Brian King’s Monthly Update - September
Welcome to the monthly report from the Chair of Utah’s Democratic Party! September has been filled with significance from one end of the spectrum of human affairs to the other. Let me start with the positive.
Cedar City Central Committee Highlights
We had a great State Central Committee weekend in Cedar City with fun watching Shakespeare Festival performances, carrying out the business of the UDP, enjoying the first annual Governor Scott Matheson Awards Gala at SUU, and training for county party leaders on how to elect more Democrats. Vice-Chair Susan Merrill and many stalwart Iron County Democrats made sure our weekend was amazing. Thanks to them!
Meet our New Executive Director
Jade Velazquez, UDP’s new Executive Director, began his job. I’m very grateful to have his leadership at the office on a day-to-day basis. We are steadily increasing the communications structure, operational capacity and visibility of the party across the state. If we are going to change hearts and minds in Utah, we must increase both the prominence of Utah Democrats and give people confidence that we are the ones who can most effectively change things for the better. We are moving forward effectively in those areas!
A Sobering Month for Our Democracy
Much more difficult and painful this month was having Utah as ground zero for political violence of the worst kind. Watching our country’s leadership embrace more clearly an autocrat model of governance and bring about an authoritarian state has been gut wrenching. The threats to our political systems and norms are real and dire.
People are recognizing that the best, perhaps only, way to successfully stand against this committed, unified group of people who support Trump’s efforts to dismantle our Constitution is to stand together. It becomes more obvious as time passes and the mask falls from this regime to expose its treacherous face, that we must band together for the common good and the rule of law or we will lose our republic.
It’s Time to Come Home
We all know, many of us are Democrats who register as Republicans to mitigate the harshness and extremity of the majority party. I understand the temptation to do so. But I grow more convinced that if that was ever effective, it no longer is. Even relatively moderate and principled Republicans, with few exceptions, end up enabling and facilitating MAGA’s authoritarian efforts.
"Having some input at Republican caucuses, conventions, and primaries simply is not stemming the MAGA tide."
When I spoke at the Davis County Dems breakfast, I spoke about how we should never abandon efforts to help Trump supporters understand why he and the political party he leads do not support the principles our country and state were founded on. But we also need to recognize that when Democrats register as Republicans it robs our party of legitimacy and strength. We need to make clear for friends and neighbors on both sides of the aisle how and why the two parties are different. We do that by openly affiliating with the party that best reflects our values.
The idea of “Dems need to come home” is to bring pragmatic, problem solving, people who already think of themselves as Democrats back to being loud and proud party members. When that happens, we have greater credibility in telling disaffected Republicans that Democrats are committed to Utah values and helping people with their daily needs. The leaders of the Republican Party today peddle nonsense.
“We are committed to commonsense solutions that address daily problems of regular people. Leaders of our business and civic communities will be more likely to take Democrats seriously when people they know and respect show themselves to be active Democrats, not faux Republicans.”
Right now, only one of our two major political parties is committed to stand for common sense interests for all vs. concentrated power and wealth for few. Over the next few weeks and months, dividing the political sheep from the goats is going to get more, not less, necessary. And when one political party is a monolith in pushing lies and authoritarian, anti-American ideas, the only way to put an effective counterweight in place is to strengthen and make more effective the opposition political party.
People know that. They understand the time for choosing between political right and wrong, between fact and fantasy, between truth and falsehood, is accelerating. They feel it in their bones. And the need to choose will become more evident as time goes by. I speak so starkly because this President is revealing more clearly his intent to abuse power and undermine our country in a way none of us have ever seen.
What Must Happen?
If we are going to be successful in dealing with this attack, two things must happen.
Democrats who have registered as Republicans in a failed attempt to moderate the GOP must come home.
We must help moderate, independent and disaffected Republican voters recognize that Democrats best represent their values and priorities.
These two ideas need not compete or oppose each other. We can and should make them complementary.
Why Party Affiliation Matters
My friends at Elevate Campaign Strategies have put into writing their own thoughts for why Democrats who are currently registered as Republicans ought to re-register with the party that best represents them. Those ideas are well worth reading: http://bit.ly/4nT66AE.
As we address our challenges with hope, I remain yours in solidarity.
