With Friends Like These...

[jenny-wildcat.livejournal.com]

I have to go on a bit of a media rant here.  I hate how the right has to play nice with the left, even when the right has a majority.

I live in Utah - one of the reddest of the red states (as long as you're outside of Salt Lake County).  Usually it's pretty good - we don't get much of the liberal BS that the rest of the country deals with (less national attention, though).  By and large, our representatives and senators stick to what their constituents elected them for and there's very little political strife.  In that way, we're pretty lucky.

Until Ted Kennedy or such dies.  Then, we have to be nice and fawn all over him - at least, our "happy, feel-good, let's be friends and sing Kumbaya and not hurt anyone's feelings" media outlets do.  The media in Utah are so afraid of offending somebody that they'll lie down and say, "Oh, no Rocky Anderson - we love all the illegal immigrants - bring them all in - you can parade in front of the City-County building all you want and wave your Mexican flags!!!  Hey - turn this way - we need a good shot for the 10:00 news!"

That's just one example.  Here's another from today's Deseret Morning News all about how Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Teddy Kennedy were, like, totally BFFs!!  Seriously - if all you know of the media in Utah was the DMN and KSL-TV and radio, you'd think we're a state of political pansies (in some respects, we are - probably why the school voucher proposition got beat down a few years ago).

The best part? (quoting from the article):

"Hatch said Wednesday, after Kennedy's death, "When we did agree, everyone turned to get out of the way. They thought if Kennedy and Hatch can get it together, it must be good."

Hatch also jokingly said, "He knew he'd get all the credit and I'd get all the blame, because conservatives can't understand why you would do anything with him."

Actually - Hatch was more of a tool so Kennedy could say "Look - I've got Orrin Hatch on this bill so I can get more votes!"

...sigh... pardon me whilst I visit the great white vomit hole...

By the way, I HATE how people go "What - there are Democrats in Utah???" - like it's some big revelation.  Yeah - all ten of them get together each year so they can whine about how far-right Utah is, then, our local media slobbers all over them because the "Big Utah Conservative Bullies" steal their government lunch money and eat Bambi's mom.  And the rest of us have to stand by quietly so they can have their two-year-old version of "equal time" - never mind that we live here too and quite like the way things are run.

Some would say that this is due to the majority LDS religion (of which I am an active member) and we have to be Christlike and not cause strife.  But, there's a big difference between turning the other cheek and abandoning your core values.  Remember - even Christ called the Pharisees children of the devil (see John 8:44).  It's the principle of the thing - you don't have to be friends with everybody.  Especially if those friends will pull you down a road that you just don't want to be down.  And if you lose a few "friends" - better that than lose what you believe in and what's got you this far in life.

Good advice for anyone, in my opinion.

(sorry this was all over the place - just some thoughts that have been boiling around in my head lately and I finally got them down.)

Comments

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

I recently moved to the St. George area from California, and my very blue state friends were kinda in shock. They were stunned to learn that yes, there are Democrats in UT and that the congress critter in my district is one of them. Figures, I finally get to live in a red state and I'm still stuck with a Dem congressman!

[jenny-wildcat.livejournal.com]

Welcome to Utah! I'm sorry you're stuck with a Democrat in congress. You're down with all the retirees and national-park-going hippies, so that makes sense. Maybe your vote can swing it in the next election.

"congress critter" ha ha - I like that ^_^

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

It's a weird shaped district that includes SLC, so I suppose that contributes to it as well.

Thanks for the welcome!

[jenny-wildcat.livejournal.com]

You poor thing - now I really am sorry...

[xpiscesgrl227x.livejournal.com]

Can I just...They were really good friends. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26482.html Hatch was the one who sobbed when Kennedy had a seizure at the inaugeral. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1872796,00.html

He fought with Kennedy all the time over politics, but they managed to be friendly outside of it. Maybe that's what we all need. I have many big d Democrat friends, and we can have a conversation about ideals without screaming. And I didn't agree with Kennedy on much, but I can respect the fact that he was a giant in politics, and my state will be hard-pressed to find another person with that kind of clout, R or D. I actually respect the fact that 2 completely different people managed to form a strong friendship.

[jenny-wildcat.livejournal.com]

My biggest beef is that Hatch always seemed to help Kennedy on bills that benefited the left, but Kennedy wasn't in too big a hurry to repay the favor.

[craneke.livejournal.com]

*nods* Well said.

You have my utmost sympathy about two of the liberals your great state has recently collected, btw. My ultra-environmentalist cousin and his wife (whose brother is apparently a major spokesman for ACORN) moved out there recently. I keep hoping they'll make a political conversion, but I doubt it will happen. (BTW, I really like the earth. I am all for taking care of the earth, as long as it doesn't involve unnecessary curtailing of American capitalism. This is not my cousins' position on the issue).

Republicans playing nice with liberals is a national pastime, it's not just a Utah/religious thing. "Crossing the aisle" means we go to their side, not the other way around. Don't feel alone in that - it happens everywhere. :-P If Republicans don't play nice, the media gets to call them ugly names.

[jenny-wildcat.livejournal.com]

It's okay to take care of your resources. My family's in ranching and there's no better "environmentalist" (for lack of a better term) than someone whose very livelihood comes from the earth. People have come in and tried to tell us how to use our land "better" - we just look at them like they're nuts.

Going out on a limb, does you cousin like skiing or rock climbing? I find those are the most common reasons for liberals to move to Utah (it's certainly not for the green Jello ^_^).

[longlostblue.livejournal.com]

Yay, another Utahn! Where are you located, if you don't mind me asking? I'm in Orem.

[jenny-wildcat.livejournal.com]

I'm in Logan right now going to school, but my family lives in the Delta area.

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

*waves from West Jordan* Why is it always that "compromise" comes from our side, and "crossing the aisle" means that Republicans give something up while Democrats get everything they want?

And honestly, I'm not sure how "conservative" Orrin is anymore. He's taken some really wonky positions on some stuff.

Also, is it just me, or is "52 years serving in the Senate" something that no one, EVER, should aspire to? I mean, holy crap. Get a job, man, and come live under the laws you helped pass.

[jenny-wildcat.livejournal.com]

*waves back from Logan* Your guess is as good as mine. You never see a Democrat "reaching out" to Republicans. It seems like we're always having to apologize for our beliefs. But if you're a Dem - you get a pass. It's ridiculous.

New bumper sticker: Being a Democrat means never having to say your sorry. Even if you walk out naked in the middle of the afternoon on a busy street - you're right. No questions asked.

(that never happened to my knowledge - I just made it up.)

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

Or, if you, you know... have an accident that you don't report for several hours and someone dies. Or, say, your roomie runs a gay brothel out of your apartment. Or you're a former KKK member, as long as you're now a powerful Senator in good standing.

Not that I'm bitter.

The difference is, I think, that Republicans have actual standards of behavior. And the only standards of behavior that Democrats have are reserved for when Republicans violate our own, and then they can point and holler "hypocrite!" But no one can accuse them of hypocrisy (which is apparently the worst thing in the world to be, far worse than being an adulterer), because they don't have standards to violate.