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Richard Davis

Contributor
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Opinion
Opinion: Joe Biden is Catholic and ‘pro-choice’ — and it’s not a problem
Though Biden is a devoted Catholic and arguably the most religious president in recent years, he supports a pro-choice position on abortion. How can he be both?
By Richard Davis, Contributor
Four men in suits stand in front of equally spaced podiums on a stage with red, white and blue colors on the floor. One man on the middle-left has his hand raised to speak.
Opinion
Opinion: Utah debates are in danger of a partisan takeover
The Utah Debate Commission was created to foster impartial, substantial debates. But the primary debates are at risk.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.
Opinion
Opinion: America should fix the way it appoints Supreme Court justices. Here’s how
In the 20th century, most nominees were confirmed by a bipartisan vote. Today, the votes are mostly partisan. That means Americans have a serious problem.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
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Opinion
It’s time for a governor’s Commission on Civic and Civil Engagement
Utah can be an example for a nation that desperately needs civility and respect
By Richard Davis, Contributor
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Opinion
2020 was full of bad news. Here is some of the year’s good news
From decreased poverty to increased education, 2020 wasn’t all bad.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
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Opinion
Don’t scrap candidate debates — improve them
If this is the taste of debates for the future, people well may wonder whether they are worth having. Some have suggested the fall presidential debates be scrapped altogether.
By Richard Davis, Jill Zimon, and 1 more
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Opinion
Guest opinion: The silver linings of the coronavirus pandemic
By Richard Davis, Contributor
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Opinion
Guest opinion: Fighting organized extremism with organized moderation
By Richard Davis, Contributor
Jim Bennett, the United Utah Party's candidate to replace former Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz in the 3rd Congressional District, talks to members of the media outside of the federal courthouse in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017.
Opinion
Richard Davis: Giving Utahns a better choice — The United Utah Party
Former Republicans, Democrats and independents are joining our ranks because they are tired of the extremism of the two major parties.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
Richard Davis, of the United Utah Party, talks with members of the Deseret News and KSL editorial boards in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 31, 2017.
Opinion
Richard Davis: Utah needs an independent election commission
In the United States, our political philosophy of fairness rejects tactics. But we need to do more to maintain a free and fair electoral process, particularly in Utah.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
Richard Davis announces the formation of the United Utah Party — a new political party in Utah that aims to appeal to moderate Republicans, Democrats and independents who are dissatisfied with the current two-party system — during a press conference at th
Opinion
Richard Davis: Tired of partisan extremism and gridlock? Try United Utah
We want to provide a home for the politically homeless. Who are these homeless? They are moderate Republicans, Democrats and independents who are tired of the extremism of the two major parties. We are a party at the center of Utah voters.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
President John F. kennedy and Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy walk down the main staircase to the first floor of the White House, Washington, Feb. 8, 1961.
Opinion
Richard Davis: John F. Kennedy and his legacy
The Kennedy years were filled with hope in the future. Americans were much less cynical, more trusting, more committed to a common cause of reinforcing American exceptionalism — the sense that America is a special, unique place.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
FILE"” FBI Director James Comey, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, March 20, 2017, before the House Intelligence Committee hearing on allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Opinion
Richard Davis: President Trump ignores the Russian threat at our peril
Not only do we not have a president who understands that threat and seeks to do something about it, instead we have one who is willing to give classified information to Russia and let Putin get his way.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
Conferencegoers make their way to the Conference Center in Salt Lake City prior to the morning session of the LDS Church’s 187th Annual General Conference on Saturday, April 1, 2017.
Opinion
Richard Davis: A call for political diversity, not conformity, within the LDS Church
The gospel of Jesus Christ is neither conservative nor progressive. There is no set political theology that defines the LDS Church. The main point of Jesus’ ministry was redemption, not ideology.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
FILE"” French President-elect Emmanuel Macron, left, and outgoing President Francois Hollande, attend a ceremony to mark the end of World War II at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, Monday, May 8, 2017. Macron defeated far-right leader Marine Le Pen hand
Opinion
Richard Davis: The end of politics as we know it?
Admittedly, LePen’s victory would have been a huge upset, but Macron’s was significant because he was not a candidate of either of the two major parties that have governed France since 1958.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
Joe Biden, the U.S. Vice President talks to the U.S. military personnel at an Air Base in United Arab Emirates, Monday, March 7, 2016.
Opinion
Richard Davis: Our permanent presidential campaign continues
The 2020 presidential election is already underway. For most people, that is a fact they would rather avoid. Yet it is just the reality of the permanent campaign we now experience in American politics.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
FILE"” President Donald Trump gives the thumbs-up as he walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 18, 2017.
Opinion
Richard Davis: The new tea party activists ... the Democrats
Republicans should not be too quick to criticize the Democrats’ current tactics. Many Republicans are likely to do the same thing once Democrats take over again in four or eight years. The cycle will be repeated.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
President Donald Trump gestures as he leaves Air Force One at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Tuesday, April 18, 2017.
Opinion
Richard Davis: When deregulating, the Trump administration should remember history
Big government developed in response to the political and economic power of big business. Without some counterweight, these businesses would be able to do what they wanted without accountability to others.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, confers with an unidentified staffer on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, April 6, 2017. Sen. Orrin Hatch announced Monday that he planned to run for yet another term, despite his reassurance
Opinion
Richard Davis: Sen. Hatch’s re-election bid proves the need for term limits
Sen. Orrin Hatch announced Monday that he planned to run for yet another term, despite his reassurance to Utah voters that the 2012 campaign would be his last. Hatch’s bid for an eighth term is an endorsement of term limits.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
FILE - In this March 21, 2017 file photo, Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. A divided Senate Judiciary Committee backed Gorsuch, Monday
Opinion
Richard Davis: Party over institution: the case of the Supreme Court nomination process
Both the Democrats and the Republicans have placed their own partisan interests above those of the Senate and the court. They have ill-served us as Americans. We will be the losers.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
FILE"” President Donald Trump speaks at a reception for Senators and their spouses in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, March 28, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Opinion
Richard Davis: Can the nation afford to wait for the education of Donald Trump?
Will President Trump change his governing style and even his personality to succeed in the job Americans elected him to hold and from which those who voted for him expect achievement?
By Richard Davis, Contributor
Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch explains mutton busting as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 21, 2017, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Mutton busting is an event held at rodeos sim
Opinion
Richard Davis: Democrats should take the moral high ground on Judge Gorsuch
Republicans argued that Democrats should respect President Trump’s nominee, although ironically in a way the Republicans never respected President Obama’s.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
"When Rep. Jason Chaffetz recently advised poor people to spend less on their cellphones so they could buy insurance, he was exposing his own attitudes about the poor," writes Richard Davis.
Opinion
Richard Davis: IPhones or health care? Perceptions about the poor
When Rep. Jason Chaffetz recently advised poor people to spend less on their cellphones so they could buy insurance, he was exposing his own attitudes about the poor.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
A legislative attendee walks near a fountain at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 7, 2017.
Utah
Richard Davis: Our legislators have failed Utah’s children once again
The governor should take the lead in pressuring the Legislature to increase dramatically the level of education financing. Gov. Herbert wants the state’s public education system to excel, as do we all.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
The Capitol in Salt Lake City, Monday, Oct. 13, 2014.
Opinion
Richard Davis: Is Utah government more ethical than the federal government?
Utah state government officials should be held to a higher standard than those in the federal government. Yet, the recent case of Sean Reyes and the Trump administration indicates that is not true.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
As a young man, George Washington never considered becoming president of the United States. There was no such country. He was a loyal British citizen who lived in one of the Empire’s colonies – Virginia.
Opinion
Richard Davis: Remembering our model president
As a young man, George Washington never considered becoming president of the United States. There was no such country. He was a loyal British citizen who lived in one of the Empire’s colonies – Virginia.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
File - Planned Parenthood supporters walk to a women's rights rally held in early April on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Not only does abortion involve two people, but one of those persons is highly vulnerable because she or he has no voice in the life
Opinion
Richard Davis: Choice or life: Abortion arguments are outdated
Not only does abortion involve two people, but one of those persons is highly vulnerable because she or he has no voice in the life or death decision of abortion.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with county sheriffs in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017.
Opinion
Richard Davis: No, Mr. President, the United States and Russia are not moral equivalents
Presidents do not make such statements. They are the province of extremist conspiracy theorists who cannot distinguish between good and bad governments because they see all governments as bad.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
FILE: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. fields questions at the Washoe County party headquarters in Reno, Nev., Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016.
Opinion
Richard Davis: Although they may not realize it, LDS Church members will sorely miss Brother Reid
What also is ironic is that it may take some time for LDS Church members to realize the loss to the LDS Church of Sen. Harry Reid’s retirement from Senate leadership.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
President Donald Trump speaks at The Salute To Our Armed Services Inaugural Ball in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017.
Opinion
Richard Davis: Donald Trump is my president, but ...
I acknowledge that Donald J. Trump is the legal president of the United States. He won the electoral process. However, on the emotional level, I can understand why many Americans do not accept Trump as president.
By Richard Davis, Contributor
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