Saturday, November 01, 2008

Life in a swing state

Obama is coming to my university two days before the election!
Unfortunately, like the other first-class act of Heart/Journey, he's coming on a Sunday. So I won't be going.
Yes, he campaigns on Sunday. I know some people may be offended by that.
Just keep in mind that the other political rock star, the one that belongs to the religious right, will also be campaigning in the Cincinnati area on Sunday.
I guess they both really want my vote.
For those of you living in South and West Jordan, please consider voting against Buttars. He sponsored an unconstitutional bill that would have made my life as a Utah science teacher miserable, and it would have cost Utah taxpayers a lot of money to defend in the courts. Fortunately, Huntsman threatened to veto it, and the bill died. Please don't vote for him. You deserve someone better.
And if you live in Utah, consider voting 3rd party. We all know McCain will take Utah. Even his home state of Arizona isn't guaranteed for him...but Utah is. So consider the many other possibilities, from Nader to Barr to Keynes.

Also of interest, an interview with Democrat Elder Jensen (Presidency of the 70), from 10 years ago. Church officials sent him to do the interview. Jensen says:

-- The LDS Church's reputation as a one-party monolith is damaging in the long run because of the seesaw fortunes of the national political parties.

-- The overwhelming Republican bent of LDS members in Utah and the Intermountain West undermines the checks-and-balances principle of democratic government.

-- Any notion that it is impossible to be a Democrat and a good Mormon is wrongheaded and should be "obliterated."

-- Faithful LDS members have a moral obligation to actively participate in politics and civic affairs, a duty many have neglected.

Read about it here.

4 comments:

Brentwell said...

For those in Utah that Tim is asking you to not vote for Buttars, I know Buttars. He was in my ward in West Jordan. I don't know what he has and has not voted on but as a person he is a great person that I have talked with personally.

Tim said...

Wow. I didn't know that.
From what I've seen: he's a little racist, but the press has overblown it and taken it out of context. I don't think the racist bit is such a big deal.
What bothers me is that he would sponsor a bill that he knows nothing about, and that he entirely ignores local authorities on the subject (including a couple of my professors, one who taught science education at UVSC, and the other who taught at BYU). In fact, to find a scientist that agreed with the bill, they had to go out of state--and he only had a Masters. In geology (not biology). Ouch. There were actually three versions of the bill. The first version showed that the writer had absolutely no clue of how science education works, no clue about what the science curriculum was, no clue that there would be serious constitutional issues with the bill, and no clue about actual science. It was really that bad. The second version was a little bit better, but still had major problems. The third version was so cut down that it became essentially meaningless, and it was defeated anyway.
I can understand someone voting for something they don't totally understand.
But if you sponsor a bill, you should have a very good handle on it.
I've never met Buttars, but for a few months there, I was scared this bill would pass, and I wondered how anyone could know so little about a bill they themselves sponsored.
He may have a great personality. But he needs more than that if he wants to be an effective leader.

Unknown said...

Speaking of third-party candidates, I've heard two "debates" between Matt Gonzalez (Ralph Nader's running mate) and Rosa Clemente (Cynthia McKinney's running mate). Although I didn't agree with many of his ideas, Matt Gonzalez seemed to be an intelligent, well-spoken guy. Rosa Clemente, on the other hand, seemed completely out of touch with reality and what real people are all about. She couldn't shut up about "the hip-hop generaton", and how the hip-hop generation feels this way and wants this or that. None of her comments ever made sense, and were always completely irrelevant to the major issues of the day.

Tim said...

Nader seems to be a respectable party to vote for.