Retrospective: Are Grass Roots Politics the Answer for the GOP?
July 2nd, 2009
Utah conservatives look to change their image by implementing tried and true strategies from the country's past
It is no secret that it's been a rough year for Republicans. With President Bush's approval rating at near subterranean levels in November, Democrats across the country seized the opportunity to sweep into office en mass. However, the recent fallout from South Carolina's world-traveling Governor Sanford is pulling the RNC further away from the sidelines and back into the hot seat. Also, the recent documentary Outrage, which chronicles the hypocrisy of gay, conservative leaders like Senator Larry Craig isn't helping to develop a family friendly image the GOP can be proud of.
But what about you, the average Utahn? You don't fit into the model built by the current generation of fat cat Republican elite. You're not a war profiteer, and you've never been invited to Bilderberg or the Bohemian Grove. You're just an average American with a picture of Reagan on your wall and soft spot in your heart for the founding fathers. Who speaks for you?
After eight years of Bush growing the size and power of the federal government, grass roots movements are attempting to redefine how politics are played and emphasize the importance of constitutional governance. This trend has taken various forms and has extended itself throughout multiple venues in Utah.
The Tea Parties that occurred in April were the quintessential example.
A throwback to activism of old, the Tea Party Movement was immensely popular throughout the state and succeeded in uniting the Conservative base in a way that has yet to be repeated since. "I think that the tea party movement was about looking back to the fundamentals of what made America a great country: embracing the Constitution and a limited Federal government, more state power, fewer partisan alliances and a greater reliance on family, community and religions than government," said one attendee to April's protests. It doesn't take a Rhodes Scholar to realize why this resonates so deeply with the American public, as the national unemployment rate is still soaring, billions of dollars in TARP funds are still unaccounted for, and both cap and trade legislation and a new health care proposal loom on the horizon.
Conservative pundit Glenn Beck's phenomenal success within the last few months is also testament to a new trend in politics. Utah in particular is infatuated with the man who is now the default MC for Provo City's Stadium of Fire. Beck himself is a throwback to politics of another day. Considering himself more of a Libertarian than a modern Republican, Beck has no qualms about criticizing members of either the Republican party or the Democratic party and has earned enemies on both sides of the political spectrum. Beck has managed to strike a cord with the American public by pointing out how the Constitution is being completely trampled and neglected by perceived and realized threats of nationalization. Beck recently donated $25,000 of his own funds at at black tie fundraiser in Utah for George Wythe University in Cedar City, an unaccredited liberal arts school centered on the discussion-based classes dedicated to building statesmen, "who inspire greatness in others and move the cause of liberty."
George Wythe was America's first law professor and served as a personal mentor to Thomas Jefferson. Many Utahns now feel that Wythe and the Founding Fathers symbolize a time of intellectual prosperity and freedom when the country was not yet mired in bureaucracy and petty politics.
Another blast from America's past recently resurrected and presented as a symbol of better time is the curious specter of Utah's own Cleon Skousen. Though Skousen was largely considered a fringe character by both liberal and progressive politicians in his day, Glenn Beck has succeeded in reviving him and his Constitutionalist treatiste The 5,000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the World, Principles of Freedom 101. After Beck endorsed the text on Fox News, it jumped from obscurity to number one on Amazon's bestseller list. The book explores 28 beliefs Skousen claims were held by America's Founding Fathers. Skousen calls for a return to the ideals of the constitution and seeks to offer hope to country in turmoil.
One Utah blogger writes, "his book is a real education into the brilliance of our founding fathers, and how, despite their diverse origins and cultures, they managed to convene and agree with unanimity to adopt the Constitution with just 12 amendments. The point is if they can agree and work well together then so should our politicians be more willing to cross party lines and work more in favor of us rather than their party.
The surge in Skousen's popularity has led to the creation of a number of grass roots organizations in Utah dedicated to studying the text and discussing how to apply it to the nation's current situation. Facebook, Meetup, Craiglist, and blogs across the state are now buzzing with talk of The 5,000 Year Leap, and local politicians cannot help but to take notice that the people want something different.
Bliss Tew is the Utah Coordinator for the John Birch Society (JBS) and is a Regional Field Director for nine western states. Unlike the Republican Party, the JBS has been promoting Constitutionalism for 50 years, and he reports that their numbers are now growing rapidly. "People are fed up with unconstitutional and undeclared wars for the United Nations," says Tew. "They are sick of the government operating in a lawless manner. We are the public, and it is supposed to be the public servant not the master. This is the time Americans will rediscover what we call 'Americanism,' that is the American culture, principles, Constitution, fundamental shared religious beliefs, and economic principles that made Americans free, prosperous and respected around the world."
But what does this movement mean for Utah's current elected officials? Governor Hunstman, a moderate by anyone's standards, is soon off to China. Will the new, more conservative Utah government respond to the voice of its people and turn once again to the Constitution?
