Dance With The One Who Brung You

Some of my readers in other states may not be aware of what has become a hot-button local issue in Utah, which is Utah Valley State College students' controversial decision to spend their entire $40,000 speaker budget to hire Michael Moore. This has created a lot of fuss among the highly conservative local population, who insisted there should be more "balance" in choice of speakers (never mind that speakers in the past have been conservative), who decried Moore as not worthy of speaker money, etc. etc. The issue is so hot that Sean Hannity himself came out last night and spoke for free, with his travel expenses being paid by friendly conservatives (I think I remember hearing that John Huntsman Jr., Republican gubernatorial candidate, offered the use of his private jet).

Clark, a commenter at utahpolitics.org, gives this advice to the Utah Valley State College students:

... Utah County's elected leaders in the Utah Legislature began fighting tooth and nail for Central Utah's right to a share of the higher ed dollars.

And in fact it was those conservative citizens of Utah County and their elected leaders who about ten years ago voted to raise the sales tax on the food purchased at restaurants in the county. And what reason would a bunch of conservatives have to vote themselves any type of tax increase? To get the funds to build the McKay Events Center on the campus of UVSC where Mr. Moore is going to speak....

And now is a good time for UVSC's students to gain a lesson in civics and know just exactly who it is, and has been, who have been buying those tickets to the scholarship balls, donating money for the building of a new library because the state of Utah can't fund what is truly needed, creating those living wills and trusts that have blessed the place with millions of extra dollars, and buying the tickets to the concerts, performances, and sporting events that help underwrite the day-to-day activities of the school.

Read the whole thing.