Letter to the Editor: Who speaks for the West?

December 15, 2017 Utah Channel 3

OPINION — Who speaks for the West? Who looks broadly across policies, laws, regulations and politics to make sure the interests and needs of the modern American West are represented? Who ensures government bureaucrats thousands of miles away from the West are not more powerful than locally elected state & federal officials?

While possessing a significant amount of the geography of the United States, the West does not have the major percentage of the population. In fact, 92 percent of all federally owned land rests in 12 western states. This creates the situation where those with the least amount of geographic representation make decisions for those with the larger land mass.

While the West produces much of the food and energy and most of the minerals of our country, the West is collectively underrepresented in determining the disposition of those resources. Many of these decisions are made by government bureaucrats who have never stepped foot in or have a vested interest in the overall success and stability of the West. Open spaces, sparse populations and a history of living off the land create different ways of looking at things.

Two centuries of westward migration and the saga of the Old West have left their mark. The West matters.

The West needs more vocal advocacy to make sure the voice of conservative Western America is heard. Conservative Western Priorities has been created to promote policies and political candidates that understand the unique needs, principles and priorities of citizens who live in the Western United States. We will support and collaborate with similarly principled organizations and stand up to the liberal environmental lobby that has largely gone unchallenged in the West for decades.

Conservative Western Priorities is an issues-based organization and these are our values:

Conservative American Values: Those truths we hold to be self-evident as the signers of the Declaration of Independence stated.
Proper and responsible land use whereby land is conserved, but also shared and used for agriculture, public use, sporting use and other uses in good measure.
Protecting our 2nd Amendment rights as specified in the Bill of Rights and re-affirmed by lower courts and the Supreme Court as a guaranteed individual right.
Conservative Conservationism: Takes a Constitutional, objective approach based on the latest scientific and technological advances to protecting the environment, water use and conservation.
Strong National Security and Border Protection to ensure the common defense of our Nation. Each branch of the federal government must be held accountable for this Constitutional responsibility.
Protecting Religious Freedom: It is no secret that the freedom of religion is under attack. CWP unapologetically supports the freedom of religion and will stand against organizations and policies trying to weaken or eliminate this constitutional right.
Eradication of Human Trafficking by ensuring freedom for all. We condemn individuals and governments that trap an estimated 27 million people worldwide in modern slavery and support policies and candidates seeking to end this practice.
Proper Representation of the people by officials elected to federal public office. We insist that elected officials represent the local people who put them in office with dignity and integrity.
Recognition of the importance of Israel as our democratic ally in the Middle East.

Factual debate of issues urgent to the West will help us identify elected and candidate officials who will best represent conservative western priorities and receive our support. The political process is an essential way of addressing issues and represents an important means to important ends. The West matters and resolution of issues and representation of the interests of Western people are our goals. We love our country, we love our lands and we love our peoples.

Who speaks for the West? We do.

Written by LARRY COX, Salt Lake City. Cox is the president of the board of directors for Conservative Western Priorities, Info@conservativewesternpriorities.org

Letters to the Editor are not the product or opinion of St. George News and are given only light edit for technical style and formatting. The matters stated and opinions given are the responsibility of the person submitting them.

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