I enjoyed a rare opportunity this morning of having a round-table discussion between Lt. Governor Gary Herbert and Utah bloggers, kindly hosted by Lyall Swim at The Sutherland Institute. The Lt. Governor spoke for about an hour about the accomplishments of Utah under the tenure of the current Governor and Legislature. For example Utah experienced 4.5% job growth in 2007, which is unprecedented across the nation. He stressed the importance of “partnership in government” and programs like “Be Ready Utah.” Probably most important is that he and Governor Huntsman agree that among Utah’s priorities is raising public teacher salary to promote new entrants into this important field and healthcare reform in order to put healthcare rising prices in check. I must admit that I left the meeting with a feeling that the Governor’s office tended to think merely throwing money at a problem will solve it, but I imagine that was due to the short time we had to get into deep conversation about issues. Regardless, it was a great opportunity and I am glad I took time to attend the briefing.
As a personal sidenote, it was a thrill to personally meet some of my fellow bloggers out there, like Frank, Mike, and Jesse. See you next time.
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Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI was very impressed with what he had to say about the Governor’s insight and goals for economic issues and his knowledge of the world around him. I appreciated very much his long-term insight into the Education Voucher debate that (1) Emotional democracy often doesn’t work as well as a reasoned representative government, and (2) many amendments to the voucher bill in the Legislature would have had the effect of killing it outright.
I should have said “many [Democrat] amendments”.
Ok, just saw this. Thank you for posting about what you heard from Lt. Governor Herbert and from Jason Chaffetz. I feel I have a much better feel for the legislators whom I have met in person.
Something Frank reported really bugs me. The voucher proponents are continually making these stealthy claims about “emotional democracy” and the “misinformation” put out by teachers. Translation: You were stupid or deceived if you disagreed with us. Senators Bramble and Dayton clearly outlined their dislike for referendums for 5 minutes or so at the public meeting I attended. The Senate is pushing SB54 to make it even more difficult to push through voter initiatives and voter referendums in all levels of government except state referendums to avoid public scrutiny.
Tighter restrictions on the public’s ability to put issues or laws up to vote are unnecessary at best, and an abuse of power at worst. November was the first state referendum since the ’70’s, and I can recall only a handful of local or state initiatives in the last decade. Claiming that these are being abused is a self-serving. As people researched and got informed about vouchers, they were more likely to vote against the voucher bill. As Steve Urquhart, the sponsor of the voucher bill, put it: the referendum process is sound and acts as a rip cord for the public, or another check and balance.
Yes, I heard Lt. Governor Herbert say “emotional democracy” myself and your translation is what I felt, too. The problem with the Lt. Governor’s assertion is that it is in fact that same emotion that put him in office. People vote emotionally based on public discussion that is either portrayed on television, blogs, word-of-mouth, or similar means. Being one who was educated on the topic of vouchers I voted against it. So I left the table knowing Lt. Governor Herbert’s remarks were simply a point in which I disagree.