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Monthly Archives: November 2009
2074 Pages of Loopholes
With Thanksgiving weekend behind us all politically interested people can look forward to the Senate opening work on the healthcare bill. According to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: . . . senators {will} work on weekends if necessary to hammer … Continue reading
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Tagged Bob Bennett, Harry Reid, health care, issues, legislation, Orrin Hatch, reactions, senate
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Of Big Tents and Purity
It’s a busy holiday time so I’ll spend more time quoting and less time expounding. Back in May, Jim DeMint expressed the very opinion I still hold about How Republicans Can Build a Big-Tent Party by holding to one key … Continue reading
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Tagged ideals, Jim DeMint, parties, reactions, Republican, Wall Street Journal
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A Short-Term Vision of “Purity”
photo credit: David Reeves It’s never safe to focus so much on the present that we lose sight of the future. This seems to be what is happening with the push by some to codify a purity test within the … Continue reading
Stretching Our TARP
photo credit: wolfheadfilms When the TARP bill was first being discussed I made a statement that I would like to repeat about the TARP money: [T]his should not be used as a windfall by Congress to fund some pet projects. … Continue reading
Do the Utah Lake Bridge Right
I agree with the sentiment in this Deseret News article that the environmental impacts of proposed Utah Lake bridge should be discussed. {Sam} Rushforth has been studying at {Utah Lake} for 35 years and said there needs to be an … Continue reading
Phony Federalism
photo credit: estherase Gene Healy wrote about what he called Obama’s phony federalism but what he was really talking about was a relatively universal perspective on federalism: Not yet a year into his administration, Obama’s record on 10th Amendment issues … Continue reading
Legislator as Advocate
Many times during campaigns for legislative offices voters and candidates alike portray officeholders as leaders. I think this is a mistake. A more accurate portrayal would be of officeholders as advocates. Their job is one where they speak out for … Continue reading
Legislator as Negotiator
Politics is the art of the possible. So said Otto Von Bismarck in 1867 and he was surely right. One of the challenges for an idealist is that compromise is a necessary and appropriate component of the political process. It … Continue reading
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Tagged campaign promises, civic participation, communication, ideal, legislature
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Frying a Red Herring
I wonder if our country would be in better shape if we spent more energy in a war on bad arguments rather than a war on terror (or poverty, or drugs, . . . or prosperity). Just a thought. As … Continue reading
Thanks for Great Comments
One of my favorite parts of blogging is getting comments and discussion. I really like the tone of discussion that we have here, and sometimes I get comments that really make an impression on me. I finally decided to find … Continue reading →