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Show "New Leadership" ' -.' s f hi ...nr. .i i .. ... In ii. il.. i. i.l school is located in the Nebo School District. The significance of this event has tremendous impact on Utah. No statewide office holder in Utah can be elected without winning in Utah County. As Utah County goes, so goes the state of the Republican Party. Right now Senator Hatch is fighting for his political life. He saw what happened to Senator Bennett and he is very attentive to the mood of the delegates who gathered last Saturday. Major news media seem to have a difficult time understanding and representing how the political system in Utah works. It is really pretty simple. The nation has two major political parties, as does Utah. At the national level each party has a platform, which outlines what each party stands for. Each party also has a state platform outlining their beliefs. Each county also has a platform outlining their beliefs. These platforms are voted on by delegates from the respective counties and states. Each party gets to set the rules whereby their candidates for office are selected. Most people recall seeing the national conventions of each major political party broadcast on television. All of that starts right back in local neighborhood meetings where delegates are selected. In Utah the Democrats have had a difficult time distancing themselves from the more liberal national platform. In Utah County the Democratic platform is very conservative compared to the national platform. For example, the national platform clearly supports a woman's right to choose an abortion along with gay and lesbian rights. The local Democratic platform does not support these positions. We see the same thing in organizations like the Utah Education Association. Their platform is much more conservative than the National Education Association platform. The UEA spends a lot of energy trying to distance itself from the national organization. The Republicans in Utah County are hoping the new leadership selected last Saturday will take a more positive tone. The last two years have been filled with a lot of bickering and infighting The Utah delegation has returned from China. Governor Herbert seized the opportunity to take a group of business and government leaders to visit China before Ambassador Huntsman leaves office. The delegation, including a business leader from right here in Pleasant Grove, got a firsthand view of the emerging Chinese nation. China has the same problem the Soviet Union had and still has. They are trying to build a society without the ethical foundation we have enjoyed for so long in America. Lacking that religious foundation, a nation can only progress so far. The Chinese people, along with billions of others around the globe, are yearning to breathe free. Last Saturday new leadership was selected to govern the Utah County Republican party. Hundreds of ordinary people, elected by their neighbors as county delegates, met in the new Maple Mountain High School. The new high by Mark Bezzant April showers have definitely ushered in May flowers and the Royal wedding is now history. The snow pack on Mt. Timpanogos has grown larger than ever. Already our neighbors in northern Utah have experienced flooding while residents here continue to prepare for the inevitable. Using our experience from 1983 and 2005, we will be much better prepared. causing many long time Republicans to step back. The average American wants no part of these extreme positions on either end of the spectrum. Poll after poll suggests that people want elected leaders to work for the common good. Since so many elected leaders in Utah are Republicans and since Utah County is so influential in that party, let's hope that the delegates' selected leaders will govern much like Senator John Valentine has governed. |