Standard-Examiner: Our View: GOP Should Heed ‘Count My Vote’ - Updated

A Weber County Forum Tip O' the Hat to the Standard-Examiner for unequivocally standing up on this issue

“Count My Vote,” ...would do away with the caucus and allow all candidates to move to a primary. We believe a primary is the most inclusive system. The caucuses are a reflection of citizen populism, and that has been a positive. However, the caucus system also prevents many from having a voice in choosing their party’s candidate. And the low percentage of voters in recent elections may be a reflection of the state caucuses being dominated by political factions which are outside the mainstream. Utah should join most of the nation in implementing a primary voting system.

Standard-Examiner Editorial
Our View: GOP should heed ‘Count My Vote’
September 27, 2013

Minor modifications to the caucus system by the state Republican Party probably won’t be enough to sway voters to retain the current caucuses.

Standard-Examiner Editorial
Our View: GOP should heed ‘Count My Vote’
September 27, 2013

Top-notch editorial from the Standard-Examiner, leaping aboard the Count My Vote bandwagon, and joining with Weber County Forum in leading the charge amongst the Utah print and online media to replace Utah's bizarre and un-democratic caucus/convention nomination system with a sensible and citizen-inclusive procedure, whereby each Utah lumpencitizen can actively participate in the candidate nomination process with their own direct primary vote:

• Our View: GOP should heed ‘Count My Vote’ 

We'll be standing by, waiting for other Utah media opinion leaders to follow suit.

Special note to the Utah Eagle Forum and their radical ilk, who are now on the verge of becoming an endangered Utah species:

Your days of tilting Utah politics toward your narrow and extremist political agenda are numbered.

A Weber County Forum Tip O' the Hat to the Standard-Examiner for unequivocally standing up on this issue.

Update 9/28/13 9:00 a.m.:  Following the lead of the Standard-Examiner, the Deseret News steps forth with this blockbuster editorial, blowing the doors off the argument of the Eagle Forum crowd, i.e., that the current caucus/convention system "mitigates" the influence of "big money" in Utah politics:

• In our opinion: Time for caucus reform

Bully for the Deseret News.  We'll be standing by with abated breath, of course, to hear something similar from the Salt Lake Tribune. 

Salt Lake Tribune: Boneheaded Bill to Nullify Election Initiative Gets Off to Fast Start

Nice try, Senator Blamble.  But please be advised that compromise with the Eagle Forum and their evil ilk, ainna gonna work with the Utah Lumpencitizens this go-round.

Just so's you folks won't think your WCF blogmeister is "dogging it" as we move into the post-Valentine's day weekend, we'll devote some electronic ink to the the latest development in the Count My Vote Citizans' Initative story.  Seems that the clique of Utah Republican wackos who love their commanding control of the Utah caucus/convention political nomination "system" are "freaking out," as the Count My Vote Petition continues to gain an insurmountable mainstream momentum. Yep.  Its our old WCF pal Curt Bramble pushing his way in here,  with his ill-advised SB54, a crackpot "hybrid" bill which would, weirdly enough, "preserve"  the evil Utah causus/convention nomination system, whilst simultaneously, or perhaps alternatively, adopting the Count my Vote petion language "whole-hog." Read up folks: 

• Bill to nullify election initiative gets off to fast start 

Here's the "gist" of Bramble's schizoid bill, people:

Requirements: Bramble’s bill would force political parties to comply with four conditions (in order to make party caucuses "count"):

• The parties would have to provide a way for people who couldn’t attend their neighborhood caucuses to vote by absentee ballot.

• The parties would need to have a system in which delegates to political conventions, who are chosen at the caucuses, can cast absentee ballots or have backup delegates in case they can’t attend the convention.

• The top two vote-getters at conventions would have to square off in a primary if they don’t get 65 percent of the vote, up from the current level of 60 percent.

• Party primaries would have to be open to unaffiliated voters.

Failing that, Utah's political nomination "system" would fall back to a direct primary procedure, according to the exct language of the County My Vote initiative, which language is directly incorporated into Bramble's proposed "remedial" legislation.

Let's face it foks.  Bramble and the others are running scared..  Why accept this weak Bramble "compromise" legislation when we Utah Voters can have the whole enchilada, and toss out the bums from the Eagle Forum and Sutherland Insitute?

It's time to drive a stake through the heart of the Utah Caucus/Convention nomination "system" once and for all.

Please visit your local Count My Vote Petition signature location, if you haven't already done so already:

• WCF Saturday Special: Ogden Area Count My Vote Petition Site Map and Addresses

Nice try, Senator Blamble.  But please be advised that compromise with the evil Eagle Forum and their ilk, ainna gonna work with the Utah Lumpencitizens this go-round.

Just keep a-signin' those petitions, Utah folks!

John Swallow Political Corruption Update: Episode XXVI - Updated

It's a regular John Swallow Utah press free-for-all this morning, we do swear

Utah press free-for-all

Trudging ever-forward with our dogged coverage of the raging John Swallow political corruption topic, we present an array of new material gleaned this morning from KSL News, the Salt Lake Tribune, UtahPolicy.Com, Utah Political Capitol and Utah bloggers Daniel Burton, Bryan Schott, and Holly Richardson, as tomorrow's top-secret, closed GOP Utah legislative "impeachment" caucus fast approaches. Looks like dang near everyone in the Utah webosphere is getting into the act. It's a regular John Swallow press free-for-all this morning we do swear.

 
1) A newly-released "Utah Data Points"-conducted poll finds an overwhelming number of Utah voters want Attorney General John Swallow to resign or be impeached:

• A Clear Majority of Utah Voters Want the Legislature to Impeach Swallow

Interestingly, Utah Political Capitol's Eric Etherington also reports on what appear to be the same polling results with a slightly different twist, i.e., attributing the above-described polling not to Utah Data Points, but to BYU’s Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy:

• Full Results: BYU Poll Reveals John Swallow’s Approval Ratings & Impeachment Numbers

"BYU Polling? Seems that is a poll result linked with a not so subtle hint from the messenger," said one sage Gentle WCF Reader in a private conversation.

2) House Speaker Becky Lockhart says we may be heading toward a point where impeaching Swallow is inevitable:

• House speaker says need for Swallow impeachment near

The above-linked story includes this informative video:


3) Utah blogger Daniel Burton argues Swallow should return any campaign donations that appear to create a conflict of interest:

• To Swallow: Return Donations that Cause Conflicts of Interest

Kinda like "closing the barn door after the livestock has already escaped," don'tcha think?

4) Holly Richardson follows up on our own 6/15/13 WCF writeup and discusses Utah’s standard for impeachment,  what  the "magic words" "high crimes and misdemeanors" actually means, and pretty much makes mincemeat of  the hollow contention of Swallow's lawyers that grounds for Utah impeachment proceedings should be limited to convicted criminal acts:

• Opinion: What the standard is for impeachment

Who "the heck" cares anyway???

5) UPC blogger Bryan Schott delves into the question "What's up with Gayle Ruzicka and her Eagle Forum?"

• Why the Eagle Forum is Rallying Behind John Swallow

Additional sodden question: "Who the hell cares what Gayle Ruzicka "thinks" in the first place?"

(And yes, gentle readers.. We do know all about Ruzicka's "Ultra-Right-Wing "Phone Tree 'O Terror".)

That's it for now folks!

Update 6/18/13 10:23 a.m.:  Interesting and informative blog commentary concerning Eagle Forum's involvement in the John Swallow impeachment debate:

• Innocent until proven guilty?

Don't let the cat get your tongues, folks! 

2013 Utah Legislative Update: Utah House Says Tear Down the Zion Curtain

Added "fair and Balanced" bonus: The nitty-gritty core philosophy from the Sutherland Institute, one of Utah's more prominent and wacky Eagle Forum-style "think tanks"

I think it's weird and I'm not a drinker. But I grew up away, not here in Utah. I always thought that was a little strange.

Utah House Speaker Becky Lockhart, Deseret News
Bill would remove 'Zion curtain' in Utah restaurants that serve alcohol
February 27, 2013

It’s inappropriate for a personal religious belief to be the tool that violates the rights of others to conduct business in a fair, responsible manner. The Zion Curtains are a hindrance to common-sense business practices. They insult restaurant employees by making their jobs more difficult, and they insult customers by making a simple request for a drink with dinner look like something forbidden and shameful.

Standard-Examiner Editorial
Our View: Zion curtains are weird
March 5, 2013

Removing the “Zion curtain” might make good sense for a variety of practical, even commercial, reasons. But whiny and immature reasons like “it’s unfair,” “it makes us look backwards and silly,” or “Mormons can’t tell us what to do” aren’t in the arsenals of truly thinking people. Liquor laws, regulations and proscriptions exist for one very good reason: Liquor hasn’t made one human being a better person. Ever.

Sutherland Institute
Confused Mormons whine about ‘Zion curtain’
September 2, 2011

As a followup to Thursday's semi-encouraging Weber County Forum writeup, both the Standard and the Tribune report this morning that "the Utah House has advanced" (by a lop-sided 63-11 vote) Ogden Republican Rep. Ryan Wilcox's HB 228, which would "repeal a mandate for restaurants to mix and pour alcoholic drinks behind a barrier," otherwise affectionately derisively known in Utah the dreaded "Zion Curtain":

• Utah House advances bill to remove 'Zion Curtain'
• Utah House says tear down the Zion Curtain

The Standard chimes in this morning in with its own strong editorial too:

• Our View: Zion curtains are weird

Forbidden Zion Curtain Rituals

Although the Standard editorial headline pretty much says it all, and the full editorial neatly sums up most the common-sense arguments rationally supporting what ought to be the bill's slam-dunk passage, Rep. Wilcox's battle against the forces of backwards idiocy in the Utah legislature ain't over yet, as former Utah Senate President and Utah County's State Senator John Valentine (R) (and a surprising variety of his Senate cohorts) wait in the wings, poised to deliver a kill shot to Wilcox's bill once it arrives in halls of the Utah State Senate, Holy Senator-for Life Valentine's oft-unchallenged domain.

Assuming you've read and absorbed the Standard's above editorial, it's our great pleasure to deliver, in the interest of balanced coverage, the other side of the story.  In that connection, here's the nitty-gritty core argument and philosophy from the Sutherland Institute, another of the more prominent and wacky Eagle Forum-style "think tanks," i.e,, those ivory-tower entities which evidently encourage and propel the "religio-fascist 'thinking'" of some Utah legislators, such as Valentine:

• Confused Mormons whine about ‘Zion curtain’

 That's it for now, folks.  So who wants to throw in their own 2¢?  Better yet, having digested all the above arguments, pro and con, who wants to go out on a limb a predict the outcome for Rep. Wilcox's HB 228?

Paul Rolly: Eagle Forum's Leader's Spouse Speaks

The scene was described by those in attendance as "a bit eerie"

By Ray

If there is any doubt about how politics works in Utah and the need for real ethics reform, check out the Paul Rolly column in todays SLTrib. It features our Weber County ace legislator Snoozin' Allen Christensen and the ever popular Chris Buttars:

• Eagle Forum's leader's spouse speaks

Rolly: "The scene was described by those in attendance as a bit eerie."

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

Salt Lake Tribune: McEntee: Dead Last is Not Where Utah Education Funding Should Be

Time to wake up, Utah voters, and make public education funding your top issue this election year

Students, parents, teachers and administrators know what public ed needs. Ultra-conservative lawmakers under the sway of the Utah Eagle Forum, the Sutherland Institute and the American Legislative Exchange Council don’t, preferring to "bleed the beast" and grab as much power over the system as they can.

Salt Lake Tribune
McEntee: Dead last is not where Utah education funding should be
October 11, 2012

It’s those legislators, and the executive branch, who ought to stop bragging about how great Utah is for transplanted companies and use their power to divert money from, say, defending doomed federal land grabs into public schools.

Salt Lake Tribune
McEntee: Dead last is not where Utah education funding should be
October 11, 2012

Fine Peg McEntee column in this morning's Salt Lake Tribune, raising an issue which ought to be paramount as the 2012 Utah General Election approaches:

• McEntee: Dead last is not where Utah education funding should be

 "How long, every Utahn should ask, can public education continue the largely excellent work it does without the unalloyed backing of lawmakers, the governor’s office, business owners and taxpayers?" Ms. McEntee queries.

Time to wake up, Utah voters, wethinks. Time to send those wacko "ultra-conservative" Utah Eagle Forum, Sutherland Institute and ALEC-alegiant  looniebirds lawmakers back to the cheapskate private sector where they belong.

If you care about the kids in Utah, and the quality of their public education, folks, you'll make public education funding your top issue this election year, or so it seems to us.

That's our take; and we're stickin' to it.  Howbout you?

Added nitwit GOP bonus:

John Swallow Political Corruption Update Episode 20: Sutherland Institute Calls For Swallow's Resignation

This latest development evokes for us images of "rats" and "ships," if you know what we mean; and we think you do

Because politics involves money, ego and power, even the best of us gets bedeviled by it all.

Paul Mero, President, Sutherland Institute
Swallow should put his office first and step down
June 4, 2013

There are few disappointments in politics worse than perceived, let alone real, corruption within law enforcement. John Swallow is the chief law enforcement officer in Utah, and precisely because I believe that he strives to be a man of integrity, he should step down.

Paul Mero, President, Sutherland Institute
Swallow should put his office first and step down
June 4, 2013

There's more bad news for beleaguered Utah Attorney General John Swallow, as the uber-conservative, LDS-oriented Sutherland Institute public policy "think tank" joins the Salt Lake Tribune, the Provo Daily Herald and the Spectrum in St. George and calls for the embattled Utah Attorney General's early retirement. Here's the story from the Deseret News:

• Sutherland Institute calls for Utah A.G. John Swallow to resign

And here's the straight skinny from the Sutherland Instute website, featuring, as an added bonus, a short (4 minute) Paul Mero audio clip:

• Swallow should put his office first and step down

First time we've agreed with Mr. Mero since... well... never.

So who'll be the next ultra-conservative formerly joined-at-the hip Swallow supporter to urge Utah's Attorney General to turn in his "walking papers?"  The Eagle Forum's Gayle Ruzicka, perhaps, whom Swallow once praised thusly (and we are not making this up), “When she passes, she’ll be going straight to the Celestial Kingdom”?

We'll be standing by with abated breath awaiting the Eagle Forum's next utterance on this topic, of course.

This latest development evokes for us images of "rats" and "ships," if you know what we mean; and we think you do.

Update 6/5/13 10:36 a.m.:  Via Andrew McCullough: KSL radio, the Doug Wright show, is running a web poll right now as to whether John Swallow should resign. The "yes" votes are 90%. If you have an opinion to express, go do it now:

• The Doug Wright Show

Update 6/5/13 11:20 a.m.: The Trib's now all over this story, too:

• Sutherland Institute to Attorney General John Swallow: Resign

Interesting local note: "[House Leg. Dist. 9] Rep. Jeremy Peterson, R-Ogden, has said he believes Swallow should take a leave of absence pending the outcome of a federal and state investigation."

Standard-Examiner Editorial - Our View: Keep Education Compulsory - Updated

"Making education for children an elective is dumb public policy," says the Standard-Examiner.

As a followup to our min-rant of July 14, wherein we slammed certain "right wing Utah hippie fruitcakes," who've been recently floating the idea of  "making Utah schools voluntary rather than compulsory," the Standard-Examiner carries a strong editorial in this morning's hard-copy edition, giving this knuckle-headed idea a no-nonsense thumbs-down: 

• Our View: Keep education compulsory

Coincidentally and parenthetically, The Salt Lake Tribune also chimes in this morning with a similar take:

• Not optional

Of course in our view, the Standard and the Trib editorial boards get it pretty much exactly right.

As Ogden City Council candidate Stephen Thompson succinctly opined during last Wednesday night 's Meet the Candidates event, abandoning compulsory education would be a sure-fire way to turn the U.S.A. into a "third world country," a sentiment with which we also heartily agree.

As an added bonus, here's a rippingly-good Youtube video, provided by yet another sharp-eyed and alert WCF reader, who helpfully furnishes this introduction: "Best argument for compulsory education yet. Every student returning to school should watch this motivating video, along with every tax payer that is paying for that education. Thanks John Green. Not only a great author, but a philosopher and poet as well":


"Making education for children an elective is one of those ideas that is great fodder for a several-hour bull session with other political junkies. But it’s dumb public policy, and we trust that the vast majority of Utah Legislature are wise enough to deflate this balloon," says the Standard-Examiner.

We couldn't be more in agreement.

So what about it, O Gentle Readers?  Is Utah Senator Aaron Osmond simply "batshit crazy," or is he merely trying to start an intelligent discussion, as the Trib half-heartedly suggests?

Update 7/22/13 8:43 a.m.:  Another humdinger of a story from the Trib this morning. Senator Osmond, "like his predecessor Chris Buttars, he has become a tool for the Utah Eagle Forum and like-minded extremists," reports blue-chip columnist Paul Rolly:

• Rolly: Sen. Aaron Osmond has drunk the Kool-Aid

A Weber Count Forum Tip O' The Hat to the ever-savvy WCF Reader Lisa, who made the inititial call.

Standard-Examiner Editorial: OUR VIEW: Pols' Sexual Hang Ups

The Standard knocked this one clean outta the park, wethinks

If Utah state Rep. Bill Wright, R-Holden, and 44 of his House colleagues have a problem dealing with sex, can't they find counseling for their hang ups? We don't care what they do to themselves, but why do they have to inflict their dysfunctions on Utah teens in public schools?

Standard-Examiner Editorial
OUR VIEW: Pols' sexual hang ups
February 24, 2021

What Wright and his cronies don't get is that responsible parents talk about sexual issues with their children. These parents will continue to talk with their children even if Wright's inane HB363 becomes law. Public schools, through sex education classes, educate many students who would otherwise never learn the facts of life, or worse, learn it from bad influences in the streets.

Standard-Examiner Editorial
OUR VIEW: Pols' sexual hang ups
February 24, 2021

Top-flight editorial in the Standard-Examiner online edition this morning, adding a craftsman-like followup to Friday's Weber County Forum article:

• OUR VIEW: Pols' sexual hang ups

Remarkable, innit, that we're still having these "Victorian Era" conversations, twelve years into the 21st century?

The Standard knocked this one clean outta the park, wethinks.

Shame on Weber County's House Reps. Brad Dee, Brad Galvez, Jeremy Peterson, Dixon Pitcher and Ryan Wilcox, who cast "aye" votes on this idiotic bill, and thereby knuckled under to the wackos of the Eagle Forum and their ilk, who continue to feverishly do their level best to drag Utah's already backward culture even further rearward toward the prudish, head-in-the-sand "virtue" of their 19th century, self-delusional "glory days."

Utah Motto (semi-official): "Life Utard-avated"

John Swallow Political Corruption Update: Episode XXV

It's been a real weekend feeding frenzy, to say the very least

Feeding Frenzy

To kick off the Monday morning discussion we'll refer to a further flurry of John Swallow Scandal stories which popped up over the weekend.  It's been a real feeding frenzy, to say the very least. And suffice it to say that Utah Attorney General John Swallow probably did not spend a leisurely and care-free Father's Day relaxing at home yesterday:

1) Both the Tribune and Deseret News report that convicted felon Mark Sessions Jenson says he was the victim of a “shakedown” by Swallow and his predecessor Mark Shurtleff, a claim that's reportedly corroborated by two of Jenson’s former employees:

• Businessman in prison alleges ‘shakedown’ by Swallow, Shurtleff
• Stunning court filing claims 'shakedown' by Swallow, Shurtleff
• 2 others back up extortion claims against Swallow, Shurtleff

2) A review of campaign filings shows Swallow took more than $100,000 from donors who had run afoul of state or federal regulators.  Read up, folks, this Tom Harvey SL-Trib piece is quite well-researched and thorough:

• Swallow took in $105,000 from donors in trouble with regulators

3) House Speaker Becky Lockhart "says" she wants a “robust discussion” on Wednesday when House Republicans meet (privately in "closed" causus) to consider taking action against Swallow:

• Will House vote for impeachment proceedings against Swallow?

Rep. Brian King however wants Democrats and the general public to be included in Wednesday's discussion about what to do with Swallow... while (surprise of surprises) the Utah Eagle Forum rallies to Swallow’s defense:

• Utah Dems want to join GOP talks on Swallow impeachment
• BREAKING: Lawmaker Drafts Resolution To Begin Impeachment Proceedings Against Swallow

4) Utah Policy.Com's Bryan Schott opines that "It looks like Swallow plans to lay the blame on [who else?] the media for the growing impeachment talk":

• Swallow's Strategy: Blame the Media

5) "Our scandal-laden Attorney General has been accused of just about every type of corruption under the sun, from bribing others and taking bribes, to shaking down those he was prosecuting, to filing false campaign disclosures, to abuse while in office. But while everyone is talking about the various allegations, we’re not hearing much about the worst thing John Swallow has done. And this one isn’t a [mere] allegation—it’s fact," says Utah Political Capitol, in its tantalizing lead paragraph prefacing Sunday's blockbuster editorial:

• EDITORIAL: The Worst Thing John Swallow Has Done

A Weber County Forum Tip O' the Hat to Utah Policy.com and Utah Political Capitol for slaving away over the weekend and providing material contributions to this morning's WCF post-weekend John Swallow News Roundup.

That's it for now, O Gentle Ones, although we're getting a strong psychic vibe that there are certainly more interesting news stories soon to come [wink-wink].

Salt Lake Tribune: Count My Vote Leaders Strike Deal to End Ballot Drive - Updated

Extremely bad news for those of us who'd hoped to completely eliminate Utah's quirky caucus/convention system, although we'll "hold our editorial fire" until full details have been fully fleshed out.

The Spirit of Compromise

There's a stunning development in the Count My Vote citizens initiative matter, as the Salt Lake Tribune reports that CMV organizers have cut a "compromise" deal with State Senator Curt Bramble, which would preserve the current caucus/convention system, but also provide a parallel path to nomination for candidates who choose to bypass  the current caucus/convention nomination process. Here's the lede:

Organizers of the Count My Vote initiative struck a deal Friday with legislators to pull the plug on an initiative to overhaul Utah’s nominating system after being assured candidates would be given a new path to the primary ballot without going through party caucuses and conventions.

The group, which had spent more than $1 million gathering 100,000-plus signatures on a voter initiative aimed at instituting direct primaries to nominate candidates, notified supporters and volunteers Friday night in a conference call that it would abandon the effort once the compromise is signed into law.

Read the full story, folks:

• Count My Vote leaders strike deal to end ballot drive (Cached Copy pdf)

"The [CMV] group has planned a news conference at the Capitol for 11 a.m. Staurday [this morning] to formally announce details of the deal," the Trib's Robert Gehrke reports.

Needless to say, this is extremely bad news for those of us who'd hoped to completely eliminate Utah's quirky caucus/convention system, but we'll refrain from editorializing on this topic until full details of this plan have been fully fleshed out.

Keep your eyes on this space as the situation develops, O Gentle Ones... 

Update 3/1/14 11:41 a.m.:  Oops. Looks like the above-mentioned "deal" has fallen through, which obviously won't break the hearts of CMV petition signators who'd like to see the Eagle Forum-driven Utah caucus nomination system wiped off the face of the earth. 

Here's the suddenly revised version of the above-linked Trib story

• Deal to end Count My Vote initiative collapses

We'll whole-heartedly issue a "shabby journalism thumbs-down" to the Trib this morning, by the way, due to their extreme laziness in failing to post a new Gehrke story on this latest development, rather than amending the Trib's earlier-posted article.

Update 3/3/14 4:47 a.m.: Via the Trib:  "An on-again, off-again deal between organizers of the Count My Vote ballot initiative and state legislators is back on, after a false start, a cancelled news conference and a day of negotiations Saturday. In the end, the deal struck to overhaul Utah’s system of nominating candidates is much the same as it stood Friday night: Count My Vote will get a system where candidates for office could gather signatures to get on a primary ballot, rather than going through the parties’ caucuses and conventions":

• It’s back on: Legislators, Count My Vote renew deal on election reform

Salt Lake Tribune: Utah’s Out-of-touch Lawmakers

Perpetual motion... can't be explained with reason or logic

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Albert Einstein, Genius
Albert Einstein Quotes
1879-1955

Mainstream Utah voters vote the way that Sutherland tells them to. Then they protest. Then they re-elect them. Perpetual motion. Can't be explained with reason or logic.

Stink, Tribune Reader
Tribune Reader Comment
March 31, 2012

Eye-opening op-ed piece in this morning's Tribune, in which Maryann Martindale, Executive Director of the Alliance for a Better UTAH makes the case that "The Sutherland Institute’s new Legislative Scorecard demonstrates that Sutherland’s top-ranked legislators are the most out of touch with mainstream Utah voters, while those ranked lowest are the lawmakers most in sync with the majority":

• Utah’s out-of-touch lawmakers

The Alliance for a Better UTAH examined the voting records of Sutherland’s "top" and "bottom" legislators on issues that were of paramount concern to Utahns in the 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions.

Her organization's findings?

... [T]he data seem to suggest that legislators’ voting records were ranked against a scorecard prepared by the Eagle Forum, not the mainstream Utah voter.

For political wonks who closely follow the "antics" of our knuckleheaded Utah legislature, these comparisons come as no surprise, we guess.

Ms. Martindale's money quote:

If legislators are duly elected to do the people’s business, it appears that Sutherland’s bottom-ranked legislators are the ones deserving of the highest scores.

And the beat goes on...

Standard-Examiner: Utah 2012 Elections Start with Caucuses

Caucus Night Admonition: Take back your Utah political nomination process from the claque of highly organized political zealots who've been gaming the caucus system for as long as most of us can remember

To kickstart the Monday morning discussion, we'll offer a quick reminder of this week's neighborhood political party caucuses, which as far as we're concerned will be among the most important political events of the 2012 Election Season. In brief, Utah Democratic and Republican Party caucuses are scheduled for these dates:

March 13, 2012 - Weber County Democrats - 7:00 p.m.
March 15, 2012 - Weber County Republicans - 7:00 p.m.

The Standard-Examiner provides additional info here:

• Utah 2012 elections start with caucuses

Notably, "... Republicans require its caucus attendees to be registered Republicans to participate in their meetings, area Democrats have opened their caucus meetings to anyone," this morning's S-E story reports.

Here's more from the Salt Lake Tribune, in an article co-authored by Demo and GOP State party Chairs Jim Dabakis and Thomas Wright, respectively:

• Utah caucuses: Go forth

For information on precinct caucus locations and other particulars, Weber County lumpencitizens should check out these party websites:

Democrats:

• Weber County Democrats

Republicans:

• Weber County Republican Party
• Utah Republican Party

Libertarians and Others:

• 2012 Caucus/Convention Information

Still unsure of your voting precinct, even after visiting these sites? find your precinct via Weber County's snazzy Graphic Information System (GIS) -based precinct locator:

• Weber County Precinct locator

If all else fails, call the Weber County Clerk/Auditor's Office at 399-8400. Tell 'em Rudi sent ya's.

In our opening paragraph, we opined that these party caucuses "will be among the most important political events of the 2012 Election Season;" and we're not just "whistling Dixie" about that. Here's our reasoning folks:

These party precinct caucuses are the venues in which delegates are elected to the respective Democratic and Republican state party nominating conventions, where the candidates who will appear on 2012 General Election (and June Primary) ballots will ultimately be selected by these same delegates. Typically (especially in the GOP process), the March caucuses are often dominated by well-organized fringe groups like the "Eagle Forum" and other politically bat shit crazy non-mainstream folks. So in many cases, party nominating convention outcomes are already pre-determined upon conclusion of the March caucuses, mainly because more moderate although less "foamy-mouthed" Utah voters have failed to attend their party caucuses to thwart the selection of delegates who are politically "extremist."

If you've grown weary of sitting on your thumbs griping during the two years between General Elections about the poor quality of candidates who are nominated and ultimately elected in Utah, you'll take us up our our strong admonition, turn off the boob-tube on Tuesday and Thursday nights, attend your party caucuses, and take back your Utah political nomination process from the claque of highly organized political zealots who've been gaming the caucus system for as long as most of us can remember.

That's our take and we're stickin' with it.

And what say our gentle readers about all this?

Count My Vote Launches Initiative to Dump Utah's "Quaint" Caucus/Convention Nomination System - Updated

Democracy in Utah - What a concept

"We're confident people want a change." "We're the only state where a handful of people, just a handful of people, routinely choose" candidates.

Former Governor Mike Leavitt - Deseret News
Count My Vote launches initiative to change Utah's primary elections
September 18, 2013

"In the process, as it exists, every [election] year there are legislators who get elected by 30 or 40 people and there are literally thousands of people who don’t get a chance to have their voice heard."

Former Governor Mike Leavitt - Salt Lake Tribune
Count My Vote launches effort for direct Utah primaries
September 18, 2013

"The current path to get on the ballot through the caucus and convention system ensures that only the most narrow ideological selection of candidates is available to Utah voters. Those politicians have to run on an extremely limited ideological platform to appeal to the extremes."

Bryan Schott - UtahPolicy.Com
Bryan Schott's Political BS - Held Hostage by the Caucuses
August 29, 2013

On the heels of the rejection of serious Utah election nomination reform  by the Utah Republican Party apparatus, Both the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune report that "[o]rganizers of the Count My Vote movement filed paperwork with the lieutenant governor’s office Wednesday, officially launching their bid to replace Utah’s system of nominating candidates with a direct primary system":

• Count My Vote launches initiative to change Utah's primary elections
• Count My Vote launches effort for direct Utah primaries

Needless to say, right-wing wacko Utah power brokers, such as the Utah Eagle Forum, are absolutely apoplectic over this development:

"Why do you think these extreme elements want to hold on to the current system? Because it gives their issues a stronger voice. Moving to a primary to nominate candidates means more broad-based campaigning and appealing to a larger slice of the electorate," says UtahPolicy.Com's Bryan Schott:

• Bryan Schott's Political BS - Held Hostage by the Caucuses

We'll be standing by awaiting details of the upcoming petition drive of course, folks.  When the petitions are available for distribution and your eager signatures, our ever-gentle WCF Readers will certainly be the first to know.

Democracy in Utah.  What a concept.

Update 9/19/13 7:26 a.m.: As a bellwether indicator of just how stressed-out these right wing Utah wackos are, at the prospect of turning the political nomination process over to the broad-based Utah electorate, we find that no fewer than four "ubiquitous," cut/paste, anti-democracy, pro-caucus status quo "talking points" have already been "lodged" in our comments section below.

Update 9/20/13 9:36 a.m.:  Via Bob Bernick: "Regular ole citizens should love the CMV petition. For it gives them a chance to recapture the nominating process of their particular political parties. In a one-party dominate state like Utah, the more people who get the chance to vote on a GOP candidate the better. It is as simple as that":

• Bob Bernick's Notebook: Cut off the Head and the Body Will Die

News Flash: Majority Whip Greg Bell Tapped For Lt. Governor

This news will no doubt go over like a lead balloon with Utah's wingnut Eagle Forum
Gary Herbert to Utah's GOP wingnuts: Gayle Ruzicka... bite me!

By Monotreme

The Standard-Examiner is reporting that northern Utah GOP political moderate Greg Bell has been nominated to fill the State of Utah's #2 executive slot:

• Bell officially nominated to be lieutenant governor

Ed. note: We'll leave it to our readers to decipher the true meaning of all this.

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

Update 8/6/09 6:00 a.m. MT: The Standard-Examiner fleshes out this story with not one but two additional stories this morning; and Desert Dawg, from the Voice Of Deseret blog, provides another typically fact filled and robust writeup here.

Salt Lake Tribune Op-Ed: ‘Count My Vote’ Is The Elixer for Utah’s Narrow-Interest Politics

Keep your eyes on the ball, O Gentle Ones. Achieving full participatory democracy is a palpable possibility -- even in Utah -- as David Irvine so eloquently reminds us this morning

We all learn in high school civics classes that government of, by and for the people means that when a majority of the voters don’t like the policies of our elected officers, we can replace them via the ballot box. That rosy theory quickly disintegrates, courtesy of two anti-majoritarian subversions of the Lincolnian ideal.
The first is gerrymandered congressional and legislative districts that have made 85 percent of congressional and legislative districts (in Utah) non-competitive, single-party districts; where what happens in November is more of a coronation than election, because the dominant-party candidate will nearly always win (Rep. Jim Matheson is a unique exception).
Second is the caucus/convention system with which Utah is saddled, and which turns the real decisions about who will be elected over to fewer than 1 percent of our 2 million voters. The rest of Utah voters are then stuck with those decisions.

David Irvine Op-ed, Salt Lake Tribune
Oped: ‘Count My Vote’ is the elixer for Utah’s narrow-interest politics
October 19, 2013

Delegates, party insiders, incumbents, and those who fear majority rule are not about to turn over control of who gets elected to the electorate at large. Utahns will be treated to a year’s worth of stories about the sky falling. Opposition will be framed in terms of preserving grassroots democracy, or keeping politics from becoming a rich man’s game. But the most insidious argument of all is this: "Delegates spend the time to become better informed about the candidates than anyone else."
Run for the exits when you hear that one.
What it really means is, "We’re doing you a favor by substituting our judgment and political goals for yours; we know better than you, and you’re not to be trusted to vote wisely." And that, frankly, is a crock.

David Irvine Op-ed, Salt Lake Tribune
Oped: ‘Count My Vote’ is the elixer for Utah’s narrow-interest politics
October 19, 2013

Humdinger of an Guest Op-ed piece in Saturday's Tribune, by Salt Lake Attorney and former 4-term GOP Utah House Representative David Irvine:

• Oped: ‘Count My Vote’ is the elixer for Utah’s narrow-interest politics

Even in Utah?

As the democracy-minded folks from Count My Vote prepare to take their citizens initiative petition to the streets, and Utah lumpencitizens stand on the brink of prying the Utah political nomination process from extremist factions like the Eagle Forum, the Sutherland Institute and their fellow radical anti-democracy ilk, these opponents of direct primary democracy will be working like demons to subvert the fundamental principle of "one man, one vote," in their effort to hijack the public discussion and hoodwink the lumpencitizens with the usual self-serving, spam-style disinformation.

Keep your eyes on the ball, O Gentle Ones. Achieving full participatory democracy is a palpable possibility -- even in Utah -- as David Irvine so eloquently reminds us this morning.

Salt Lake Tribune: Mitt Romney Backs Primaries Over Caucuses, Conventions

The days of observing crackpot fringe groups hijack neighborhood caucuses and nominate nut-jobs to important Utah elective offices are numbered

Another GOP heavyweight with substantial Utah political influence leaps aboard the bandwagon, while the organizers of Count My Vote now actively circulate their citizens initiative petition, designed to dump Utah's quirky caucus/convention system and replace it with a more broad-based and democratic direct primary nomination process:

• Mitt Romney backs primaries over caucuses, conventions

There will be much weeping and gnashing of teeth in the Utah Eagle Forum and Sutherland Institute bunkers this morning, wethinks.

The days of observing crackpot fringe groups hijack neighborhood caucuses and nominate nut-jobs such as Chris Buttars, Carl Wimmer and Mike Lee (just to name a few) to important Utah elective offices are numbered, we'll confidently predict.

Standard-Examiner: City Incentives Sought for Kiesel Building

Big shot developer proposes $1.12 million taxpayer bailout

Troubling Standard-Examiner story brought to our attention by regular Weber County Forum contributor Smaatguy, who wryly remarks, "Good lard...the nonsense never ceases...". Here's the lede:

OGDEN — A development company wants to revitalize one of Ogden’s most historic downtown buildings, but before it does so, it wants the city to pony up more than a million dollars in incentives.
Salt Lake City-based Lotus Residential Partners wants to renovate the historic Kiesel Building in Ogden, located at 2411 Kiesel Ave.
The company plans to develop the building into an “’upscale urban-loft” style apartment complex, with approximately 50 separate apartments and 11,000 square feet of ground-level retail space. Lotus has developed several similar projects in the Salt Lake City area and this isn’t the first time the company is dealing in Ogden.

Read up folks:

• City incentives sought for Kiesel Building

This matter appeared on the Ogden City Council agenda on Tuesday, folks:

• City Council-RDA Special Session

Down in the SE comments section, the ever sharp-eyed and alert comments board regular Bob Becker "nails it," wethink:

Isn't Godfrey Towers on the corner one block east still largely unleased, along with much of the ground level retail space at the Junction ? And more along Washington Blvd a block in each direction? Does that not at least suggest Ogden in that neighborhood is already significantly overbuilt in re: retail space given current economuc conditions? And the investors want the city to subdize more? What's that old adage about the first thing to do when you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging? [...]
Paragraph five, in which Lotus Residential Partners explains why it wants a taxpayer funded bailout of its investment in the Kiesel property is a real doozy. Let me attempt a plain English translation: (a) "Inflated aquisition costs" means, I suspect, "rats, we paid too much for the building." (b) "depressed rental rates" seems to mean "Ooops! We just noticed there's a glut of rental units hereabouts and so we're not going to be able to charge the rents we thought we could." (c) "A gap in revenues and expenses" presumably means something like "we're going to lose money on this deal unless we can convince the Council to pony up a seven figure publuc subsidy." That about it? Or close?

We'll be keeping an eagle eye on this story as it develops, of course.

As an added bonus, we provide below the email and telephone contact links of our Ogden City government elected officials, for the convenience of those gentle readers who'd like to throw in their own 2¢, concerning the "wisdom" of this proposed developer bailout:

• Contact Ogden City Elected Officials

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

The Standard-Examiner Plays Catch-up

Our hometown newspaper's new motto: The news -- better late than never

The Standard-Examiner is johnny-on-the-spot this morning, with an Ace Reporter Schwebke article describing Adam Aircraft's stockholder warning letter, a story we broke here on Weber County Forum two days ago.

Rather than suffer the indignity of acknowledging lowly WCF as his source, however, Mr. Schwebke dredged up this Wichita Eagle article from January 22, 2008 instead.

Alas, the Std-Ex continues to pretend WCF doesn't even exist -- except on those rare occasions when our home town newspaper slings mud. Doesn't the Std-Ex realize that WCF truly wants to be its best buddy?

We don't mind being ignored, however. It's OK if we remain the Mr. Schwebke's secret behind the scenes scource. The important thing is that the Std-Ex has now informed its general readership that Adam Aircraft's financial circumstances are considerably more dire than the Std-Ex originally reported.

Adam Aircraft's next drop dead date? Tomorrow, the Std-Ex reports.

All kidding aside, our favorite Ace Reporter did some additional sleuthing on this story. We were relieved to learn, for instance, that the State of Utah has not yet advanced any money to the Adams Aircraft venture. And while we were not at all surprised that Emerald City Economic Development Department Head Honcho Dave Harmer remains entirely unflustered by the latest Adams Aircraft developments, we do wish Mr. Schwebke had found out what Mr. Harmer has been smoking, and told us how we can get our hands of some of that too.

All in all a well written story. We recommend that our readers give it a read.

Update 1/30/08 12:55 p.m. MT: Subsequent googling has revealed an article which seems to put a finger on Adam Aircraft's current problem. According to the online journal Jets' RU, the end of month deadline stems from the demands of senior lenders, who've demanded full payment of $30.5 million in loans by January 31. It seems obvious to us that Adam probably has some "wiggle room" time-wise, unless the debt instruments provide for immediate surrender of Adam's assets in the event of default. Time will tell, we suppose.

And to all of those who've accused Emerald City officials of failing to do due diligence with respect to this financially pressed aircraft manufacturer, the article supplies this interesting paragraph:

On Jan. 18, three days after Wolf sent a letter to company shareholders, Headline Industry News reported that Adam laid off more than a third of its workforce. Nine days earlier on Jan. 9, the company said it was focusing its resources on its VLJ, to obtain type certification. The company insisted it was on "target for certification of the A700 in 2008." The company never let on how dismal its financial situation was.

In all fairness, it's tough to properly vet a company when they're playing it so close to the vest.

Comments, anyone?

Top of Utah Courthouse News Roundup

Serial scammer Wayne Ogden "rolls over" and Utah A.G. John Swallow shows Alliance for a Better Utah "who's boss"

Just to provoke a little bit of online discussion, we'll highlight a couple of interesting news court-related news stories this morning, which dovetail nicely with topics previously discussed here at Weber County Forum, which items we'll now submit to our readers in no particular order of importance:

1) As a followup to our last article on the subject, and true to our earlier prediction, it seems that "serial scammer" Wayne Ogden will soon indeed be enjoying an extended meet-up with his soon-to-be new cellmate "Bubba," as the Salt Lake Tribune reports that Ogden City's second most-notorious home-boy con man (Val Southwick being the first) has voluntary "taken a fall" in his latest "ponzi" rip-off criminal case, entering a guilty plea to "two charges of wire and securities fraud, as part of a plea deal with the U.S. attorney’s office." In exchange for rolling over on the federal charges, Wayne will serve an agreed 10-year prison sentence, along with taking on another multi-million dollar restitution order, Trib reporter Tom Harvey reports:

• Serial scammer Wayne Ogden pleads guilty to new fraud charges

Sad outcome for this once-promising "former South Ogden Eagle Scout," wethinks.  Looking at the bright side, however, Ogden's forthcoming 10-year "hard-time" stretch will no doubt afford plenty of time for Wayne to brush up on his Boy Scout Oath, we suppose, a chore which Wayne has plainly neglected in recent years, que no?

"Honest" John Swallow

2) On the civil litigation front, the Standard-Examiner reports on the latest development concerning ethically-challenged Utah Attorney General John Swallow, whose high-priced defense attorneys have filed a routine "Motion for Dismissal" in Swallow's pending election fraud civil case:

• Utah AG says election complaint against him should be dismissed

For those readers who may be unfamiliar with this ubiquitous procedural device, which some legal scholars characterize as a "reaction of some litigators to make a motion to dismiss in virtually every case," amounting to "a bad habit".  Such such motions do generally serve three chief tactical purposes nevertheless:

1. Resolving a case on its own legal merits;
2. Demonstrating to the opposition that they're in for a long and expensive fight; and,
3. Running up everybody's legal bill, thereby promoting a full-employment economy for "Big Time" civil "litigation mills."

We'll take a wild guess at this point and guess that that the motivation behind Swallow's counsels' motion lies behind doors number 2 and 3, folks, but we''l have to wait to see what the District Court has to say about this, we suppose.

Needless to say, we'll be closely following future developments in both cases as they progress...

So who'd like to throw in their own 2¢?