The Utah Senate race

[Shaka]

To answer a post above Orrin has a son that's a very prominent Salt Lake attorney.

[Ma'ake]

The only reason so few have power is that they're the ones choosing to participate. There's no reason it has to be "a few". We're talking like 2-3 hours every couple of years to attend your local precinct meeting. I've been to a few and potential delegates have always stated who they're supporting and then we vote. Yeah, it's boring, but so is church and we do that every week. It's called civic duty.

I've seriously wondered if the best way for Utah Dems to have an impact is resign from the party & flood GOP caucus meetings. There are clearly more than 75,000 frustrated Democrats in Utah. If they all mobilized & did this, it would probably work.

"The Party" takes on a different meaning, but would become more "democratic" as more & more participated in the pivotal caucus meetings.

Somehow I have to think this wouldn't be tolerated for long.

[SoonerCoug]

I've seriously wondered if the best way for Utah Dems to have an impact is resign from the party & flood GOP caucus meetings. There are clearly more than 75,000 frustrated Democrats in Utah. If they all mobilized & did this, it would probably work.

"The Party" takes on a different meaning, but would become more "democratic" as more & more participated in the pivotal caucus meetings.

Somehow I have to think this wouldn't be tolerated for long.

At age 18, I was a delegate to the Utah State Democratic convention by default--simply because I showed up locally and was automatically designated (because no one else showed up in our precinct or whatever).

I didn't bother going to the state convention because the local one was so demoralizing.

[frank ryan]

Right or wrong, I think Bennett too got caught up in the political aspirations and power and why I am not all that bugged he is out. Didn't he pledge to only be in for a couple of terms or was that Hatch.

They both pledged 2 and done.

Good point, I believe he grew up in a trailer park in West Jordan. A definite American success story. And he's a businessman, not another lawyer, thank God. I know he's sought and received support from Jim Gilchrist of the Minutemen. While I don't necessarily have a problem with that, my concern is that this paints him, whether he really is or not, as a wing nut and heaven forbid, hurts him in the general.

I'm not convinced.

Neither am I, Bridgewater seems like a perpetual candidate with an attitude problem. He lucked into his political position.

I've seriously wondered if the best way for Utah Dems to have an impact is resign from the party & flood GOP caucus meetings. There are clearly more than 75,000 frustrated Democrats in Utah. If they all mobilized & did this, it would probably work.

"The Party" takes on a different meaning, but would become more "democratic" as more & more participated in the pivotal caucus meetings.

Somehow I have to think this wouldn't be tolerated for long.

They ought to. The caucus system is pro-party boss and it is anti-participatory.

[byu71]

The caucus system is pro-party boss and it is anti-participatory.

If the church could avoid losing it's non-tax status, I think the best way for the republican party, would be to have the church make the "calling".

[oxcoug]

That's puzzling

They both pledged 2 and done.




Neither am I, Bridgewater seems like a perpetual candidate with an attitude problem. He lucked into his political position.
They ought to. The caucus system is pro-party boss and it is anti-participatory.

Bridgewater "lucked" into his political position? How, exactly? Unlike the two opponents he passed today he didn't start on third base. He faced a three-term incumbent and the presumptive favorite / son a popular LDS public figure and outperformed them both. There's a lot more to that than "luck."

Yeah so he lost a couple of Congressional races. Lots of eventually successful politicians lost early elections. Bill Clinton lost one Congressional race before he won his second. Does Bridgewater losing twice make him a "perpetual candidate?"

I'm a Californian with no vote in this race and when I started looking into it I expected I'd be a Mike Lee guy because I figured he'd be a lot like his Dad. Turns out that Mike, unfortunately, is way out of his Dad's league, which is unfortunate.

[oxcoug]

They both pledged 2 and done.




Neither am I, Bridgewater seems like a perpetual candidate with an attitude problem. He lucked into his political position.
They ought to. The caucus system is pro-party boss and it is anti-participatory.

Also - attitude problem? Care to explain?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Check out this latest Mike Lee ad:




Lee swears he had nothing to do with it and it didn't go over well with the delegates. It sounds like he (Lee) spent quite a bit of time today in defensive mode; hence the big gains by Bridgewater. More here:

http://blogs.sltrib.com/utpolitics/i...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

[frank ryan]

Check out this latest Mike Lee ad:




Lee swears he had nothing to do with it and it didn't go over well with the delegates. It sounds like he (Lee) spent quite a bit of time today in defensive mode; hence the big gains by Bridgewater. More here:

http://blogs.sltrib.com/utpolitics/i...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

I saw that add, did you the weird Joseph Smith-Mike Lee youtube morph video? I guess one of his supporters posted it

[Viking]

I'm disappointed that Utahns find themselves so easily scammed, duped and impressed by the likes of the children of the "famous" and people who seem to be important that promise lots of $$ fast.

It's such a shame. Bennett's time was up but a 38-year old? Come on. What a fucking joke.

[oxcoug]

I hear you on this Viking

I'm disappointed that Utahns find themselves so easily scammed, duped and impressed by the likes of the children of the "famous" and people who seem to be important that promise lots of $$ fast.

It's such a shame. Bennett's time was up but a 38-year old? Come on. What a fucking joke.

It really bothers me that so many voters generally but Utahns specifically have been so keen to send the sons of powerful men on to long political careers.

That's one of several reasons I'll be hoping Utahns send Bridgewater to DC, not Lee.

As for the age of 38 - it is young. But for me it's not the age itself, so much as the fact that Lee's record of accomplishment isn't stellar enough for him to claim the promotion at such a young age. There enough phenomenally accomplished 38 year olds around that one could run and make the case for being the guy. But Lee is just not that impressive.

He's certainly not, as I'd hoped, Rex Lee 2.0. I'd take Rex Lee at 38 as a US Senator. But Lee is just kind of a doughy echo of his Dad's name w/o any of the tenacious intellect that made Rex as good as he was.

[SeattleUte]

Why do these religious nuts like Mike Lee so much? Is he one of them?

How ironic that Rex Lee was a BYU president who tried to bring BYU an ethos more in line with traditional university values, but his life was tragically cut short.

[oxcoug]

Here's why

Why do these religious nuts like Mike Lee so much? Is he one of them?

How ironic that Rex Lee was a BYU president who tried to bring BYU an ethos more in line with traditional university values, but his life was tragically cut short.

Because he's pandered to them with this bizarre Constitutional fetish - he never gives a talk without banging on and on about the Constitution.

All LDS Republicans revere the Constitution - but there's a strand of the nuttier fringe who have made it into some kind of quasi-religious talisman. Lee has attempted to exploit that by fixating on the document as if mastery of Constitutional minutia somehow gives him special authority.

In reality, saying you love the Constitution is a like a woman announcing passionately that she loves chocolate or a Gorilla saying he loves bananas - we (we being LDS Republicans) all love the Constitution and understand its value. So let's talk about something else.

[byu71]

After all is said and done, I now will vote for Lee or Bridgewater. Anyone know if the Eagle Forum is backing either of these guys?

[SeattleUte]

Because he's pandered to them with this bizarre Constitutional fetish - he never gives a talk without banging on and on about the Constitution.

All LDS Republicans revere the Constitution - but there's a strand of the nuttier fringe who have made it into some kind of quasi-religious talisman. Lee has attempted to exploit that by fixating on the document as if mastery of Constitutional minutia somehow gives him special authority.

In reality, saying you love the Constitution is a like a woman announcing passionately that she loves chocolate or a Gorilla saying he loves bananas - we (we being LDS Republicans) all love the Constitution and understand its value. So let's talk about something else.

I disagree. Or Mormons wouldn't favor an amendment that limits rather than expands civil liberties (which would be the only one of its kind, since Prohition was repealed).

The Constitution does a lot of things. The unamended document is of course great; it establishes the nuts and bolst of republican government, for the first time since Republican Rome. It also establishes separation of powers, bestows on the federal government the right to regulate interstate commerce, sets the stage for patent and bankruptcy laws, and allocates to the executive the management of foreign policey, etc., etc. A revolutionary, far sighted document.

But it reaffirmed slavery and exclusion of women from the political process. The Constitution absent the Bill of Rights is soulless. The Bill of Rights is the most dynamic part of the Constitution today in terms of it being a focal point in the press and the courts.

But tragically Mormon apostles and prophets have if anything attacked it and said nary a word consistent with its principles.