Author Archives: ptmadmin

I belong to a strain of conservatism I now christen the Naturals. Whether you have realized it or not over the years, you have heard me speak of this school of thought. You’ve probably heard me talk about the “natural family” and “natural law” as I’ve argued for freedom and against progressivism, both left and right.

My guess is you, too, are a Natural. Here are some of its characteristics. To be a Natural you need to believe in a personal God, a God from which you seek a personal relationship – you worship Him, you communicate with Him, and you seek His blessings and comfort. You also need to believe that He has a plan for you, a work for you to do, choices for you to make to conform your will to His. And you need to believe that we’re all His children – that we are literally brothers and sisters from the same divine parentage. This last point is important because of something Naturals call “commensuration” or the ability of every person to rationally see the same things and draw the same conclusions about the world around them. read more

On the heels of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ new policy regarding the children of same-sex married couples, a state judge ruled that a gay married couple were not fit parents because of their same-sex status. Ruling on the three-month old child’s foster care status, Seventh District Juvenile Court Judge Scott Johansen cited research indicating that children are worse off in the care of same-sex couples than in the care of heterosexual couples.

Of course the ruling has ignited a wildfire of protests across the nation. While this is a complicated issue, Judge Johansen is correct in his findings, even if politically incorrect in his ruling. But this problem is not Judge Johansen’s alone. The brunt of this problem sits at the feet of the Utah Legislature and the LDS Church. read more

The election of Paul Ryan as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives should be a case study for the Utah Republican Party. Ryan is a principled and effective conservative leader who gained the wrath of the crazies in his own party. And that reminds me of Utah Republican politics!

What more could conservative activists ask for than a principled and effective conservative leader? Someone more conservative? Someone more principled? In Paul Ryan’s case, is there really someone in the House Freedom Caucus more conservative, more principled and more effective than Paul Ryan? But I could ask the same question about Governor Gary Herbert – Is there any Republican in the state more conservative, more principled and more effective than Gary Herbert? The short answer is no. read more

If my memory serves me correctly, my first administrative meeting for the World Congress of Families (WCF) was May 1998 in Rome, Italy. The WCF is a project of The Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society and I was The Howard Center’s first executive vice-president. In other words, I was involved with the World Congress of Families from its early formation.

So it’s with some interest that I watch its most recent event here in Salt Lake City this week, especially how its critics treat it. Though I’m not involved in this event, I remain involved in the broader movement and, actually, I am the main person responsible for bringing the gathering to Salt Lake City and to the United States for the first time. read more

Quite humorously, Hillary Clinton recently confessed that she’s really a robot, constructed in the garage of a Silicon Valley techie. A reporter had commented to her about why she didn’t seem to sweat in the heat of Iowa on the campaign trail and then asked, “What deodorant do you use?” – such is the high level of journalism these days. Another news outlet attempted an explanation that she doesn’t sweat because she’s a robot. Mrs. Clinton took the silly bait and then confessed, “You guys are the first to realize that I’m really not even a human being. I was constructed in a garage in Palo Alto a very long time ago…you can’t tell anybody this. I don’t want anybody to know this. This has been a secret…I’m just spilling my electronic guts to you.” read more

Medicaid has been thoroughly debated in Utah for nearly three years now and its conclusion seems a bit anti-climatic. As I share these thoughts, the House Republican Caucus will have voted whether to accept the latest compromise to extend eligibility to more Utahns. I would be shocked if the House Republican Caucus voted anything other than no.

Of course, I’ve followed this debate along the way. Actually, my interest in finding sound solutions to helping our neighbors in need pre-dates, by many years, the current debate – and, frankly, I’m saddened by the lack of true concern to find lasting solutions in this most charitable of states. Peel away the layers of ignorance, partisanship and self-righteous blathering, and Utah still has people in need of medical care who cannot afford it and, in doing nothing, we still have an inefficient and counterproductive delivery system to help only some of them. read more

Years and years ago, during my first official public speech in Utah, I mentioned, “I don’t envision Utah for anyone.” My remark was a not-so-subtle jab at Envision Utah, perhaps the largest private-sector government-planning group in the state. Back then, in its early stages, it was run by Jon Huntsman Jr.

Today, I am much less suspicious of its objectives than I was 15 years ago. Let’s face it, for a variety of social and economic reasons, Utah’s population will grow dramatically over the next few decades – with limited natural resources, along with the unnatural limits to potential land use placed upon Utah by the federal government, somebody is going to have to figure out future growth and how we entertain perhaps doubling the state population. read more

Just over 20 years ago, the Gingrich revolution swept through Congress. For the first time in 63 years, Republicans became the majority in the 1994 election.

I was a younger man back then having already spent many years on the Hill. Within the first year of the new leadership I became a chief of staff. Hopes were high for my conservative colleagues. We began organizing congressmen into something called CAT, the “Conservative Action Team,” with the hope that a core of 50 members of the House of Representatives could ensure that promised reforms occurred. That group evolved into what is now the House Freedom Caucus. read more

By now you’ve probably heard of Kim Davis, the county clerk from Kentucky who was sent to jail for not issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. And, by now, you, like most Americans, are a little confused about the case. On the one hand, it feels an awful lot like a religious bigot defying justice and acting the martyr. And, on the other hand, it feels an awful lot like political correctness run amok in the life of an otherwise innocent person. I can tell you that it’s probably more the latter than the former but this case is a good example of the legal conflicts to come as America scrambles for cultural equilibrium. read more