I read the June 11 news article, "2,000 ATK jobs at stake." It is a bad situation for the communities in northern Utah.
It made me think that we are reaping a harvest of what we've sowed. As everyone knows, Utah is heavily Republican. I know large percentages of voters vote straight Republican. I know that Republican presidential candidates receive around 67 percent of the vote each election cycle. The trend and results are obvious and clear to anyone.
I recall hearing a political scientist at the University of Utah make a statement that I believe is true: "If you want to be irrelevant, vote for one party on a consistent basis."
I believe that national Republican leaders rarely consider issues important to Utah because they know they can always count on Utah, no matter what. I believe national Democratic leaders seldom pay attention to issues important to us because they know we will never vote for them. The result, is that we have little influence when issues important to us come up.
Imagine what "attention" could be paid to us if a U.S. Senate seat is "in play." I could imagine scenarios where the cancellation of the Constellation program may be re-considered in order to make a candidate or the incumbent "look good" in the eyes of the voters. It is just speculation, but it is not that hard to see how it could happen.
Please consider that we do have choices this year. Sam Granato is running as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate. Morgan Bowen is running for Congress as a Democrat against Rob Bishop. These are reasonable choices. We don't have to vote for Republican candidates who want to eliminate Social Security, abolish the IRS, put us back on the gold standard, or oppose any effort to reform health care or other extreme ideas.
Scott Cisney
Perry
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