Missing in Action
U.S. Rep. Blake Moore has been curiously quiet during the redistricting cycle. Curious because of all Utah politicians, he should be the one to speak out for fair voting boundaries. Moore was co-chair of Better Boundaries, the nonpartisan group that ran the initiative for Proposition 4—which created the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission. "I just am sick of our community being torn apart, literally and figuratively," he told students at Utah State University. That was in 2018. This is now, after he won Rob Bishop's seat in Utah's 1st District. No, Moore doesn't live in the district, but he doesn't have to. The U.S. Constitution only requires that a candidate be a resident of the state. Moore grew up in Ogden, but now lives in Salt Lake City. He has promised and then equivocated about moving, but still hasn't decided. Finally, on Nov. 8, Moore put out a cloying statement to his party overlords with slight, obligatory props to the commission. "As I have observed the process play out, and contrary to some public and media commentary, our state Legislature appears heavily focused on communities of interest." Among the many replies: "Were you even paying attention?"
Trigger Happy
We have to take some delight in our gerrymandered representatives. Rep. Chris Stewart is one of the best, because constituents can depend on him to foster divisiveness and effectively ignore his urban base. He made a big splash with his most recent meme—a photo of the congressman in a tight-fitting leather jacket sitting atop a motorcycle, proclaiming "Chris' Priorities—2nd Amendment." There were no end of snarky replies, including "Your top priority is guns? Not poverty, inflation, homelessness, homeownership, taxes, fair wages, education, health care, child hunger, etc., etc. Just guns and the 2nd Amendment, which is completely intact." Just to clarify, Stewart later put out a "socialist laundry list that your hard-earned taxpayer money is going towards." Yes, it included investing in the climate crisis, affordable housing and child care, which apparently the congressman doesn't support.
Under-Study
Well, your state school board has also been gerrymandered. So it's unlikely that any of its ill-considered decisions will be revoked. Yes, we're referring to Critical Race Theory, which is not a thing. Students at Sandy's Jordan High School were really upset when the school decided to drop an elective course on ethnic studies, according to reporting in the Deseret News. By the way, Jordan High is among the more diverse schools in the state. But the Board of Education recently passed a rule defining "what concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion cannot be taught in public schools," because the Legislature worried that the little ones might feel hurt or guilty. The truth hurts, doesn't it?
