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Show The Utah Democrat: A Critical and Historical Analysis of the Rise and Fall of the Utah Democrats Angela Jones between all three Congressional districts. With Salt Lake County providing for most of the liberal and Democratic population in the state, splitting it nearly ensured that a Democratic congressman would not be elected. Even so, Democrat Bill Orton shockingly beat Republican challenger Karl Snow in the third congressional district. After the 1990 elections Democratic State Party Chair Mike Billings was quoted as saying, "It happened because we had better candidates who worked harder" (Utah Democrat 1991). Considering the other Democratic seats that were won during that election cycle, he may have been right. Four seats were gained in the House of Representatives and three were gained in the State Senate. Two out of three Congressional races resulted in Democratic wins. And most encouragingly, Democrats Randy Horiuchi and James Bradley beat out Republican incumbents for seats on the Salt Lake County Commission (Utah Democrat 1991). This came after fourteen years of GOP control. Governor Bangerter left office in the early 1990s and was replaced by another Republican, Mike Leavitt. Democrats at this time held a respectable 31 seats in the House of Representatives and were holding on to ten seats in the State Senate (Utah State Legislature). Sadly though, the mid-1990s proved that these holdings were futile because by 1995 the number of Democrats in the House had dwindled all the way down to 20 and the Senate had still been unable to gain any seats (Utah State Legislature). The low numbers of seats held by Utah Democrats allowed the GOP the two-thirds control it needed and again, in 2002, the Legislature was redistricted. While damaging to the Democrats, the 2002 redistricting did not completely dismantle what was left of the party. However, the super-minority status of the Utah Democrats has remained. Defining the Utah Democrat The term liberal is commonly used to describe Democrats, but for many Utah Democrats it's starting to feel like a very dirty word. The powerful presence of Republican dominance has many Democrats feeling they must compromise in order to meet any goals. There is a certain negative stigma that is carried with the liberal label; therefore the idea of being a more moderate Democrat can be appealing for both personal and political reasons. Even the Utah State Democratic Party website headlines itself, "Moderate, Reasonable, and Open" (Utah State Democratic Party 2004). Democratic Party leaders realize that to win races they must show to Utah's largely conservative constituent base that not everything about Democrats swings far to the left. Even so, being called a liberal should not be something that a Utah Democrat has to fear. In a recent interview, Representative David Litvack (D-Salt Lake) stated, I have no problem being labeled a liberal, [but] I know that many individuals within our party, the Democratic Party, do. 1 think it's not an issue of whether we are labeled liberal, or someone being labeled moderate, or conservative, it's the fact that we have for too long allowed the other party, the Republican party, to define us and to define who Democrats are.... It's not the word liberal, it's the meaning they have put behind the word liberal. Because we have not grasped our own identity and sold ourselves, people's perception of what it means to be a Democrat in Utah is based on what they hear from the majority party (Litvak 2004). This notion of being defined by the majority party seems not only to have become a problem for Democrats, but is even an issue within the GOP. When members of the Republican Party do not act conservatively enough to satisfy the right wing, they are labeled as moderates. Where a moderate Democrat is a good thing to the right-wing eye, a moderate Republican is most certainly not. Again, it is the labeling that has become the problem. The parties have allowed the words "liberal" and "moderate" to supersede all other aspects of an elected official's persona. Interestingly, defining the difference between a moderate Democrat and a liberal Democrat in Utah often involves turning back to the issue of religion. Most of the Utah Democrats labeled as moderates subscribe to the LDS faith. This makes sense given the fact that nationally a correlation can be drawn between conservatism and religious affiliation (Gallup Poll 2003). Conversely, many liberals are unlikely to subscribe to a religion. Hence, many Utah Democrats are not members of the LDS faith. This has created some friction within the Utah Democratic Party. Some of the more liberal Democrats view the moderates as not supporting the party. These moderate Democrats often find themselves in the position of having to choose between conservative constituents whom they are elected to represent and voting against the party. This is particularly true for Democrats who are elected in parts of the southern area of the Wasatch Front, certain areas of Salt Lake's east bench, and parts of rural Utah, said Representative Litvack (2004). These areas are shown to have more politically conservative residents. Elected Democrats in those areas have the difficult task of trying to appease those conservative voters, who are often vital to their reelection. The fact is, Utahns are inevitably faced with the unique challenge of a single, predominant religion to which a majority of the population belongs. Based on the simple notion previously stated, that religious groups tend to be more conservative, it follows that those who are members of the LDS faith tend to lean more conservatively. However, conservatism does not equate to Republicanism. Historical evidence has been provided that shows Utahns have been misled to believe there is no place for an LDS Democrat. Ironically, many LDS Church values are in line with Democratic values. For example, the LDS Church plays a huge role in helping to serve the community through giving aid to the needy, poor, and destitute, engaging in community service, helping the elderly, giving money to charitable organizations, etc. All of these are very much Democratic values. Some Church members point to principles as basic as the Ten Commandments to explain 56 |
