Evan McMullin wants to be next U.S. senator from the state of Utah and hes facing a substantial challenge in the conservative state in the form of incumbent Republican Senator Mike Lee. McMullin served as a CIA operations officer and later policy director for House Republicans, but hes perhaps best known for his independent run for president in 2016 and his strong criticism of former President Donald Trump. In an interview with Newsweek, McMullin took aim at divisiveness in Washington, D.C., and explained that his Senate campaign is based firmly upon defending American democracy. Our politics are broken in America where were failing to solve major challenges that are mounting, McMullin said. Whether they be the high cost of healthcare or poor air quality or lack of water, which were experiencing here in Utah obviously the pandemic and exploding national debt, which is contributing to inflation now, making it very difficult for middle class families and for families who struggle. So weve just got to start solving these problems and were not doing it now because our politics are so broken, McMullin said. The extremes in America are stronger than theyve been ever or in quite some time. And they pull our parties apart and therefore parties cant find common ground and use that to advance policy solutions. And were weakening as a country. And I believe our countrys falling behind because of this, but also our state here in Utah. The Utah Way McMullin said that national challenges were beginning to make life difficult in his home state, but that Utah could also play a major role in finding national solutions. And we have a different way of leadership here in Utah, McMullin said. We refer to it affectionately as the Utah Way. And what it is, is a way of leadership that holds to principal but still finds common ground to solve problems. And I think it has a lot to do with our history as a people as a state. My ancestors came to what is now Utah over 150 years ago, he said. McMullin pointed to the history of Utah, including settlement in the region by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the same church McMullin belongs to. America needs Utahs leadership, he told Newsweek. America needs this kind of leadership that will, yes, still hold the principle, but find common ground to solve problems. We just cant afford to do anything less than that. Broken Politics McMullins campaign is in essence a challenge to Senator Mike Lee. A conservative Republican, Lee won the 2016 Senate election with more than 68 percent of the vote. But McMullin made clear he was also challenging the broken politics of Washington, D.C. McMullin told Newsweek that Lee does not reflect Utahs values. He doesnt reflect our way of leadership and because of that, our state and our nation are suffering, he said. And so, yes, thats why Im running to replace him because I dont think that he represents the best of Utah. More typically, he represents Washingtons broken politics. He spends more of his time dividing people and engaging in performative obstructionism than he does finding solutions to all of the challenges that face our state and our country. McMullin pointed to Utahs rough summer and environmental issues in the state as well as other bread-and-butter issues that he said Washington needs to tackle. Your childrens soccer games were canceled. You couldnt go hiking. If you wanted to take your kayak to the reservoir, you would arrive and thered be no water left in the reservoir, he explained. Meanwhile, inflation is making everything much more expensive, McMullin went on. I mean, if your car breaks down and youve got to buy a new car, its far more expensive to do it now than before, but set that aside. If youre just going to buy food at the grocery store or youre going to a fast food restaurant, all of that costs more now and thats on top of healthcare costs that are just sky high, costing families thousands of dollars every month, just for emergency healthcare coverage, really. Thats where we are. Easy to Divide McMullin said there was a realization in Utah, but also elsewhere in the country that we just cannot afford to have these divisive leaders anymore. The easiest thing in the world to do as a politician is to divide people and demonize the other side and then claim that youre the answer to the ill will posed by the other side to your side, thats the easiest thing to do, but it leads to nowhere good for the country, he said. McMullin said divisiveness holds us back and it leaves us vulnerable to all kinds of challenges, whether it be a pandemic or a foreign adversary or, or whatever. So we just cant afford to do it to do that any longer. And I think were very much experiencing that in Utah and we need a new kind of leadership. And I just believe that the answer is in this better type of leadership that we have in Utah that other leaders from our state embody. And, and theres no reason why we, we, in fact, we need both of our senators to take this approach to leadership because that is what serves our interest. And we just have to have somebody there fighting for results, not obstructionism, McMullin said. Founding Values McMullin told Newsweek he was a lifelong conservative who had been attracted to the principled conservatives in the Republican Party. He cited Abraham Lincoln as a personal hero, but also offered criticism of todays GOP. I think the Republican party has unfortunately its leadership rather has abandoned our founding values as a country and, I think the partys own founding values, he said. That has made it less competitive than it could be in elections, McMullin said. And because of that, many party leaders, instead of urging a recommitment to our values, are now trying to impede free and fair elections and erode peoples confidence in elections because thats the way they think they can hold on or regain power. And I think that that is a mistake. I think its a mistake for the party and more importantly, its damaging to the country. And I hope that the Republican party recommits to its own founding values, but also the fundamental ideals that are in enshrined in our Declaration of Independence, he said. Defending Democracy McMullin hopes Republican leaders will take his advice but in the meantime, hes committed to fighting for American democracy. He believes theres common ground and hes asking those who agree with him to stand together. Thats what were doing in Utah, he told Newsweek. Were inviting Republicans, Democrats, and independents who agree that weve got to defend our democratic republic. Were inviting them to join us. And yes, are there differences between us? Very much so. Is there common ground that is unrealized and unrecognized and unused in the advancement of solutions for the American people? Thats also true. And thats part of what were doing too, is finding that common ground so that we can advance solutions. But even before that, weve got to defend and strengthen our democratic republic in order to preserve it and in order to allow us to solve these other problems in a sustainable, effective way. And so thats what were fighting for in Utah, McMullin said. Independent of Extremes McMullin said that if he is elected to the Senate, it will be because of the people of Utah. When I say that Im an independent, what Im saying is that Im independent of the extremes, McMullin said. Im independent of party bosses, independent of special interests, of the powerful special interests outside of Utah, but I am not independent, or will not be independent, of Utahns. I want to be accountable to Utahns and Utahns alone, he went on. And thats the kind of leadership that I think our state needs. And I think the country needs. Im not going there to represent myself, Im going there to represent Utahns and not just some Utahns and not the other Utahns, but all Utahns. Im going there to represent all Utahns and to do, and to uphold my oath to the country, which if elected all, Ill take there, McMullin said. U.S. Independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin waits to speak to supporters at an election night party on November 8, 2016, in Salt Lake City, Utah. McMullin is running for the U.S. Senate in Utah in 2022. George Frey/Getty Images The post Evan McMullin Wants to Bring Utah Way to Washingtons Broken Politics appeared first on Patabook News .
source https://patabook.com/blogs/121706/Evan-McMullin-Wants-to-Bring-Utah-Way-to-Washington-s
No comments:
Post a Comment