ‘We’re done’

Via Utah Policy, there's bad news for fans Utah health care reform this morning, folks, as these various Northern Utah media sources report that Governor Herbert's Health Utah medicaid expansion plan is likely dead in the water:

• The Utah Senate passes the Healthy Utah plan, but House leaders say the plan is dead [Utah Policy, Tribune, Deseret News].
• Sen. Majority Leader Ralph Okerlund says there's a good chance the 2015 session will end without lawmakers taking action on Medicaid expansion [Utah Policy].

Once again... The Trib's Pat Bagley "nails it":

Update 2/27/15 8:30 a.m.: Just like clockwork, House speaker Hughes is receiving serious blowback from our highly disappointed Governor Herbert, who's spent the past year and a half nailing down federal concessions to craft his Healthy Utah Plan:

• Gov. Herbert criticizes House decision on Medicaid plan
• Fight over Healthy Utah raises tension between Gov. Gary Herbert and House Speaker Greg Hughes
• Gov. Herbert increases pressure on House to hear Healthy Utah
• Amid disbelief, frustration, supporters of Healthy Utah try to revive plan

Tightwad Senator Allen Christensen's alternate "Frail Utah" alternative to Healthy Utah has been killed in the Senate, BTW:

• Alternative to Gov.’s Healthy Utah plan fails in Senate

Our take?  Healthy Utah ain't quite dead yet.

In that connection, here's an online petion for those WCF readers who'd like to roll up their sleeves. engage in active citizen action and throw in their own 2¢:

• Support Healthy Utah Petition

Comments, anyone?

Trib Op-Ed: The Pursuit of Knowledge Is Under Attack in Utah

Fantastic Salt Lake Trib op-ed this morning, worthy of a long and hard look. Here's the lede, Peeps:

I proudly plead guilty as charged.
As an associate professor at Utah's flagship institution of higher education, I teach evolution without the "Adam-and-Eve" theory. I teach reproductive physiology without the stork theory. I teach the laws of gravity without "intelligent-falling" theory. And I teach these concepts unabashedly, regardless of whether they conflict with students' sincerely held religious beliefs — the university's ill-advised Accommodation Policy notwithstanding.
That's the way it should be.
Unfortunately, that's not the way some people want.

Read up, folks:

• Op-ed: The pursuit of knowledge is under attack in Utah

A Weber County Forum "Tip of the Hat" to University of Utah Professor Gregory A. Clark, who's fighting like a badger to prevent the GOP-propelled "dumbing down" of  our Utah educational institutions.

2015 Utah Legistive Update: Sleazy Utah Legislators Advance Bills To Undo Count My Vote Compromise - Updated

Sodden Question: Will level-headed Utah GOP legislators like Curt Bramble have the political juice and integrity to defeat Senator Jenkins' sleazy, "back-stabbing" "end run"?

Just like clockwork folks, and just as we've foreshadowed, it appears that slimy Utah GOP lawmakers are on track to advance a pair of bills sponsored by tea party Senator Scott Jenkins, which seek to renege on last year's Count My Vote compromise, which established a dual track (Caucus-convention/Direct Primary political nomination system in Utah:

• Committee approves bills that grapple with prior year's election law - Deseret News,
• Bills take aim at Count My Vote compromise - Tribune

It'll definitely interesting to find out whether level-headed Utah GOP legislators like Curt Bramble, who engineered the original "deal," and hustled his compromise SB 54 through the State legislature in the spring of 2014, will have the political juice and integrity to defeat Senator Jenkins' sleazy, "back-stabbing" political "end run," no?

Update 2/10/15 9:35 a.m.:  Yesterday we posed the Sodden Question: "Will level-headed Utah GOP legislators like Curt Bramble have the political juice and integrity to defeat Senator Jenkins' sleazy, "back-stabbing" "end run"?"

This morning Utah Policy's Brian Schott provides this optimistic answer:

• Bramble Confident Count My Vote Compromise Will Survive

Here's the gist, folks:

"Every legislator that voted for SB 54 knew that if we passed it and the governor signed it, they would withdraw the initiative. They acted in good faith and it's important that we maintain the integrity of that," says Bramble. "If we don't then how will any group feel comfortable negotiating with this body."
And that's the key. Most of the lawmakers who voted for the compromise last time around are still on the hill.
"There's a critical mass up here that supported the compromise last year," Bramble points out.

Will Utah's far right "sacrifice its honor for power"?

We guess we'll soon find out.

Standard-Examiner: Prayer Reinstated to Open Weber County Commission

Looks like a job for the constitutionally-protected religious rabble-rousers, wethinks

Uh-oh!  Looks like starting this week, Weber County Commission sessions will start looking a whole helluva lot more like "bible-thumping" Mormon "firesides," and a whole lot less like serious official government functions, as our Weber County Commissioners honor the separation of  "church and state" "in the breach":

• Prayer reinstated to open Weber County Commission

Here's the bible passage, by the way, that Mormon GOP Commissioners Bell, Ebert and Gibson may have overlooked:

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

Soon, Weber County citizens will not be allowed to address our "holy" Weber County Commission without proper "temple recommends," we'll suppose, thanks to "Mo-mo Brothers" Bell, Ebert and Gibson.

Looks like a job for the constitutionally-protected religious rabble-rousers, wethinks:

• Prompted by U.S. Supreme Court Ruling, Florida Satanist Wants to Open Meeting With Prayer

We'll be closely following the inevitable future developments in re this story, of course. [wink]

We'll be extremely surprised if some Weber County Jokester fails to pull this off, LOL!

Poll: Support for Caucus System is Below 20%

We'll be standing by with great interest during the upcoming 2015 legislation session, as extremist and ham-fisted Utah GOP legislators set the stage to thwart the"will of the people."

Concerning Utah's new dual-track political nominations system, we're delighted to present more startling Dan Jones polling data made available this morning, via UtahPolicy.Com,  Here's the lede, peeps:

The Utah State Republican Party has sued state government over a new law that provides a dual-track process for candidates to get on a party’s primary ballot, yet a new poll shows that only 19 percent of rank-and-file GOP voters want to keep the old caucus/convention system, favored by Republican insiders.
The new Dan Jones & Associates survey was discussed Friday morning at the 6th annual pre-legislative conference sponsored by the Exoro consulting group and Zions Bank.
Utah State University also participated in the new survey, which next week will be detailed in a number of UtahPolicy stories. So stay tuned.

Check out this morning's eye-opening story, O Gentle Ones:

• Poll: Support for Caucus System is Below 20%

That's right, folks!  Even rank and file Utah Republicans do not support the Utah GOP's SB54 Bait&Switch.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it, reactionary Utah GOP crackpots.  We do believe the Salt Lake Tribune capably called it, with last week's strong editorial:

• Editorial: Effort to undo SB54 shows why it’s needed

We'll be standing by with great interest during the upcoming 2015 legislation session, as extremist and ham-fisted Utah legislators, such as Weber County's own Senator Scott Jenkins set the stage to thwart  the "will of the people."

Breaking: Utah Republican Party Poll Shows Public Support for Delaying SB 54 - Updated

Republican "Bait-and-Switch"?  "It’s starting to feel that way."

Hot off the press this morning, we learn from Utah Policy.com and the Salt Lake Tribune, that the Utah Republican Party, eager to reneg on the on the 2014 SB54 legislative compromise which modified the process for Utah election nominations, and established a dual-track system for picking Utah political party election nominees, is working like a demon to toss a monkey wrench into the modified process which Utah's Republican Party-dominated state legislature enacted just last spring.  On the heels of December's UtahPolicy.com poll, which revealed that a majority of Utahns support 'Count My Vote,' and oppose GOP effort to Stop SB 54, it seems that (surprise of surprises,) the Utah GOP has now come up with a "contrarian" poll of its own.

According to the [Utah GOP's most recent] survey, when asked if political parties should be given more time to comply with the law, 56% of Utahns support that idea as do 56% of Utah Republicans.
The survey also shows Utahns support that lawsuit against SB 54, insofar as allowing the courts to sort out any constitutional questions surrounding the legislation. 59% of Utahns and 67% of Republicans say they support letting the courts have their say about the law before it goes into effect.

Read up, folks:

• Utah Republican Party Poll Shows Public Support for Delaying SB 54
• GOP wages rare Sunday fight against law passed by its own members

Within each the above stories we find references to the the ongoing efforts of Weber County's own Senator Scott Jenkins, who'll be fighting like a badger during the upcoming 2015 legislative session, to retroactively "gut" or "kill" the SB54 compromise legislation.  And in that connection, we'll helpfully link yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune story, which fleshes out Senator Jenkins's obstructive efforts planned to date:

• Senator proposes bill to close Utah primaries

Here's a telling quote which we've plucked from the SLTrib story, folks, which neatly summarizes the Utah GOP's efforts in re this issue, wethink:

Does [Rich McKeown, executive co-chairman of Count My Vote, think Republican leaders are attempting a bait-and-switch to get Count My Vote to withdraw its efforts by passing SB54, with leaders now pushing to revoke that law? "It’s starting to feel that way," McKeown said.

The Utah GOP: You can trust 'em just about as far as you can throw 'em.

Don't let the cat get your tongues, O Gentle Readers.

Update 1/6/15 10:15 a.m.:  Utah Political Capitol provides further analysis and discussion of Senator Jenkins's above-referenced bill:

• Flagged Bill: SB 43 – Closed Primary Amendments – Sen. Scott Jenkins

Exclusive Poll: Majority of Utahns Support 'Count My Vote,' Oppose GOP Effort to Stop SB 54

In typical GOP fashion, the Utah GOP is now charting the course to construct its own "alternate reality"

Click to Enlarge Image

According to the latest Dan Jone poll, "Nearly 2/3 of Utahns support giving candidates a path to the primary ballot that is outside of the current caucus and convention system. 
A new statewide UtahPolicy.com survey conducted by Dan Jones and Associates poll finds 62% support the "Count My Vote" effort to allow candidates to get on Utah's primary ballot through a petition rather than navigating the current caucus and convention system. Less than a third say they oppose "Count My Vote," UtahPolicy.Com reports this morning:

• Exclusive Poll: Majority of Utahns Support 'Count My Vote,' Oppose GOP Effort to Stop SB 54

Utah GOP Chairman James Evans says he's not surprised by the numbers. "This poll is about the 'high-level' view of Count My Vote," he said. "These answers are not unexpected. Utahns support the idea of Count My Vote."

"Evans says they [the Utah GOP} will be in the field with their own polling beginning next week."

In typical GOP fashion, the Utah GOP is now charting the course to construct its own "alternate reality," it would seem:

• Why the Republican Belief in So Many False Narratives?

"As for the numbers showing Utahns oppose the GOP lawsuit against SB 54, executive co-chair of Count My Vote, Rich McKeown said "It's been remarkable to watch a small group of people fight to preserve a system the majority clearly does not want. It's amazing to see the extent they will go to in order to preserve the status quo."

Don't let the cat get your tongues, O Gentle Readers.

Salt Lake Tribune: Governor Herbert Lauds GOP For Suing Him - Updated

A callous disregard for the peoples' desire to improve the nominating process

By Blackrulon

I see via a story in the Salt Lake Tribune that Governor Herbert took the unusual step Saturday to "support the Utah Republican Party for suing him this week — as part of its effort to overturn the new law that changes how parties may select their nominees":

• Governor Herbert lauds GOP for suing him

If the Governor was concerned about the law he could have vetoed the bill or allowed it to become law without his approval. It appears that he jumped on the bandwagon to approve the bill but now has received pressure to disapprove it.

Even for Utah this is a callous disregard for the peoples' desire to improve the nominating process. It seems he still fears a challenge from Becky Lockhart for governor. He is simply jumping to the far right Tea Party Wing to secure his renomination and reelection. Governor

Herbert was for SB54 before he was against it.

Update 12/10/14 10:22 a.m.: Uh-oh.  Looks like Governor Herbert has flip-flopped again:

• Gov clarifies, says Count My Vote reforms are constitutional

Most excellent rimshot from Trib reader Skier Jim: "Who does Herbie think he is? Mitt Romney?"

Salt Lake Tribune: Rolly: GOP Suit Against Count My Vote Could Backfire

We're inclined to believe that Count My Vote petition negotiators capably "did their homework"

Fascinating Paul Rolly story in this morning's Salt Lake Tribune, suggesting that as the "chips fall" in the Utah GOP's anti-SB54 lawsuit, Utah GOP party boss "James Evans, with all his 'good' intentions, could be the best friend the Count My Vote advocates could have":

• Rolly: GOP suit against Count My Vote could backfire

"...several legal experts have told me that if any part of the bill is found to infringe on a party’s constitutional rights, its the part that requires a political party to meet certain criteria in order to have its nominee on the general election ballot under that party’s official banner," Mr. Rolley reports.

Mr. Rolley sets forth those SB54 provisions which are most likely to to be vulnerable to constitutional challenge:

In order to qualify to have their nominee from the caucus/convention system appear as their designated candidate on the general election ballot, however, they must agree to certain rules set down by the law. They must change their threshold for a candidate winning the nomination at convention from 60 percent to 65 percent of the delegate vote. They also must have alternate delegates who can sub for delegates unable to attend the convention. And, they must allow unaffiliated voters to vote in their primary elections.

Mr. Rolley also identifies the statutory provisions most likely to be left intact:

Legal experts tell me that the courts have been consistent in upholding a state’s right to set the criteria for candidates getting on the ballot. More than 40 states already have some form of a direct primary. But political parties do have rights to set their own policies and rules. So if there is a chance of anything being overturned, it would be the rules imposed on the parties under SB54.
If that is struck down, however, the Count My Vote part of the bill — the signature-gathering process for direct access to the primary ballot — would still be intact because when the Legislature passed the bill, it included a severability clause. That means that if one part of the bill is declared invalid, it does not invalidate the rest of the bill.

Taking the foregoing into account, we're inclined to believe that in negotiating the SB54 compromise bill with the State Legislature, Count My Vote petition advocates capably "did their homework."

We'll be sitting on the edges of our seats,  eagerly waiting to find out whether a strong dose of "the law of unintended consequences" is in the cards for the "petulant" Utah party bosses," even in the event that the above-cited portion of SB54 is eventually struck down by the federal court, of course.

Howbout you, O Gentle WCF Readers?

Standard-Examiner Op-Ed: Weber Commission Needs to Stop Being Disrespectful - Updated

More diplomacy and less drama, Mssrs. Bell and Gibson, please

We're less than delighted to report that there's more unfortunate "bad press" for our Weber County Commissioners Matthew Bell and Kerry Gibson this week, with yesterday's publication, in the Standard-Examiner online edition, of this relatively scathing guest commentary, reeling off a whole laundry list of recent public "faux Pas" committed by these otherwise fine "gentlemen."

• Weber Commission needs to stop being disrespectful

Our hope is that, as a consequence of this latest instance of "bad ink," this all ends up being what's called a "teachable moment" for these two incumbent Weber County Commissioners, yes?

More diplomacy and less drama, Mssrs. Bell and Gibson, please. Keep in mind the tried and true Barry Goldwater axiom: "To disagree, one doesn't have to be disagreeable."

A word to the wise ought to be sufficient, wethink.

Just another helpful hint from your old pal Rudi, (who's fillin' in for Miss Manners this week)!

Update 12/5/14 6:00 a.m.: The Standard follows up yesterday's guest op-ed with a hard-copy edition house editorial of its own. "It was an unseemly display by the commission, which has unfortunately been mired in political spats. Commission Chairman Gibson should make an effort to lead the body in a more dignified manner," the SE editorial board intones:

• Our View: Commission spat unseemly

Don't let the cat get your tongues, O Gentle Ones.

Wednesday Morning GOP SB54 Bait&Switch Mini News Roundup - Updated

Republican Party "civil war," anyone?

On the heels of our recent reporting concerning the ongoing GOP SB54 Bait&Switch fiasco, we'll shamelessly (but cheerfully) incorporate the following "mini news roundup," obtained via the ever politically informative UtahPolicy.Com.  Now that the petulant Utah GOP party bosses have filed their lawsuit, it seems that all hell has broken loose amongst and between the competing Utah GOP factions:

Utah's Democrats switch their position on the "Count My Vote" compromise while some GOP lawmakers support the Republican lawsuit against the law:

• SB54 Causing a Schism Among Republicans While Democrats Support the Compromise
• Utah GOP fractured over Count My Vote lawsuit
• Some GOP legislators backing party lawsuit

LaVarr Webb pens an open letter to Republicans who back the lawsuit against the CMV compromise law:

• An Open Letter to Opponents of SB 54

We'll continue to keep you informed, of course, as the developing political firestorm continues to engulf Utah GOP Party Chairman (and "payday" loan shark)  James Evans, et al.

Republican Party "civil war," anyone?

Update 12/2/14 1:00 p.m.: The Standard-Examiner also chimes in this morning on this topic with it's own strong editorial: "Hopefully a federal lawsuit filed Monday by the Utah Republican Party will fall flat on its face, efficiently dismissed by a judge," sez the SE editorial board:

• Our View: A petulant GOP lawsuit, 

Yep, folks, is a newspaper firing on all cylinders, wethink.

Utah GOP Sues State to Invalidate Count My Vote Changes

Tyrants? No... These GOP "party elites" are merely resorting to the courts for your own good

As a followup to our earlier reporting on the subject, we'll cast the spotlight on a couple of morning stories from the Deseret  News and the Tribune, which confirm that, true to their threat, The Utah Republican party has indeed filed its lawsuit, implementing the GOP strategy which we'll henceforth lovingly refer to as the "SB54 GOP bait&switch":

The Utah Republican Party has filed a lawsuit against the state, alleging that changes enacted during the past legislative session to the way nominees are chosen for office violate the party's constitutional rights.
"[The change] violates the party's constitutional right to free association and infringes on its rights to free speech and due process, its ability to control its own brand and message, and its authority over its endorsement, name, and emblems," argues a lawsuit filed in federal court by the GOP over the weekend.
The party is asking a federal judge to strike down SB54, which enacted the changes.

Check out the full stories here, peeps:

• Utah GOP sues state over changes to candidate selection process
• Utah GOP sues state to invalidate Count My Vote changes

For the detail-oriented among us, you can check out the Utah GOP's 44-page federal complaint via this link:

• UTGOP Lawsuit over Count My Vote

Here are the plaintiff's "causes of action" in a nutshell, folks, laid out count-by-count:

1. For Declaratory Relief Establishing The Unconstitutionality of SB54 For Violating The Party’s Rights
2. For Injunctive Relief To Prevent The Deprivation Of Plaintiff’s Constitutional Rights
3. Trademark Infringement

That's right, folks, our GOP "friends" are even claiming that the State Legislature has misappropriated their "party emblem":

No wonder the GOP party bosses are so "royally pissed off"

And lest you might leap to the conclusion that Chairman Evans and his ilk are behaving like "anti-democratic tyrants," remember; these GOP "party elites" are merely resorting to the courts for your own good. By denying you the right to directly participate in the Utah political nominations process, and by clinging to their precious "insider-driven" caucus/convention system, they're merely attempting to protect you lumpen Utah "sheeple" from yourselves, after all, right?

We'll keep you all posted as this case develops, and will keep our eyes peeled for the State of Utah's responsive pleading, once it pops up on the "interwebs," of course.

Salt Lake Tribune: GOP to Sue Over Deal That Lets Candidates Skip Utah’s Caucus System - Updated

No doubt about it; these latest Utah GOP power-grabbing maneuvers will be a true marvel to behold

Upon the publication of yesterday's Weber County Forum story, reporting on rumors about Utah GOP "legislative and legal plans to gut the law and obstruct intent of the compromise Count My Vote law, passed overwhelmingly in the 2014 Legislative Session, empowering voters by giving candidates an alternative path to the primary election ballot," little did we realize that we'd be following up on new developments a mere 24 hours later. The staff of the Tribune have been working like dogs on this story however.  So here's the latest, via the Trib's Robert Gehrke. Now that the November elections are in the past tense, it appears that the Utah GOP party bosses are pulling out all the stops and moving full speed ahead.Here's Mr. Gehrke's introductory lede to this morning's eye-popping Trib story, for starters:

The Utah Republican Party plans to file a lawsuit Wednesday, asking a judge to declare unconstitutional a deal to let candidates compete for the party nomination while circumventing the party's convention process.
Meantime, a state senator and opponent of the deal, Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, said he will once again sponsor legislation that would essentially obliterate the agreement, allowing parties to make their own rules when it comes to nominating candidates.

Here's the full story, Utah Sheeple:

• GOP to sue over deal that lets candidates skip Utah’s caucus system

Here's the nitty-gritty:

The GOP plans to argue in its lawsuit that attempts by the state to dictate the organization’s nominating process violates its First Amendment right to free association.
"My position has always been that the government doesn't have the authority to dictate how we select our nominees, period," said Utah Republican Party Chairman James Evans. "A court will clearly have to define those boundaries and, absent that, the only boundary we have is what was passed in the law, and that is simply not constitutionally appropriate."
The lawsuit has been a long time coming and is a strategy that has twice been endorsed by the party's governing body and once received a vote of support from delegates. Evans said he plans to file the suit on behalf of the party on Wednesday.
It will then fall to the attorney general and the lieutenant governor to defend the law, SB54, a compromise with the Count My Vote group that received broad support during the legislative session.

And here's the addition kicker:

[Weber County's own Senator Scott] Jenkins, meantime, said Monday he will once again introduce a proposed amendment to the Utah Constitution which would plainly state that parties can pick their nominees any way they want, without interference from the state.
It would, in essence, wipe out the agreement struck in SB54.
"That dings Count My Vote pretty hard," he said.
Jenkins said he also plans to sponsor a bill that allows parties to decide who is allowed on their party primary ballot, even if the state is paying for the primaries.

Mr Gehreke further reports that "'Kirk Jowers, one of the leaders of the Count My Vote movement, said he has met with representatives from both [the Governor's and Attorney General's?] state offices and they have assured him they would defend the law 'with vigor.' 'We anticipate the state defending its law forcefully,' Jowers, an attorney, said. 'I think there really is zero legal question on the heart and soul of SB54.'"

We dunno, folks. Somehow Mr. Jowers's reassurances sound a mite like "whistling in the dark," No? The underlying fact that the Utah Governor and Attorney General are Republicans in this circumstance doesn't exactly inspire confidence, does it?

We'll keep you all posted on what we anticipate to be fast-breaking developments, of course.

No doubt about it; these latest Utah GOP power-grabbing maneuvers will be a true marvel to behold.

Update 11/26/14 9:20 a.m.: The Tribune chimes in this morning with a strong editorial, urging that SB54 should stand. "It was a reasonable compromise that should, at the very least, get a full election cycle tryout," says the Trib editorial board:

• Editorial: The party strikes back against SB54

Salt Lake Tribune Op-ed: Insiders Working to Kill ‘Count My Vote’ Reforms

Stripped of their former stranglehold over the Utah political nomination process, it seems that some GOP political insiders will stop at nothing to put themselves back in the drivers seat

Uh-oh folks. Seems that foes of Utah's March 2014 "Count My Vote" legislative compromise, which "statutorily established a sensible two-track system for Utah political nominations." remain hard at work, behind the scenes, attempting to once again re-establish plutocratic Republican Party "insider control" of the Utah political nomination process, according to one informative Saturday (11/22/14) Salt Lake Tribune op-ed.  Here's contributing author Kirk Jowers's introductory lede:

Senate Bill 54, the compromise Count My Vote law, passed overwhelmingly in the 2014 Legislative Session, empowering voters by giving candidates an alternative path to the primary election ballot. Now, I hear rumblings about legislative and legal plans to gut the law and obstruct its intent.

Check out Mr. Jowers's eye-opening full writeup, Weber County Forum political wonks, which describes possible new upcoming legislation, a possible lawsuit, along with a useful historical summary of "how we got here":

• Op-ed: Insiders working to kill ‘Count My Vote’ reforms

"If such an act of bad faith is attempted, it would trigger public uproar, risk a gubernatorial veto and prompt a major referendum campaign challenge," Mr. Jowers opines, quite rightly..

Back in April, we posted this:

And in a move which we'll characterize as a demonstration of exceedingly bad sportsmanship, it seems that the GOP crackpot faction ram-rodded through a convention resolution which would, if successful, reverse the landmark "Count My Vote" legislative compromise achieved during the 2014 Utah legislative session, which broke the GOP "extremist" nominations stranglehold, and statutorily established a sensible two-track system for Utah political nominations:

• Utah GOP pushes back against 'Count My Vote' compromise law

In the wake of the passage of this resolution, state GOP leadership remains "cagey" about precisely how this revisionary tactic would be implemented.  Nevertheless, we're sure that everybody will agree that the development of this story will be interesting to watch.

Consider yourselves "updated," folks. Stripped of their former stranglehold over the Utah political nomination process, it seems that some GOP political insiders will stop at nothing to put themselves back in the drivers seat.

This behavior is "exceedingly unsportmanlike," to say the very least.

We'll continue to carefully monitor this sleazy situation as it continues to develop, of course.

Exclusive Poll: Utah's Liquor Laws Hurt Tourism and Economic Development

Peculiar" state we live in, innit?

Click to Enlarge Image

To kick off our Monday morning WCF discussion, we'll shine the spotlight on a last week's UtahPolicy.com poll, which revealed, among other things, that "[a] solid majority of Utahns say the state's liquor laws hurt economic development and tourism in the state. Our UtahPolicy.com poll finds 69% of Utahns feel the state's restrictive liquor laws put a damper on economic development and tourism":

• Exclusive Poll: Do Utah's Liquor Laws Hurt Tourism and Economic Development?

Just like clockwork. the "telling" polling results concerning this Utah "hot button" issue provoked the Salt Lake Tribune to then unleash a flurry of followup stories and editorial commentary:

• Utahns want to tear down Zion Curtain, poll says
• Poll: Utah’s quirky liquor laws seen as hurting tourism, business
• Editorial: Utahns want a shot of logic with their alcohol laws

Governor Herbert ain't buying this new polling evidence however. Herbert "thinks Utah's liquor laws are effective and not hampering the economy, as some have argued." Herbert no doubt doesn't "give a fig" what Utah Lumpencitizens "think," we suppose :

• Guv says Utah’s alcohol laws do no harm

Nevertheless, for the benefit of any WCF readers who may be concerned about our Zion's Zions's Curtain Law"silly", we invite you to check out the below-linked Salt Lake Tribune video story: featuring Utah House Representative Craig Powell, the GOP state legislator who plans to again run (for the third time) a "Zion Curtain repeal bill" during the 2015 Utah legislative session, as he and Melva Sine, ot the Utah Restaurant Association, now grapple with and "flesh out" the competing Zion's Curtain issue(s):

• Trib Talk: Tearing Down the Zion Curtain

Alas, this 30-minute question and answer-style video presentation did not include input from the single Utah liquor law "stakeholder" whom, in the final analysis, will, in truth be "calling the shots." 

Keep your eyes on this space, O Gentle Readers, as we follow Representative Powell's courageous attempt to move his "remedial" bill forward through the 2015 "Churchislature."

"Peculiar" state we live in, innit?

Update 11/17/14 5:00 p.m.: Even the Standard Examiner editorial board is getting in on the act:

• Our View: Lead liquor reform, governor