The Cover-Up Is Nearly Always Worse Than The Crime
I’d be interested in getting more details about this story.
The initial violation of the law doesn’t seem to be that big a deal especially since the money was paid back. The fact that they tried to cover the whole thing up deserves a lot of attention. That these jokers would cause themselves so much trouble over a few hundred dollars for a parade float is absurd.
While I disagree with accusing specific individuals without enough evidence I completely agree with Wayne Holland’s take on all of this: ““When you have had unchallenged power in place for too long, arrogance and abuse of power is the inevitable result…That’s especially the case with Republicans in Utah County…”
Republicans took for granted that they could rely on publicly funded entities to help them out with a parade float. Who do they lean on for stuff that is actually important?
Other areas with lopsided balances in political power should pay attention to this story and beware.
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What’s a thousand dollars compared to a convention center for Kevin Garn in Davis.
Comment by Rob Miller — August 23, 2007 @ 11:19 am
I disagree slightly with you on this one. Shame on whomever put “tremendous pressure” on Christensen, but to my mind, more shame on Christensen. As the state auditor said, “You can’t use public funds to encourage people to vote one way or the other.” That’s clear cut and it’s simple. I can’t speculate whether this is a result of “unchallenged power” or not, but Christensen needs to be held accountable for first, breaking the law, and second, lying about it. It doesn’t matter if Christensen felt like he was under “tremendous pressure” or not. Do the right thing.
Comment by Daniel — August 23, 2007 @ 12:43 pm
Daniel,
I think you’re correct. The people who broke the law should take the heat for what they did.
I’m only pointing out that stuff like this is a symptom of what happens in an area where one political party has so much unchecked power. The fact that Republican leaders felt comfortable asking a public entity to build a float for them on the taxpayer dime says a lot. You can bet that a local Democratic leader in Utah County wouldn’t have gotten the same response if he had the gall to ask the school to build them a parade float.
Comment by Jeremy Manning — August 23, 2007 @ 1:14 pm
I agree. The only reason the Republicans could put “tremendous pressure” on Christensen is because they control the purse stings and probably the career path of a school administrator.
Comment by Daniel — August 23, 2007 @ 1:41 pm