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Well, we’re in the bottom half of August. School, football, cool temperatures and autumn leaves can’t be far behind. Enjoy summer while it lasts.
Cannon is White House Point Man
Rep. Chris Cannon was quoted in a Wall Street Journal story (paid subscription required) on Tuesday, saying that the Bush Administration’s immigration reform legislation is expected to move ahead quickly. The story identifies Cannon as “a Utah Republican who works with the White House on immigration issues.” The story says the White House wants to provide more foreign-born workers legal status, while also toughening lax immigration enforcement. The business lobby believes the economy needs more workers, but many GOP conservatives want to get tough on illegal immigration.
Blog Watch
Lucy Burningham at NewWest.net notes Sen. Orrin Hatch’s media blitz, and suggests that when President Bush visits Utah next week he might want to try some real mountain biking. . . . Utah Libertarian Party Chair Robert Latham sent a note saying he has compiled a list of legislative swing districts and posted in on his Liberty For Utahns blog. (Scroll down a bit to find the list.)
Blogs Gain Readership
Nearly 50 million Americans visited Weblogs, or "blogs," in the first quarter of 2005, an increase of 45 percent compared with the first quarter of 2004, according to comScore Networks, Reston, Va. Some 30% of the online population have visited blogs, underscoring the commercial importance of consumer-generated and -driven media. Other findings: Blog readers are significantly more likely to live in wealthier households, be younger, connect to the Web on high-speed connections, visit nearly twice as many Web pages and be much more likely to shop online. Read more.
Dayton to Appear in NCLB Event
Rep. Margaret Dayton of Orem will participate today in a national news event highlighting action in several states in opposition to the federal No Child Left Behind legislation. Dayton will appear along with the Connecticut attorney general, a Minnesota state representative, and school leaders from Texas and California. The event is entitled, "NCLB Left Behind: Understanding the Growing Grassroots Rebellion Against a Controversial Law."
Sponsor is the Civil Society Institute, which has produced a report on NCLB saying that 47 states are in varying stages of revolt against NCLB, led by Connecticut, Utah and Colorado, which are in “open revolt.”
To listen to the event today, dial 1 (800) 860-2442 by 11:30 a.m. MT. Ask for the “NCLB Left Behind” news event. More information is available at the organization’s web site, www.NCLBgrassroots.org. Streaming audio of the event will be available by 4 p.m. at the site.
Reader Response
Whenever things are slow around here, I know I can push a few buttons to liven things up . . .
The Left Does Too Have Solutions
From Craig Axford & Laura Bonham, co-chairs, Utah Democratic Progressive Caucus:
First of all, this statement (in Tuesday’s UPD noting that liberals love to criticize Bush, but have few solutions of their own) ignores constructive ideas the left has offered. Specifically when it comes to Iraq, the left (and some conservatives) have called for a timetable, but Bush and most Republicans have steadfastly opposed taking this step. HCR 197 sponsored by Rep. Barbara Lee and co-sponsored by a number of Democrats calls for the US not to enter into any agreement with Iraq that enables us to establish permanent military bases in that country. In spite of statements by the White House a permanent military presence is not desirable, this too is not receiving any support.
More to the point, when it comes to conservative ideas such as “let’s invade Iraq” or “let’s ‘save’ Social Security by privatizing a good portion of it” the left wing of the Democratic Party has never supported them. It is not the job of the left, currently not in control of government, to come up with “solutions” to problems (real or imagined) which our conservative controlled government creates or invents. It seems to us what you are really saying when you argue the left is devoid of ideas is “we created this mess, and the left is failing to offer us anyway to clean it up.”
However, if solutions are what you seek, at least two for the Iraq situation have already been offered above. When it comes to Social Security and securing a solid economic future for our children and grandchild, try reducing and eventually eliminating the deficit. Also, at various times the right has resisted greater investment in fuel saving technology and improvements to the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards and an energy policy that truly puts the resources needed into wind, solar, biomass and other forms of energy that would both clean up our environment and reduce our reliance on foreign oil or on fossil fuels in general. Instead the right has offered “solutions” such as billions in additional subsidies to oil companies already making record profits.
So long as we are in the minority, and any solution we offer to any issue facing this country is rejected by those in power, our role is that of opposition party, not to offer you a laundry list of solutions designed to undo the damage the right has done during its time in power. It is a fulltime job just slowing down the right in an effort to lessen the potential harm of the policies it advances.
GOP Bashed Kerry
From Richard Watson, chair, Davis County Democrats:
This is in response to the comments about the “Democracy for Utah” Bush bashers that Americans vote for the candidate or party that is resolute with leadership and a plan. Unfortunately, if everyone remembers, the Republicans were bashing Kerry from the start of his campaign and it was nonstop right up to Election Day. President Bush, while dodging the hard questions about his record and his past, would rely on the RNC to bash his opponent. With the rehearsed sound bites the Republicans used and continue to use, I can not recall at anytime, hearing President Bush defend his record during the 2004 campaign. I do remember, however, the constant bashing about Kerry being a so-called “flip-flop”.
On the local level, every time our legislative Democrats prepare and present a bill during the legislative session, rarely does it survive out of committee. Democrats do plan, but somehow the Republicans feel they have to knock down the Democrats and keep them in check. Has anyone ever read or heard a Democrat making a comment without a Republican making an immediate response? In addition, in Utah and in counties like Davis County, almost 40% of the voters punched a straight Republican ticket without knowing who the candidates are. That does not sound like they are resolute in their voting.
Now You Know
Utah’s Transportation Crisis
1990-2010 projected increase in lane miles for all public roads: 20%
1990-2010 projected increase in population: 60%
1990-2010 projected increase in vehicle miles traveled: 100%
(There is an 80% gap between growth in highway capacity and growth in vehicle miles traveled.)
2006 Shaping Up Bad for GOP
In his Tuesday e-mail column, National Journal’s Charlie Cook warns Republicans that things aren’t looking good for the mid-term elections next year. “. . . things may get better or worse for Bush. But for now, the situation is bad and appears to be worsening.”
Leadership/Communications Tip
Lessons From Rummy
(From "The Rumsfeld Way" by Jeffrey A. Krames)
"Despite [Donald Rumsfeld's] obvious lack of awe for the media, he had developed a rapport with the press seldom seen in the post-Watergate era. One reason is that he shows them a different kind of respect. He is not afraid to say that he doesn't have every answer. He also announces straight out when he doesn't want to talk about something. And because he is careful not to pass on any information that is not verified, he is generally taken at his word by both the press and the public....
“What [strikes] many observers most forcefully [is] Rumsfeld's acid-tongued candor. Truth-telling, especially with a hard edge, seems strangely out of place when it emerges from the defense establishment. We have become all too accustomed to our military brass (and their civilian counterparts) describing war in euphemisms and sanitized phrases. By departing so forcefully from that tradition, Rumsfeld has etched himself a sharp profile in our minds. Yes, he's sometimes prickly and acerbic, but he's also oddly refreshing and reassuring...
“[Rumsfeld] appears to have no qualms about setting an errant journalist straight. If he doesn't know something, he doesn't hesitate to say so. If he doesn't want to answer a question, he says that too... And on the flip side, he may choose to respond with an almost alarming directness. At one press conference, Rumsfeld was asked why U.S. warplanes were bombing in a certain area. 'To kill them,' he replied. As the 'Economist' put it, 'Mr. Rumsfeld's waffle quotient is remarkably low: he either speaks straightforwardly, or not at all.'
“So he possesses the gift of candor -- a no-nonsense directness... At the same time, he draws upon a store of earthy, pungent images and metaphors, often with quirky or colorful expressions. The result can be striking. When asked if the United States was close to apprehending fugitive terrorists in Afghanistan, he replied, 'If you're chasing a chicken around the barnyard, are you close or are you not close until you get him?'"
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