A very Republican co-worker approached me with a sour look on her face this week. When I asked what was the matter, she said, “Well, it looks like Ralph Becker is no better than Rocky.” Probing a little deeper, I discovered she was upset about Mayor-elect Becker’s pledge to make domestic partner benefits one of the first priorities of his administration.
Here’s what I said to my friend: Make no mistake, Ralph Becker is a progressive Democrat. That’s what his constituents want, and it’s one of the reasons he was elected by such a wide margin. But let me ask a question: During Ralph’s many years as a leader in the State House, can you recall one instance where he was featured on the evening news passionately criticizing someone else?
Mayor Anderson and Mayor-elect Becker have similar political values. But there are differences in style and methods. And with all due respect to Mayor Anderson, who has accomplished a lot for the city of Salt Lake, I’m looking forward to having Ralph as the mayor of Utah’s capitol city.
There are two reasons for this. First, Garrison Keillor said once, “I am a liberal, and liberalism is the politics of kindness”. Some progressives feel they need to use Coulter-esque techniques to attack the views of Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity. I disagree. In a weird way, rudeness and mean-spirited attack methods work for Coulter; it fits in with her view of the world. I just don’t think it works for liberalism. Ralph is a passionate guy, but I think his low-key public persona better fits the Garrison Keillor mold.
Secondly, if Democrats are ever going to get Utah to shed its image as “the reddest state in the nation”, they have missionary work to do. There simply aren’t enough Democrats in the state. They need to convert more independents and moderate Republicans to their side. Rocky is very popular with the base in Salt Lake County, and he has no equal in energizing the faithful. But with all due respect to Mayor Anderson, I think Ralph will be the better missionary.
I had the opportunity to get to know Ralph during the last two years. I have a great deal of respect and admiration for the man. I think he’ll be a great mayor and a good representative for Utah Democrats.
Here’s the bottom line. Call me an optimist, but I think when Ralph advocates domestic partner rights, he will actually have a pretty good chance of persuading people outside of his core constituency that it’s the right thing to do. Isn’t that what politics is about?
4 comments:
People are so quick to judge. I heard the same thing the other day. It was almost like this person wanted to be angry with "that Democrat", before giving the man a chance.
I guess only members of the LDS Church deserve benefits.
I'm with you Steve, Ralph will make a great missionary, that is if he is even given a chance.
optimist!
but I couldn't have said it better myself. We're better than that.
Don’t be surprised to see a bill introduced in the legislature in 2008 which states that any “entity” which receives state funds can only provide health benefits to spouses and children of those legally married (i.e. proposition 3). Such bills have been introduced in past years but never really left committee.
This would be one way for the legislature to have the upper hand over the new Mayor.
Democrats just keep getting better and better all the time.
Republicans just want to hide their wide stances.
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