The Pressure is On
In the latest effort to squeeze out the last few votes needed to pass the House, proponents of a voucher bill to give tuition tax credits to parents with children in private schools are conducting polls in the districts of legislators still on the fence to show them their constituents want the bill.
Legislators who are considered swing votes have been approached the last few days and told that small sample polls in their districts show majorities in favor of vouchers.
It was unclear if only legislators whose constituents favored the bill were approached and exactly what the poll questions were. Some speculate it is a last-minute pressure tactic to bring the last one or two votes into line.
The Senate has approved voucher bills in the past and seems poised to pass this one. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has said he will sign a "reasonable" voucher bill that holds public education harmless.
The sticking point has always been the House and last year, sensing the votes were not there, House leaders didn't even bring the measure to the floor.
Past polls have consistently shown the public is against vouchers. But this year's polling has been confusing. A poll conducted for The Salt Lake Tribune recently found 57 percent oppose vouchers while 33 percent favor the proposal. But a poll done for KSL and the Deseret Morning News indicated that vouchers were favored by 48 percent while 46 percent opposed.
The polls commissioned by voucher proponents that zero in on specific legislative districts have been conducted by Western Watts, a Utah-based firm.
Cheers,
Paul Rolly
Legislators who are considered swing votes have been approached the last few days and told that small sample polls in their districts show majorities in favor of vouchers.
It was unclear if only legislators whose constituents favored the bill were approached and exactly what the poll questions were. Some speculate it is a last-minute pressure tactic to bring the last one or two votes into line.
The Senate has approved voucher bills in the past and seems poised to pass this one. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has said he will sign a "reasonable" voucher bill that holds public education harmless.
The sticking point has always been the House and last year, sensing the votes were not there, House leaders didn't even bring the measure to the floor.
Past polls have consistently shown the public is against vouchers. But this year's polling has been confusing. A poll conducted for The Salt Lake Tribune recently found 57 percent oppose vouchers while 33 percent favor the proposal. But a poll done for KSL and the Deseret Morning News indicated that vouchers were favored by 48 percent while 46 percent opposed.
The polls commissioned by voucher proponents that zero in on specific legislative districts have been conducted by Western Watts, a Utah-based firm.
Cheers,
Paul Rolly
3:53 PM
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4 Comments:
Pressure? Pressure? The fence sitters have experienced no pressure, yet!
The executive branch wants full time K. He wants to see huge increase in public education funding. The conservative caucus wants vouchers passed period.
All it would take is a call from the Gov. and everybody gets what they want. It really is all that simple. So the pressure is only beginning. The Democrats and UEA only make nice to Republican Legislators when thay have no viable candidate to replace them. But look what happened to Susan Lawrence a good and fair Republican that supported the UEA. The Dems finnaly had a candidate with a high name recognition and boom, Vic and the gang abandon her. This should be fair warning to any fence sitter up on the hill. Both sides want a win here, and there will be elected officials that will pay the price on both sides of this debate depending on how they vote.
A good reason to work for lessening the influence of special interest groups.
The voucher liberals are even more revenge-minded than the UEA.
I think the UEA must have abandoned
the spyglass after they supported him two years ago. He must be still seething from that or may be suffering from PTMS--Post traumatic Mike syndrom.
The fence sitters were under tremendous pressure from the voucher crowd. Those that stood for their principles should be thanked.
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