Category Archives: Editorial Commentaries

I contend that our general distrust of the stranger, though instinctive, is harmful to a free society. I contend that a public relief system built upon distrust of the stranger, though intuitive, displaces exactly the human dignity needed to maintain the integrity of public relief. Last, I contend that unless we flip the script about the stranger we will do more to perpetuate poverty, especially intergenerational poverty, than we ever might save in tax dollars for our “prudent” distrust of the stranger. read more

Religious freedom is alive and well, according to Pyle, because religious diversity, especially “no organized religion at all,” is on the rise. For Pyle, choice is the core of religious freedom, especially the choice “not to follow, rather than having it chosen for [us] by peer pressure or tradition.”

My friend, as Daniel Patrick Moynihan reminded us, is entitled to his own opinions, but he is not entitled to his own facts — and Pyle flings facts around with the reckless abandon of a howler monkey at Hogle Zoo. With no small hint of glee, Pyle tries to humiliate LDS Church apostle Jeffrey R. Holland for saying that a rise in secularism does not bode well for society. Pyle claims, while denying cause and effect and carelessly referencing selected statistics, Elder Holland is simply “wrong.” Both context and facts suggest Elder Holland is absolutely correct. read more

Today’s strident populism, personified by Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, is fed by voter frustration, anger, fear and despair. But, I would argue, at the heart of today’s strident populism is our moral abandonment of the poor. Americans give time, money and other resources to the poor but fail to provide the most important assistance: human dignity. We fail to see them as ourselves and, because we fail in this respect, the poor are effectively cast out, separated from the dignity we afford ourselves. read more

I am out of the Republican Party. With the rise of Donald Trump, the Republican Party has dumped the last vestiges of conservatism. Though party faithful scramble, spit and stutter to make the best of this intellectual disaster, it pains me to see so many otherwise reasonable people defending the indefensible.

There is no lesser of two evils in the choice before conservatives. Both candidates are politically evil. I will not vote for one evil because I think the other is more evil. Bill Buckley famously held that he would vote for the most electable conservative. Neither Hillary Clinton nor Trump is conservative. I think building some gargantuan wall on our southern border is un-American. I think rounding up millions of people and isolating an entire religion are un-American ideas. Trump is not America first; he’s cynicism first. He’s fear and anger first. read more

Addressing intergenerational poverty is tricky business. If we are trying to break the cycle of poverty, innovative and nontraditional measures must be employed. We just cannot keep using the same failed approaches. To stop intergenerational poverty, we must focus on rising generations — the children of these families trapped in poverty. With situational poverty, parents need and receive direct help with their temporary circumstances. With intergenerational poverty, the adults in the room are either very often the problem or live with circumstances that don’t allow them to be the solution. The only way to effectively break these cycles of dependency is to focus on the children and, frankly, until now, many conservative policymakers have been reluctant in principle to bypass parents. read more

Utah has the opportunity to lead the nation once again. In the face of candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Utah could choose an alternative that could possibly change the course of politics for a generation. Utah could achieve consensus on an alternative to Trump and Clinton, set the example, announce it to the nation and invite every other state to do the same. At most, we could regain our national identity and sanity. At least, the true spirit of freedom can rest on this exceptional state. read more

When Gov. Gary Herbert announced his Healthy Utah plan in 2014 to address Obamacare issues related to Medicaid, Utah’s right wing combined in knee-jerk fashion against it. The plan was labeled “Medicaid expansion” and demonized as a policy betrayal to the fundamental principles of conservatism.

Nearly a year and a half later of productive dialogue and negotiations between the governor and House and Senate leaders, the Legislature just passed a bill increasing Medicaid coverage. And surprisingly, nary a word from Utah’s right wing. Certainly the “principles” remained the same. Yet silence from the right side of the peanut gallery. Even the left side of that gallery proclaimed that the new bill was definitely not Medicaid expansion. After all of the political weeping and gnashing of teeth against Medicaid expansion from Utah’s right wing, one might have expected some expressed concerns. Au contraire. read more

Donald Trump’s race to the White House already has made political history inside the Republican Party. The hand-wringing by GOP insiders could start a fire were it not for their sweating palms. Many conservative activists inside the party see Trump otherwise — a refreshing voice of no-nonsense, Everyman practicality. Often seen as the fulcrum on which the GOP teeters between establishment and grass-roots camps, the real tension inside the party from Trump’s candidacy is not about the man. The tension is about the vision of America he represents. read more

A little less than a year from now the next president will be sworn in. The first 100 days of a new presidency sets the tone for every other day. They send a message to Congress and the world about the kind of leader we have elected — not just in terms of policy, but also in tone, style and temperament.

Based on Trump’s comments and claims so far on the campaign trail, as well as extensive research into his activities, we have a reasonably certain idea of what Trump would do bursting out of the gate as our new president. read more

As many Republican financiers and strategists sit on the sidelines waiting for Donald Trump’s campaign to collapse, a persistent question remains unanswered: Why hasn’t it already collapsed?

Any reasonable answer comes across like trying to explain why an object defies gravity – no matter how many ways you try to explain it, the fact of the matter is the mystery object isn’t hitting the ground. Its existence momentarily suspends all reason. Everyone is left to simply wait for it to fall. read more