Frank Pignanelli & LaVarr Webb: Should we be angry about this sequestration business?

Pignanelli: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and other GOP officials continue to refer to their political affiliation as the "stupid party" because of never-ending tea party antics. Their influence is so concerning that Karl Rove is raising serious money to annihilate them. The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) will not invite the nation's most popular Republican to their annual conclave because he failed one of their many litmus tests, but will host a number of federal lawmakers who satisfy tea party demands. Thus, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is now viewed as the intelligent rationale conservative alternative to right-wingers in Congress (it also helps that Christie abounds in charisma — a natural product of his Italian heritage).

Webb: Conservative Republicans control the GOP agenda in Washington. I admit to having a rather split political personality because I take mostly mainstream positions on state and local issues, but I could be accused of being Tea Party-ish on national issues. In Utah, where we keep government under control and balance our budgets, I see government as a useful tool for citizens to do things together that would be difficult or impossible to do individually.

But at the federal level with all of its debt, excesses and irresponsibility, I concur with the strong conservatives. We're robbing the piggybanks of our grandchildren and we need to reverse the trajectory.

Republican LaVarr Webb is a political consultant and lobbyist. Previously he was policy deputy to Gov. Mike Leavitt and Deseret News managing editor. Email: lwebb@exoro.com. Democrat Frank Pignanelli is a Salt Lake attorney, lobbyist and political adviser. Pignanelli served 10 years in the Utah House of Representatives, six years as minority leader. His spouse, D'Arcy Dixon Pignanelli, is a state tax commissioner. Email: frankp@xmission.com.