Gary R. Herbert

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Gary R. Herbert is the Governor of Utah, and is running for reelection in the November 2016 Election, Utah.

The overall impression we are left with is that Gary Herbert is not a comfortably strong ideological conservative. His actions, such as his decision to be the only Republican Governor to fail to refuse Syrian refugees in the light of the federal government's biased and insecure screening process[1], suggest an influence from his LDS religion, which speaks well for his integrity. However, his actions further suggest that he puts reelection at a premium. Alternatively this might be explained by him simply wanting to be a people pleaser, and to keep the peace. One anecdote that stands out comes from the events surrounding House Bill 477 in 2011:

"During the 2011 legislative session, Herbert signed into law House Bill 477 after it passed through the legislature in three days. The bill would have drastically reduced the ability of citizens to access public records, especially records of Legislators. After large public outcry, Herbert announced he would sign the bill yet also call a special session to repeal the new law."[2]

It is hard to imagine what would have led Gary Herbert to sign such a bill, but one might imagine that by signing the bill initially, and then passing it through the legislature again, he was acting deferentially towards the legislature. Despite the cost, this gave the legislature a chance to participate in responding to the outcry and might have spared some hurt feeling.

Another anecdote that stands out is Gary Herbert's endorsement of Ted Cruz in 2016. Gary Herbert had provided vocal support for John Kasich, and even as he went in to meet with Ted Cruz about a potential endorsement, he spoke glowingly of John Kasich. In the end, his endorsement went to Ted Cruz. Politico reported:

"Herbert, who is up for reelection himself this year, has withheld his endorsement so far. Though he expresses heartfelt admiration for his colleague, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, he acknowledges that Cruz is more in line ideologically with Utah conservatives."[3]

The impression that is left, is that although Gary Herbert prefers John Kasich, his constituents prefer Ted Cruz, so he met with Ted Cruz to get some assurances to lay the groundwork for an endorsement. His endorsement of Ted Cruz, then, doesn't really come off as genuine.

The most concerning thing, of all, in the light of these observations, however, is his signing of SB 54, and subsequent utilization of the signature process to get on the Republican primary ballot.

SB 54 represents an alarming intrusion into the operations of a set of private organizations, regulating how political parties can select their candidates for an election. We cannot see how such a regulation can be seen as legitimate. Apart from the issue of the legitimacy of regulating the internal workings of a private organization in this way, the bill burdens political parties with substantial extra cost and provides a backdoor for questionable candidates to avoid having to pass the scrutiny of a party's elected delegates. Gary Herbert, himself, having drawn the ire of conservative political observers for his relatively moderate brand of conservatism, might have had trouble getting onto the ballot as the Republican candidate, if forced to undergo party scrutiny against a more ideologically conservative candidate. However, he has signed into law his own back door, and he is using it. He has not pleased conservatives, or respected the rights of his constituents, but he may have given himself a shot at reelection.

Endorsements

He is endorsed by Senator Ted Cruz.

SB 54

Is widely criticized in the Republican Party for signing SB 54 of 2014 into law, which is disliked by Republicans, because it regulates the process by which political parties in Utah, which are private organization, choose their candidates for state and county elections. Of particular concern at the time of the November 2016 Election, Utah, is a requirement that candidates be allowed to enter a race with a political party by gathering signatures, bypassing the normal caucus system, whereby candidates are elected by delegates. This creates expense for the political parties, undermines the authority of the party delegates. In Utah County, delegates were reported to have booed signature gathering candidates for their leveraging of this abusive provision, and the official party stance has been to refuse to acknowledge candidates (with either resources or endorsement) entering races via the signature gathering method.

Gary Herbert has entered the race via the signature gathering method.

Air Quality

Air Quality is one of the issues that Gary Herbert is focusing on in his campaign. Utah has some unique air quality issues and hence, it makes sense, that the state government act to defend the life and property of residents against abuses by requiring that people curb emission of pollutants. there are many smart things that can be done here, such as setting workable emission standards, promoting innovation through smart policy, and promoting wise use of resources. Per Gary Herbert's website, he has worked on setting emission standards, but his attempts to set smart policy and promote the wise use of resources seems poorly thought out and unnecessarily encroach on the need for self-reliance. An example of this is Gary Herbert's proposed ban on wood-burning stoves.[4] If this were absolutely necessary, it might be a reasonable sacrifice, since pollutants are a threat to life and property, while his proposed ban is a threat to life, liberty, and/or property, (ie. we lose some ability to provide for our own heating, a necessary thing in the winter) all important considerations. However, it is not necessary, and it is not even significant towards the end that he proposes. Ignoring the issue of personal liberty and promoting blunt and ineffective legislation is not something we need more of.

Common Core

Common Core is one of the issues that Gary Herbert is focusing on in his campaign. Common Core is an issue many states are facing, and is particularly unpopular in Utah. From its at-times awkward implementation, to its abuse of federal jurisdiction, common core, and related federal education programs have ruffled many feathers.

Gary Herbert has claimed some successes on this front, but the don't really add up.

Called for the Elimination of the Federal Department of Education

A good move on Gary Herbert's part, in February, 2016, was to call for the elimination of the U.S. Department of Education. We need more of this, but it would seem more sincere if such moves were made before an election year, but it seems unlikely that he had much control over the timing of the Every Student Succeeds Act. His stated position at that time was "Utahns don’t have the luxury of deciding which federal laws to follow. Gov. Herbert believes there should not be a federal Department of Education, but because there is and until Congress disbands it, the state of Utah has a responsibility to seek as much flexibility as possible from the department." We might have liked a positioned the lack of need to acquiesce to illegitimate authority, but his stated position is consistent with his standard approach of not ruffling feathers.[5]

Unfortunately, Gary Herberts actions have, for years, not been in line with his statements this election year. In 2010 Gary Herbert included implementing Common Core and Common Core-based testing as part of his education plan. In 2011 he signed law that obligated Utah to support some major federal reforms. In 2014 he was denying the origins of Common Core, pretending it was created by the states, and that it did not involve any federal overreach.[6] In June 2015, he was lobbying Congress to have them abuse their authority even further by forcing states to consolidate more authority for education into the hands of the governors. (Many states already did this, but not Utah, and Congress has no authority to do this.)[7] Everything he has done on the subject has promoted federal overreach in education.

SB287

Gary Herbert claims that SB287, which he signed, "makes it illegal for the federal government to have any control over our state standards and curriculum". It's not a terribly long law, and it is easy to see that this is a lie.

Investigation by Attorney General Sean Reyes

It is not at all clear that the Attorney General is an unbiased observer, nor that he is free of the Governor's influence. This appeal to authority doesn't do much to contradict many established facts.

Gary Herbert claims that the Attorney General found that Utah had not "ceded authority over our education system to the federal government on Common Core or any other standards". However, the report specifically found that the federal government had used coercion to "[infringe] upon local and state authority over public education".[8] Gary Herbert's assertion here is not accurate.

See also: Christel Swasey, "RESPONDING TO THE UTAH ATTORNEY GENERAL’S REPORT ON COMMON CORE", Utahns Against Common Core, 29 Oct 2014

Lobbied Congress to Repeal the No Child Left Behind Act

Gary Herbert claims that he lobbied Congress to repeal the No Child Left Behind Act. This is not completely accurate. Gary Herbert gave a nice sounding speech in favor of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaced the No Child Left Behind Act. As a replacement, it really expanded the government overreach that had previously been enshrined in the No Child Left Behind Act. (Not that anyone could likely have known that, as the text of the act was not long available before it was voted on.)

Economic Strength

It is undeniably true that Utah's economy has had a boon during the years when Gary Herbert was Governor. He has claimed that this was done, in part, by keeping taxes down. However, Utahns have, as of 2015, seen a hike in gas taxes and property taxes.[9] We can imagine that he may still have worked to keep taxes low. Perhaps it might have been worse. However, Gary Herbert has refused to take a pledge that he would not raise taxes, and his history is full of opposition to tax cuts, tax hike proposals, and successful tax hikes.[10]

We don't generally don't give much credit to politicians claiming credit for economic boons. The forces of the economy can be influenced by legislation and executive action, but there are also recognizable cycles in the economy which politicians will regularly claim credit for, and it seems clear, that for Utah, we are in the middle of a regular upswing. It is interesting that Utah is one of the few states to experience this upswing so dramatically. It has been very subdued generally, so there might be some credit to take there, regarding the size of the upswing.

Another thing we don't give much credit to is jobs. Job numbers are related to the strength of the economy, but they are also related to our loss of personal freedom. People who find alternative work options often don't get counted in jobs numbers.

What we do look for, in relation to the economy, is fiscal responsibility, fiscal conservatism, and deregulation.

External Resources

References

  1. ↑ Max Roth, "Herbert now only Republican gov. who has not refused Syrian refugees", Fox News 13: Salt Lake City, NOVEMBER 17, 2015
  2. ↑ Gary Herbert, Wikipedia, 22 Apr 2016
  3. ↑ Kile Cheney, "Utah governor admires Kasich but will huddle with Cruz as endorsement looms", Politico, 18-March-2016
  4. ↑ Brian Maffly, "Gov. Gary Herbert proposes wood-burning ban in Utah", The Salt Lake Tribune, Dec 03 2014 07:21PM
  5. ↑ "Governor testifies before Congress on end to No Child Left Behind mandates", Utah Governor Gary Herbert (blog), Feb 2016
  6. ↑ Oak Norton, "GOVERNOR HERBERT’S OUTRAGEOUS CLAIM", Utahns Against Common Core, 31 March 2016
  7. ↑ Jonathan Johnson, "My view: Gov. Herbert doesn't need Congress to have role in public education", Deseret New, June 19 2015
  8. ↑ Sean D. Reyes, "Re: Common Core Standards Legal Analysis", The State of Utah Office of the Attorney General, 7 Oct 2014
  9. ↑ Ben Winslow, "Governor Herbert signs tax hikes into law", Fox 13: Salt Lake City, MARCH 27, 2015
  10. ↑ Jonathan Johnson, "Jonathan Johnson’s Tax Pledge", Hire Jonathan Johnson, 2016
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