Comments about ‘GOP leaders urge return to values’

It's unfortunate that either those who spoke at the Utah State Republican Convention or the Deseret News reporter somehow failed to provide any substantive reporting on what the State Republican Party stood for. All this news article talked about is the need for the Party to stand up and carry out the Republican values but never does it help the reader understand or become informed as to what the Republican Party actually stands for. If this is all the Republican Party is communicating or the Deseret News is going to report, it's off to a poor start. Hopefully the Party will do better and make sure that its message gets out to the voters.

Congrats to the new party leadership. I am especially excited about the change that Morgan Philpot brings. He is a good and honorable man. The email that was circulated? that group doesn't even exist - it's name is a combination of two grassroots organizations and was nothing more than dirty campaigning. But Morgan meant what he said about adhering to his principles.

When republicans change their focus to be on people instead of profits, then people when return to vote for them.

I echo Holly's sentiments.

The biggest news of the convention was the election of Morgan Philpot as vice chairman, a strongly principled man who has a history of fighting superdelegates and other processes by which those in power attempt to control the Republican party. Though attenders were cool to both Bennett and Hatch they did not boo but merely gave their greatest support to leaders such as Jason Chaffetz and Bob Bishop and showed great interest in those opposing Bob Bennett in 2010 for Senate including AG Shurtleff and true conservative Cherilynn Eager, longtime political activist and campaigner for other candidates.

It's very clear that government has no values regardless of party and that corporate america and business owns government, its policies, and laws. People in Utah are too easily told how to eat, think, and vote in government. The Republican party has and is destroying Utah with its zealous acts of irresponsible leadership.

With all this party rhetoric about one party better than the other is pure crap. They all have problems and the biggest one is they are forgetting that they represent America and its people. They kiss the babies and hug citizens for votes that keep us in limbo. As a nation we are not anymore, we are a nation of race, ethnics, and incomes. Where has the United States gone? Where is the nation that valued its people and their needs, and I don't mean welfare or insurance?

Party affiliation does not establish principles or honesty. I would rather see arguments and infighting in elected officials as it keeps a balance in government. It also helps if we had responsible news media that believed in freedom of the press and the news they report. Stepping on toes is part of their job and responsibilities.

The problem is that core values of the GOP no longer benefit America:

1. Deny science -- deny climate change to stick with oil; deny evolution and promote creationism belief; promote abstinence over sex education, despite evidence the former doesn't work (think Brystol Palin); prevent stem cell research as because it is "evil."

2. Support oil -- "burn, baby, burn" slogan is a cheer for Exxon and foreign oil interests; GOP denies global market price for oil and continued dependence (whether it is drilled in Alaska or Iran) only supports world price of oil that supports terrorism and hurts average American households. Deny benefits of renewable energy, and deny existance of subsidies for foreign oil companies -- from military in Gulf to escort oil tankers to gov't paid pipelines.

3. Belief in tax cuts, deregulation, and "free market" -- Tax cuts are the solution to everything, and gutting government simply perpetuates the belief that government doesn't work. Over the past decade, deregulation has brought the economy to its knees (from Detroit's resistance to fuel efficiency to toxic toys and foods to risky Wall Street schemes). For GOP, "free market" solution is merely code for "do nothing."

It is true that Utah will get more Republican as Washington D.C. turns Democrat, Republicans may pick up seats in Utah, but they won't be ultra-far right seats. In fact, as the nation takes a turn to the left, so will Utah but not to the same extent. If these Republicans think they can continue to ram far-right agendas down our throats, they are thinking wrong. One reason Republicans lost seats in Utah was due to corruption within the Republican leadership and missteps by Buttars and other fringe Republicans reminding voters of the folly having a one-party rule. With that said, I am a Republican, but not the kind that believes in passing 350+ laws every legislative session, but a Republican who believes in limited government and limited interference in our daily lives. Our Republican legislature has not acted in that manner. They micromanage just about everything which is not what Republicanism is all about. We need to boot out the fanatical right faction of the party and return to making the party palatable to a larger audience.

You know whose speech was awesome, (besides Chaffetz) was Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's. Bennett looked like he was trying to buy delegates votes, he practically had a store of free stuff to give away. I hope other delegates realize that it was there tax dollars, funneled through bailouts to banks that was paying for that stuff.
Difference between Bennett and Shurtleff? Shurtleff has a message while Bennett can't seem to reconcile his bad votes. Time to boot Bennett!

Give me a break. I was at the convention and I have never seen the gross pandering that I saw from Shurtleff. Shurtleff is one the most unprincipled people in the world and is willing to say and do anything for votes. Why don't you check his record on immigration, same sex marriage, Rick Koerber. Shurtleff is a joke and I will NEVER vote for him.

It might help to analyze issues, instead of opposing everything and hunting for dirt in Rove/hannity us versus them style.

Rachel got it right. "Boot Bennett" Doesn't that remind you a little of "Fire the Cannon" -- It worked once . . . .

My gop is a disgrace. The people have moved on, to solve problems. Obama won because he listened to the people and then has moved to solve problems.

My gop is still trying to save money for the big guys and wave the flag over every little thing. I am about to become an independent.

wait, I think I will.

RE:GOP Values 1. GOP does not deny science it promotes it. Check out what science supports global warming, that's right global warming. I notice you and those who bow at the altar of Al Gore have had to change to climate change because the globe is actually cooling.

2. Support oil -- you got your slogan wrong. It is "drill, baby, drill". The idea is to bring on alternative fuel sources when they are ready but in the mean time drill for oil to keep prices down for our economy. The only problem is that a few caribou in Alaska will have to walk around a few less acres on which to roam. The horror!

3. Belief in tax cuts, deregulation, and "free market" -- Yes, ask any business owner and they will tell you how much harder it is to do business when the government takes less of their money, cuts the red tape of doing business and allows the free market to work. But you know those Republicans, all they care about is business. You know business, the people who used to create all the jobs before we elected a Socialist President.

This doesn't say what Utah Republicans are for. We know they're against several programs, and they want less taxation and less government spending. That's a negative platform. What do they propose to make our country better and solve our national problems? At least President Obama is doing something about these things.

You claim that the globe is actually cooling? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I've never laughed so hard in my life. Only a handful of scientists make such an absurd claim, so the GOP is promoting science all right--junk science supported by a minority of scientists. This newspaper forum won't allow me to post URL's, but you ought to try Googling satellite maps of the earth's poles. I have visited a particular website that shows daily images of the North Pole for the last 30 years. Believe me, the ice cap over the north pole is shrinking very quickly. Perhaps you ought to look at the data yourself, rather than allowing someone to spin it for you. The earth has been warming for well over 10,000 years. Lake Bonneville here in Utah used to be a glacial lake. The argument shouldn't be about whether the earth is warming or not because that is obvious. The debate is about the impact human activity has had on this warming cycle.

As the first comment said, this story did nothing to communicate what the core principles of the Republican party are. Quoting the article:

"If you look historically, we as a party tend to do better when Washington is controlled by Democrats," Hansen said. "And that's because the actions they take remind us of why we're Republicans."

What's with trying to define the republican party as "not democrats"? How is that "focus[ing] on the things we believe as Republicans"? Seems to me that rather than articulating exactly what Republicans "believe in", they are just trying to take advantage of peoples discomfort with Democratic leadership.

I personally believe in limited government, but these days that means I look towards the Constitution party or the Libertarian party, not the Republicans. More and more, a Republican is simply a Democrat who opposes Abortion. That is NOT what the Republican party used to be about!!

Actually in the last 3 years, the ice around Greenland has returned to 1984 #'s. Current science shows that the Earth has either leveled off or cooled going against models in the IPCC report.

As for whether man has any effect, the GISS came out with a report recently that states that the sun has had more effect on climate than once thought and that possibly they need to redo their models. If this is the case, this would blow open Algore's theory and would lead to us not having to tank our economy over this scheme.

I didn't know the GOP had any values.

It is time for a change. We need people who listen and fight for their constituents. What we have now are part of the Washington system enjoying all the perks possible. We must have term limits, it is almost criminal having people in office for 20 years some a little less some more. I still think back on Bennett's pledge to run for only one term. Once you get elected you are addicted. They really don't listen to the people but follow party lines. The GOP would not be in the trouble they are had they followed the pricipals of the party. But then the public really won't get involved and so they do as they wish. I feel so sorry that we have let our families down by allowing the present disaster to our country. We are soon to be a third world country depending on the government for our existence.