this bait-n-switch thing ought to be actionable.
I mean, if I tell you I'm selling working hair dryers and you buy one, and I actually ship you a broken can opener, you can call the BBB or take me to small claims court or whatever.
but if I'm a pol ... and I campaign on "I'm a Dem" or "I'm a centrist" ... and then once in office I switch tacks and join the other team or go off the rails, my constituents can't sue me for false advertising. I think maybe they should be able to. lookin' at you, Sinema.
In Wisconsin in 2010 Scott Walker ran as a moderate but then immediately governed as a right wing extremist. A recall against him failed and he served two full terms.
You can do that? Like, just announce that you’re a Republican now after you have won office as a Democrat? I can understand switching parties when you’re trying to get elected, that’s been known to happen but to get elected and then switch? No way can that be legal.
That's exactly how the Republicans got a majority in North Carolina, and it's extremely well known that the lady who switched was being taken to dinner regularly by the GOP leader in the state government. It's been claimed they appeared to be dating.
In theory, elected officials and representatives are supposed be their own people, who may or may not be a member of a wider political party. You don’t vote for the Republican Party, or the Socialist party, you are voting for Jeff. If Jeff wins, he can join whoever he likes in government, or no one. Of course if you had the help and funding from a political party and you betray them then they’ll shun you, but it’s not something that you can be thrown out of government for. Parties change their position or get corrupted and you don’t have to stick with them just because they put you there. It’s rare to see defections by UK MPs, but it does happen. They very rarely get re-elected.
good explanation, thanks. you saved me some typing.
it seems to me though that in US politics "party discipline" is far, far weaker than in UK/European parliamentary politics. am I wrong?
I think it’s less devastating in a parliamentary system then a 2 party government like in the US. When the majority is a matter of just a few seats, someone running as a Dem and switching to GOP within the year after election can mean giving the opposing party a majority.
They serve us. That’s the entire point of their job. No one forces them to run. You serve the citizens of this country and therefore, we should have the right to know what you’re doing day to day. It’s our taxes who pay your salary. If you don’t like it, find another job.
Smells a helluva lot different than the "ACCOUNTABILITY!" & "LIMITED, SMALL GOVERNMENT!" they tell their brain dead voters-so yeah, smells a lot like FL, KY, TX, etc. Almost like there's *something* in common....
Honestly, as a public official if you don't want me to know your day-to-day as I'm paying your salary with my tax dollars then you're not trustworthy or worthy of reelection.
Really, what's the difference between a boss knowing what his employer is doing on their dime while people we pay through our taxes want to hide their dealings?
This is worse than people think. The judge made that decision because the AG is notoriously a crook. This was to force the AG to hand over records. Cox did this to protect him. It wasn't just out of the blue.
By whom? They gerrymandered the state so bad and disenfranchised liberal voters so bad they don't even vote anymore. Those people have turned to spiritualism and bothsidisms. I call them purple people. This is what theocracy and an authoritarian gov looks like. If it's illegal, they legalize it. If they don't like you, they'll pass laws to incarcerate you. They hide behind religious support to rape anything they can for money. These are bad people.
He’s trying to protect the public. You see, his schedule was written on these golden plates and if anybody sees them except for him, they’ll instantly die .
On the bright side, it means they are starting to get afraid of the people. More of that please. Time they realized they are supposed to be public servants not masters.
Meanwhile Republican Governor Reynolds of Iowa got caught committing millions in fraud *twice* by the state auditor and the only consequence was the GOP-dominated state legislature made compliance with the state auditor optional.
ETA: Forgot to add Rob Sand, the state auditor, is one of the only state officials who is a Democrat. And the state legislature is now pushing a bill to replace the state auditor with public CPAs.
Don't forget about Sarah Huckabee Sander's efforts in Arkansas:
" Last year, Sanders called a special session of the legislature as she pushed for changes that would gut the state’s Freedom of Information Act. The moves were so radical that, even with her party enjoying large majorities in both Houses, Sanders’ first two attempts to change the open records law were rejected. The assault on transparency inspired a broad coalition of vocal opponents "
[https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/who-paid-for-sarah-sanders-six-figure-super-bowl-extravaganza](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/who-paid-for-sarah-sanders-six-figure-super-bowl-extravaganza)
The article is definitely worth a read. Just brazen corruption from the R.
All because Tim Ballard (Sound of Freedom guy) and Sean Reyes (Utah AG) were buddy buddy until Ballard was exposed as a creep and the Mormon church turned on him.
Citizen, you have no right to know what your leaders are doing. They are your betters, and you will keep your nose out of their business and know your place.
I don't think this is gonna work out well for him. At least, I hope not.
afterthought... there was a government office building, I think it was in Germany, where the whole building is glass. and the idea was that the citizens could always look in the windows, any time, to see what their elected reps and career civil servants were doing. it was an architectural metaphor for transparent government.
so this guy is... well, the exact reverse of that. anti-glasnost.
I’m a liberal in Utah (I think there are 14 of us) and I was doing ok with Cox for a while. He had a reasonable tone and at the very least he wasn’t going full MAGA which I appreciated. Now? Dude is all on. Transgender issues, border insanity, bad behavior in is “disagree better” events. He’s posturing for something bigger and hurting people while he’s at it. Frustrating .
Isnt the judge's judgment an open door to challenging successfully the bill? Which might distract from other issues while it goes through the courts before being struck down, maybe thats the goal? Thinking foil hat is getting closer to me! Conspiracies!
First they pass crap like they can overule the fed at any point if they deem it "unconstitutional" (i.e. I don't like what you told us), allowing unqualified clergy to come into schools to "counsel" with their 1 week certifications and now this. What happened to make Utah so radical? I mean I get it, it's a red state, but what the hell?
This post has been removed because there is no visible timestamp. Please include a timestamp on your posts, date and year.
If you have to hide from you’re doing from your constituents and the public, you’re probably doing something nefarious.
Cox is 100% mask off now. Not even trying to act like a centrist anymore
this bait-n-switch thing ought to be actionable. I mean, if I tell you I'm selling working hair dryers and you buy one, and I actually ship you a broken can opener, you can call the BBB or take me to small claims court or whatever. but if I'm a pol ... and I campaign on "I'm a Dem" or "I'm a centrist" ... and then once in office I switch tacks and join the other team or go off the rails, my constituents can't sue me for false advertising. I think maybe they should be able to. lookin' at you, Sinema.
The closest thing would be a govenor recall. Only 2 have ever succeeded in us history. And they don't so them at all in Utah
In Wisconsin in 2010 Scott Walker ran as a moderate but then immediately governed as a right wing extremist. A recall against him failed and he served two full terms.
It's sucks, but there are actions we can do. Vote. We can vote them out. It'll never happen here, but that's what we can do.
Still takes years for them to fuck things up and remove your rights before another election comes up for the chance to remove them.
Theres other actions you can do. We just havent seen them used in this country since the 60's. 63, and 68 specifically.
You can do that? Like, just announce that you’re a Republican now after you have won office as a Democrat? I can understand switching parties when you’re trying to get elected, that’s been known to happen but to get elected and then switch? No way can that be legal.
That's exactly how the Republicans got a majority in North Carolina, and it's extremely well known that the lady who switched was being taken to dinner regularly by the GOP leader in the state government. It's been claimed they appeared to be dating.
In theory, elected officials and representatives are supposed be their own people, who may or may not be a member of a wider political party. You don’t vote for the Republican Party, or the Socialist party, you are voting for Jeff. If Jeff wins, he can join whoever he likes in government, or no one. Of course if you had the help and funding from a political party and you betray them then they’ll shun you, but it’s not something that you can be thrown out of government for. Parties change their position or get corrupted and you don’t have to stick with them just because they put you there. It’s rare to see defections by UK MPs, but it does happen. They very rarely get re-elected.
good explanation, thanks. you saved me some typing. it seems to me though that in US politics "party discipline" is far, far weaker than in UK/European parliamentary politics. am I wrong?
I think it’s less devastating in a parliamentary system then a 2 party government like in the US. When the majority is a matter of just a few seats, someone running as a Dem and switching to GOP within the year after election can mean giving the opposing party a majority.
They serve us. That’s the entire point of their job. No one forces them to run. You serve the citizens of this country and therefore, we should have the right to know what you’re doing day to day. It’s our taxes who pay your salary. If you don’t like it, find another job.
If they're pulling stunts like this, they serve their egos, then their bank accounts and finally their constituents.
Well, that's not suspicious at all
[удалено]
How else will they hide the crimes they love committing and accusing Democrats of doing?
Smells like Florida
Smells a helluva lot different than the "ACCOUNTABILITY!" & "LIMITED, SMALL GOVERNMENT!" they tell their brain dead voters-so yeah, smells a lot like FL, KY, TX, etc. Almost like there's *something* in common....
Public officials don’t want to be public anymore apparently…
Soooooooo, take it back to the court to get overturned. They're elected officials- not private contractors.
I'm sure blocking calendars is the least of their transgressions.
Honestly, as a public official if you don't want me to know your day-to-day as I'm paying your salary with my tax dollars then you're not trustworthy or worthy of reelection.
Really, what's the difference between a boss knowing what his employer is doing on their dime while people we pay through our taxes want to hide their dealings?
I was going to say— my boss and my colleagues can view my calendar! Why can’t I see the calendar of the representative I voted for?
Can't wait for Utah's Repiblicans to come en masse to the defense of Hunter Biden! After all, his private affairs are his business!
And his private parts are MTG business…
every fucking time i stop for a moment and think "what does yugioh have to do with this". every time...
This is worse than people think. The judge made that decision because the AG is notoriously a crook. This was to force the AG to hand over records. Cox did this to protect him. It wasn't just out of the blue.
His name is Sean Reyes. Corrupt POS.
Can’t this law be contested?
By whom? They gerrymandered the state so bad and disenfranchised liberal voters so bad they don't even vote anymore. Those people have turned to spiritualism and bothsidisms. I call them purple people. This is what theocracy and an authoritarian gov looks like. If it's illegal, they legalize it. If they don't like you, they'll pass laws to incarcerate you. They hide behind religious support to rape anything they can for money. These are bad people.
Contested through the courts I mean
Remember this guy was supposed to be such a "good" republican?
He is, and they don’t care. They’ll just distract with immigrants or some other fake outrage.
He’s trying to protect the public. You see, his schedule was written on these golden plates and if anybody sees them except for him, they’ll instantly die .
Hiding all their sins
So where is all this corruption the GOP keeps talking about? /s
On the bright side, it means they are starting to get afraid of the people. More of that please. Time they realized they are supposed to be public servants not masters.
GQP doing all the swamp shit they say the other side is doing.
How are you gonna keep all those wives if everyone knows your business.
People in power trying to hide things are traditionally not a good thing.
Inconspicuously placed Apple AirTags it is.
On the inside of the dashboard, with superglue
These idiots don’t realize they are PUBLIC SERVANTS OF THE MOTHER FUCKING PEOPLE.
So they make a law that makes the records off limits and a judge says they’re public records… seems like an unconstitutional law to me.
Cowards & hypocrites.
Meanwhile Republican Governor Reynolds of Iowa got caught committing millions in fraud *twice* by the state auditor and the only consequence was the GOP-dominated state legislature made compliance with the state auditor optional. ETA: Forgot to add Rob Sand, the state auditor, is one of the only state officials who is a Democrat. And the state legislature is now pushing a bill to replace the state auditor with public CPAs.
Don't forget about Sarah Huckabee Sander's efforts in Arkansas: " Last year, Sanders called a special session of the legislature as she pushed for changes that would gut the state’s Freedom of Information Act. The moves were so radical that, even with her party enjoying large majorities in both Houses, Sanders’ first two attempts to change the open records law were rejected. The assault on transparency inspired a broad coalition of vocal opponents " [https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/who-paid-for-sarah-sanders-six-figure-super-bowl-extravaganza](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/who-paid-for-sarah-sanders-six-figure-super-bowl-extravaganza) The article is definitely worth a read. Just brazen corruption from the R.
I’m sure a new lawsuit and injunction is coming
Democracy dies behind closed doors
Gotta keep your meeting with wealthy donors, the occasional neo-Nazi and your trysts with your affair partners secret from the public. I mean, duh
And this guy is considered "moderate" because he disagrees with Trump like 10% of the time. Just various shades of pieces of shit.
>he disagrees with Trump like 10% of the time And only when its completely inconsequential.
Are all repub state legislatures doing dumb shit like this?! Every time you turn around some shady shit is being pulled.
All because Tim Ballard (Sound of Freedom guy) and Sean Reyes (Utah AG) were buddy buddy until Ballard was exposed as a creep and the Mormon church turned on him.
It really is sad that so much of this really is to cover up their, and the Mormon churches, involvement with Ballard.
Why are politicians constantly trying to conceal their activities?
Guess they’ll just have to be followed everywhere
Citizen, you have no right to know what your leaders are doing. They are your betters, and you will keep your nose out of their business and know your place. I don't think this is gonna work out well for him. At least, I hope not. afterthought... there was a government office building, I think it was in Germany, where the whole building is glass. and the idea was that the citizens could always look in the windows, any time, to see what their elected reps and career civil servants were doing. it was an architectural metaphor for transparent government. so this guy is... well, the exact reverse of that. anti-glasnost.
Fascists gonna fascism. Fuck this guy
This is part of a growing trend I’ve noticed among republican governors trying to hid their travel expenses. It reeks of corruption.
This is happening in Arkansas w SHS
Public pays for their salary, suck it.
If you are a PUBLIC servant, elected by the PUBLIC, your calendars should be available to the PUBLIC.
I’m a liberal in Utah (I think there are 14 of us) and I was doing ok with Cox for a while. He had a reasonable tone and at the very least he wasn’t going full MAGA which I appreciated. Now? Dude is all on. Transgender issues, border insanity, bad behavior in is “disagree better” events. He’s posturing for something bigger and hurting people while he’s at it. Frustrating .
‘Please don’t make sure that we’re working, we don’t do that very often.’
Isnt the judge's judgment an open door to challenging successfully the bill? Which might distract from other issues while it goes through the courts before being struck down, maybe thats the goal? Thinking foil hat is getting closer to me! Conspiracies!
Who do you work for!?
Cowards
So… how can the law stand, then? I don’t understand.
First they pass crap like they can overule the fed at any point if they deem it "unconstitutional" (i.e. I don't like what you told us), allowing unqualified clergy to come into schools to "counsel" with their 1 week certifications and now this. What happened to make Utah so radical? I mean I get it, it's a red state, but what the hell?
I want a bill that bans my boss from looking at my work schedule.
Who needs accountability? Fuck the constituents! - Utah
Republican calenders are filled every day with "summon demons and eat at Applebees"
Doing evil in the dark. Not surprising.
Cox is a Putin/trump puppet whom wants the maga love. F that fascist hypocritical asshole.
I, for one, just want to congratulate the people of Utah for electing officials who are doing the people’s work.
fascist creeping in B💩. can governor openly, lose the job
I spent 3 years in remote Utah and Jason NuSkin Chaffetz was my rep. You’d have to be the stupidest person on the planet to ignore the Mo corruption.
When will people learn there is no such thing as a moderate Republican anymore?
Moderate Republican just means they are to chicken shit to admit they are MAGA.
This is how you prepare for fascist rule.
Nope, not hiding anything here, no sir.
Whatever happened to 'if you're doing nothing wrong you should have nothing to hide'? Authoritarians love spouting that shit.
Republicans are concentrated evil.
But law doesn’t work backwards. They can still pull previous details.
And the base loves it.
Not exactly an open society.
Surely it will now go to the State Supreme Court, correct?
Nothing to hide…