An Open Primary System - A Better Option? (Part 1 - Intro)

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/print/705311657/Pros-cons-of-Utah-going-with-open-primary-system.html

This editorial in yesterday's Deseret News caught my attention and I wanted to write about it. I've been involved with the Republican Party's Caucus/Convention system for over 20 years, from my first caucus meeting in Minnesota, to a student precinct at BYU, to neighborhood caucuses in West Jordan, Sandy, and now Eagle Mountain. I think I'll respond by taking Frank Pignanelli's arguments (he's for an open primary) and turning them on their head, although it may take me a week or more to finish. So, let me nutshell my ideas here and I'll expand on them throughout my upcoming posts.

• The Einstein Quote - A cynical response to a very philosophical argument: Is mankind capable of self-government?
• The Few vs. The Many - Is America a Democracy or a Democratic Republic?
• Powerful Special Interest Groups Pouring Millions Into Influencing the Few - However, to influence an open primary system, won't they spend billions? Will it be more effective?
• Everyone's Doing It - Many other states have adopted the open primary, but has it helped them or hurt them? Why jump on a band wagon that is falling apart?
• Those "Shrewd Politicos" Working the System - Don't we want candidates, and ultimately, our elected officials to have the intelligence and "shrewdness" to get results in a very complicated, difficult, and sometimes "toxic" political system?
• The Wackos and Purists Out There - Are they going to go away with an open primary system? Is it so awful to hear what they have to say?
• The Archaic System of Neighborhood Discussions Is Over - Don't we need these discussions more than ever? If some feel the system is broken, let's fix the problems, not throw it out completely in favor of a different system with its inherent weaknesses that could make the situation even worse.
• The Caucus System Favors Incumbents - Doesn't the open primary system favor incumbents just as much, if not more so? What's wrong with an incumbent as long as they're working hard, staying honest, and still representing the majority of their district?
• Higher Candidacy Barriers Weed Out Weak Candidates - Don't these barriers (higher filing fees, sponsor signatures) favor the wealthier and more well-known candidates? Don't they discourage grass-roots types of candidates, even strong, honest, qualified ones?
• The Role of New Technology - Isn't new technology (Internet, talk radio) still very "self-selective"? How would this help an open primary system more than a caucus/convention system?

I definitely have a lot to say on this issue. I'm looking forward to writing more tomorrow!

Motherhood and Politics - Part 2

I first read the little booklet "Blessings on the Hand of Women" by Boyd K. Packer when Isaac was just a newborn baby. A month or so earlier, our neighbor had given us a beautiful rocking bassinet that was much larger than our previous bassinet. So, reading this poem by William Ross Wallace - literally while I was rocking Isaac to sleep - truly inspired me and has helped me through some of the rough "motherhood moments" that come to all mothers from time to time.

Blessing on the hand of women!
Angels guard its strength and grace,
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
Rainbows ever gently curled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Infancy's the tender fountain,
Power may with beauty flow,
Mother's first to guide the streamlets,
From them souls unresting grow -
Grow on for the good or evil,
Sunshine streamed or evil hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Woman, how divine your mission
Here upon our natal sod!
Keep, oh, keep the young heart open
Always to the breath of God!
All true trophies of the ages
Are from mother-love impearled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Blessings on the hand of women!
Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,
And the sacred song is mingled
With the worship in the sky -
Mingles where no tempest darkens,
Rainbows evermore are hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

(William Ross Wallace, "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle Is the Hand That Rules the World," in Poems That Live Forever, sel. Hazel Felleman [New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1965], 149-50; Quoted in Boyd K. Packer, Blessings on the Hand of Women, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 2006], 3-4).

Motherhood and Politics - Part 1

Merilee Baggaley, my wonderful mother-in-law, gave me One Bright Shining Hope: Messages for Women from Gordon B. Hinckley for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. I like to flip open to any page and read something every morning. This is the message on page 132:


"The true strength that is America's, the true strength of any nation, lies in those qualities of character that have been acquired for the most part by children taught in the quiet, simple, everyday manner of mothers. What Jean Paul Richter once declared of fathers is even more true of mothers - and I paraphrase it just a little to make the point - "What a mother says to her children is not heard by the world, but it will be heard by posterity."


Wow! Yes! I wholeheartedly agree!

The Dog Food on the Porch

I've wanted to write about this story for some time now since it taught me such a valuable lesson: Don't judge too quickly!

In 2005, our little city of Eagle Mountain was experiencing some political "growing pains". Several factions of the community were vehemently at odds with each other, financial troubles abounded, and we couldn't keep a mayor to serve all four years of his/her term. Mayor Kelvin Bailey and some city council members had suggested that we look at making the mayor's position a paid, full-time position. Although the proposal failed at first, this issue became the defining issue for the 2005 City Council/Mayoral elections.

At a July City Council meeting that year, I stood up at public comment and expressed my opinion that the full-time mayor option was exactly what our city needed at that time. (I will try to find my typed up comments from that day and post it on this site.) Honestly, I felt extremely nervous since I knew my comments would plant me firmly on one "side" politically in opposition to many of my friends and ward members in my neighborhood. Still, I felt strongly about this issue and knew that I had a unique perspective to share. I knew that what I was doing could invite some opposition, but I also felt a duty to my family (who also came to watch and support me) to show them how important it is to stand up for things we believe in.

After my comments, our family left the meeting and drove to the store to pick up some groceries. Imagine our surprise when we got home - a Ziploc bag of dog food was sitting on our porch! No name, no note, just a bag of dog food sitting there.

This little bag sparked quite a conversation that night. I shared with my children and husband how one city council member had recently told me that he started wearing a bullet proof vest to city council meetings at the suggestion of the county sheriff, due to some death threats he had been receiving lately. Our mayor had left city council meeting one night to find his tires slashed. A few websites and local "newspapers" had encouraged and published inflammatory, derogatory, and misleading articles about city politics and its leaders.

We discussed the need to be civil and respectful to our leaders even if, or especially if, we disagree with what they're doing or saying. We discussed the fact that different people can see or perceive the same exact object in different ways based on their own perspective, much like the glass of water that is half full/half empty or the classic Covey "old woman/young woman" picture. I shared with my children my belief that much of the contention in our city came from the fact that people were only willing to see their side of the picture and unwilling to accept a different viewpoint. When we went to bed that night, I felt grateful for this learning and teaching opportunity, but I also felt some trepidation for the upcoming wave of opposition I might face for taking a stand on this issue.

The next morning I woke up and found we had some messages on our voicemail I hadn't thought to check the night before. I will never forget the message from our next door neighbor, Troy Rasmussen: His wife Tambra had gone into early labor that night with their first child, and since we had a key to their home, he was hoping that we could feed their dogs and collect their mail for the next couple of days. So that was the answer to the dog food!

Can you imagine what our breakfast conversation was like that morning? How easy it is to jump to conclusions, to assume the worst, to think it's all a conspiracy - when the real truth is that it's just a bag of dog food, left there for the purpose, of all things, to feed some dogs!

I know that sometimes negative things do happen because of conniving, manipulating, mean-spirited people who want to connive, manipulate, and be mean-spirited. But I believe that we can work ourselves into a negative frenzy - with resulting negative reactions - when we see everything as a conspiracy and refuse to see a different perspective, one that may be closer to the truth.

So, in my family, we have a way of checking ourselves from getting too carried away in assuming the worst: We ask ourselves, "Is this just the dog food on the porch?"

My Patriotic Month

I would imagine that for most people, July is the month of patriotism. This year for me, June has been the month of patriotism. What an amazing and wonderful month, and it’s only halfway over! Here’s what has happened so far:


• My birthday – My wonderful husband decided to surprise me this year and get me a birthday present I didn’t know about in advance. When he came home from work, I was sent to my bedroom while he and the children prepared. When I came out, our kitchen table was spread with a blue tablecloth, with my patriotic basket centerpiece I’ve used at many speaking and campaign events, a gift wrapped in a patriotic gift bag, and a patriotic plate holding six Hostess cupcakes adorned with red and blue candles – the kind that spark again after blowing them out! The gift he got me was a set of patriotic plates and bowls and a sparkly red, white, and blue “Uncle Sam” hat. Michael said he figured I would use these gifts many times in the months and years to come and I’m sure he’s right. I’m so lucky and blessed to have such a wonderful husband!


• Patriotic Fundraiser – To help raise money for Timpanogos Republican Women, a new group that just started in Saratoga Springs, my daughter and I wandered around Nolan Park during the Max Impact Concert (a special musical group from the US Air Force) selling patriotic hats, tattoos, glow necklaces, Frisbees, and pinwheels. Honestly, we didn’t sell a whole lot (I think people came to the concert because it was free), but Hannah and I sure had a fun Mommy/Daughter Date!

• Pony Express Days Parade – On Saturday, June 4th, my children and I walked in the parade wearing “Heather Jackson for Mayor” t-shirts and shouting out “Two Four Six Eight/Who do we appreciate?/Mayor Jackson!” Christopher and Geoffrey especially enjoyed throwing out candy! But even more important, I believe, is helping my children to see that I try to live what I preach, that even if we don’t have a lot of money or even a lot of time, we can all do something to get involved politically. Helping out on a campaign happens to be one of the most fun ways to get involved!

• Patriotic Songs in Primary – In preparation for an upcoming stake fireside, our Stake Music Committee Chair (and our Primary Pianist!) asked me to teach the Senior Primary two patriotic songs out of the Children’s Songbook, #224 “My Country” and #225 “My Flag, My Flag”. In all my years as a Primary Chorister, I had never learned these two songs, nor had I ever heard them presented by any other group. Now was as good a time as ever, and I really enjoyed putting together lesson plans to teach these songs to the children! To celebrate Flag Day and to review these two songs for the fireside, I led a Patriotic Singing Time yesterday that I think turned out awesome! (I can write more details about this lesson in another post.)

• Utah Republican Party State Convention – Because of my recent appointment to fill the resigned seat of our Legislative District Education Officer, I was able to attend the convention as a State Delegate. Wow! Especially poignant for me: Watching Alan Jackson, husband of our Mayor and my friend Heather Jackson, solemnly and professionally carry the U.S. Flag as leader of the Color Guard; Singing the National Anthem with Miss Utah and over 1,500 delegates; Chairman Stan Lockhart getting a bit emotional and then sharing his love for our country, our founding principles, and his belief that we are all children of God, brothers and sisters in this land of freedom; and Honorable Ken Blackwell’s keynote speech about “punching holes in the darkness” by raising up our standards of light, not with contention or judgment, but by example and kindness. Wow!

• Eagle Mountain West Stake Patriotic Fireside – Last night, my two oldest children came with me to the Stake Center to participate in this amazing fireside. The Senior Primary Children from the 4th, 5th, and 7th wards sang “My Country” and “My Flag, My Flag”. As a congregation, we sang “The Star Spangled Banner”, “America the Beautiful”, “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”, and “God of Our Fathers”. Brother Peter Hughes talked about his experience immigrating to this country from England as a young boy, what Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty meant to him, and how grateful he is to truly have lived the American Dream. Brother George Reid read some beautiful commentary, a small choral group sang “Come Thou Font of Every Blessing” and another group (my friends Donna Burnham, Marianne and Ryan Anderson, Diane Thompson, Matt Williams and Marcellus Barrus among them) sang such an inspiring rendition of John Rutter’s “Distant Land” that it brought tears to my eyes! The Stake Youth Choir sang “Army of Helaman” (officially it’s called “We’ll Bring the World His Truth”) in a unique but powerful way – only four stood up on the stand at the beginning of the song, then with each verse and chorus, more youth came out of the audience up to the stand to sing, until there were at least 40 or so youth singing their hearts out! Mayor Heather Jackson spoke about the story of Fort McHenry and the Star Spangled Banner as well as the importance of our flag to our troops in battle. Finally, the Stake Choir sang the familiar and wonderful rendition of “Battle Hymn of the Republic”.

During the fireside, my son Christopher asked me why I was crying. I told him, “I cry when I feel the Spirit very strongly. The scriptures tell us that the Spirit of Liberty is the Spirit of God and that’s what I’m feeling here tonight.” How grateful I am to live in this beautiful country, to have the freedom of religion, speech, and assembly, to practice a religion that values and teaches the importance of freedom and for our stake that chose to celebrate it, and above all, the opportunity to teach these things to my children!

Whew! What an awesome month! Watch out July – you’ve had quite a bit of competition so far!

Can Politics Bring Out the Worst in People?

Linda Housekeeper, a member of the Republican State Central Committee, called me yesterday with some questions about the C&B (Constitution & Bylaws) Committee on which I serve. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with her!

We strongly disagree on the ex officio delegate issue - I hope to write more on this later - but we agree on so many other issues. I really appreciated how she allowed me uninterrupted time and space to share what I felt about changes needed in our party. Then she shared with me some of the experiences she's been through that understandably affects how she perceives current events and leaders. If your house has been maliciously set on fire several times, it makes sense that you get kind of jumpy when you smell smoke - even if that smoke only comes from some burnt toast. I really could get on my soapbox about this and go on & on ... but no one would want to read it all. But I do want to share some of the thoughts in my head on this topic.

In my experience, politics can (and often does) bring out the worst in people. The political arena of course tends to attract those who think too highly of themselves and seek power for an ego trip or to get away with unethical behavior. I'm reminded of Richard Culbertson who ran for Eagle Mountain Mayor two years ago to raise a smokescreen for his overtly illegal activities - which campaign failed miserably by the way.

On the other hand, I've also witnessed formerly kind, respectable people involved in manipulating, withholding information, acting very discourteously, etc., all in the name of getting a victory for their ideas at the expense of the "other team". A few years ago I was surprised to learn that a friend of mine had been very active in our city politics before I had moved out here. At the time I knew her, she had sworn off of political involvement because, in her words, it brought out a monster in her and she didn't like what she was becoming. In her mind, the only solution was to stop getting involved completely. Oh, how sad!

See, just like my friend, I don't think most people who get involved in politics are essentially "evil" or intentionally want to lie and cheat, etc. But I think the general coursening of society has decreased our collective abilities to govern ourselves in decent and respectful ways. We have collectively lost the ability to say "Help me understand where you're coming from. I may not agree with you, and you may not agree with me, but I respect your right to see this issue differently. Maybe by understanding each other we can find an even better solution. If not, I'll do my best to share my ideas with the governing body and then respect whatever decision the majority chooses to make."

Instead, we draw up sides and have to win victories against "the other team". We polarize and save face, we can't admit when the "other side" has a very reasonable and good point. We are encouraged to speak before thinking. Morning shows and talk radio often seem to thrive on people who can cut down the "other side" in witty ways. We start fighting over little molehills and technical details. Little wonder our society turns to lawyers to solve conflicts. Every issue produces "winners" and "losers", with the losing side vowing to continue their fight till their side prevails (think about the recent Proposition 8 in California).

Okay, this post is long enough - too long maybe. But, my eternally optimistic side sees this whole conundrum through a different lens: If politics can and does bring out the worst in many people, then it can also - and does - bring out the best in many people. I hope that's the case with me!

A Resolve to Do Better

I need to apologize that I have left off writing on this blog for so long. I have had some intense health, emotional, family, and financial struggles over this past year that, thankfully, seem to be clearing up.

I have recently been appointed and ratified as the new Education Officer for our Republican Party Legislative District 56 (currently the largest in the state). I am also finishing up the last few months of my two-year term on the Utah County Republican Party Constitution & Bylaws Committee and look forward to running again.

It seems like the winds of change are blowing over our county party and I'm grateful to see some of the changes that are coming. Better organization, outreach, education, technology, and empowerment of the central committee (you know, that group that is "supposed" to be the governing body of the party and not just a rubber stamp body) are some things I'm seeing that will make a difference in combatting the negative face our party has received lately in the press and among many party members and instead help us to move forward.

However, in the name of change, it seems that there are always those individuals or factions that try to push their personal, emotionally-driven agendas onto the majority, even though, IMHO, those policies would weaken or harm the majority. I saw this same thing happen in Eagle Mountain City politics not too long ago, and it feels like I'm seeing a similar pattern again in the county party.

Specifically, there are several individuals who, through reasons they feel are justified, seem to come out with knives and swords against "those rotten people in office who just want to hold on to their power." They have come up with an agenda designed to "take away the power" of those in power and "give it back to the people." To their credit, this group is very organized, articulate, and able to mobilize Central Committee members like I've never seen before. On the flip side, it feels like a lot of their arguments are emotionally-driven, citing "principles" and "integrity" but really coming across as vindictive and punitive, unwilling to give "the other side" the benefit of the doubt and unwilling to really listen to all sides to come up with reasonable, fair solutions.

Even worse, some (not all) of the "people in power" that are targets of this grass-roots group seem to react in huffy puffy ways, using their information and positions to "fight back", bringing out a darker side of them that I'm sure isn't in their best nature.

All this has seemed to lead to an increase of contention, polarization, and ill-will among active members of our county party. I have had the opportunity of discussing party issues with several different individuals over the past few months and now my head is so full of ideas and concerns that it almost feels like it could burst.

Soooooo - I am going to rededicate time daily (or almost daily) to this blog so I can stop these ideas from running around in my head, put them in black and white, and actually be able to take action based on them. After all, isn't that what a pensieve is for?