Frustrated Utah Republicans, Democrats form new centrist political party

[james_1957]

SALT LAKE CITY — Some disaffected Republicans and Democrats who say extreme views are co-opting their parties have decided to carve out a middle ground in Utah politics.

Taking a centrist approach, the group announced the formation of the United Utah Party at the state Capitol on Monday. Its logo is Utah's iconic Delicate Arch.

"We are not forming another extremist, fringe political party," said BYU political science professor Richard Davis, a former Utah County Democratic Party chairman. "We are people who are in the center of the political spectrum."

Jim Bennett, son of the late GOP Sen. Bob Bennett, said he has been a man without a political home for a long time. And he and Davis say they're not alone in their frustration with the major parties.

"We don't think disaffected Republicans and Democrats have a place go," he said.

Davis acknowledged the new party faces an uphill battle to establish itself. "We understand there's a couple of Goliaths out there and we're David," he said.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/...ocrats-form-new-centrist-political-party.html

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

They're David with no sling and no stone...

 

[Rightguide]

Sounds like a loser to me.

 

[Conager]

Utah "centrists" are Democrats embarrased to be in the same party as Maxine Waters.

 

[Adre]

Sounds like a loser to me.

Of course you'd think it was a loser, it's not extreme or fringe, thus not appealing to Wingnut Nation.

 

[Conager]

Of course you'd think it was a loser, it's not extreme or fringe, thus not appealing to Wingnut Nation.

Orrin Hatch is "extreme" or "fringe?"

 

[Adre]

Orrin Hatch is "extreme" or "fringe?"

"Extremely" conservative? Yes.

 

[Conager]

"Extremely" conservative? Yes.

Only if you compare him to McCain.

 

[Adre]

Only if you compare him to McCain.

The American Conservative Union has given Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, an 100 percent rating for the second year in a row.
But not all conservatives are buying it – particularly those connected with the Tea Party.
Hatch campaign manager Dave Hansen welcomed the news that the Senator is among 23 Republicans to receive the honor for 2011. The Senator has an 89 percent lifetime ACU rating dating back to 1977 when he first took office.

Read more at http://redalertpolitics.com/2012/03...er-sen-hatchs-acu-rating/#IbIplztj5tKKArRA.99


I'll give you this, he's not conservative compared to David Duke.

 

[Rightguide]

Of course you'd think it was a loser, it's not extreme or fringe, thus not appealing to Wingnut Nation.

The country is center-right. Those sitting on the fence, standing with their political opposites to test the wind, are merely in waiting in surrender to political expediencies unfavorable to both. Failed solutions that often align to the left of the majority.

 

[Rightguide]

"Extremely" conservative? Yes.

He used to be 30 years ago.

 

[KingOrfeo]

I doubt it will get much traction. But it is a very telling sign of how much the Tea Party has made more mainstream conservatives uncomfortable in the GOP.

 

[KingOrfeo]

The country is center-right.

Actually, going by the Pew Political Typology, the center of gravity appears to be center-left. More Americans might self-ID as "conservative" than "liberal," but that only shows the relative popularity of the words; if you poll on any particular issue, you'll almost always find a majority on the liberal side of it.

 

[Conager]

The American Conservative Union has given Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, an 100 percent rating for the second year in a row.
But not all conservatives are buying it – particularly those connected with the Tea Party.
Hatch campaign manager Dave Hansen welcomed the news that the Senator is among 23 Republicans to receive the honor for 2011. The Senator has an 89 percent lifetime ACU rating dating back to 1977 when he first took office.

Read more at http://redalertpolitics.com/2012/03...er-sen-hatchs-acu-rating/#IbIplztj5tKKArRA.99


I'll give you this, he's not conservative compared to David Duke.

News flash. It isnt't 2011 where there were nothing but show votes because of the obstructionism of the President of NO, who would have vetoed anything passed by Republicans.

How about last year? They give him a 62%. They give McCAIN an 88%.

 

[Conager]

By the way, those numbers are reversed for career-long scoring. Hatch gets credit for when he used to be conservative, McCain was an uptick in an election year. He always pretends to be an actual Republican every 6 years.

 

[RobDownSouth]

The country is center-right. Those sitting on the fence, standing with their political opposites to test the wind, are merely in waiting in surrender to political expediencies unfavorable to both. Failed solutions that often align to the left of the majority.

Refiudiatin' the "Murica Is Center-Right!" Herpaderp

 

[Conager]

But, but look!!!

There's all sorts of dots on the map, heavilly populated with government dependents, overpaid bureaucrats and industries thriving on 4 trillion dollars a year in "good government."

 

[KingOrfeo]

But, but look!!!

There's all sorts of dots on the map, heavilly populated with government dependents, overpaid bureaucrats and industries thriving on 4 trillion dollars a year in "good government."

Bureaucrats are not overpaid that I've heard of, the vast majority of government dependents are retirees on Social Security and Medicare, and what industries are you talking about -- those with government contracts, like Halliburton?

 

[james_1957]

Here's A Yuuuge Wage Gap That Trump Ought To Close

Bureaucrats are not overpaid that I've heard of, the vast majority of government dependents are retirees on Social Security and Medicare, and what industries are you talking about -- those with government contracts, like Halliburton?

Big Government: We hear endless lamentations about the alleged gender pay gap. But what about the other, very real, pay gap? The one where government workers make far more than their private sector counterparts.

To get a clear picture of public-private pay gap, the Congressional Budget Office looked at pay scales from 2011 through 2015, controlling for things like location, occupation, veteran status, demographics, as well as education.

It found that among those with a high school diploma, federal civilian workers earned 34% more, on average, than similar workers in the private sector. But government workers also get benefits that are 93% more generous than the private sector. When you combine the two, these federal workers get 52% more than their private sector counterparts.

Those with a bachelor's degree made 21% more in government, the CBO found, and those with a master's degree made 5% more in wages and benefits. The only group that did worse in government were those with a doctorate, who earned an average 18% less, on average, in the federal government than in the private sector.

The CBO also found that this pay gap has sharply widened for most federal workers — thanks to the fact that the government kept passing out raises throughout the Obama years while private sector wages flatlined. The report shows that federal workers got raises averaging more than 3% from 2009 through 2015.

As a result, the pay gap for high school educated workers went from 36% in 2010 to 53% in 2015. The gap for workers with a bachelor's degree climbed from 15% to 21%.

The CBO finding confirms other reports that have found a substantial pay gap between government and private sector workers. The libertarian Cato Institute, for example, put it at 78% — and rising.

http://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/heres-a-yuuuge-wage-gap-that-trump-ought-to-close/

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Translation: White, straight guys cant get government jobs.