Partisanship and Participation
I tire of reading editorials that Democrats are not “allowed” to participate in legislative decisions. Of course, such editorials are intended to bolster the theme that Republicans are bad. But, at its core, such whining merely demeans Democrat legislators.
In the House, there are 75 representatives; any 38 of them can pass out a bill. In the Senate, there are 29 senators; any 15 of them can pass out a bill. Elections and the Constitution of Utah give each legislator all the permission he/she needs to participate. To argue that a Democrat legislator is incapable of getting anything done, other than as a product of Republican magnanimity, is false. Any legislator, Democrat or Republican, simply needs to work with others and build coalitions. I don't recall Rep. Brad King ever begging for anyone’s permission to participate. I see him and other effective legislators jumping in and doing what it takes to get things done.
Any legislator, Democrat or Republican, who thinks success should be delivered up just because he/she is louder, purer, smarter, entitled, or sympathetic, is going to waste a lot of time pouting – while more effective legislators will be out working to build coalitions.
The whining must sell newspapers, but it is dumb and it really dumbs down the dialogue, doing the public a disservice.
In the House, there are 75 representatives; any 38 of them can pass out a bill. In the Senate, there are 29 senators; any 15 of them can pass out a bill. Elections and the Constitution of Utah give each legislator all the permission he/she needs to participate. To argue that a Democrat legislator is incapable of getting anything done, other than as a product of Republican magnanimity, is false. Any legislator, Democrat or Republican, simply needs to work with others and build coalitions. I don't recall Rep. Brad King ever begging for anyone’s permission to participate. I see him and other effective legislators jumping in and doing what it takes to get things done.
Any legislator, Democrat or Republican, who thinks success should be delivered up just because he/she is louder, purer, smarter, entitled, or sympathetic, is going to waste a lot of time pouting – while more effective legislators will be out working to build coalitions.
The whining must sell newspapers, but it is dumb and it really dumbs down the dialogue, doing the public a disservice.
posted by steve u. at 12/06/2006
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7 Comments:
Hello Rep. Urquhart -
I agree that this is the dumbest argument, ever. I agree that Brad King jumps in and get things done. I agree that there are some formidable and hard-working Democrats on that side of the aisle who work very hard for the people they represent.
The trouble is, that very argument is *all* I ever heard from the Republicans while I was campaigning for the Utah Senate District 28. One even went so far to say that "Emily is a great person, but she won't get anything done as a Democrat." This not only sells newspapers, it sells people on the idea that Democrats don't have a voice and therefore voting for a *D* it's a wasted vote.
While the Democrats might "whine" about it (and I for one am exhausted about reports of the complaining D's), the Republicans make sure to talk about the powerless Democrats whenever campaign season rolls around.
If we really want to work together and build coalitions and get good work done in the Utah Legislature, we need to eliminate the notion that "Party is Power." It is no good for Democrat Dominated Massachusetts, and it is bad for Utah.
Steve,
Looks like you got the attention of commie-writer Bob Bernick. Good job. It sure is odd to me that a liberal socialist like Bernick would use Animal farm to prove a point. judging by his own words and articles, it obviously taught him NOTHING.
Amen Steve. The voters appoint and the Constitution empowers every legislator without a permission slip. There does not appear to be any shortage of loosers who have found a twisted way to dignify their failures while excusing their own incompetence and feelings of inferiority. There are also plenty of capable and self confident individuals who effectively work with what they have by finding a way to make it work for them. Fortunately, those of us who live in Washington County are blessed with an abundance of talent in positions of leadership in both public and private sector. Voin Campbell.
Thanks for calling is what it is Steve. Just cry foul. Claims of exclusion are one of the old political standby excuses for one's failure to gather support and to, thereby, influence policy. Those with idiologies outside the mainstream or those whom their piers simply don't respect appear most likely to hide behind it. It usually attracts the interest and attention of others with similar views or personal problems. One does not even have to anything of substanace to say or to advance any constructive proposals.
Voin Campbell
There is one flaw with Steve's argument. While any legislator has the right and the ability to build coalitions and get things done, the democrats in Utah have a disadvantage because the strong republican majority does not leave any incentive for republican legislators to work with democrat legislators.
The fact is that our state would be better served with a state democratic party which was better able to engage the citizens of Utah and create a more healthy dialog within our state government.
Emily,
The byproduct of the editorials’ hand wringing is that people don’t participate or, if they do, they often mistake partisan screeching for political dialogue. The papers strongly filter political information. If, as the editorial boards claim, individual legislators are irrelevant and only party affiliation matters, why should anyone bother to participate in anything other than strictly partisan activities? Why should non-partisans bother to participate at all?
Editorial boards lament that people boycott democratic participation and that political dialogue has moved away from the center, but isn’t that what they foster?
I realize your point was directed toward campaigning. I try (mostly) to use this blog more for policy discussions. As you'll notice I took a blogging vacation during the campaign silly season, figuring little of merit is said immediately prior to an election, or, if something meritorious is said, it is dismissed as campaign rhetoric. I liked that I wrote about many issues the last 2 years and could let that do a lot of the talking for me this campaign season.
Whether it is right or wrong to use the Ds-are-incapable argument during a campaign, I agree with you that the 2 Salt Lake newspapers send a strong and unfortunate message that Democrats need not apply. I don't doubt that they help perpetuate the very situation they whine about.
Hello Representative U -
Well, we can certainly both agree, there. I was indeed speaking of campaigning (because obviously I was the Democrat in the race and you better believe that the argument became tiresome, no matter who was saying it).
Anyway, it's all a bit silly. All of the Representatives and Senators who I personally know (both D's and R's) are hard working, honest and dedicated people. Not a whiner in the bunch.
And so, my Christmas wish is that the SL papers would not report about what apparent complainers the Democrats are but instead report about how hard everyone on both sides of the aisle works to get the important stuff done. Public service is a commendable thing.
Happy Holidays,
Emily
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