There are some very good men and women in state government, so I hate to see incidents like this damage everyone. Take my Representative Carl Wimmer. Wimmer is a great man, who follows principle and he does not get mixed up in things like this. I am grateful for him and people like him.

Happy to have Sen. Karen Mayne as my Senator. The Utah Legislature being in the news all the time with this kind of garbage is getting old.

I'm voting for a change with my GOP Rep. and keeping Sen. Mayne up there. In fact, most state office holders who are R's will most likely not get my vote in a month. Chaffetz is too arrogant with stupid immigration ideas, Huntsman isn't a conservative, Curtis plays the King of Utah, Hughes wants to provide $$$ if you vote his way and Riesen allows us citizens to know about this (thank you Phil).

Are any of you tired of the Capitol antics?

As a citizen that regularly trys to follow the dealings of my representatives, the incident involving Rep. Greg Hughes does not surprise me. I have met with him on a couple of occassions and come away both times feeling that I have not been heard or cared about and that he is arrogant. As someone that considers himself to be a republican, my vote this cycle will go to his democratic challenger Lisa Johnson.

Overall, I am getting tired of the constant bullying on the Hill by the ultra-conservative republicans in this State. I find it amazing that ultra-conservative republicans in this State can't figure out why people like Mike Leavitt, John Huntsman and Bob Bennett get elected, maybe it is because people in this State like the way moderate republicans run things.

Sincerely,
Dissatisfied Republican

As evidence of what Mr. Bernick is saying is the abusive way that he himself has been treated recently by many Republican legislators.

For those of us who can't vote in some of these districts whose legislators are of questionable morals, maybe we should think twice about where we spend our money when visiting Sandy and Draper.

We live in a society that is becoming more and more hyper-aggressive. Although these traits may show themselves in the Legislature, they are also showing up in the media, on our roads, at school between our kids, etc.

Let's look at the root of the problem - all of us and how we treat each other.

You can send a message by voting for a Democrat. Balance is what we need and that is the ONLY way to get it!

That has got to be one of the most honest, straight-forward evaluations of what is happening in Utah politics. Thanks Bob!

You can bring more balance by voting Libertarian or Constitution party than you can voting Democrat. Plus you can actually help restore personal liberty.

The two-party system generates this polarizing behavior.

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I am very thankful that Sheryl Allen is my representative. Sometimes she reminds me of that poor person in the commercial who has to work with the monkeys.

I've been stunned by Bob Bernick Jr's misreporting at least twice this year, but today's article is right on the money.

The problem lies in the Republican party caucus meetings (Republicans because it is the party in power in Utah) in which the incumbents have their minions line up to take over the elections in the precincts.

Those minions of the incumbent, after being elected in their precincts, then go to the county conventions and vote for the incumbent. That small group is what truly controls the outcome of the races in November. No change will ever take place unless the Average Joe and Jane realizes how the system currently works.

Of course, throughout the whole process, the incumbent has access to the Republican party, which will shower the incumbent with all the needed campaign funds he or she needs to bury any sort of challenger. And the Republican Party is forced to do it because it is obligated to support the incumbent, no matter how good or bad he or she is.

It is not a representative form of government. It amounts to a secret combination, whether those within power deliberately set it up that way or whether they innocently allowed it to happen.

Having been accused of things I didn't do several times in my life, I am slow to assume guilt unless there is overwhelming evidence.

I would like to see all concerned take a public lie detector test from the public agency that is recognized for its accuracy in such tests.

I hate to see innocent people accused falsely, and their reputation falsely hurt. If there is corruption, on any of the sides involved here it should come out and any innocence should be put to the light of day also.

Kudos, also, to my legislator, Representative Karen Morgan who has shown throughout the past 10 years bipartisan leadership. May she be the new senator in Senate District 8 and bring the balance she has exemplified in the House into the Utah Senate.

How are the caucus meetings secret? They are open to the public, announced by the media and churches. If there is a problem with the caucus meeting it should be attributed to public apathy.

Who ever said caucus meetings were secret or closed? Can you read?

I hear all this talk of wanting to see an end of corruption or the perception of corruption. We have a chance to do something about it on November 4th. Contact the candidates running for the state legislature and find out if they support a ban on gifts, restriction on campaign contributions and clear rules on how and what campaign contributions can be spent on. Vote only for those who are committed to ethics reform. When they are elected hold them to their word. We the voters are just as guilty for continuing to elect those who are abusing the system.