Before I get started, it might be useful to watch this video about what's going on in Utah, to give you a clue of where this is coming from.
This year is redistricting year in Utah, and we get a wonderful opportunity that doesn't come along very often: Utah is getting a fourth representative to congress! Usually this would be no big deal. Ten years ago, the last time Utah went through redistricting, it wasn't that big of a deal. Were the lines drawn intentially to limit the power of the opposition party? Yes. Is that legal? Questionable. Why was there no ruckus? Because the opposition party couldn't convince anyone to listen.
This year is different. Why? Because the Utah Democratic Party elected somebody that was good at PR. Jim Dabakis, the current Democratic Party Chair, had the foresight to create a PR strategy guide before he ever became elected. You can find it here. You can also find the other strategy guides (which I believe also fall under PR) here.
Having a full blown strategy, and having a plan for attack, gave the Democrats a leg up this year. Jim Dabakis toured the state, whipping up a hell storm for the republicans. It's gotten so bad that the republicans were forced to start over, and have been forced to compromise.
How is it that the minority party was capable of making the majority party bow to it's desires? PR. Its just that simple. The side with a PR plan one. That's why we do what we do, that's why we're learning what we're learning.
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