Diplomacy, Utah Style
With Utah's historic liquor reform about to take effect July 1, some still might wonder how Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. was able to pull off such a dramatic change as doing away with required private club memberships and making the state basically a free-wheeling liquor-by-the-drink province.
Huntsman got national attention for doing what many thought couldn't be done, creating a legal environment that makes it as easy for someone to get a drink in a bar in Utah as it is in, say, California.
He parlayed that national attention into what looked like a preliminary exploration before President Barack Obama eliminated a potential rival by nominating him to be Ambassador to China.
So how did Huntsman pull off what no other politician could accomplish during all those years of Utah's uniquely restrictive liquor laws?
You remember Huntsman's "Strengthening Democracy Commission," made up of community leaders who were charged by the governor with examining numerous governmental and political institutions and policies and coming up with ways to make them better.
Remember how Huntsman pulled the two most controversial measures — legislative ethics reform and redistricting — from the agenda.
Well, the two were related. The Legislators have made it clear that it doesn't want anyone other than legislators deciding what is proper ethics reform for themselves and they jealously guard their control over drawing legislative and congressional districts.
After Huntsman pulled those two items from the commission's agenda, so lawmakers can keep control over scrutiny of their own behavior and the boundaries of their own districts, lawmakers found a way to pass the governor's ambitious liquor reform.
Pretty good back-scratching exercise, wouldn't you say?
Cheers,
Paul Rolly
Huntsman got national attention for doing what many thought couldn't be done, creating a legal environment that makes it as easy for someone to get a drink in a bar in Utah as it is in, say, California.
He parlayed that national attention into what looked like a preliminary exploration before President Barack Obama eliminated a potential rival by nominating him to be Ambassador to China.
So how did Huntsman pull off what no other politician could accomplish during all those years of Utah's uniquely restrictive liquor laws?
You remember Huntsman's "Strengthening Democracy Commission," made up of community leaders who were charged by the governor with examining numerous governmental and political institutions and policies and coming up with ways to make them better.
Remember how Huntsman pulled the two most controversial measures — legislative ethics reform and redistricting — from the agenda.
Well, the two were related. The Legislators have made it clear that it doesn't want anyone other than legislators deciding what is proper ethics reform for themselves and they jealously guard their control over drawing legislative and congressional districts.
After Huntsman pulled those two items from the commission's agenda, so lawmakers can keep control over scrutiny of their own behavior and the boundaries of their own districts, lawmakers found a way to pass the governor's ambitious liquor reform.
Pretty good back-scratching exercise, wouldn't you say?
Cheers,
Paul Rolly
1:26 PM
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