Utah Democrats...Continuing as Irrelevant?

I've blogged before about my poor view of the Democratic Party here in Utah. I say this as a Socialist who is pretty involved in the Democratic Party because they bother me less than the Republicans, and as a legislative chair, county and state delegate, and someone who really does wish the Democrats would actually succeed in this state. I guess I'm just a cynic in most matters, though. In any event, with the recent changes in the Davis County Democratic Party, and the upcoming State Democratic Party Convention, I thought I'd scribble down a few more thoughts.

First, I wonder about Rob Miller's move from state Vice Chair to Davis County Chair. Is Rob getting exiled to the most pitiful Democratic dungeon in the Wasatch Front because of dissatisfaction with his performance? Is he voluntarily stepping down to a less intensive role for the sake of his career and family? Is the decision actually to send a superstar out to Davis County to build up the party there?

Hard to say, I guess. I do know that since Rob's been state Vice Chair, the party hasn't fared particularly well. As noted in my post-election rant, Democrats in the Utah State Legislature actually lost ground over the past few years, and Congressional candidates like Morgan Bowen and Bennion Spencer were about as pitiful as I've ever seen (okay, Fingerhut in Ohio actually made me vote for Voinivich, but that's getting off-track).

How much is Rob to blame? I dunno. I do wish that better, more experienced hands would step up to the plate. Winners like Bill Orton (rest his soul), Jan Graham, Karen Shepherd, etc. Rob's replacement, uncontested Vice Chair candidate Karen Hale, did win in the 7th Senate District. But District 7 is one of the most concentrated Democratic districts in the state. No offense to Ross Romero, whose qualifications and personal skills have impressed me since I first met him, but a domestic turkey could win landslides in District 7. As for uncontested candidates Colt Smith for Secretary (also never won a legislative seat) and Kathy Snyder for Treasurer (never even run as far as I can tell), the question is largely moot.

The real questions revolve around the "big boys": State Chair Wayne Holland and State Executive Director Todd Taylor. Personally, I don't have a huge beef with Wayne. He's a Kennecott union man, which almost automatically earns him my respect. The problem is, Wayne hasn't led the party to victories. If anything, Democrats have become even more irrelevant in Utah politics since Wayne took over. Is it Wayne's fault? I'm not sure, but after four years without any success, and in the wake of pretty clear evidence of ever more failure, I think it's time for new blood.

Same goes for Todd Taylor, and even more so. Personally, I do have a beef with Todd. He strikes me as an arrogant, self-serving ass (see, again, my post-election rant). But I would respect him if he had a demonstrated, recent record of success. Unfortunately, he doesn't. Maybe he had a role in the wins Democrats chalked up in the early 1990s. Maybe he didn't (by his own admission, Bill Orton not only won without him, but beat him in an election for National Committeeman - see http://utdems.blogspot.com/2009/04/orton-story-todd-taylor-state-party.html). Maybe Todd even stood in the way of greater gains back when people like Bill Orton were building momentum.

Problem is, Todd's been part of Wayne's team for the past four years. Maybe Wayne has disregarded otherwise good advice from Todd. I doubt that, though, since Wayne personally picked Todd and presumably respects his counsel. As the political brains in the operation, Todd Taylor must shoulder the lion's share of the blame for the failure of Democratic candidates and the overall diminishing view most Utahns have of the Utah Democratic Party.

So where do the Democrats in Utah go from here? The only option is to vote out Wayne, and by extension, boot out Todd. The only chance for that, though, is dim. Wayne faces a challenge from Jeff Bell, a media guy whose website, while putting forward the obvious ("It’s not enough to have good ideas...[or] to have a good message...You have to be able to deliver."), doesn't communicate to me a candidate having the political or administrative skills necessary to win. Lots of people (including, I would guess, Todd Taylor) probably said that about Bill Orton, too. And Bell does identify how the Utah Democrats are locked in a 1990s media mindset, that he would apparently be able to reverse. So there's hope.

But I just don't see Bell getting out there and demonstrating an ability to win a campaign. True, Wayne Holland narrowly won in 2005, and that gives me hope about his prospects four years later with a pathetic record, but as the incumbent, he's got name recognition and a lot of control over the process (including how easily delegates can even get credentialed, as the 2006 convention demonstrated--anyone remember how the lines stretched back for miles in the Salt Palace???). Having the convention at Murray High School may be an indication of the kind of dirty trick Todd may have suggested to keep Wayne (and, of course, Todd, too) in power for another two years of self-destruction.

So, what does that leave the party with? More of the same, unfortunately. I've previously noted the problems I see with the redistricting reform effort Democrats seem intent on pushing forward. Frankly, as I see it, gerrymandered districts are about all that's keeping Democrats like Ross Romero and Jim Matheson in office these days. And even if Democrats get all they want out of redistricting reform, I hardly see how anything but a gerrymandered district can help a single Democrat in Davis County win a legislative seat, given that registered Davis County Democrats number less than 10% of the registered voters here).

Maybe Sam Granato will appear out of the wilderness and beat Bennett (or Shurtleff or Bridgewater) in 2010. Will that really mean very much, though? I'm told that Granato actually met with the Utah State Republican bosses about a run before turning to the Democrats (apparently the man voted in the 2008 Presidential Primary as an unaffiliated voter, so he's probably not currently a registered Republican, but he's also not even a registered Democrat, either).

Worse, Granato is apparently going to press Norm Bangerter and other Republican big-boys into service to help lead his run. Granato, as I understand it, is a businessman, who, far from the local deli owner currently presented in the media, is actually a big time restaurant distributor in the valley, and who, as a result, is chummy with the typical business elites, who are overwhelmingly Republican, anti-union, and anti-Democrat. Back in 1999, the Utah Democrats' great white hope for the Senate actually contributed $500 to Bush for President, Inc. Before that, in 1991, Wayne and Rob's man donated $500 to Orrin Hatch; in 1991, Granato's wife donated $200 to Chris Cannon.

Honestly, if the Utah Democrats have to rely on dissatisfied Republicans to win, do we even need Wayne Holland or Todd Taylor? Are we really even Democrats, or just the party of dissatisfied Republicans (with former Republican Steve Olsen currently leading the former Democratic stronghold in Weber County, and with Utah County Democrats finding their only gains in former Republican candidates, and with the Davis County Democratic Party Treasurer asserting that he's serving to convince his neighbors that Democrats really stand for 95% of what Republicans stand for, that's not so much a question as a statement of fact).

And if Utah Democrats are led by inept figureheads and can only win by wooing away disaffected, rationally-minded Republicans (not a particularly hard sell in Utah or even nationally these days), what do the Democrats do when the Republicans inevitably emerge from the wilderness and welcome back guys like Granato? If Granato wins as a Democrat, Wayne and Todd are a lock to serve for at least into 2013, if they want, regardless of how many more legislative seats we lose. If Granato loses, Wayne and Todd are still in it at least until 2011.

The bottom line is absent strong leadership from a strong and politically astute State Chair and Executive Director, and absent strong candidates and effective party building, Democrats in Utah, in my view, will inevitably continue to be even less relevant than the teenage libertarian wing of the Daggett County Republican Party.