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Utah Red

Since I started this blog, my main focus has been on national politics. Some pretty interesting things have also been happening here in Utah though, so I figured it was about time for me to voice my opinion on the matter.

First on the agenda is Senator Bob Bennett’s reelection campaign. The grandson of a president of the Mormon church and son of a four-term senator, Bennett is conservative enough to have earned an A grade from the National Rifle Association, a 98 percent rating from the Chamber of Commerce, and 84 percent from the American Conservative Union (ACU). For the nation’s most Republican state it seems odd that such a man would be considered the nation’s most vulnerable Republican Senator!

Despite being endorsed by local hero Mitt Romney, he didn't even it make it to the party primary. Apparently he’s not conservative enough for Utah’s Tea Partiers, who are all things anti-Wasington and anti-incumbents and have hijacked the State GOP Convention. Thanks to Utah’s wacky political system, which allows only about 1,000 state delegates to choose the GOP’s candidate, Bennett won’t be back to Washington. Most of these delegates are Tea Partiers, as far-right as they come on the ideological spectrum, as opposed to the rest of Utah whose favorite Governor was Hunstman, a moderate Republican. Not to mention Salt Lake City, who elected a Democrat mayor.

I initially thought Bennett was too old and has been in too long (18 years), and thought it was time for a change anyway. What I am against were the delegates' motives. Bennett is sort of an endangered species of politicians – one willing to reach across the aisle and engage in bipartisanship to accomplish some good for the country. But because of this, and their strong anti-incumbency feelings, the hardcore right-wingers wanted him out. They want nothing at all to do with Washington, even if it means voting out a politician with a lot of influence. And after watching him get very emotional during his concession speech, I realized that Utah is losing a great, dedicated man. One of few politicians who is not self-interested, and who actually does care about his state and his country. I feel bad for Bennett, and worse for Utah who is about to contribute one more politician to "The Party of No".


Added 5/10/10 - From Newsweek:

"The truth is, Bennett would not have lost anywhere other than Utah. For starters, it's the reddest state in the nation, so what's considered "conservative enough" there is a little further to the right than what's considered conservative enough in hotbeds of liberalism like, say, Texas or Alabama (i.e., everywhere else). Secondly, a major D.C. advocacy group, the Club for Growth, decided to spend a whopping $200,000 to ensure Bennett's defeat--the kind of intraparty hit that the Club can only afford to carry out in one or two races per cycle. And thirdly--and most importantly--Utah doesn't actually let its Republican residents vote on a full slate of Republican candidates. Instead, it convenes an odd, pre-primary convention where a select group of 3,500 delegates, who tend to be even more conservative than Utah's general Republican electorate, participate in several rounds of balloting in order to narrow the field to a measly two contenders. According to a recent Dan Jones & Associates poll, Bennett leads his closest rival, Lee, by 20 points among Utah Republicans at large--meaning in a normal primary system, he probably would've won the nomination. But because the senator received 160 fewer delegates at the convention than Bridgewater--delegates who were undoubtedly swayed by the Club's expensive anti-Bennett campaign--he isn't even getting the chance to compete." 

On the total opposite end of the spectrum, I was surprised by Salt Lake County Mayor Pete Carroon’s recent announcement to have a split-ticket in his run for governor. He recently chose Republican state lawmaker Sheryl Allen as running mate.

Carroon – “I don’t think this race is about being a Democrat or a Reublican. I think it’s about leading the state of Utah into the future… We're seeing parties are leaving citizens behind. They're leaving the moderate representatives behind. That's why we believe in bipartisan government. We're going to work hand in hand."

Allen- “The voices have been a little shrill lately. We want to give a different tone to the campaign. So you’re going to hear ‘bipartisanship’ and ‘cooperation’ a lot because that’s how we feel about it…Cooperation is more important than party politics. Utah needs to come first. I hope that becomes the trend, frankly, across the nation.”

The Corroon campaign's strategy seems to be tapping into Utahns who don't feel represented by the extremes of either party right now. Corroon indicated that their priorities in office will include "getting back to basics" in order to improve education and the economy. Will the strategy pay off? It will be interesting to see! I for one remain undecided, but the idea behind the decision is a fascinating one that I think will resonate with a lot of people. After all…

Sports & Politics?!

Los Suns and the Inmigración Law de Arizona

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”

The Statue of Liberty (and of course, the United States) has always stood as a beacon of hope and a symbol of freedom to the entire world. We must never forget that. That is what makes this country great. Our diversity gives us strength.

BUT…please, come here legally and don’t break our laws!

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Arizona’s new immigration law, and illegal immigration is expected to soon be tackled by President Obama. So once again, I just thought I’d voice my opinion. I also welcome any comments, ideas, suggestions, etc…

Basically it comes down to this. Immigration=good. Illegal immigration=bad. Racism/racial profiling=worse.

For those of you who don’t know, the law basically allows law enforcement officials to stop anyone they believe to be illegal immigrants, and force them to show documents that prove otherwise. In other words, if you look at all like a Latino you could be stopped by the police for no other reason than that! My own brother, who happens to get very tan in the summer time, once got pulled over for speeding and the highway patrolman listed “Latino” as his race on the ticket. My ancestors are from Sweden! So, my brother who apparently looks Latino could even be targeted in this mess. What a joke.

 But, after receiving a lot of backlash for condoning (perhaps inadvertently) racial profiling, they changed the law to include stricter requirements so that police officers could only request registration documents if they had committed some other crime or violation. Here are the details of the law. http://www.azimmigrationcompliance.com/

In my point of view, racial profiling is bigotry at its worst. Just yesterday, I heard the story of a police officer here in Utah who deliberately drives down the freeway looking for beater cars full of Mexicans, and pulls them over for no reason. That is ridiculous and incredibly offensive!

However, I by no means condone illegal immigration. But why do they come here in the first place? Because there are jobs here, and the promise of a better life. The solution? Attack the root of the problem – the employers. Crack down on the companies that are breaking the law by employing illegal immigrants and put them out of business. Take away the motivation for coming here in the first place. And of course, by cracking down on crime and drug trafficking you're sure to find an illegal immigrant or two that you could deport, rather than keep in our already overcrowded and underfunded prisons.

One thing I hear all the time is “well I shouldn’t have to pay for their healthcare with my tax money when they’re here illegally!” Fine. But mass deportation and racial profiling are NOT the solution. Perhaps an ER visit could also be one of those times when it is perfectly justifiable to ask for proof of citizenship. But don’t deny them healthcare in emergency situations, that would just be inhumane. Treat anything life-threatening, then have the government send them to a hospital in their home country.

I can understand why Arizona would want to pass a law like this, because illegal immigration is a big problem. But my biggest problem with this law (other than the fact that I think it was spawned out of bigotry and fear) is that in the end, it will solve nothing. If they can’t go to Arizona, they’ll just go to California or Texas or some other state. Any solution needs to be federal, and include all states.

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo (though it’s ironically not widely celebrated in Mexico), and the Phoenix Suns decided to make a political statement by sporting their Los Suns jerseys. Kudos to them and to the NBA! Just like the United States is a giant melting pot of many nations, the NBA has players from 26 different countries. So I applaud them for embracing our diversity. On a side note, CNN reported that they even have a Latin-born player, Leandro Barbosa. Don’t tell him he’s Latin-born, because he’s from Brazil! Newsflash CNN: Brazilians speak Portuguese and are not Latino! Nice work on that one.

Everyone on the team voted unanimously to wear the jerseys.Here's what the players and NBA officials had to say about the team wearing its "Los Suns" jerseys for Wednesday night's Game 2 against the San Antonio Spurs "to honor [the] Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona, and our nation." 

Suns owner Robert Sarver: 

Sarver said frustration with the federal government's failure to deal with the illegal immigration issue led to the passage of what he called "a flawed state law."

"However intended, the result of passing the law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into question," he said, "and Arizona's already struggling economy will suffer even further setbacks at a time when the state can ill-afford them."

Steve Nash (who, on a side note, is Canadian)

"I think it's fantastic," Nash said after Tuesday's practice. "I think the law is very misguided. I think it's, unfortunately, to the detriment of our society and our civil liberties. I think it's very important for us to stand up for things we believe in. As a team and as an organization, we have a lot of love and support for all of our fans. The league is very multicultural. We have players from all over the world, and our Latino community here is very strong and important to us."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich even tried to get their "Los Spurs" jerseys, although it was too late. 

Furthermore, NBA Players Association executive director Billy Hunter issued a press release, denouncing the law.

The recent passage of the new immigration law in Arizona is disappointing and disturbing. The National Basketball Players Association strongly supports the repeal or immediate modification of this legislation. Any attempt to encourage, tolerate or legalize racial profiling is offensive and incompatible with basic notions of fairness and equal protection. A law that unfairly targets one group is ultimately a threat to all.

We applaud the actions of Phoenix Suns players and management and join them in taking a stand against the misguided efforts of Arizona lawmakers. We are consulting with our members and our player leadership to determine the most effective way for our union to continue to voice our opposition to this legislation.

I'm sure lots of people won't care what the NBA and its players have to say bout the issue...as for me, I love sports and I love politics, so this has been the ideal topic to write about! And I can't wait to hear what you all have to say about the issue.