Utah politics : the elephant in the room / Rod Decker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Decker, Rod, 1941- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Politics and government.

Utah--Politics and government.

Utah.

Physical Description:

xiii, 404 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City : Signature Books, 2019.

Summary:

From the tempestuous fight for statehood to the evolution of Utah voters from Democrats to Republicans, Rod Decker analyzes the intersection of politics and faith in the complex political culture of modern Utah. Beginning with the state's roots as a communal theocracy, Utah Politics deftly examines how Mormon morality influenced and continues to shape conflicts on both the local and federal levels. Whether determining the role nuclear fallout played in causing cancer epidemics throughout the state or the influence of Mormon lobbyists, Decker demonstrates how the rose that blossomed in the desert was sometimes fertilized by conspiracy, debate, and political machination. Some themes reoccur: governors become popular by fighting federal oversight-- signaling a lingering distrust that Washington could alter the Mormon way of life--and liberals use the court system to circumvent conservative legislatures who see public morality as a defining feature of government. Through this lens, issues both deceptively innocuous and deeply complex underscore Utah's dance with religious freedom and civil liberty.

Contents:

The founding

The Republican ascendancy

Public morality

Demography : family and children

Economy

The time of disorder

The downwinders' tale

Downwinder politics

Water

Federal land

The Utah State Legislature

Utah's governors

Governing

Courts and public law

Budgeting, spending, taxing, revolting

Utah schools

Recapitulation.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781560852728

1560852720

OCLC:

1084626689