Blue Phobia
You'd think the Utah Republican Party was worried about losing its vice grip on the state's sheep-like electorate. At any minute, the whole thing could slip away and those radical liberal socialists will be forcing Utahns to abort their babies, leave their churches and turn in their guns. The Utah Republican Convention and the dialogue leading up to it just confirms that stalwarts have a message for you: The apocalypse is right around the corner. "This is what the ideology of the left is all about. It's causing chaos, it's causing misery, disrespect for those on the front line to stand between good and evil. ... Our society, our culture is under attack. It's the Biden blitz," U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens told Fox News. A Salt Lake Tribune editorial ticked off the many issues that set off Sen. Mike Lee, including Dr. Seuss books. Don't forget that the socialists are "waging war" on the country's founding. The outgoing state GOP chair warned of "storm clouds" because nearby states are getting "bluer." And the new party chair simply whined, "We wanna keep the state red."
Represent the People
Speaking of keeping the state red: redistricting aka gerrymandering is coming to a district near you. "Progressives will want to carve out a safe Democratic district with perhaps Salt Lake City and West Valley City as the center. Republicans will want to carefully divide up Salt Lake County to dash those Democratic dreams," says the Deseret News' LaVarr Webb. Most people know who is going to win. Let's talk about what citizens want—not what progressives or conservatives want. It's probably to be represented, not discounted or diminished. Salt Lake is divided into three congressional districts and Summit County is divided among three Utah House and three Utah Senate districts. Utah is still the fastest growing state in the nation—but not enough to merit another congressional seat. Watch for leaders of the Latter-day Saints to strongly encourage more births over the next decade.
Dodging Friendly Fire
It was close, but Mitt Romney survived a sound thrashing by Utah's rightest-wing Republicans as the state convention voted 798 to 711 not to censure him for, well, following his moral compass. The hapless senator was booed all during his convention speech, even when he said, "I'm not a fan of the current president's policies." It didn't matter. GOP delegate Don "abortion is murder" Guymon pushed for censure as he and other Utah Republicans believe Romney is a closet Democrat somehow harming the Constitution by not fawning over the Donald. A comment on Fox 13's site echoed the thought: "Proud of you Utah for making it clear that [Romney] F$&@ up by not standing with 45!" Still, Romney didn't wilt from the challenge, all the while proclaiming his loyalty to the party that prefers Q.