Saintless

Before I get into this endorsement, I would like to say that I have the utmost respect for current Utah State Democratic Party Chair Wayne Holland. I loved working with him over the past couple of years, and I believe he is a great person, and has done some good things for the Utah State Democratic Party.

However, I feel compelled to endorse JM (Jeff) Bell for Utah State Democratic Party Chair. One of the biggest reasons is that I believe Bell has a fundamental understanding of technology and how to harness it. The current party leadership has missed the mark on this issue, and we absolutely cannot let that continue.

I’ve seen recent improvements in the area of technology with the UT Democrats, however, I think it’s too little, too late.

Vote for Jeff Bell for Utah State Democratic Party Chair

I also believe the the current party leadership has a fundamental belief that most races in this state can only be won by either a conservative, or someone who compromises on basic Democratic Party ideals to become more like a conservative. I understand that there’s no “perfect Democrat”, nor should anyone running under the Democratic banner be forced, or even try, to be a complete liberal on every issue. However, we need better candidates who don’t compromise with the conservatives to try to win against them. It’s just silly to think that people in this state will vote for that type of candidate.

We need energized Democratic candidates who stick to their own values, and who have support from the State Democratic Party.

During the last election, I also felt that the State Party was more interested in supporting a “higher visibility” candidate for Governor, who was obviously going to lose, than they were in supporting other candidates who had a true shot at winning, but for a lower office. Or maybe it was because they weren’t able to harness the huge amounts of grassroots volunteer energy, because they hadn’t seen such a thing in recent history.

I think I could even sum it up this way: Buttars won the last election. I don’t think that would have happened if Jeff was Chair. Not that I blame the current Chair for this in any sort of direct way. However, I think Jeff Bell will take the Utah State Democratic Party in the direction we need, not just to elect more Democrats, but to elect the right Democrats, and send the right message about our party to the people of Utah. I also believe that Bell will be far more in touch with the average Utahn, and get them involved.

As Bell himself says:

It is time for the Party to educate Utah voters about who we are, what we stand for, and deliver the message that Democrats are more than a watered down alternative to the empty, harmful policies of the Utah GOP – We are the best choice for Utah voters.

As your Party Chair I will work to bring that message to the people of Utah, and in doing so will help us return to a position of strength where, defining ourselves once more as Democrats, we can bring real, progressive leadership to the great state of Utah

Read the rest of his Letter to Utah Democrats, and see if you don’t agree with me.

And on a personal note, Jeff Bell was already a well known Utah blogger and all around political guru when I came on the scene a few years ago. I think we’ve probably disagreed on a few things, but overall, Jeff and his blog have been a huge inspiration for my own blog. In addition, while I was Chair of the Utah for Obama group, Jeff was an amazing mentor, even though I was a political nobody. I had jumped into the middle of this political arena that I knew little about, but felt determined to get Utah to vote for Obama, and become aware of him. I didn’t know any of the elected officials, party officials, or really anyone else when I started. Jeff has always answered my silly questions without making (too much) fun of me for them. He’s good natured, well informed, and believes that we all need to be involved. The Utah State Democratic Party isn’t about one or two people making decisions for the rest of us. Jeff understands that, and I think with him as Chair of the Party that the entire process will be far more open, far more effective, and far more Democratic.

So, please vote for Jeff Bell this June 20 at the Utah State Democratic Convention. Stop by and talk with him at his booth if you’re attending the Salt Lake County Democratic Convention this Saturday, April 18.

Last Thursday, I re-requested to be listed on the hive, and two days later, I got an email saying I was in! Yay! (And thanks to Jason The for his support!)

On to bigger and better things, Jon Stewart is a good man. The writers went on strike, so Jon is going to pay the writers for both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report out of his own pocket, so that they will not be hurt financially from the strike. Apparently, he plans to do a lot of interviews while the strike continues, to make up for the lack of writers. Damn good guy, he is.

I’m way behind on my email and blog-reading, and work has (almost) all of my attention today, but I have tons of email and instant messages telling me that Barack was on SNL this weekend, and apparently he was pretty good. So, I took 5 minutes to watch it, and I about fell off of my chair. It was hilarious! The whole thing was great, even though Barack only had a tiny part. Oh, oh I wanna give away his punch line!! But, I won’t. So, watch it!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndQM0X5rhfE&rel=1]

And a special thanks to JM Bell for getting this little mistake corrected. I’ve seen several recent occurrences where Donald Dunn is called the Chair of the Utah Democratic Party, and all of them have been in the context of Dunn’s endorsement of Hillary. I’m fairly sure that Utah’s Democratic Party Chair has not endorsed anyone. His name is Wayne Holland. Dunn hasn’t been Chair in a few years. So, when I saw KCPW list him as the Chair, I was a bit frustrated, and even left a comment correcting this. But, now I look like a crazy person, because JM Bell put in a word, and had the article fixed, after I complained to him via IM. Ah, well. It’s not like it isn’t true.

Speaking of whom, Mr. Bell put out his first podcast today – Vouchers: Worst Case Scenarios. I’d highly recommend listening to it, but if that’s not an option, he’s got a transcript there. But, there’s something about the music that just makes it better, if you’ll listen.

Speaking of vouchers, a friend called me today to tell a story about a mutual friend and vouchers. This friend, we’ll call him Joe, for anonymity’s sake, is a Dem, and even a very active Obama supporter. But, he didn’t see why the Dems were against vouchers. I hadn’t realized this, or I’d probably have tried to tell him why. But, he called up our mutual friend this morning and wanted her opinion, because he wanted to make sure he understood the argument. She referred him to Rob Miller, and “Joe” apparently spoke with him for about 45 minutes, and finally realized that pursuing charter schools is a far better solution than vouchers. “Joe” called her back and told her what had happened, and will apparently be calling the Republican Party HQ to let them know what changed his mind about vouchers. Way to go, “Joe”! (And Rob, too!)

I know that it’s pretty apparent that vouchers are going to be defeated tomorrow, but it’s still important that you (yes, YOU) get out there and vote against them, anyway. That will help send the message that they aren’t welcome in Utah, even if the legislature tries to work some voodoo on them and make those “Oreos” look gourmet. Go do it.

P.S. There are only two more days left to Vote Obama in the DFA’s Primary Pulse Poll.

[Update]Oops, I meant to link Jason The above, so now I’ve fixed it an he has two links. :)

Jeff’s latest Nightside debate with Ethan is up. Paul in SLC was among the callers in the second half of the show, and I just loved this quote from him:

“For I was hungry and you fed me, and I was sick and you asked for my insurance card.”

I just have to add “And I was dumb so you gave me a voucher.”

Jeff’s outrage really is cute, so go take a listen.