A friend recently asked me what makes the United Utah Party different from other political parties. I explained how we are the only political party in the state giving a voice and a vote to the “moderate middle.” My friend wasn’t as interested in our ideology, though. He wanted to know if we operated in the same way as other parties, and I was pleased to be able to tell him about an aspect of the UUP that is often less talked about.

Firstly, we are different in that we are a genuinely grassroots movement. Many organizations start that way, but we have deliberately structured our platform and internal party policies so that our candidates and elected officials are encouraged to remain grassroots. That’s why we don’t stake out a position on every imaginable issue in our platform. We expect UUP candidates and officials to turn to the voters in their districts and find out what the people want to do about the issues before them. Then those Uniters are to go to the halls of power and vote accordingly.

Secondly, we don’t believe in litmus tests. Because a district in downtown Salt Lake City will likely have a different worldview than a district in Millard County, Uniters from those two districts might very well not vote the same every single time. That's great! That means they actually represent the people of their districts. We of course encourage our Uniters to find common ground, though, because even political divides like urban and rural are less important than those things that unite us.

That brings me to my final and perhaps most important point. Why would we be happy to own elected officials as Uniters even if they don’t vote the same? It is because we reject the culture of contempt that has whipped political polarization to such a frenzy. We're open to good solutions wherever they come from, and Uniters who land all along the political spectrum are invited to bring their best ideas to the table. Our overarching paradigm is to look for the win-win. And in that, we as a party are truly unique. Please join us as we work to bring this vision and meaningful change to Utah politics!

Please read on. In this newsletter, we highlight some specific volunteer needs and our annual fundraiser luncheon; but you don't have to wait for those opportunities to volunteer, donate, or to simply spread the word. Click on the links below to follow us on social media, donate, volunteer, or forward this newsletter.