Category Archives: Editorial Commentaries

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

Billionaire T. Boone Pickens is weighing in on the presidential race in a profound way, calling for a “bipartisan screening committee that vets presidential candidates like we do anyone else applying for a job and recommends the best candidates possible.” Mr. Pickens has never flirted with running for president himself, but he has been known to influence the outcome in previous elections.

Perhaps he sees the success of his fellow billionaire Donald Trump as a threat to the process. When Mr. Trump was asked how he proposed to register Muslims in the United States, citizen and non-citizen alike, in a national database to track their every move, his response was “effective management.” We can surmise this also is his answer for how he foresees rounding up and herding millions of people across the Mexican border. read more

Constant introspection is healthy and politics seem to find ways to systemically avoid it or, worse, always project the bright side (usually the obligatorily optimistic side) of things. So, I ask, for all of the time and money spent to protect the cause of freedom in Utah, what do we have to show for it?

My educated guess is that freedom in Utah would be about where it is today even if groups like Strata Policy, Libertas Institute, Utah Taxpayers, Americans for Prosperity, Eagle Forum, Parents for Choice in Education and Sutherland Institute never existed. That guess is not (completely) a knock on the people involved. It’s a knock on their lack of collective vision and effective strategies. read more

The URP is in a spiral. It’s circling the drain – even if only in character. But the decline is hard to see when the behemoth is so big it blocks the view of everything else. Folks, the URP is not too big to fail. And it will fail if this feeding frenzy/purge/Inquisition/“due diligence” continues. When most of your time is spent defending the faith, not sharing the gospel, you know your effort is in decline.

Utah Republicans need to serve their own longstanding political interest: Support limited government. The URP needs to recalibrate why it exists and its role in behalf of nobler objectives. read more

While co-hosting KVNU’s For The People on April 20, and quite coincidentally and unintentionally, I found myself in the middle of a sparring match between two people I consider my friends – State Republican Party Chairman James Evans and State Senator Todd Weiler. The issue was the current legal challenge to Count My Vote. Senator Weiler believes the challenge has run its course. James Evans believes the fight must go on.

In full disclosure, though an opinion cemented after hearing my friends argue over the airwaves, I also believe the legal fight against Count My Vote has run its course. To continue the legal fight is a waste of time in my opinion and, much worse, a public relations nightmare. I will go so far to say that if the state Republican Party doesn’t drop this fight, its leadership should be replaced, sooner rather than later. At this point, the party is wrong and seems unable to see it. read more

Choice is a strange master. At the Utah Legislature, it has led the push to incrementally legalize marijuana. This push does not come from Utah’s progressive left, but from its progressive right affiliated with the state Republican Party. Only in Utah will you find teetotalling Republicans who would, if they could, turn water into wine as a constitutional right.

Utah’s progressive right does not understand freedom, if smoking marijuana for the sake of choice is viewed as freedom. True freedom is a moral ecology — a delicate balance of human autonomy, a strong private culture of virtue and laws that reflect that culture. Utah’s progressive right has an incomplete understanding of this moral ecology. read more