Is Government Good or Evil?

All political candidates should have a well-developed philosophy of government that they can readily articulate. One Republican candidate for statewide office described his philosophy of government in rather stark terms in an e-mail message sent to state delegates. Here’s what he said (bold lettering his):

“As I have been meeting with people of the state it has become very apparent that many do not understand what government is and how dangerous it is to our very lives.  In short, government is the power to rob, steal and kill unceasingly.

“Government is more dangerous than all the drugs, porn, crime, polygamy, etc. of the whole earth put together from all time.  In the last 40 years government has horribly tortured and viciously murdered more people than all the world wars put together times 10.

“Warning Warning Warning Government is more DANGEROUS THAN NUCLEAR WASTE OR ANY OTHER TOXIC THING KNOWN OR UNKNOWN TO MAN.”

So, I’ll put the question to Utah Policy Daily readers: Is government always a necessary evil? Or can it be a force for good? I have my own opinion, which I will outline in a future edition. But what do you think? Send your opinion to daily@utahpolicy.com.

Today in Political History

April 30, 1789:  George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.  (Source:  NBC5) 

April 30, 1798:   The Department of the Navy is established by Congress.  (Source:  Perspicuity) 

Wise Words

"We must confine ourselves to the powers described in the Constitution, and the moment we pass it, we take an arbitrary stride towards a despotic Government."

-- James Jackson, 1st Annals of Congress  (Source:  George Mason University) 

Campaign Tip

Ol’ Dogs of Politics vs. New Technology

In today’s world, technology has soared so that those who are technologically current have a decisive advantage over those who are not.  You may consider this to be sad, but make no mistake about its truth. It’s a new political landscape out there and the tools of the modern campaign are changing with each and every election cycle.

The truism for the 21st Century may well be “the candidate having the best campaign plan, the money to implement it, and the most current technology, will win every election.”

In other words, waging the battle of a campaign from a technologically backward position will, in almost every case, doom you, no matter how well you plan your campaign strategy. Telephone systems, fax phones, cell phones, pagers, computer networks, servers, personal printers, high speed copiers, palm pilots, the Internet, Google, voice mail, and email are all common elements of today’s campaign.  (Source:  Complete Campaigns) 

National Politics

Best Stories From . . .

-- Bloomberg: "Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama denounced 'ridiculous' statements made by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, using his strongest language to date to distance himself from his former pastor."

-- Los Angeles Times: Columnist Jonah Goldberg: "After Barack Obama gave his big race speech in mid-March, many critics noted that the Illinois senator had thrown his own grandmother under the bus to defend his controversial pastor. Well, Wright proved over the last few days that he would not be outdone. He not only threw Obama under the bus, he chucked much of the liberal and mainstream media under there with him. If this keeps up, to paraphrase Roy Scheider in 'Jaws,' he's gonna need a bigger bus."

-- ABC News: Newt Gingrich says Wright may be deliberately trying to torpedo Obama's presidential bid.

-- The Hill: "Fox News confirmed that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) will make her first-ever appearance on 'The O'Reilly Factor.' The interview will air in two parts over Wednesday's and Thursday's programs."

Blog Watch

-- Bill Keshlear says: "Once upon a time in the West, there were liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats, in addition to conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats. They didn't agree on everything. Labels didn't mean much. They usually agreed to disagree. There was a measure of tolerance and mutual respect. And now, as the Democratic Party of Utah attempts to shelve ideological litmus tests we get 'Dems aren't too picky about hopefuls' politics'. Sheeeeeesh! Is this an example of how the commercial news media enable a dysfunctional political system? Shouldn't both Democrats and Republicans embrace a wide range of ideas that generally would fall within their philosophical worldview then let the best one become policy? Wouldn't that be a good thing? On May 9, Brian Schweitzer, a nationally prominent, pistol-packin' (literally) Montana governor, will speak at our Jefferson/Jackson Celebration. He will be warmly welcomed as a successful Western Democrat and pragmatic environmentalist (He believes working for a healthy environment can produce good jobs, even in rural economies). His motto, like that of many Western 'sagebrush' Democrats with a populist bent (and Republicans such as Dave Hogue who think like Democrats), could be: 'Love me or leave me, but don't fence me in!'"

Lighter Side

“There are a lot of Democrats today who are like the dog who caught the mail truck. They finally caught it; now they don’t know what to do with it.”

-- T.J. Rooney, chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party (Politics magazine)