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Show DAILY ~_Wedn sday,Apel HERALD EDITORIAL BOARD DailuSHerald Albert J. Manzi, President & Publisher Randy Wright, Executive Editor Donald W. Meyers; Editorial page editor Nancy Hale, Public adviser Carole Newkirk, Public adviser Jason Bellows, Public adviser OURVIEW IN Flapmethine Throwing mud in the Orem race wo hundred delegates to the Utah County Republican Convention got a piece of unwanted campaign material. The delegates received letter alleging serious personalproblems between Rep. Margaret Dayton and her husband. Dr. Lynn Dayton. The letter is signed “Neighbors of Lynn and Margaret Dayton.” Dayton, who is running against Sen. Parley Hellewell. R-Orem, for the District 15 has denounced the letter as demonstrablyfalse andlibelous. The Utah County Republican Party has condemned theletter ‘Ss a violation of party bylaws‘on campaign conduct. And a groupis offering a reward for information leading to the identity ofthe letter's author. Hellewell denies anyinvolvement, even though he mightstand to benefit from a smear campaign less than two weeksbefore the convention. Onething is certain: the letter is an outrage,a despicable political dirty trick that should not be tolerated. We'll give Daytonthebenefit of the doubt on the charges, but even if they were true, howdoaccusations from the past square with Dayton’s performanceas a state legislator for the past 10 years? If she wereunfit to serve, why didn’t it come up whenshe v S first appointedto fill a vacancyin the House of Representatives 10 years ago? Nobodywould fault questions about Dayton’s voting record, or thebills she has sponsored in her time on CapitolHill. Thosearefair game ina political campaign, and such questions canelevatethelevel ofpolitical discourse to a respectablelevel. Resortingto personal attacks ui « sordid nature, and dragging Dayton’s husbandintoit as well, is a drive-byhit that ought to be con- demned byall, regardless of party. Anonymity suggests cowardice. _It is easy for someone to throw mud whencloaked in anonymity. _It protects the mudslinger and whicheyer candidate he supports from anyreprisal by voters. Sadly, politics has degenerated in recent years from debates on the issues to frequent personal at- tacks. Political strategists see personalattacks as a far easier way to win than an honest debateof the issues. But while such tactics can produce short-term gains, they are actually dangerous to the process and those whouse them. First, attacks can backfire, es- . pecially whenit is so outrageous thatit offends decency. In 1990, Democratic congressional candidate Bill Orton was attacked in an advertisementthat. featured a picture of Republican Karl Snow and his large family, while a mugshot of Orton was labeled as the thenbachelor Orton's “family picture.” The advertisement upset so many voters in staunchly Republican Utah County that Orton was elected and wentonto serve three terms in the 3rd Congressional District. But the real danger of such tactics is not in the backfires but in the corrosive effect they have on politics in general. If campaigns House District 61 post Saturday, delegates from legislative voters will bother deciding which candidate is the least muddy. district 61 will attend the Utah County can run foroffice unopposed? That is not healthy for the body politic. Judd during the past two years, and havingresearched all three of the candidates, I can confidently state that Garr fewer honorable people are going to wantto participate, and fewer Withsuchtactics,is it any surprise that voter turnoutis abysmally low, and that some candidates. Wehope the delegates in Senate District 15 will be able to put aside the scurrilousletter and examine both Daytonand Hellewell based on their records and philosophies. Thendecide which one they believe will best represent the GOP onthe ballot MEDIA VOICES Newimmigration politics Fromthe ChicagoTribune, in recent weeks, andthat by a 37 percent to 31 percent margin, the April 20, 2006 n several occasions over the last few decades, Americans have debated whatto do aboutillegal immigration. What's different about this year’s debate is thatit includesa lot of non-Americans, The surprise element has been a’ waveof huge demonstrations across the countrybyillegal immigrants themselves. The sight of hundredsof thousandsofprotesters hasclearlygiven the issue more prominencethan public trusts more than. Democrats onthe issue. A new Gallup poll also finds that demonstrators for brandishing ing school to demonstrate. Others praise themfor peacefully dramaUzing the nation’s dependence on undocumented workers. The marches may have also had animpact on Capitol Hill. In December, the House of Represen- | tatives passeda bill mandating a varietyof strict enforcement mea- sures, from building a 700-mile- legal immigration a crime. Some 81 percentsayillegal immigration is “out of control.” Butattitudes are not as simple as those responses suggest. A CBS Newspoll found that three out of four people support offering legal statusto illegal immigrantsif they beenhere at leastfive years, speak English, pay their back taxes and cans trust Democrats more on this issue, with 38 percentputting greater faith in Republicans, Soit’s notclear either party can hope to exploit the issue for muchadvantagein November. The answers you get on immigration reform dependa lot on just how you word the questions. And many people maybe of tw6 minds. But there appearsto be a public United Statesillegally * Shortlyafter the first protests. consensus in favorof three things: moreresources to secure our southern frontier, a procedure offeringlegalization to someillegal immigrants, and serious penalties approved a bill that was far more to discourage employers from hiring people who arenotentitled to long wall on the Mexican border to makingit a felony tobe in the the Senate Judiciary Committee generous than the Houseproposal, dropping the criminal penalties and creating a guest-worker program to let some foreigners come and go be here. Americans arerealistic, recognizing both the serious risks caused by porous borders and the impossibility of deporting or Butit’s easyto overstate the incarcerating 12 million illegal immigrants. effect of the protests. The Senate was neverlikely to embrace the Housebill. Andtherallies have proachoffering a way out of the current impasse. Whenthe Senate legally probably strengthened pre-existing opinions more than theyhave changed minds. OneRepublican pollster reports that opinion has moved in the direction of tougher enforcement Hereis a three-pronged ap- takesthe issue up again afterits spring recess, these remedies are the ones deserving prompt action. Theresultinglegislation promises to be not only good politics but good policy DOONESBURY - Gary Trdeans MARTINEZ OPEN: SUP... fa on Republican Conventionto select a House of Representatives candidate for the Novemberballot Having worked politically with Garr Judd is the best candidate for the job. Garrconsistently exhibits Republican principles and Utah County values. He has both the experience andthe integ- rity necessary to effectively represent District 61. He also possessesthe even- keeled temperament required for working productively with otherlegislators. Garrlistens more than he speaks — a rare quality in a political representative. Eachdelegate with whom he meets has a pagein his notebook recording that delegate’s specific concerns andideas. Garr knowsthe issues important to our district, and he will go to the legislature armed with this knowledge. Delegates who vote for Garr Judd can look back ontheir vote andfeel confident they madethe right choice. » KeriWitte, Provo most Americans favor makingil- it had before. It hasalso stimulated - havenocriminal history. An ABC strong reactions. Someradio hosts News/Washington Postsurvey and commentators havecriticized found that 50 percent of Ameri- flags from Mexico andfor miss- Judd best candidate for Utah turn into mud-wrestling matches, BYU must address problems, not cover up for image's sake Apparently Kara Westdidn’t read the Daily Heraldin the fall 2005. Duetothis lapse she missed BYU's owngang-rape scandal involving four Cougar football players. Although three of them did not plead guilty to the rape charges, the BYU athletes did admit to viewing pornography, drinking vodka and sexual conduct. Howthatis a better educationis a far as the teachers in Alpine “dumbing down"ourstudents, perhaps our student'stests scores should be reviewed. I think you wouldfind they areat or abovethestate average, especially in math. Having taughtin twootherstates before moving here I can attest to the fact that I have neverseen a district more committed to professional development and continuing education forits teachers then Alpine. Public education will never go away because the people who choose to dedicatetheir lives to teaching are the hardest working people I know. » Charlotte McKell, Lehi If West thinks that this kind of behav- ioris exclusive of “heathen” universities she is not only naive;she is wrong. Part of whatstudentslike meare protesting is that the BYU imageis more importantthanreality. Bad things happen at BYU. We wanttpaccept this truth and work from the top down to change it — not just sweepit under the rug. i BYU is a great university with wonderful goals, but it is not perfect. Open your eyes. » Kate Kelly, Provo Alpine doing better than charter school fans think I was wondering how many more articles your paperis going to run bashing the Aipine School District? Your most recent article regarding charter schools allowed fora lot of negative comments about Alpine but. nothing pointing out the negative side to charter schools, | For those who don’t realize it, charter schools are supported with state money « yet are not held to the samerules as public schools. Charter schools can pick the students they want, they do not have to provide any kindof special education Katrinavictims example of support -question I would like answered. As buses within welfare system I wasreading through the newspaper and was not too surprised that the governmenthas let people use the money that was for Katrina goto tattoos, beachfront condos and otherstuff. Take a look at our welfare system — every day someoneis abusing this right. Thereare a few who respect it. We need to understand as a people that welfareis to get you on yourfeet, not to support you for the rest of yourlife. In New Orleans FEMAis paying for hotel rooms for months andthe people are still dependenton it. Something to change with taxpayers’ money. No wonderthis nation is in debt up to oureyeballs. dD Emily Saye, Illegal immigrants worse threat than terrorists Lehi MayI be so bold as to suggest that illegal immigrationis a bigger threat to American society and culture than any oneterrorist organization in the world? The constant flow of drugs, disease and economicrefugees thatillegals bring into the country is utterly staggering. Ourjails arefull of illegal aliens who have committed varioys felonies and misdemeanors. Our system allows illegalsto bring lawsuits against American citizens. Our court system also requires schools districts to educateillegal aliens andtheir children, free of charge, costing Utah taxpayersmillions of dollars annual Whatwill it take for our government to wakeup andrealize that our biggest problem maybe in our own backyard? I realize there are manyillegals who arejust searching fora betterlife, but is that reason enoughfor our government to set aside the Constitution andthe rule of law? I think not. » Scott Neilson, Spanish Fork How to comment E-mailletters to dhietters@heraldextra.com Fax to 344-2985 | | Mailto P.O. Box 717, | Provo, UT 84603. | » Letters must include the author’s full name, address and daytime phone number. 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