Have you taken The Pledge?

Utah's own Congressman Chaffetz was among a dozen-ish Republican Congressmen to appear and speak at the unveiling of the House-GOP's "Pledge to America."

See the official link at Pledge.gop.gov

To me, I'm reminded of the ancient Roman flea standing atop the wheel of a chariot amidst a stir of dust who says "what a great storm we've incited this day!" (I think that's Cicero could be Pliny - can't remember).

I mean it just seems like a poof of dust. Tall on rhetoric short on new ideas. For example from the second page of the intro; An arrogant and out-of-touch government of self-appointed elites makes decisions, issues mandates, and enacts laws without accepting or requesting the input of the many. Classic campaign season blah blah blah.

Can't you just see lead Pledge author Rep Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) sitting at his writing table late into the night, writing by candle light, trying his best to channel his inner Thomas Jefferson...but for what? It's just all so...so...silly.

Try this one - Trust gets it's own section:

A PLAN TO REFORM CONGRESS & RESTORE TRUST

• We will “read the bill” and require legislation be publicly available at least 3 days before voting on it

• We will adhere to the Constitution and require every bill to cite its specific Constitutional Authority

• We will ensure an open and bipartisan debate on all spending bills

• We will advance legislative issues one at a time and end the practice of massive bills that address unrelated issues.

The ironic thing is I DON'T TRUST THE GOP TO DO THIS. It all sounds good, but will they really do it if they take control? Can they really do it? Rhetoric. All stuff that sounds good in an election then never happens. Sigh...

Side note.

Read the sidebar "Why Chaffetz" in the Trib article. I don't think the Tea Party folks would be very happy with the following: Chaffetz said congressional clout is partially based on relationships, and he has become fast friends with some of the leading Republicans in Washington. He said his speaking role “is an expression that they have gained a lot of confidence in me in a very short amount of time.”

I just don't know if Chaffetz can be trusted anymore now that he's so quickly made friends with the Washington elite. ;)

Provo Ethics

The Provo City Council announced it would not be ammending it's ethics rules. At play in this particular debate is the issue of conflicts of interest.

The current rules requre a councilmember to only declare their conflict. They are still free to debate, discuss, lobby, and even vote on the issue. To me, I have no problem with a councilmember declaring their interest - transparency is a good thing. Also, they should be free to lobby and debate their point of view. I'm fine with all of that as long as it's done in the open. My beef is with the final vote. Councilmembers should excuse themselves from voting on those issues in which they have a direct conflict of interest.

Do councilmembers have greater influence on their collegues? Of course they do, but I think it's unfair or unwise even to not allow them to contribute to the debate on issues they have personal interests in. But, they shouldn't vote. Let their ideas and arguments sway the members on the council. Not their own vote.

Good Lesson on Crisis Communications

I thought the Utah National Guard did well for itself by admitting they had made a mistake and taking full responsibility for the Herriman/Machine Gun Fire incident. Maj. Gen. Brian Tarbet said it was the Guard's mistake to shoot under the existing weather conditions.

Its refreshing in a way to see a public/government/military organization take responsibility so quickly. I've found that more damage to credibility, trust, and reputation tends to be done in the cover-up and spin of explanation than just flat out admitting the truth right away.

So for such an awful event it's nice to see the Guard own up to it's mistake.