I’m concerned that the normally anti-voucher Utah Democratic Party may have been infiltrated by rogue supporters of the school voucher program up for election this November. The most recent evidence of saboteurs is this ad published by the Utah Democratic Party this week.
The pro-voucher spies must have figured they could hamper anti-voucher advocates’ efforts if they could make Utah’s Democratic Party publish an ad accusing nearly half of Utahns (around 40-45% support vouchers) of supporting the racist policies of Virginia’s Democratic politicians in the 1950’s.
Some would argue that the pro-voucher forces aren’t clever or subtle enough to pull something like this off. I’d say the proof is in the propaganda. There’s no way Democrats would publish something so counterproductive on their own, especially since there are so many other great arguments on why vouchers are bad for Utah…it had to be a covert operation by PCE.
Sen. Buttars is pushing for a legal mandate requiring insurance companies in our state to cover gastric bypass surgeries and other medical procedures that treat morbid obesity.
He is perfectly willing to ignore the fact that when government forces insurance companies to cover these procedures it means everyone else’s health insurance policy premiums go up to pay for it.
This is a good example of my problem with all government involvement in the health insurance industry. I hate the idea that government can force the rest of us to finance health care for those who make risky and foolish lifestyle decisions that put their health in jeopardy.
UPDATE 6/22/07 8:26: Ed sent me to this piece in today’s Deseret News by Bob Bernick. It perfectly describes Utah’s one party problem as it has exhibited itself in the debate over subsidies for private school students. END UPDATE
This is one of the smartest things I’ve ever heard of Mitt Romney saying:
I just came back from living in a state that was overwhelmingly Republican,” Romney told the Massachusetts magazine. “And a single-party system generates problems, in my view. In that state, the more extreme wing of the dominant party begins to have more and more political sway, and that de-energizes the great mainstream of citizens. They get turned off by politics and offended by the politicians and become less engaged in the political process.
He was absolutely right.
Hat tip: Out of Context
I couldn’t possibly come up with a post that does better justice to the topic of our idiotic but extremely powerful public health nannies than Mr. Perkins cartoon.
Check out his blog here.
The Utah State Supreme Court decided unanimously against those who asked them to nullify the referendum election and quash our right to vote on vouchers. It was a good decision but as the justice reading the decision stated: “We fear a small forest somewhere has given its all for this case.” Paper wasn’t the only thing wasted in all of this…taxpayer funds were also flushed down the toilet because of PCE’s unwarranted legal battle to revoke our right to vote on their voucher bill.
The Pew Foundation has published this transcript of an interview of Richard Bushman by a whole mob of reporters from the main stream media. This is the most interesting discussion on the topic of LDS and politics in both the contemporary and historical context that I’ve ever read. Professor Bushman did an excellent job explaining the church’s role in politics and government to a sometimes openly skeptical audience. Definitely worth a read.
Hat Tip BCC
