The reason our political system is dysfunctional is the Republican Party. Parties are created by primary voters, and the most consistent and coherent voting block in GOP primaries is Neo-Confederate non-college whites. The chickens of the 1965 Voting Rights Act have come home to roost. Trumpism will continue to win elections in Alabama for the foreseeable future.
The opening for change lies in districts that are solid red but meet two important criteria:
- Lack a Neo-Confederate base AND
- Have other potential voting blocks that could become coherent and consistent voting identities.
Lots of places meet condition number one. It's condition number 2 that's hard.
One place that might fit the bill is Utah. It's very white, and Mormons are typical social conservative, but they also travel the globe helping people in developing countries. Mormons have been refugees and they have a strong tradition of welcoming others. And a lot of them seem to understand that poverty is not caused by bad choices, but is a consequence of not having enough money to buy the things you need.
Enter Jason Chaffetz, an invasive reptile species brought into Utah to kick footballs for BYU, where he acquired a wife, a religion and a desire for the approval from his adopted neighbors. But true to his reptile DNA, Chaffetz has turned into the exact kind of intolerant asshole who ran Brigham Young out of Nauvoo. How should the uninsured buy chemotherapy meds? With the $500 they spent on their phone. Duh!
Per Huffington Post, one of Chaffetz's non-reptile constituents has had enough:
By dismissing an angry crowd of constituents as paid, out-of-state protesters last month, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) helped convince a very real constituent in the audience that it was time to run for office.
And when the congressman said Tuesday that low-income Americans shouldn’t buy iPhones if they are unable to afford coverage under the new GOP health care law, he may very well have ensured he’ll have a viable challenger come 2018.
Kathryn Allen, a Democrat and family physician from Cottonwood Heights, Utah, had been toying with the idea of running against Chaffetz, whom she recently described as a “terrible excuse for a public servant.” But it was Chaffetz’s iPhone blunder, Allen’s public response and the explosive groundswell of support — and funding — she received afterward that provided the final boost.
