Kudos for Bishop
There is not usually much good to say about Utah’s Republicans but when they do cool things they should be acknowledged. Props to the congressman for personally calling a concerned constituent…thats cool.
Too bad Rob Bishop’s policy decisions aren’t as good as his ability to communicate to his blogging constituents! Vote Steve Olsen!!! He wrote the book on how Democrats reflect Utah’s values better than Republicans.
UPDATE! 09/15/2006
Dan and Davis have both asked in the comments of this post for some specifics of why I think Olsen’s policy decisions in Congress will be better for Utahns than what Bishop has to offer
I described my main contention with the way Bishop represents Utah in this post.
It all basically boils down to this clip from that post:
Rep. Rob Bishop (R), the guy my district keeps sending to Washington, says people in the second congressional district should vote against Jim Matheson even though he often votes with conservatives when it is in the interests of his district.
“He’s still a Democrat … and wouldn’t it be better to have someone (in the Utah) delegation who votes with the Republicans 90 percent of the time?” –Rob Bishop
It seems Bishop thinks it is more important to tow the party line than to represent the best interests of constituents.
End Quote
I think such devotion to either party is bad for all of us. If Bishop plans on voting with the Republicans 90% of the time when what they support is only good for Utah 45-55% of the time we are worse off than if we had voted for an independently minded Democrat who HAS to vote in the interest of his constituents before the interests of his party because his hold on political office depends on it.
Davis’ question about Olsen’s lack of “insider” credentials calls for another full post which I will work on if I find myself bored sometime this weekend. I’ll give you a preview: Insider political experience on a resume doesn’t impress me. I want America to become a land of freedom, success, and limited government and I think most conservatives say that is what they want too. If that is to happen we will need representatives who don’t have a stake in maintaining the “complex congressional system” which has been made even more complex and increasingly corrupt by the unreliable men and women currently controlling congress. You know…the people with the (R) behind their names.
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So what makes Olsen a better candidate?
Comment by Daniel — September 15, 2006 @ 8:06 am
Come find out for yourself Daniel. I’m having a meet and great with Steve Olsen, Richard Watson, and myself on September 20, 2006 at 6:00pm.
972 Bountiful Hills Drive
Bountiful, Utah
84010
See you there.
Rob Miller 801-706-6203
Comment by Rob Miller — September 15, 2006 @ 9:59 am
P.S. Pizza and rootbeer will be provided
Comment by Rob Miller — September 15, 2006 @ 10:00 am
Jeremy,
I would be interested in hearing which policy decisions of Rob Bishop’s you disagree with, and what Steve Olsen plans to do that would be different, and how he would achieve those objectives. Also, maybe you can help me with something. On Steve Olsen’s website, I can’t find a listing of any political leadership experience. I’m wondering what qualifications he has for being able to effectively represent Utah’s interests in a complex congressional system, if he has no political experience whatsoever. Hopefully I’m just missing the list somewhere.
Comment by Davis Anderson — September 15, 2006 @ 1:56 pm
Steve is currently a Principal Engineer with Autoliv Inc., and has had a varied career in engineering, including work as a consultant in problem solving techniques which is exactly what we need in Washington.
The Invisable Man is a good guy, but he is also a rubber stamp and is more a follower than a leader in Washington.
Steve is more than qualified Davis. I can set up a meeting so you can determine for yourself if Steve is qualified.
Give me a call, 801-706-6203.
Comment by Rob Miller — September 24, 2006 @ 12:39 pm
Rob,
I would be happy to speak with you sometime about this. I would be interested though, if you could elaborate here in the blog why you think Bishop is “invisible” and why you percieve him as a follower instead of a leader. I just like to hear explanations for comments, and not just hte comments themselves. I appreciate your willingness to explain though, and keep up this friendly public discussion.
Comment by Davis Anderson — September 25, 2006 @ 9:34 am
Davis,
I won’t take it upon myself to answer for Rob. I’m sure he’ll be happy to discuss this with you but I have a pretty good idea what he is talking about when he says: “The Invisable Man is a good guy, but he is also a rubber stamp and is more a follower than a leader in Washington.”
Bishop has bragged about the fact that a Republican Representative from Utah is desirable because they can be counted on to vote with the Republican caucus nearly all the time no matter what. Someone who thinks this method of representing our state is desirable isn’t a leader by definition. Jim Matheson is a better example of leadership. He actually has to consider each of his votes and make his own decisions on which policies he supports. He has to do this because he is held accountable by the voters in his moderate/right leaning district. Utah is better off because of Matheson’s ability to maintain a proper balance and the first district would benefit Utahns a lot more if we had someone like that representing us instead of yet another Republican rubberstamp.
Leadership in Congress means more than being assigned a cherry position on a committee. Leadership involves being able to discern between what is good for the party and what is good for constituents and voting against the party when it is in Utah’s best interest. Bishop’s past statements indicate that he falls into the category of follower rather than leader.
Comment by Jeremy Manning — September 25, 2006 @ 10:39 pm
Yep.
Comment by Rob Miller — September 27, 2006 @ 8:46 pm
First, I must say that I have incredible respect for Rep. Matheson. I do not always agree with his voting decisions, but I respect the way he represents his constituency. I also have great respect for Rep. Bishop, and the way in which he represents his constituency. When one understands the way the congressional committee system works, one understands the essential nature of good committee placement. In order to get good committee placements, the leadership must respect the representative. Rep. Bishop’s committee assignments show that he has the respect of the current House leadership. He is not, however, a “rubber stamp.” From my observations, he votes his conscience, and he votes in the best interests of the nation and his constituency. Customarily, these interests correspond with the way the Republican majority votes. You have to remember that the voting block in the 1st District is majority Republican, so it would make sense that a Republican representative from a Republican majority district will vote a majority of the time with the Republican party. I don’t believe that voting the way the majority of one’s constituency believe constitutes “rubber stamping.” Rep. Matheson’s constituency is split, quite like his voting record. Rep. Cannon’s district is more like Rep. Bishop’s, and, strangely enough, so is his voting record. If what you really want what you seem to want, a representative who will vote in the best interests of his or her district, you must also look at what the interests of the constituency are, what their belief structure is, and expect that the representative’s voting record will also be representative of the majority’s opinion. This doesn’t mean that the representative will always “rubber stamp” either what his party or his constituency want. In my observations, Rep. Bishop has departed from what the House leadership wanted, putting what he believed was right above the opinions of the leadership, when the situation warrented it. This shows me that he’s not “rubber stamping” at all. A high percentage of votes with his party DOES NOT constitute “rubber stamping,” rather it just shows that what he believes is right for his constituency is also what the House leadership feels is right for the country as a whole.
Comment by Davis Anderson — September 29, 2006 @ 10:18 am
Davis,
Your points are fair. The point of my post is that Bishop is a good guy but that he doesn’t do a great job representing me. I want more than a loyal Republican representing me even if that means the Republican leadership doesn’t like him as much. I think we should all demand more from our representatives than that they just tow the party line. More non-partisan people in this district need to become politically aware so Bishop no longer has a safe seat and so he doesn’t have the luxury intending to vote with Republicans 90% of the time.
I’m an idealist Davis. That doesn’t mean I’m not aware of how things work in Washington. I lived there for longer than a semester internship. I’ve familiar with the influence that both members and staffers fight hard for on Capital Hill and I think it is time for change.
I’ve commented on this blog in the past that I support Rep. Flake from AZ and Senators Coburn and Obama in their efforts to both open up the legislative process to the public and to reform the games our legislative representatives play with our tax money. Bishop has been unimpressive in his support of these efforts and so has Cannon. Neither deserves their constituents’ votes this election.
Finally, Rob Bishop’s campaign website is pathetic.
http://www.votebishop.com/
Bishop is running in a safe district but the lack of effort he seems to be putting into his campaign here is insulting to all of us. We really don’t need a Republican who feels entitled to his seat just because he is a Republican. We’ve had 30+ years of Orrin doing the same thing. I just think we should encourage Utahns to demand more from our politicians.
Comment by Jeremy Manning — September 29, 2006 @ 1:43 pm