Dear Utah Republican legislators:
I desperately need your help. Simply put, “Help me help you.” Against all my principles, I’m a registered Republican. I don’t want to be a Republican and you certainly don’t want me to be a Republican. To be associated with the likes of Mike Lee, Burgess Owens, Chris Stewart (among many, way too many, others), frankly, makes me a bit nauseous. However, I care what happens in/to this state and in/to this country. With the current maneuverings of “our” (shudder) party, to have any voice, I must have an R next to my name when I vote in Utah.
So, if you want me out of your party, you need only do two things. The first is to accept one of the maps proposed by the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission. The people of Utah voted for an ethical, independent approach to redistricting, the results of which you ignored. Please listen to the people who elected you. Second, open the Republican primaries to a wider pool. Opening up Republican primaries to unaffiliated voters, as does my former party, could do wonders and, possibly, give the Republican Party a moral compass.
Since these changes are likely to happen … well … never, I will continue as a Republican, a stranger in a very strange land.
Kari Ellingson, Cottonwood Heights