Friday, March 07, 2008

Rob's pick for post of the week

From Green Jello: Moderation in Utah Politics

Some of the events of this past legislative session have made me reflect heavily on my party affiliation, and the ways that public policy decisions are (or should be) made. I have been officially affiliated with the Republican party since my 18th birthday, I was picked as a delegate to the state Republican convention that year (in that convention we started Merrill Cook on the road to his short jaunt in Congress). During the past 12 or more years I have drifted from politically apathetic to interested and somewhat between. My views have likewise varied -- I have been near the point of right wing extremism, and have drifted back to the center of the isle. This last session has made it very clear that we need to take a much harder look at the individuals we elect as our local legislative representatives. Continue...

2 comments:

Jeremy said...

As is usually the case Paramaphil explains his reasoning really well in that post. I fully understand where he's coming from since I underwent a very similar transformation in political identity soon after moving to Utah.

Anonymous said...

As one who has been a former delegate at the local and state level for the Democratic Party, I feel the same way – but in the opposite direction.

Increasingly, I feel like the party no longer represents me or my values.

The Democratic Party that I grew up with, southern democrats is gone.

What I find is a political party that is increasingly, anti-business, anti-family, pro-alternative lifestyles, and increasingly pro-taxation.

I’m not ready to declare myself a republican yet, but, I no longer call myself a democrat either.