I got a chuckle out of this post at The Senate Site, especially in light of my radio partner declaring last Friday "Freaky Friday".  As much as the folks at the Senate Site may have been a little unnerved to see Bob Bernick saying nice things about how the Legislature is doing, Mr. Bernick does bring up a lot of really good points

Today I'd like to talk about what is right about Utah politics in specific areas — and how that goodness can be made even better.

Representative government and citizen involvement: On most issues, state officials, I believe, do reflect the will of their constituents. America, the experts say, is a center-right nation. Utah is a few more clicks to the right of that.

Fiscal conservatism, lacking in Washington, D.C., is alive and well here.

Utah has been ranked as one of the best managed states in the nation, great credit to the GOP majority in the Legislature and our governors, past and present.

That was one of the things that drew the Logical Husband and I here from Minnesota last year (well that and killer skiing but I digress).  We had our choice of states to move to - California, Arizona, Colorado or Utah - when he was offered the option of moving with a job or staying in Minnesota with no job (and a legislature bent on killing off jobs).  Utah's job climate (and ski climate) and cost of living made the decision an easy one.

Elections, cost and funding: During a national legislative conference held in Salt Lake City several years ago, I was shocked to hear that a state Senate race in Pennsylvania could cost $1 million.

I remember a time when a Utah Senate race may cost $10,000. And today a top state Senate race could total $100,000. That's a lot of money. Still, in Utah a well-organized legislative candidate can put together a decent campaign.

As the whole country saw last year when Jason Chaffetz shocked an entrenched Chris Cannon in the 3rd CD.  Cannon had all of the "perks" of office and he still lost to a well organized Chaffetz campaign.

Open, honest government: Utah doesn't have the sex or money scandals found in many other state governments. Only a few legislators have been forced out of office in a scandal, a handful of others retiring with heads down.

Some may argue that ethical standards for state officials are too low. But you don't see the corruption here suffered in some other states.

Growing up in uber-regulated and uber corrupt Illinois, married to a New York?Pennsylvania boy I can attest to that.  Utah's "corruption" scandals pale in comparison to some of the Illinois/New York/Louisiana/Pennsylvania greats and while that is certainly not a challenge for Utah lawmakers to step up the corruption, it is a reminder of just how good we have it here in Utah.

Accountability: In most cases, arrogant or mean-spirited Utah leaders get their comeuppance. They are voted out of office or just ignored by their colleagues.

Now if we can just get some accountability for Chris "I can say what I want and you can't do anything about it" Buttars.....

The flow of power: 30 years of Republican Party power in Utah has brought stability to state politics.

One doesn't see wide swings in public policy here. Businessmen know they will, by and large, be protected, and faced with reasonable tax rates, Utah's economy has been strong.

While I don't think that we need wide swings in public policy, I would like to see a little more viable Democrat party in this state.  Competition IS GOOD - contrary to what some of our friends on the left may believe.

Moderation in most things works here.

Moderation, in most things, work well everywhere.....

Politically speaking, Utah is stable, accountable, conservative. In other words, boring.

But in the recent hard times, boring can be good.

Don't stand out, get the job done, don't complain too much — a recipe for success for most Utah politicians.

It's true Utah is often behind the times — be that liquor control, government spending, human rights or whatever. But slow is not always bad.

The old Aesop fable of the tortise and the hare applies here as it does often everywhere - slow and steady wins the race.  It's not the most glamerous route but it is the one that gets the most work done and Utah does indeed seem to be getting it done.