Utah’s GOP - Bastion of Corruption
Utah’s GOP has officially adopted a resolution opposing the Utahns for Ethical Government initiative that is currently in the petition stage. Apparently the Utah GOP feels that the current state of ethics in Utah is sufficient for their purposes. Of course, they are absolutely correct. Utah’s current lack of ethical oversight plays very neatly into the hands of Utah’s corrupt GOP power-brokers and enables them to continue hiding their illicit actions behind the shield of their “Good Ol’ Boys” club at the expense of Utah’s people.
“I was pleased to see The Utah Republican Party State Central Committee reaffirm its platform which demands honesty, integrity, morality and accountability from public officials. The Utah Republican Party will continue to stand for ethics in government and will support meaningful measures to ensure ethical behavior.” - Dave Hansen - Utah GOP Chairman
So, according to Hansen, the Utah GOP demands honesty, integrity, morality, and accountability from public officials. How, pray tell, can we demand accountability from officials that operate behind closed doors? There is absolutely no business conducted by the state of Utah that justifies a closed meeting. NONE WHATSOEVER. Any business conducted by the legislature is the business of the people and the people should be allowed to be present while that business is being discussed.
However, Utah’s GOP leaders seem to think that they are somehow above the people, they have set themselves up as some form of ruling elite that isn’t truly accountable to the people. Ethics reform is a classic example of this elitist attitude. The GOP tells us that the public having the ability to bring an ethics complaint against a member of their elite body is unacceptable, that they alone have the wisdom to meet in secret and determine if one of their own has acted in an unethical manner. You and I don’t have the intelligence or the integrity to carry this burden, nor are we capable of knowing about any such complaints without adverse impact on those involved. Much better that they be allowed to “discuss” these issues in private and make their own decisions - in our best interests, of course.
Yes, I’m a liberal, and as such, I am easily annoyed by the antics of Utah’s GOP. In this case, however, I don’t see how any self-respecting voter could stand for this nonsense. Republican or Democrat, conservative, liberal, moderate, radical - it really doesn’t matter. Utah’s GOP has flat-out told the people of this state that they are incapable of not only making these decisions, but also of being involved in the process at all. Is this the party that Utah’s voters support?
Wake up people of Utah, this is your GOP and what they stand for. They stand for themselves, their power, their privileges, and their ability to continue to profit from the positions of trust you’ve given them.
