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Blame politicians for disillusionment of Utahns

For the first time I'll be voting for a few guys with a -D behind their name.

The Republican party has become a complete embarrassment.

Many of us were relieved when Don Gale stopped giving his opinions on KSL-TV. It's too bad the Deseret News gives him ink. Over the years, Don Gale has showed his liberal true colors, from the role of government to social issues, Don Gale pontificates poorly thought out excuses for a progressive (leftist) agenda and a big government utopia. Enough already. Let him go away.

AMEN!!!!!

I think this article explains it all. I was a delegate to the SL County convention a few years ago. Imagine my dismay when I arrived to find that there were simply no choices to the incumbent, who incidentally, I wanted to vote against. I have never participated in neighborhood caucuses since.

It seems strange when one doesn't agree with the status quo to remain at home when it's time to vote. But when the status quo is the only choice, it hardly seems worth the effort to leave your busy life to vote. The main reason I voted in the Primary this year was to vote for Chaffetz. I know very little about this man other than the fact that he isn't Chris Cannon who has forgotten that his positions should reflect those of his constituents.

The author has a realy hit n miss record, in my opinion. At times he has great op-eds, other times no so great. This is one of them.

He provides a litany of complaints though some of them are pretty weak, and others are just scary.

Take his concern about some law that allows up to 15 people to be on the ballot for school board. Not familiar with that law. Nor have I ever heard of 15 candidates signing up for one race. So is he proposing a law that limits the number of candidates for office? First 5 get on the ballot, 6 and beyond do a write-in? Wouldn't last a motion to dimiss due to 1st Amendment grounds.

And if the Democrats held power does he think they would make all decisions on the front lawn? I have worked around other state legislatures run by Democrats and they conduct themselves the same as Republicans in Utah.

Instead of beating up on Republicans he should focus on his own party. Democrats have been so extreme people would vote for a dead dog over them, and frequently do. Not our fault.

Primarys should be in September though.

"Caring citizens who attend neighborhood caucuses but question the predetermined outcome are ignored, ridiculed and marginalized."

That is worth repeating, because Mr. Gale is a prime offender, when their choices don't fit his predetermined outcomes. It was those locally-elected delegates who chose to limit their party's elections to party members, who press for education choice and more conservative school boards, who renominated that "unpopular" lawmaker by a 60% vote, and who want to split huge school districts into manageable chunks.

By the way, in a democracy, a political party can only become "dominant" by being popular. In Mr. Gale's next editorial against name-calling, he might call the Republican Party the "popular political party," which describes it in a less contrived and negative way. Doing anything else ignores, ridicules and marginalizes the pro-Republican choices made over the years by Utah's voters.

Mr. Gale says "powerful interest groups" pushed the district split bill.

First, that is old news. That bill was passed years ago. It is new news because a district has split and pure greed is clouding the issue.

Second Gale can't identify the "powerful interest groups" wanting the split bill. Why? The special interest group Gale speaks about are parents and citizens! They pushed this bill. They were tired of being pushed around by "powerful districts" who don't listen.

Third, perhaps it should be easier to split a district. Many districts have grown into huge and powerful special interests groups. For an example, Alpine School District now has a half billion dollar budget and close to 60,000 student. It takes over 45 minutes to drive from one end of the district to the other. Parents are routinely brushed off.

Fourth, If it is "TOO EASY" to split a district, why has only one district been able to split so far?

Thank you Mr. Gale for hitting it on the nose. I would never thought I would ever say this but I do hope that the "old guard" of the Republican Party takes it back before it is too late. Vote out Bramble, Curtis, Stephenson and Valentine.

The "dominant political party"? Oh, brother! Sorry Don - but how many primaries did your party have?

I'll tell you: three. One for a state house seat (districts cover about 35,000 people) and two more in very small counties (Wastach & Carbon). That's it. Three.

I'll agree with Gale that Republican Party leaders are out-of-touch and sometimes even corrupt - but that out-of-touchness often comes in the form of them being MORE liberal (like Chris Cannon on immigration) than their voters would like them to be.

So Don Gale (a Democrat) doesn't like closed primaries? Bummer. Why should he be allowed to choose both his own party's nominees and those of my party, as well?

And the tax subsidies for the soccer stadium? Personally I opposed them, but as a Sandy resident I'm also well aware that certain other cities (I have in mind a certain state capitol) get far more taxpayer subsidies than Sandy does. So why does the media in this state go all ape when Sandy gets subsidies but not when Salt Lake City gets them?

As for split districts? Studies have found that smaller districts generally tend to be both more efficient and also lead to better schools. This is because cities compete with each other to have better programs to keep their property values high. This would be especially true in Salt Lake County, which is divided up into numerous small cities rather than having one single big city.

But Democrats like Gale don't want the government to do well - they just want it to be monopolistic. "Equality" is more important than quality - as they then send their own kids to private schools, as Scott Matheson did. One single school district, headquartered in Washington, D.C., would be quite enough for people like Gale.

If I was a die-hard, grandpa was a Republican - so I am too person, I think I'd wouldn't want to show my face in public.

Utah, the reddest state in America rightfully earns that distinction - red in the face and red-necked.

While I do not agree with Mr. Gale's conclusions, I do agree that the voters in Utah just don't care. They are either too lazy, too apathetic, or too unpatriotic to participate in the election process.

A citizen has the duty to be informed and then to cast a ballot. Most citizens meet the legal qualifications to run for office - if they can't support those who are already running for office. Those who don't meet the age or residency requirements can still be active in the process by campaigning for the candidate of their choice.

But, to stay home and to do nothing is to spit upon the graves of all who paid the ultimate price that preserved the freedom to vote.

Thanks, Don Gale, for continuing to be a voice of reason in a wilderness of right-wing craziness.

Republicans are losing the conservative core. Family values are losing to religious bigotry of the south that was only too prevalent in the Republican primary. Free capitalism is losing to corporate overtaxation of small businesses and corporate socailism of major businesses.

Freedom of educational choices lost to the very non-conservative education lobby that is overtaking the party in Utah.

Its enough to turn a conservative into a Libertarian. Which is my vote this year.

As a long-time Republican, I totally agree with Don Gale. It is refreshing to have someone like Don who is willing to tell it the way it really is. The Utah Repuablican leadership is so power hungry that they appear to be willing to do anything, and even want to increase their dominance.

You forgot Eleven...Don Gale is a retard.

Mike Richards,

"A citizen has the duty to be informed and then to cast a ballot."

Citizens don't have a duty to be informed or cast a ballot. Their duty is to God, family and themselves and voting is secondary to these.

"Most citizens meet the legal qualifications to run for office - if they can't support those who are already running for office. Those who don't meet the age or residency requirements can still be active in the process by campaigning for the candidate of their choice."

Why should they? You have given no valid reason why someone should take time to study the issues and specific legislation that the candidate will be voting on.

"But, to stay home and to do nothing is to spit upon the graves of all who paid the ultimate price that preserved the freedom to vote."

You don't get it. Some of us don't care about the right to vote. It's notimportant. The right to vote has become a substitute for our real rights and has replaced real discussion with partisan politics and all we do is debate and vote. Talk to me about the bill and then I will vote.

Eleven,

"You forgot Eleven...Don Gale is a retard."

You forgot Twelve...No one cares what you think so shut your mouth and vote because Don Gale has more brains than you will ever have. Now take your damn vote and shove it.

Your attacks on Don Gale are unwarranted and you are a moron, retard and now that you insult him his family has the right to come after your family too. If this is the kind of politics you want because you have never read a single bill before Congress than so be it. But I have had it! I hope that Don Gale's writes an expose on your family and that he comes after you like you have come after the Gales and I hope members of his ward who are his friends tell you where you can go with your damn vote.

If this was my father I would tell you where you damn voter wife, damn voter child and damn voter brother can go. Let's talk about the real retards and let's start with that dimwit Cindy McCain who is the child of a bunch of losers. It is no wonder that this loser married a loser.

It's an old adage that "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." The Republican party has had most of the power in Utah for so long that it is now mostly corrupted.

It is time for Utah LDS to exercise agency and vote Democrat, for the important issues: the economy, healthcare, education, environment, war. These are the true moral values.

"Gay marriage" and other GOP distractions are irrelevant to the realities of Utah. Provo will never become like San Fransisco, but all families need affordable healthcare, clean air & water, decent schools and an end to this crazy trillion dollar war in Iraq.